Christ Marvel

In 2005, the Olusegun Obasanjo administration alleged that the Ibrahim Babangida regime had spent part of Nigeria’s accumulated $36 billion foreign debt on importing sardines for the military.

Mansur Mukhtar, then Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), said some of the same loans were used to buy hospital equipment that never arrived in Nigeria.

"But we had all the legal documents that had been signed, and sometimes our own people, commissioners at state level, signing a notarised note (notary public) that they have duly accepted those things."

Mukhtar also recalled that the Paris Club had been reluctant to grant Nigeria debt relief because of the affluent lifestyle displayed by Nigerian officials who negotiated debt rescheduling in Paris in 1986. They stayed in the most expensive hotel, kept creditors waiting for nearly an hour and arrived in "five to six limousines."

The episode prompted Mukhtar to ask, "The loan that we took, what did we do with the money? Did it produce any positive result?"

Age may have taken a toll, but the face remains. But, he says his age cannot hinder his ability to make Nigeria great as the president in 2027.

Do you think he can make it?

Happy Independence Day
Nigeria

This was the moment in 1999 when Senator Bola Tinubu was adopted as the governorship candidate supported by the Justice Forum in Lagos.

This was a remarkable moment in the Lagos political history as the late Oba Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat, father of Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, played a significant role in the adoption of Senator Tinubu as the governorship candidate of the Justice Forum in 1999.

Today, Oba Hamzat's son, Obafemi, is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the 2027 election after being the Deputy Governor of Lagos for eight years proving that our children can be the ultimate beneficiaries of the good that we do.

TRAJECTIC DAY IN NIGERIA'S HISTORY

Exactly 20 years ago Nigeria lost 13 senior military officers in a plane crash. It happened on September 17, 2006.

On that day, a Nigerian Air Force Dornier 228-212 aircraft carrying senior military officers from Abuja to Obudu, Cross River State, crashed in the mountainous area of Vandeikya, Benue State.

The officers were travelling to the Obudu Cattle Ranch for a military retreat/meeting connected with the transformation of the Nigerian Army.

The aircraft had 18 people on board — 15 passengers and three crew members. During its descent in poor weather and low visibility, it struck hilly terrain about 29 kilometres from Obudu.

13 people were killed, while five survived with injuries. The accident investigation record describes it as a case of controlled flight into terrain, with the aircraft descending prematurely below the prescribed minimum altitude.

THE MILITARY OFFICERS WHO DIED

A 2016 memorial report published the following 13 names:

Major-General J.O. Adesunloye
Major-General S.O. Otubu
Major-General Agboola
Major-General S.M. Lemu
Major-General Nuhu Bamali
Major-General P.M. Haruna
Major-General J.T.U. Amedu
Major-General Bitrus Duniya
Brigadier-General T. J. Braimah
Brigadier-General M.B. Bawa
Wing Commander S.S. Balogun
Wing Commander E.O. Adekunle
Lieutenant-Colonel N.A. Mohammed

The crash site was difficult to reach because of the rugged terrain.

A NATIONAL TRAGEDY
The loss was particularly devastating because the aircraft was carrying a large number of senior officers at the same time.

Contemporary reports said eight Major-Generals, two Brigadier-Generals, a Lieutenant-Colonel and the pilot were among those killed. President Olusegun Obasanjo later ordered three days of national mourning and directed that flags be flown at half-mast.

TEN YEARS LATER

In September 2016, widows of the deceased officers gathered at the Command Officers Mess in Asokoro, Abuja, for an inter-faith memorial service marking the 10th anniversary of the tragedy.

The families spoke about the enormous difficulties they had faced after losing their husbands and fathers.

FG SUSPENDS 20 NSCDC OFFICERS OVER 37 DEATHS IN CUSTODY

The Federal Government has constituted a 10-member independent panel to investigate the reported deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in NSCDC custody in Niger State.

The government has also suspended 20 NSCDC officers, pending the outcome of the investigation. The Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, had earlier been suspended.

The 20 suspended officers are:

1. SC Usman Isah Ndamaka
2. ASCI Hassan Mohammed
3. CCA Bala Mohammed
4. CSC Oluwadare Sunday
5. DCC Obafemi Elvis
6. CSC Annas Sh*tto Lamino
7. DCC Philip Ajayi
8. ACC Barr. Stephen Tsado
9. ASCI Alhassan Mohammed
10. IC Abdullahi Sale
11. IC Mohammed Sonfada
12. CAI Liman Abubakar
13. CAI Bala Usman
14. IC Mohammed Jiya
15. DSC Isah Suleiman
16. CAI Ahmed Wushishi
17. IC Sale Adamu
18. IC Haruna Mohammed
19. ASCI Aliyu Sallah
20. CAI Isah Sanusi

The panel has two weeks to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths, determine responsibility and recommend appropriate action.

Hannah Awolowo, wife of Chief Obafemi Awolowo helping the “baby of the family” Tokunbo, to remove her jumper in the early 1950s.

Hannah Idowu Dideolu Adelana married Awolowo December 26, 1937.

Stories of Nigerians dying in detention didn't' start now. In 1994, P.M. NEWS reported that 90 inmates at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos died from malnutrition and starvation in just six months.

According to Archivi, the newspaper reported, "This figure probably makes the mortality rate of prisoners in Kirikiri the highest all over the world. The report alleged that the inmates were not well-fed. Prison officials were said to collude with food contractors to deprive inmates of their meagre ration.

"In May alone, 36 emaciated bodies of prisoners were taken out of Kirikiri Prison for burial. Sometimes, the deaths are left among the living for two to three days before they are disposed of," the report said.

What Adams Oshiomole's Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) told President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003.

Has anything changed between labour and the government 13 years after?