Tuesday Brief: Tinubu’s shameful outing at Chatham House
+ Nigerians cross border to flee flooding
Good morning.
We are focusing on Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s speech at Chatham House, flooding in Borno state and the resumption of the Kaduna-Abuja railway.
Tinubu’s shameful outing at Chatham House
Credit to the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for summoning the gumption to speak at Chatham House in London. It wasn’t his first rodeo at the UK-based think tank. In 2011, he had given a speech about the rebirth of opposition in Nigeria. Four years later, the APC historically ended PDP’s 16-year rule, defeating an incumbent President in the process. But few of his critics may have expected Mr Tinubu to reappear at Chatham House. With his physical and mental health under scrutiny, his campaign has carefully curated his public appearances, leading him to shun independently-organised presidential town hall meetings and debates.
Not this time. Dressed in a blue, tailored garment and a red cap marked by his famous infinity sign, Mr Tinubu took gracefully to the lectern on Monday and delivered his prepared speech about Nigeria’s 2023 elections, security, economic development and foreign policy. It was a decent speech. He vowed, among other things, to protect the credibility of Nigerian elections.
The problems started during the interactive session when Mr Tinubu decided to delegate questions to his ‘team members’.
“Let me once demonstrate here one of those philosophies, one of the doctrines that I believe firmly in is teamship, unbreakable team,” Mr Tinubu said with a swagger, as he nominated spokesman Dele Alake, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade.
Later, Alake would defend his principal, saying the decision to delegate is “one of the innovations” of Mr Tinubu. It is an egregious defence, of course. A leader who cannot defend his own ideas and depends on his ‘teamship’ is a disaster-in-waiting.
When Mr Tinubu did respond to questions, he struggled to convince. While speaking on his plan for young people, he described Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, a 57-year-old man, as “a youth.” He also cast aspersions on INEC’s ability to conduct a credible election in 2023. On the controversy surrounding his age, identity and certificates, Mr Tinubu likened politics to a “muddy water” and that “you have to live with the dirt and make sure you are upright to finish the job.”
On why he has avoided one-to-one conversations with the Nigerian press, Mr Tinubu said he sees himself as a “marketable individual” and would refuse to be used by those who want to “make money.”
Protest: PDP stakeholder Reno Omokri led a demonstration against Tinubu outside the Chatham House premises.
Atiku Abubakar: The PDP took its presidential campaign to Lagos. Its candidate promised to privatise the nation’s refineries and set up a $10 billion fund for young people.
Peter Obi: The Labour Party presidential candidate met with some North-East stakeholders in Abuja and cited youth unemployment as the major cause of insecurity in the region.
Nigerians cross border to flee flooding
Hundreds of Nigerians in Malam-Fatori, Borno state, have been forced to seek refuge in Niger Republic due to flooding.
Malam-Fatori is situated on the shores of the Lake Chad.
The recent floods are said to have been caused by excessive recharge around the lake Chad, causing incalculable damage to the victims.
Lake Chad is one of Africa’s largest lakes and is a vital source of water to about 20 million people across Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
However, over the past few decades, the Lake has been affected by a series of devastating droughts and has shrunk dramatically over the past 40 years.
SERAP: The civil society has sued President Muhammadu Buhari over the failure to probe possible mismanagement of ecological funds amounting to trillions of naira.
FAO: About 25.3 million people will face food insecurity across Nigeria between June and August 2023, according to the UN agency. The most vulnerable are in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Taraba states.
The haunted train rattles back to life
After eight months, the Nigerian Railway Corporation resumed operations at the Kaduna-Abuja railway.
Perhaps not surprisingly, passenger turnout was low.
The government had suspended operations on the route after the March 28 train attack that led to the death and abduction of more than 50 people.
Heavy security was observed at the train station on the first day. The government is also now requiring passengers to register their phone numbers and National Identification Number (NIN) before purchasing tickets.
Comment: Veteran journalist Reuben Abati has criticised the government for increasing fares along the route. “Empathy, security, and efficiency should be more important considerations for the Federal Government, not profit and greed,” he said.
What else is happening?
ASUU: The academic union said it is opposed to the idea of student loans, arguing that it would “price university education beyond the reach of the poor Nigerian students.”
Yakubu Dogara: The ex-Speaker suggested Nyesom Wike was suffering from amnesia after the Rivers State Governor criticised Dogara for supporting Atiku Abubakar’s presidential bid.
Yemi Osinbajo: The Vice President is in Vietnam for a four-day official visit. He is scheduled to meet with the South-East nation’s leaders.
Insecurity: The Air Force confirmed its airstrikes have killed seven terrorist kingpins and several foot soldiers in Kaduna.
Osun state: Funke Egbemode, the ex-information commissioner under Mr Gboyega Oyetola, said “unknown men” were behind the looting of the government house just before Ademola Adeleke took over.
Alleged fraud: The EFCC has launched a manhunt for Abdulsalam Zaura, the APC candidate for Kano central senatorial district.
Ghana: The West African nation has launched a domestic debt exchange as it seeks to restore macroeconomic stability and end an economic crisis that has seen its currency plummet 50% against the dollar in 2022 and forced a benchmark interest rate of 27%.
And that’s it for today. See you tomorrow.