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David Mark @ 76 : Bestriding Two Worlds

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Senator David Mark
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“There is no cure for birth and death, save to enjoy the interval”

– George Santayana

By Paul Mumeh & Law Mefor

The wise words, “Live your life so that the Preacher won’t have to lie at your funeral,” were displayed in a particular pastor’s office sentinel. The pastor expressed his admiration for the way it would loom large over the heads of people who came to confess yet another transgression, hoping that it would persuade them to change their ways and begin to act morally upright without him having to persuade them. The man said that the longer he had been a pastor, the more he had come to understand the peculiar theology the sign represented.

It suggests to him, that some people have lived such morally upright lives that preachers don’t need to tell lies at their funerals, and that some people have also led terrible lives that leave funeral orators in a difficult situation.
David Mark’s life has always been an open book. Even his detractors have to admit that he is a man who has elevated his life to such an extent that he has left profound imprints on the sands of time.
Given David Mark’s sprawling personality, it would take many books to tell his entire narrative. Mark has essentially dominated two worlds like a colossus; politics and the military, where he has played prominent and historic roles. He left the military after attaining the rank of a Brigadier General. He was a military governor of Niger state and a minister of the federal republic in charge of communications.

Holding the positions of chairman of the National Assembly and Senate President for two terms of eight uninterrupted years, [2007–2011 & 201 5], he oversaw politics as the head of the legislative arm of the government in the nation’s presidential democracy.

This made him the most tenured senate president in Nigerian history. David Mark stands out as exceptional and singular because he is most likely the only Nigerian to have achieved the combined rankings so far.

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Indeed, how one chooses to tell his story will depend on both the main thrust and point of view of the storyteller. John Godfrey Saxe (1816–1887), an American poet, provides related useful insights in The Blind Men and the Elephant. In the fable of The Blind Men and the Elephant, a group of blind men who had never seen an elephant before learnt about it and develop an imaginary image of it through touch. Though only one section of the elephant’s body — the side or the tusk, for example — each blind guy senses a distinct part of it.  Published in 1873, The Blind Men and the Elephant, is a poetry and rhyme collection by John Godfrey Saxe. The poet based his moral tale, which is really more of a parable disguised as a rhyme; on an Indian fable he dubbed a “Hindoo Fable.” That ballad was really lovely. It tells a story and offers a framework that bestows on the narrative its intended, deep lesson—just as David Mark’s current account portends.

The story of The Blind Men and The Elephant serves as an example of how conflict and misunderstanding can result from our unique perspectives, or what Peter Senge refers to as our “mental models.” The purpose of this account on David Mark is to provide
an alternative viewpoint to those provided by previous and subsequent writers on this quiet and gentle giant.

It is acknowledged that although an individual’s subjective experience and opinion may be accurate, they may still be constrained by a lack of comprehensive knowledge about the subject. Because of this, the blind men’s accounts of the elephant varied from one another and were based on their limited experience. The blind men did not exchange blows because of this understanding. The parable’s lesson is that people often assert absolute truth based on their own constrained, subjective experiences while ignoring the constrained, subjective experiences of others that may be just as accurate. The tale was first popularised in the ancient Indian subcontinent, from whence it spread abroad.
If this description of David Mark turns out to be only a portion of the gentle giant and his amazing times, be willing to overlook its shortcomings.

Let researchers and histographers of the future fill in the blanks. We also think that David Mark would compose a note on himself before going away at the end of life, which is an inescapable fate that awaits all mortals at some point.
Suffice to submit that Mark’s accomplished sojourn in the military, his political engagement and achievements as a leader of the legislative arm of government is a study in brinkmanship.

On April 8, 1948, Pa Mark Aikuta and Madam Eyum Mark welcomed a baby boy into their home. He was given the name Alechenu, which means “the unexpected.” Later on, the local Catholic Church baptised him as David. The parents worked in farming and trading, which were typical vocations of the Serene Otukpo community in Benue State.

David Mark was raised as a devoted Catholic Christian, a faith he has adhered to throughout his military service, career in politics, and retirement. Aware that childhood is the foundation of life; his parents took great care in raising him as their first child.

David Mark, as he is more commonly known in adult life, is a unique individual who was shaped by a combination of hard work, good upbringing, divine providence, military training, and intellectual rigor. He is like an octopus with numerous tentacles. His extraordinary life story serves as a powerful reminder that anything is possible for someone who works hard and has faith in God.

David Mark would undoubtedly have passed as just another one of the many people who came through this life unheard and unsung if he had accepted his father’s origins and decided not to battle for a noble name. Instead, he fought for the opportunity to earn a noble name. He has elevated his fame to the point where, when the time comes, he would have left deep indelible imprints in the sands of time, making him a household name today.

Given his birth circumstances, Mark knew that no one achieves overnight success without hard work, diligence, and perseverance. While others slept, he was working hard. And in the end, his diligence paid off, with heavenly hands acting as his engine.

St. Francis Catholic Practising School, Otukpo was where the young David Mark enrolled and completed his elementary education. Mark received excellent formative years at the Catholic school, which helped him lay the solid intellectual, philosophical, and educational foundations of his future.

David Mark’s military training and foundational education began at the Nigerian Military School (NMS), Zaria, which was where his tough, uncompromising discipline style originated.

David Mark’s set arrived at the Nigerian Military School (NMS) in May 1961 where his early years were further shaped. He was among the first group of boys to take the WAEC examination in 1965, and they did remarkably well.

David Mark was among the best graduates of the NMS, and after graduating with flying colours from that institution, everything was in place for him to enlist in the Nigerian Army . To adequately develop his military career as an officer, Mark was admitted to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA, 3rd Regular Course), Kaduna as cadet in 1967. He graduated from the academy in 1970. As it happened, his NDA graduation marked just the start of an extensive journey through the world of military elite training in his field of study — military communication and engineering.

When young Mark came to NDA as a cadet, the basic knowledge he had gained at NMS proved to be quite helpful. He was well aware of the fundamental principles of army culture, which include honour, integrity, bravery, responsibility, devotion, and selflessness.

In 1970, Lieutenant David Mark continued his education at the School of Signals in Blandford, England. Part of the Defence School of Communications and Information Systems in the United Kingdom is the military training facility known as the Blandford School of Signals.

After being promoted to Captain and given a new commission upon his return to Nigeria in 1971, he enrolled in combined training programmes at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering Mhow and the College of Military Engineering Poona in India. He completed this training between 1971 and 1975, earning a B Eng. – Telecoms and becoming qualified to work as both a military and telecommunication engineer in 1975.

When Captain David Mark completed his Militating Engineering course in India, he returned to Nigeria. At the age of 27, he received a promotion to the rank of Major and was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division at Port Harcourt, where he was Commander of the Division’s Signals, under Lieutenant General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, the General Officer Commanding (GOC). His duties were expanding, and this time they included organising the commanders and men in the Brigade in addition to sports and welfare.

In addition to leading the way in educating other officers in a variety of roles, Mark made a strong push for more professional training in the UK, India, and Nigeria. In addition to this, he holds the following degrees: B Engr – Telecoms – 1975′ , Psc+ – 1979, fwc, fss, a Diploma in Defence Studies (1991), a Diploma in Senior Defence Studies (1992), and more.

Later on, Major General Muhammadu Buhari and Brigadier General Tunde Idiagbon came to power during the military takeover in December 31, 1983. David Mark, who by then had already been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, was chosen by Buhari to serve as the military governor of Niger State because of his exceptional leadership abilities.

Few people in Niger State’s history of leadership are as warmly remembered as David Mark.” This encapsulates the significance of Lt Col David Mark’s groundbreaking tenure as governor of Niger state.

His influence in Niger state is still visible today, many years later, in a variety of fields, including education, infrastructure, industrialisation, agriculture, sports, health, and media development.

As the Military Governor of Niger State, Governor Mark’s leadership style was distinguished by audacious plans, deeds, and gallant endeavours. He disregarded unproductive custom, bureaucracy, and other inconsequential factors in order to attain tangible results. He is a man of integrity and a fearless strategist who was committed to achieving goals at all costs and by all means necessary and lawful.

Following yet another military coup in Nigeria in 1985, General IBB was installed as the country’s military president. He put together an excellent team to handle all aspects of Nigeria’s economy, politics, and well-being, including the type of government the country would resume after the military leaves office.

Babangida sought for the brightest minds capable of innovation to further his ambition of taking Nigeria in a totally new direction and opening up its economy to the outside world. One of the persons Babangida chose was David Mark, who was redeployed from Niger State.

Babangida needed a true specialist to revamp the nation’s communications system and introduce the technologies required to get the nation into the emerging digital and global information networks since communication was essential to his ambitions. Babangida, the previous military ruler, displayed his ability to fit round pegs into round holes when he appointed Col. Mark as the minister of communications.These were some of the best appointments in the country’s political history.

As was to be expected, Col. Mark brought about drastic changes, innovations, and reforms after being appointed Federal Minister of Communications.

David Mark was retired from the Nigerian Army by General Sani Abacha, the supreme military leader of Nigeria in 1993. After going into exile in Ghana and then England, Mark returned to the country upon Abacha’s death in 1998.

When Mark returned from exile on September 5, 1998, his Idoma people of Benue state welcomed him with great fervor and he became their leader, expected to fulfil their hopes and dreams and win their support to run for the senate and represent them.

The Idoma elites rolled out the drums to welcome the soldier from exile; the masses and the progressives wing of the political elite were part of the frenzied reception that attended his home-coming. They knew that being in exile for five years only confirmed him as firm believer in democracy and true son of Idoma land.

After Mark became a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he was eligible to run for Senate. He was chosen to represent the Benue South Senatorial District under the PDP’s banner in the April 1999 senatorial election, which he easily won. He was sworn in as a Federal Republic senator in June 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015. During his tenure in the Senate, he held a number of responsibilities, including chairman of the Joint National Assembly and Senate President, which he held for a record eight years.

Sen. Mark prevailed over George Akume, the previous governor of his State, in a keenly contested Senate election on June 5th , 2007 to become the President of the Senate . He polled 69 votes against Akume’s 39. One senator was absent. As a result, he took the oath of office as the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 12th President of the Senate.

As Senate President, Mark exuded a strong character and dignity, elevating the position to the highest regard that the public has ever given it. He so cleared the Senate of the “banana peels.” His administration was the first to return billions of Naira (28 billion) of unspent public fund to the national treasury in 2008. Significantly, Senator Mark demonstrated a shared preference for excellent legislation, manners, social elegance, and the guts to stand up for what is right and follow his conscience. Mark was seen by Nigerians as the embodiment of the country’s presidential democracy.

On Tuesday, February 9, 2010, a new terminology was added to Nigeria’s political lexicon. This date will remain a significant landmark in Nigeria’s political history as Senator Mark put the existing laws to the test in order to create a safety net for Nigeria’s ongoing existence as a single nation through the Doctrine of Necessity. The impending constitutional crisis, political unrest or a deadlock that had engulfed the country prior to the installation of a new leadership was broken by just one act. The “DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY” authorised Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to act as president in order to address the constitutional crisis orchestrated by the absence of ailing President Musa Yar’Adua.

The Doctrine of Necessity serves as the foundation for the legitimacy of extraordinary measures taken by the administrative authority to maintain or restore order, even when those measures were not contemplated by established constitution, laws, customs, or norms.

When Senate President Mark took office in 2007, he demonstrated an extraordinary level of dedication and perseverance to the promise he made to Nigerians to offer meaningful legislative leadership.

Under his leadership, the Nigerian National Assembly broke the jinx by altering the 1999 constitution for the first time, which set the stage for the nation’s democracy to flourish and gradually return to federalism. This wasn’t achieved by the two previous senates preceding his.

Senator Mark, a former president of the Senate who was still serving at the time, announced his plan to run for president in 2019 on the platform of PDP. He sparked a lot of curiosity when he picked up his Presidential expression of interest and nomination forms at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

After purchasing his forms, he spoke with journalists and pledged to address the socio-political, economic, and security issues endangering the nation if elected. Additionally, he pledged that if given the chance, he would start the process of reorganising the nation. Though he lost in the PDP’s primary elections, he continues to serve the party and the nation at large as a peace ambassador .

Ado, Apa, Agatu, Obi, Oju, Ohimini, Ogbadibo, Okpokwu, and Otukpo are the nine local governments that make up the Benue south senatorial zone . At least one developmental project targeting the generation of jobs for rural areas and addressing the nation’s high rate of youth unemployment was established by Mark in each of the local government areas.

Mark placed a high value on economic empowerment. He created a revolving trader’s loan programme with zero interest to help the women expand their enterprises. He knew that in order to be supported, the majority of small business concerns required an improvised capital base. This action significantly enhanced inclusive growth and economic development.

Mark prioritised education when it came to youth development. With a focus on youth education, he established the David Mark Scholarship Scheme (DMSS), under which, since 1999, annual scholarships have been given to students enrolled in primary school through universities which has benefitted thousands.

Senator Mark constructed and donated a building for the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) study centre in Otukpo, Benue State, as a symbol of his dedication to providing education to his people. Within his Benue South Senatorial District, he has constructed and refurbished numerous school blocks in each of the nine local government areas.

Senator Mark sponsored numerous projects in the Senate, chief of which was the Act for the Establishment of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo (FUHSO). The university was eventually established as a result of President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of this bill. The establishment is transforming Otukpo into a medical tourism centre and is the first of its kind in Nigeria.

Mark is an avid sportsman believes that sports should be a source of both entertainment and employment. Among many other initiatives, he founded the Apa United Football Club (male) to play in the State and National League, as well as MarkMentors Basketball Club, which is currently rated second in the National Basketball League, to support young people who aspire to advance in sports .

His annual Mark D’Ball basketball competition, has transformed the lives of numerous young people who are pursuing professional basketball careers. He also founded the football teams “Apa Queens” (female) in the same spirit.

Additionally, Mark built an 18-hole public golf course at Otukpo Golf & Country Club St. Mark Akpegede, Otukpo of Benue State, which employs a good number of people. One unique feature of this golf course is that till date, nobody pays the green fee to play. Golfers use the golf course gratis, which is unprecedented.

He equally established the Otukpo radio station Joy FM 96.5, which also provides jobs for his people and other Nigerians and has grown to be a major hub for news, entertainment, and education in the community. In Nigeria’s North Central Region, this FM is the first radio station that is privately owned.

Mark accomplished a great deal for the zone during his record- breaking eight years as Senate President. Among the projects were about 17 billion naira Otukpo Multi-Purpose Dam in Otobi-Akpa which has the dual benefits of supplying Benue South and its surrounding areas with electricity and water.

In a similar vein, students of the Mark International Golf Academy have competed internationally on behalf of Nigeria. Professional golfers provide these young men and women, affectionately known as “The Lion Cubs,” with extensive training, and they have demonstrated complete supremacy in every event in which they have competed.

On infrastructure, Mark attracted and the construction of the Loko-Oweto bridge and the road networks that connect Benue, Nasarawa, and Abuja. This project serves as a bridge connecting Nigeria’s Northern and Southern regions.

Under the Rural Electrification Projects, Mark also gave numerous towns in each of Benue South’s nine local government areas several 300KVA transformers. He believes that this would help the locals in the district thrive economically.

It is indisputable that Mark would go down in Nigerian history as a true nationalist, social and political strategist of great stature, detribalised Nigerian, and patriot. The people of Idoma and the country as a whole will always have nostalgic memories of him.

After taking stock of his political journey; senator and senate president for 20 eventful years, Mark declared that God has greatly favoured him and that he will carry on serving God and humanity in the years to come. He also said that Nigeria has treated him fairly and that he would continue to advance the course for peace and peaceful coexistence in the country whether in or out of office.

• By Paul Mumeh and Law Mefor

Politics

Osun Election: Don’t allow a repeat of 1983 crisis – Adeleke warns Tinubu

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Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke
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…Says Osun won’t tolerate rigging

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has warned President Bola Tinubu not to allow rigging the August 15 governorship election in the State or risk political violence as witnessed in 1983.

The Governor, who was addressing party supporters at Orita-Sabo in Olorunda local government area of Osun State on Monday, also said the President must wake up to his responsibility of protecting the people from police harassment.

According to him, the President is watching without concern, the political crisis in Osun being perpetrated by his party chieftains despite the fact that Accord has endorsed him as the 2027 Presidential candidate.

“Mr President, I want you to take note of my words, I m the Chief Security officer of Osun, you are a Yoruba man and Osun is Yorubaland, yet, your party chieftains are perpetrating political violence while you look the other way.

“Mr President, all we demand for is a free and fair election, if anybody try to do otherwise, the political crisis of 1983, when some people tried to rig Michael Ajasin in Ondo State out of power, may repeat itself again.

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“Mr President call your people to order, call police chiefs to order, I am the governor here not any other person. Accord has already endorsed you as it’s candidate, why are we suffering again.

“You fought for democracy in Nigeria and you must not allow your people destroy it. Wake up to your responsibility Mr President, stop the shenanigans going on in Osun”, he warned.

Earlier, the Imole Campaign Council Director-General, Senator Lere Oyewumi tasked the people to troop out en masse to cast their votes for the party as the only way to return Adeleke to office again.

He said the good work of the governor is enough to warrant the people to vote for him again, calling on the electorates to votes and protect their vote on election day.

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Editorial

ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE OF NIGERIA DURING A COURTESY VISIT TO HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR ON 28 JULY 2026 (FULL TEXT)

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The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria
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PARTNERS IN BUILDING A JUST, PEACEFUL AND PROSPEROUS NIGERIA

Mr. President,

1. Greetings: I bring you warm greetings and prayers from all the members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria. I am Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, the Archbishop of Kaduna and the newly elected President of our Conference. I thank you immensely for granting us this audience, which offers us the opportunity to share with you some of our observations and genuine concerns about our country. This ensures the continuity of our collaborative engagement in the task of building a healthy nation that all of us would be proud to belong to: “a nation of justice, love and peace.”

2. The Visit of Archbishop Gallagher: Your Excellency, may we use this opportunity to express our gratitude to you and the Ministry of External Affairs for the warm reception that you gave to the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, during his recent visit on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between the Holy See and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We, as Nigerians and Catholics, are happy to share the two identities and proud of the healthy and unbroken relations between the two states. We believe that the relations will bear perceptible fruits for Christianity and Christians in our country. This, Mr. President, is a time when many Christians have legitimate concerns about their place in Nigeria, especially regarding the departure from the Christian/Muslim presidency, and we hope that, through deliberate government policies, those concerns will be addressed and Christians will be reassured of their rights as citizens. We expect that you will take steps to soothe frayed nerves and address the concerns.

3. Quality tertiary education and the challenge of limited spaces: Mr. President, Sir, you have shown a commitment to giving hope and succour to our youth through NELFund, the Student Loan Initiative. This deserves commendation. Unfortunately, by global standards, Nigeria does not as yet have enough universities to cater for a bulging youth population. Only a tiny fraction of the persons seeking admission into the university actually get it, owing to limited number of places available. We therefore hope that the recent moratorium placed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) on the establishment of new private universities does not cancel out the gains of NELFund.

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4. Sustaining the gains of the democratic experience: Mr. President, on matters of the state, we are genuinely concerned by fears expressed across the country on the fate of opposition politics. You have a track record of having been in active opposition. Many voices are screaming over what they consider to be the constriction of the political space, with some fearing that a one-party state is being anticipated. Whether these fears are genuine or not, can only be tested by the signals citizens receive from Your Excellency as the leader of the party in power. To this end, we urge you to encourage elected political office holders who are members of your party – Governors, members of the National Assembly, Local Government Chairmen – to ensure that a genuine level playing field is maintained and that focus is placed on making everyone see that the rules and processes are fair to all and respected by all. As a man who risked so much in the struggle for the return of democratic rule in the dark days of military dictatorship, your greatest legacy would be the strengthening of our democratic institutions.

5. Credible elections for the avoidance of disaster: Furthermore, there have been growing concerns about the electoral processes. We note the efforts being made to ensure that the elections are free, fair and credible. Sadly, there is an increasing feeling of disenchantment with the clear manipulation of the electoral processes, and the collective feeling that people’s votes do not count. Lower voter turnouts are a mark of distrust in the electoral processes. It is our hope that you be on the forefront in demanding that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, delivers credible elections, to ensure that Nigeria is set on the path of national development and integrity. This ought to start with making voters’ cards easily available to all eligible voters and end with election results that reflect the true choice of Nigerians. Adequate and timely funding of INEC is required to ensure that the Agency inspires the confidence of citizens. Anything short of transparent, free, fair and credible elections in 2027 would be an invitation to avoidable disaster against which all well-meaning Nigerians have been praying. We urge that the conduct of the political class should be in tune with the voices we lift to God in prayer.

6. But we need to be alive and secure first: Mr. President, we congratulate you for the recent successful release of the kidnapped school children and their teachers in Oyo State. The arrest of some of the kidnappers and their speedy prosecution is one of the few positive indicators of what a willing government and its agencies could do to protect the life and property of the citizens. We commend you for this and for other such cases in recent times. Unfortunately, these remain few and isolated exceptions. Our nation still remains a favourable destination for terrorism, banditry and high levels of insecurity that threaten our collective existence. Schools, places of worship, homes, farms, rural roads and highways. Nowhere is safe anymore, as bandits and criminals freely carry away scores of worshippers and schoolchildren, even in broad daylight undisturbed, kidnap and butcher simple as well as high profile citizens mercilessly and unapologetically. Our sovereignty is at stake and, even by African standards, our insecurity continues to diminish our standing and our ability to serve as the leader of Africa.

7. Worsening quality of life, suffering and pain: When the security situation in the country is taken together with the deterioration and near collapse of the power sector, the sorry state of our roads, the economic hardship, one wonders how much of the renewed hope agenda flaunted by your administration is being realised. Mr President, our nation is bleeding. The citizens are suffering and crying. Not only on account of the constant threat to their life by criminal elements, but also because of some policies of government whose promised positive effects have been delayed too long before being felt. You have said a couple of times that you hear their cries and feel their pain. But words are not enough. They expect concrete action that engenders some change in their condition.

8. Pope Leo XIV among us will strengthen our collective prayers and efforts: Finally, we believe that the problems and burden of our nation require a sincere commitment to good governance for the common good to the glory of God. We continue to pray for our dear country and appeal to you to take seriously our pleas for greater collaboration between the Church and the State for the overall wellbeing of our people. We believe that Mr President is aware that the Holy Father, Pope Leo holds our country very close to his heart and constantly prays for us. During our visit to him in March this year, he was quite enthusiastic about a visit to Nigeria on a date in the future. As you know, Sir, that will only happen if you invite him. We request that this be done soon. Our land and its people will benefit immensely from his presence and blessing.

9. Two particular requests: Mr. President, we respectfully place two specific requests before Your Excellency. First, we ask that Your Excellency give favourable consideration to the request on the return of mission schools to their original proprietors. We recall that this matter was raised during our meeting with you last year, and we remain hopeful that your Government will take the necessary steps towards its implementation.
Second, in the light of the Supreme Court judgment of 10 February 2026 affirming the constitutional right of Muslim students at Rivers State University to freedom of religion and worship, we respectfully request that Your Excellency direct the appropriate Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government to ensure that this same constitutional principle is faithfully implemented throughout the Federation. In particular, we appeal that Christians, especially in the northern part of the country, who continue to face difficulties in acquiring land for the construction of churches or in freely exercising their right to worship, should enjoy the same constitutional rights and protection accorded to all Nigerians. Equal citizenship must be reflected not only in law but also in practice.

Once again, we thank you very sincerely for granting us this audience. We pray that the Almighty and merciful God may grant you the wisdom and strength to lead our nation and all its citizens towards that greatness that God has destined for us.

Matthew Man-Oso NDAGOSO
Archbishop of Kaduna
President, CBCN

 

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The Real Ethnic Bigotry Is Ugwuagbo’s Dangerous Ethnic Stereotyping, Not Governor Mbah’s Appointments

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Enugu Governor, Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah
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By Dan Nwomeh

There is an obvious irony in a write-up accusing Governor Peter Mbah, an Igbo governing an overwhelmingly Igbo state, of the absurd practice of ethnic bigotry against his own people by favouring Yoruba people over fellow Igbo, while repeatedly reducing Nigerians to their ethnic identities and presenting the presence of a few Yoruba professionals in the Enugu State Government as evidence of “Yorubanisation” of the state. “Since coming into office, Governor Mbah has demonstrated a clear preference to work with Yorubas than with Enugu people” (sic), the author recklessly charged.

The real ethnic bigotry in this disingenuous attempt to contrive a controversy is not in Governor Mbah’s decision to appoint a handful of people from other parts of Nigeria; it is in one Ugwuagbo Chizoba’s dangerous ethnic stereotyping of those appointees and his attempt to turn their Yoruba identity into a reason for questioning their competence or qualification to serve Enugu State.

This is an important distinction, because a governor who searches for the best hands wherever he can find them is not practising ethnic bigotry. He is instead practising the very cosmopolitanism that a modern, ambitious state like Enugu needs. A writer who examines the performance of a public official, regardless of where that person comes from, is doing legitimate scrutiny. But when the principal evidence offered against an appointee is that he or she is Yoruba, and when a few Yoruba professionals serving Enugu State are presented collectively as evidence of a sinister ethnic pattern, the argument ceases to be about competence and becomes an exercise in ethnic stereotyping dressed up as political criticism.

That is precisely what the said Ugwuagbo Chizoba does in his write-up with the inflammatory and inciting title, “Ethnic Bigotry: Governor Mbah’s Yorubanization of Enugu and the Questions That Are Becoming Too Difficult to Ignore”. In the write-up, Ugwuagbo tells us that ethnic bigotry means being prejudiced against people because of their ethnic group. Then, almost immediately, he begins identifying the people he considers unfit for public office primarily by their ethnicity; a “Yoruba woman” here, an “incompetent Yoruba man” there, and even “Yoruba girls” allegedly occupying positions around Government House. Their ethnic identities are repeatedly placed at the centre of the narrative, as though being Yoruba is itself a relevant qualification for determining whether they deserve to hold public office in Enugu.

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This is the fundamental contradiction that destroys the entire write-up. You cannot credibly denounce ethnic bigotry while making ethnicity the central basis of your case against public officials and repeatedly highlighting their ethnic origins, yet offering no credible evidence to support the serious allegations of incompetence you make against them, as one would ordinarily expect from a so-called journalist.

If a Yoruba professional is appointed in Enugu, the appointment is presented by Ugwuagbo as evidence of “Yorubanisation.” But he never seriously considers the obvious alternative explanation, which is simply that the governor may have chosen someone he believed possessed the experience or competence required for the job. That is a remarkably convenient way to cobble together a piece of political propaganda. The ethnicity of the appointee becomes the evidence, the conclusion and the accusation all at once.

Beyond the blatant falsehoods, including the false attribution of certain government positions and institutional leadership roles to Yoruba people who do not actually hold them, the write-up is conspicuously devoid of evidence to substantiate the serious allegations it makes.

Take the case of Ladi Akeredolu-Ale, who is described dismissively as an “incompetent Yoruba man.” What is the evidence offered for this sweeping conclusion? Zilch. Yet Akeredolu-Ale came into the Enugu State Broadcasting Service leadership with decades of broadcasting experience, including senior management experience at Channels Television and previous leadership of the Ondo State Radio and Television Corporation.

One may certainly question his performance at ESBS. Public officials should be subjected to scrutiny. But the relevant questions are: What targets were set for him? What resources were available? What did he inherit? What has he accomplished or failed to accomplish? What measurable indicators demonstrate incompetence? His Yoruba ancestry answers none of those questions.

Had Ugwuagbo risen above his clannish insularity and parochial outlook and taken the time to examine the pedigree of these appointees, he might have been far more circumspect, and perhaps even humbled by their credentials rather than scoffing so derisively at their competence and addressing them with such intemperate disrespect.

Adenike Okebu brings formidable professional credentials to her role as Senior Special Adviser on Revenue, including a BSc in Accounting from OAU, Ile-Ife, MSc in Finance from Nottingham Trent University, Fellow of ICAN, Certified Fraud Examiner, Chartered Certified Forensic Accountant, Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and Member of the Institute of Directors. With experience spanning EY Nigeria, Deloitte, BUA Group, Platform Capital and Pinnacle Oil and Gas, she combines Big Four audit experience with expertise in revenue assurance, financial governance and fraud detection. In Enugu, she has been central to efforts to plug revenue leakages, modernise revenue administration and drive the exponential growth of the state’s IGR, while also mentoring accounting students at the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, helping to bridge academic training and professional practice.

Governor Mbah’s Special Adviser on Health, Dr. Yomi Jaye, is a medical doctor and healthcare-management professional with more than two decades of experience across Africa and the United States, with qualifications including MBBS, MBA and a Master of Public Health from the University of Liverpool, as well as international training at Harvard Medical School and MIT. In his role, he has brought his clinical, public-health and management expertise to Enugu’s healthcare reforms, helping to secure long-delayed accreditation and upgrades for the state’s medical and nursing training institutions, including the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria’s approval of a 350-student admission quota for Medicine and Dentistry at ESUT (the highest admission quota approved for any medical school in Nigeria at the time), and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria’s accreditation of ESUT’s Nursing Sciences programme. Beyond government, his private-sector and philanthropic work includes founding Cecy Health Consult and the Cecilia Oyebola Foundation, which recently supported healthcare interventions including the renovation and re-equipping of the neonatal ward at ESUTH Teaching Hospital, Parklane.

Dr. Akinbayo Olasoji, Commander of the Enugu State Forest Guard, combines advanced academic training with decades of high-level security experience, having retired from the Nigeria Police Force as a Deputy Commissioner of Police just before his appointment, after serving in senior operational positions, including the strategic DCP Operations at the Enugu State Police Command. He holds a PhD and has brought his policing and intelligence experience to the professionalisation of the Forest Guard, strengthening its operational structure, inter-agency collaboration and community-based security strategy. Under his command, the Forest Guard has participated in significant security operations, including the rescue of kidnapped victims from forest hideouts, demonstrating that the organisation is evolving into a serious component of the state’s security architecture.

Captain Tolu Ita, the CEO and Accountable Manager of Enugu Air, is a highly experienced aviation professional whose credentials combine technical expertise, executive leadership and international exposure. She was trained and licensed as a pilot in Nigeria and the United States and has nearly 20 years of professional experience in aviation and business, including a distinguished career at Aero Contractors, where she rose to become Dash-8 Fleet Manager. She has also held other senior executive positions, serving in aviation policy and regulatory advisory roles involving ICAO and AFCAC, and undertaken executive training at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. As CEO of Enugu Air, she has already overseen a major achievement in securing the airline’s Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in just five months and three weeks, compared with the typical 15–24-month process, with the NCAA commending the airline for meeting the required safety and operational standards.

Taken together, these appointments represent less than three per cent of Governor Mbah’s top-level appointments over the past three years, a statistically insignificant fraction of the administration’s overall appointments, yet each demonstrates its willingness to deploy people with proven professional competence and relevant experience to demanding portfolios.

If then a governor appoints a person from another ethnic group because that person has the required qualification and experience, what exactly is wrong with that? It is called meritocracy, not ethnic bigotry. And Peter Mbah has a particularly compelling personal reason for believing in that philosophy. Mbah is not a man whose worldview was formed within the narrow boundaries of his ancestral community. His business career is a practical demonstration of the benefits of a cosmopolitan Nigeria.

He built Pinnacle Oil and Gas from scratch into a leading energy business in Lagos. The company’s Lekki terminal, inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2022, was described by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission as a $1 billion investment and as a strategic national asset. The project was developed as a massive petroleum storage and distribution infrastructure occupying a large expanse of land within the Lekki Free Zone.

Think about it for a moment. An Igbo businessman from Enugu went to Lagos and built a massive oil and gas infrastructure project in Yoruba land. It could not have happened without the accommodating disposition of the Yoruba owners and host communities, Lagos authorities, regulators, financial institutions, and the many Nigerians who worked with him.

The success of Pinnacle is therefore not merely a business story. It is also a powerful demonstration of what is possible when Nigerians are allowed to live, work, invest and build outside the narrow confines of their ethnic homelands. That is the Nigeria Peter Mbah knows. And that is the Nigeria an ambitious Enugu must build. Imagine if Lagos had adopted the parochial logic of Ugwuagbo’s write-up. Someone could have said: Why should an Igbo man be allowed to build a massive petroleum terminal here when there are Lagosians who can do it? Why should an Igbo businessman be entrusted with such a strategic investment? Fortunately, Lagos did not think that way. It judged the investment on its economic value, the company’s capacity, regulatory compliance, financing and the potential benefit to the state and the country. That is precisely how Enugu should work.

And many Igbo have been beneficiaries of the cosmopolitan attitude that Ugwuagbo now seems to regard as anathema when applied in Enugu. Let’s consider Ben Akabueze, an Igbo man who served as Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget from January 2007 to May 2015, first appointed by Governor Bola Tinubu and subsequently reappointed for two terms by Governor Babatunde Fashola. This was not a mere decorative position. Economic Planning and Budget is among the most strategically important portfolios in any state government. Were there no competent Yoruba economists and accountants in Lagos? There is also Joe Igbokwe, an Igbo from Anambra who became a prominent political figure in Lagos and rose through the ranks of the Lagos political establishment before being appointed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2019 as Special Adviser on Drainage and Water Resources.

Unbeknown to Ugwuagbo and his nativistic fellow travellers, people of South East origin have occupied, and continue to occupy, substantial professional and career positions in Lagos State’s public service, including within the directorate cadre and the education system. A friend from Enugu State who lives in Lagos once told me about his wife’s experience at an interview for recruitment into the Lagos State Local Government Service. He expressed his utter surprise that her ethnic origin was never raised or even discussed throughout the process. She is now serving in the directorate cadre of the Lagos State public service. In the state’s education system, a significant number of people of South-East origin also serve as secondary school principals. Lagos has also repeatedly elected state and federal lawmakers of Igbo extraction since the return to democracy in 1999.

The examples go beyond Lagos. In Ekiti State, Governor Biodun Oyebanji appointed four Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants of Igbo origin to serve in his administration. In Kaduna, Governor Uba Sani appointed Igbo professionals to senior advisory positions. In Osun, Governor Ademola Adeleke appointed Prof. Chinwe Obuaku-Igwe, an Igbo and United Nations-certified climate-change expert, as the Director-General and Special Envoy to the Governor on Climate Change and Renewable Energy, placing her directly under the governor with responsibility for high-level partnerships, climate action and renewable-energy initiatives. This is precisely the sort of thing that should be happening in every Nigerian state.

Take aviation, which is obviously of new interest to Ugwuagbo. When the Ekiti State Government commissioned the Ekiti Airport in Ado-Ekiti, it entered into a partnership with United Nigeria Airlines, owned by an Igbo businessman, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, to operate commercial flights linking Ado-Ekiti with Lagos and Abuja. A Yoruba state built an airport and its first commercial airline operator was an airline owned by an Igbo businessman. Did anybody in Ekiti scream “Igbonisation”?

The double standard in Ugwuagbo’s argument is as embarrassing as it is insulting to sensibilities. If an Igbo professional is appointed in Lagos, we celebrate it as evidence that Lagos is open and cosmopolitan. If an Igbo-owned company wins a major commercial opportunity in another state, we call it enterprise and success. When an Igbo professional is appointed to the highest echelons of an institution or elected to a sensitive public position in the United States, Canada or Europe, we celebrate it as proof that merit can transcend racial and national boundaries.

But if a Yoruba professional is appointed in Enugu, suddenly the same principle becomes “Yorubanisation”.

The contradiction becomes even more glaring when we consider the Igbo experience as sojourners. The Igbo are among Nigeria’s most geographically dispersed and commercially mobile populations. Our people live, work and invest in virtually every part of the country and around the world. Igbo-owned businesses operate outside the South-East on an enormous scale.

It is therefore difficult to understand why an ethnic group whose economic success has depended so heavily on moving beyond its ancestral homeland would suddenly become threatened by other Nigerians moving into Enugu. Why should the most travelled major ethnic group in Nigeria become xenophobic about who works in Enugu?

There is an even more disturbing dimension to this campaign of ethnic suspicion and antagonism. At a time when Nigerians, including many Igbo, are once again facing the ugly consequences of xenophobic hostility in South Africa, it should concern every responsible Nigerian that anyone would deliberately promote a similar sentiment against fellow Nigerians at home. We know how deeply unsettling such developments are to us, particularly because Igbo constitute a significant part of Nigeria’s commercial and professional community in South Africa. So we should be extremely careful about normalising the same mentality amongst ourselves. If we condemn South Africans for saying Nigerians do not belong in South Africa, we should be extremely careful about saying Yoruba people do not belong in Enugu.

For context, I want to say something directly to Ugwuagbo Emmanuel Chizoba, a local champion of ethnic and primordial bigotry and sectional hatred, and to those who encourage and amplify his xenophobic rhetoric. I welcome the opportunity to work alongside Yoruba colleagues in government. I have never regarded ethnicity as a barrier to competence, friendship or professional excellence. I am a proud product of the University of Lagos, where I was not only a merit-based Unilag Scholar, but also graduated top of my class, winning the Professor Gabriel Olusanya Prize for the Best Graduating Student in History. I studied in a faculty whose teaching staff was predominantly Yoruba. Yet throughout my years at Unilag, I never suffered discrimination from my Yoruba lecturers because I was Igbo. On the contrary, they taught me, challenged me, encouraged me and helped me become who I am today. I also earned a master’s degree from the same institution.

Without mincing words, if, as has been widely alleged in political circles, this campaign of ethnic profiling is connected to interests aligned with the 2027 governorship ambitions of Chief Uche Nnaji, a factional PDP gubernatorial aspirant currently facing multiple criminal charges, and Ugwuagbo is merely serving as one of their political minions and a hack writer, then every lover of inter-ethnic harmony should be deeply concerned. Whatever the political disagreements in Enugu State, no ambition is worth poisoning inter-ethnic relations or encouraging citizens to view fellow Nigerians through the dangerous prism of ethnicity. It is particularly troubling that anyone whose public and political journey benefited from the openness, accommodation and inclusiveness that have long characterised Yoruba society would now be associated with rhetoric capable of breeding suspicion against the very people who exemplified those values. Nnaji was appointed a minister by a president of Yoruba descent, yet it raised no dust. Politics must never descend into ethnic baiting and scapegoating.

History offers painful warnings. Rwanda did not descend into genocide overnight. It began with persistent ethnic labelling, stereotyping and the gradual dehumanisation of fellow citizens until political competition became an ethnic confrontation. Every responsible political actor must therefore reject language that profiles entire people or seeks to make ethnicity itself a ground for public suspicion. Nigeria has paid too high a price for division to permit such dangerous narratives to gain legitimacy in our democratic discourse. No one should ever seek to incite another civil war by exploiting ethnic sentiments merely to advance selfish political interests.

Yet, there is another inconvenient fact the writer seems not to have noticed. Enugu has never been defined by intolerance toward people of other ethnicities. From its emergence as a major administrative, commercial and industrial centre, the city has attracted workers, traders and professionals from different parts of Nigeria and beyond, giving it a distinctly cosmopolitan character. Its history is deeply intertwined with migration, commerce and national integration. As Governor Mbah would say, many of the non-indigenes living in the city for more than 100 years have the placentas of their forefathers buried here in Enugu.

We are talking about Enugu, the land of Mallam Umaru Altine, a Fulani cattle dealer from Sokoto who, having migrated to Enugu and embraced its cosmopolitan political life, became the city’s first elected Mayor in 1952. His emergence, strongly supported by Nnamdi Azikiwe and the NCNC, was a remarkable demonstration of the openness of Enugu’s political culture. A man from faraway Sokoto was accepted and elected to lead the municipal government of the capital of the predominantly Igbo Eastern Region. Altine went on to win re-election in 1956. Enugu has streets and landmarks carrying the names of prominent non-Igbo Nigerians. There are major streets named after Adegoke Adelabu and Obafemi Awolowo, among others. This is part of the history of a Nigerian city that has always been bigger than its ethnic or village boundaries.

Ugwuagbo is perfectly entitled to oppose Governor Peter Mbah or to continue wailing in frustration and despair as his administration exceeds expectations and becomes harder and harder to challenge ahead of the next governorship election. However, the governor’s responsibility is to continue delivering results for the people of Enugu State.

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