It did not come to me as a shock. You shouldn’t expect less when you speak the uncomfortable truth to a corruption ridden government, to a government that does not govern, to a government that only exists in name. I always ask myself if those elected to govern Nigeria are the ones actually ruling us or the gun-wielding-teen-bandits. This mess is unprecedented.

What did Sheikh Khalid say to deserve suspension? Is he not doing his work as a cleric? If the truth cannot be said through the pulpit in the mosque, where else should it be said? If the Ulama cannot speak the truth to power in Nigeria, is it Naira Marley or Portable Zazu Zeh or Musa Akila (Gatan Arewa) that would speak it? If the singer of Nigeria Jagajaga, Idriss Abdulkareem, is neither afraid of the power that be nor fear speaking the truth to it, is it Sheikh Khalid that should be afraid?

Sheikh Khalid was suspended because of his constructive criticism. Is that even a criticism? Is drawing attention of a government to what it should do but serially fails to do or what it ought not do but persistently does a criticism? If we call it criticism, how has that run contrary to democracy or Nigerian Constitution? Which law of the land has he disobeyed?

Being an Islamic cleric, preacher, and Khatib (sermoniser), how has his preaching gone against Islam? Though I don’t know any member of the mosque committee that suspended Sheikh Khalid, but one will ordinarily think they are Femi Adesina, Femi Fani Kayode, and Lai Mohammad.

I cannot just understand! I listen to the Skeikh’s sermon, he did not curse the President or his family. He did not curse Nigeria, of course, he himself a Nigerian. He only talked about the relationship between Ramadan and supplication at a time when Nigeria is facing a serious challenge where nothing works well. I made a similar call to this in my article titled “Ramadan, Societal Challenges And Message to Nigerian Leaders.” Thanks to Maxilensnews Editor for editing the title, it was published in other media as “Ramadan Fasting In A Country Where Hunger and Insecurity Are The Norms.”

The Imam talked about our roads which can be better described as death trap if not death itself. He said people are dying. Let me quote him, “everything is not working well, people are dying, our roads are not secured, most of the part of the country is not secured and the Government is always telling us what we don’t understand that they are doing their best and we deserve more than that their best.”

Like the Sheikh, I don’t understand what the Government is saying too; and I doubt anyone with a scintilla of sanity understands. I am actually always confused whenever the Government talks or reacts; not because of my ignorance, but because it is natural to get confused when words of those who claim to be the embodiment of integrity are not matched with actions.

The Sheikh continued, “And what you are now telling us that your concern is all about 2023 election; and what I am advising the citizens to do is to send a message that, yes, we are going to vote in 2023 but under condition that there most be security in Nigeria prior to that. We are not going to vote anything. If that is the only language you understand, we gonna speak it because our lives are important. We are people; we want to live.”

That the above words are inciting can only be understood by those who continue to applaud the ceaseless killings of innocent citizens under the surveillance (or if you like supervision) of this government. The Sheikh’s words are worth committing to memory. They deserve to be made global template to address any shamelessly horrible government anywhere in the world.

Sheikh Nura Khalid has worn the hearts of Nigerian masses—both Christians and Muslims—but also earned the wrath of government’s apologists and lackeys. May Allah be pleased with the Sheikh and continue to guide him. He proves not to be hypocrite. We know him during Jonathan’s administration as an imam who does not mince any words. He remains who he is despite the fact that his brother (a Muslim) is now the president.

Isa Pantami rained thunderous curse on former President, Jonathan, as if the latter was an outcast on the pulpit in the mosque. Why should we now keep mum when a Muslim and a northerner is on the saddle with the ugliest performance? Where were those fatwas against criticising government when it was Jonathan under PDP? Is this double standard not too glaringly disgraceful?

Why has the Cyber Security Fraudfessor and Minister of Communications and Digital Economy whose blind followers claim to be more knowledgeable than any Nigerian and can also teach many professors unable to track kid bandits who serially demand ransom through phone calls after linking our mobile numbers to National Identification Number?

Anyone who claims to understand this government seems to be speaking in tongue. A secured Nigeria where life is worth living is what concerns Sheikh Khalid—the reason why he was suspended. I told one of my Sheikhs in Ilorin last week that to be relevant in this government, you have to show your credentials of how horribly corrupt you are—in most cases. That is the reason why many top ranking members of this present government are former PDP stalwarts who were battling with high-ranking corruption cases. But now in APC, their sins are forgiven! The corruption files are closed!

Even Pantami who was not a PDP member, and perhaps with no corruption case, had to soil himself in one of the most hideous academic fraud ever in Nigeria’s history. Thus, his greatest achievement in government seems to be his cyber security professorial fakery.

Sheikh Khalid’s suspension will only popularise him for good and demean the committee that suspended him.

Salaudeen can be reached via salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com

As statistically gathered, the number of unemployed Nigerians in the fourth quarter of 2020 rose to 23.19 million as a result of job losses elicited by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and its stifling impact on businesses during the period. Since then, the damning figure has been spiraling, particularly as more youths have been graduating from various universities approved by the National University Commission (NUC). At the moment Nigeria has 49 federal universities, 57 state universities, 99 private universities and 12 distance learning universities.

In fact, unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. Against the foregoing backdrop, it would not be wrong to say that Nigeria is facing severe unemployment situation.  Nigeria unemployment rate for 2020 was 9.01%, which was 0.48% increase from 2019, and the unemployment rate for 2019 was 8.53%, which was a 0.08% increase from 2018. In a similar vein, Nigeria unemployment rate for 2018 was 8.45%, which was 0.06% increase from 2017, and the rate for 2017 was 8.39%, which was 1.33% increase from 2016.

Evenly analyzed, it is very obvious that unemployment situation in Nigeria is by each passing year been prevalent so much that the youths are the most badly hit on Nigeria’s demographic landscape.

Considering this alarming rate of unemployment, Nigerian government; both at the states and federal levels have put forth a number of initiatives to provide their youth with opportunities to find gainful work, but there is still more to be done. At a time of considerable economic decline, youth entrepreneurship and careful monitoring of programs are promising solutions because these measures provide young people with the means to be self-employed and to remain so for an extended period of time.

Without resorting to fake news, the population of unemployed youth in Nigeria is by each day soaring to unbelievable level, and in the same vein fueling the perpetration of crime, which has in turn become a major obstacle to economic growth.  Without doubt, the spiraling rate of crime these days is unarguably imposing several economic costs such as public spending on security and the criminal justice system, as well as private spending on security.

In as much as one would applaud governments’ efforts toward addressing the lingering issue of unemployment, it is germane to say that it would be unwise to ignore the fact in this context that governments have been demonstrating Albert Einstein’s popular saying which says, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. How else can one describe the attitude of the governments when graduates are literarily loaded with theoretical knowledge that only prepares them for paperwork in the office with practical skills? To my view, unemployment can only be ameliorated if graduates are imbued with practical skills that would make them become entrepreneurs; few years after graduation. There is no denying the fact that having most of them become entrepreneurs will sure have a multiplier effect in the labor market as there would be enormous job opportunities for relatively equal number of jobless youths that are not called to become entrepreneurs.

While making this suggestion, it is also expedient for me to say that there are countless reasons why people decide at a certain moment in their lives to start their own business. Some see a good business opportunity, others feel challenged by several issues. They may have an education and set of skills but cannot find employment. The lack of jobs among young people has consequences on their health, wellbeing, and future. Hence, one of the ways to get young people into the labor market is through youth entrepreneurship. Not only does it provide employment prospects to inexperienced youth, but it has an impact on economic growth through new jobs, increased competition, and innovation.

Young people, and not only them, who set up a new business are seen as role models from their peers. Although most successful entrepreneurs can be young adults or older, there is always the chance for young entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into successful businesses. If this happens in a vulnerable or disadvantaged community, the impact can be huge compared to helping the economic and social development in those communities. The social impact is one of the main reasons why entrepreneurship is attractive to young people. Many success stories have established a link between youth and success, especially concerning entrepreneurship. They can be more innovative and disruptive, they have more time, energy, and dynamism, they are ready to take risks while not having a lot to risk, and they tend to have fewer family or financial responsibilities.

While tasking the government to promote entrepreneurial skills, which unarguably are skills for life, it is pragmatic to say that one of the biggest advantages of getting started with entrepreneurship at a young age is the opportunity to learn important skills such as teamwork, networking, problem-solving, critical thinking, innovation, self-discipline among other steps that need to be taken. All these skills can help in school performance and later in life.

To me, if there is anything which the government’s plan doing for the youths that they will never forget, it is that of imbuing them with skills, and empowering them after graduation to become entrepreneurs. No doubt, becoming entrepreneurs will exclude them from the rowdy labor market as they will inevitably become employers rather than employees.

In the situation of a global crisis when many have lost their jobs, the risk of getting excluded from the labor market becomes higher among youth and especially women. The COVID-19 crisis impacted youth in different ways such as income loss, disruption to on-job training and learning, increased difficulties for employment, and even poor quality of employment.

On the other hand, when young entrepreneurs start a business, they also create decent jobs not only for their peers but for people of different ages in need of an occupation.

In fact, entrepreneurship is a real tool for a more secure future. Without doubt, Young people who can be students or fresh graduates consider entrepreneurship as a way to take control of their future. At the same time, they create solutions while boosting local communities and creating social and economic change, and accelerating sustainable growth.

In fact, the governments, from local governments, through the State governments to federal governments should try as much as possible to initiate policies and programmes that would discourage youth unemployment and encourage entrepreneurship in Nigeria

Prior to the July 11, 2007 coordinated bombing of commuter trains in India’s largest city of Mumbai, Indians, like Nigerians, were wrapped in the shawls of their innocence and naivety. On that day, terrorists violently yanked off the terror purity shawls off India’s face. In a matter of minutes, multiple explosive devices were detonated in a near-simultaneity. The devices instantly killed at least 183 people, with hundreds of others sustaining varying degrees of injuries. In a replay of this Mumbai attack in Nigeria last week, at least seven passengers were killed after gunmen attacked a busy train plying Nigeria’s capital, Abuja and Kaduna. The terrorists were reported to have mined the track, ostensibly with IED explosives and subsequently forced the 840-capacity passenger train, with 362 validated passengers, to a halt. They then made a ring round the train’s coaches, opened fire on the defenceless passengers and abducted an unknown number of them from the train.

As worthwhile as a means of transportation as they are, train services in Africa came with resistance and revolt. While some African rulers like Emperor Menelik of Ethiopia and Abbas I of Egypt favoured its establishment, so many others disapproved of it, basing their resentment on the landscape of power and trade that it would tilt in favour of the colonialists. A major opposition to it was mounted by the Damal of Cayor, Late Dior Diop of Senegal. While voicing his rejection to French Governor Servatius, he had said: “As long as I live, be assured, I shall oppose, with all my might, the construction of this railway.” This notwithstanding, Africa’s network of railways got started in 1852, in Alexandria, Egypt.

The eyes of terrorists first opened to the mass murder weapon that trains constitute when, on September 13, 1931, a bomber, Szilveszter Matuska, derailed the Vienna Express train by planting a bomb that killed 22 and wounded 120 others. Since then, terrorists have targeted train services’ full infrastructure like ticket halls, railway bridges, trains, passenger stations, train depots, signaling and tracks. Indeed, urban commuter rail network and subways, otherwise known as mass rapid transit rail systems, have been the soft target of the majority of terrorist attacks. These have led to approximately 1,000 being killed, with over 5,000 injuries, as well as economic losses in billions of dollars. In the March 11, 2004 Madrid bombings held to be one of the most sophisticated terrorist attacks on a rail target and which killed 191 people, for instance, there was a simultaneous detonation of 10 devices comprising Goma-2 Eco plastic explosive detonated by a mobile phone.

Like a water-dripping sore that naturally attracts a horde of flies, commuter trains have never been the same again after the 1931 Matuska attack. They have since been a special delicacy with which terrorists enjoy sumptuous a la carte meals of their victims’ flowing blood and mangled flesh. This is because train attacks come with high fatality, mass disruption, huge national alarm, paralysis of transport network and the national physiological and psychological trauma that go with it.

This is not to talk of the economic loss and long-term dislocation the people face in its aftermath.

The attacks are coordinated by terrorist groups with various attack methods. The list is endless, ranging from Al-Qaeda and its ancillary groups, Algerian and Chechen militants, Kashmiri separatists, South America’s left wing guerrillas and Irish republican terrorists. London Underground and British Railways were said to have attracted more than 6,500 bomb threats between 1991 and 1997. On August 23, 1973, for instance, the Provisional IRA (PIRA) had targeted mainland UK rail system by defusing a bomb at Central London’s Baker Street Underground station. Terrorists’ major modus operandi, tactical spectrum and operational template contain the detonation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Asked why he caused so much pain to his victims, Matuska had told his interrogators that he derived sexual pleasure from watching trains crash. Since then, the global statistics of train attacks have mounted unconscionably like Nigeria’s national debt. Eight years after, on August 28, 1939, during the Nazi World War 11 German invasion of Poland, a German agent, Antoni Guzy also placed a suitcase bomb at a busy railway station which killed 20 and wounded 35. According to the database of Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, between the period of 1998 and July 2006, at least 74 separate terrorist attacks were unleashed on heavy rail, metro subway systems and light rail systems in the whole world, as well as on trains and other rail infrastructure.

Since that last week’s attack, Nigerians have been wrapped up in the shroud of sadness. Newspaper features focusing on the victims made matters worse, evoking grim and tears in the people. Sijuade Oyetoso, TUC Chairman, said to have been shot in the head inside the train, as well as Dr. Chinelo Megafu, the young medical doctor graduate of the University of Port Harcourt evoke sessions of tears. Just a few days before this attack, heavily armed terrorists had attacked the Kaduna airport, and by the time they finished the operation, a security guard was shot dead. This led to flights cancellations.

Only yesterday, a news report said that no fewer than 1,545 persons had been killed by terrorists in the first quarter of 2022. Quoting a joint report by the Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities and the Joint Action Civil Society Committee, under the aegis of Nigeria Mourns, the report also said that at least 1,321 persons were abducted by these terrorists between January 1 and March 30, 2022, with Nigeria’s North-Western states of Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi and North-Central state of Niger, coming under intense shelling by these cadaver-loving terrorists. While kidnapping for ransom has become commonplace across Nigeria, this selfsame Abuja-Kaduna highway has acquired the notoriety of one of the most dangerous roads in Nigeria. Kidnappers string round it like ants make a ring round the pee of a diabetic, ambushing vehicles at several points on the expressway corridors, killing many and constituting selves to lords of the Manor on the road.

With the above unflattering statistics, it will appear that, by still being shocked by attacks from terrorists, Nigerians, like the proverbial ostrich, are in the first stage of psychological state of denial of the reality that their country is a terror corridor. In the architecture of terrorism, mass commuter rail transport is one of the most vulnerable weapons of terrorists and terrorism attacks. Indeed, global graphs of terror attacks since Matuska’s have shown clearly that Islamist militant groups have a notorious interest in specifically targeting rail transport because of the mass casualties that often come from such attacks. The question to then ask is, were Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, their Commander in Chief, Muhammadu Buhari and the coterie of so-called securocrats who surround the seat of power, so naïve about the pleasure that terrorists derive from attacking trains, so much that they didn’t know of this elementary fact?

Whether out of ignorance, the usual lackadaisical attitude of Nigerian leaders or their oft quest to always put financial interest ahead of the people’s welfare, when the train attack is reduced to its brass-tacks, it will be difficult not to ascribe the deaths of these innocent Nigerians to a deliberate wastage of citizens’ lives that is the familiar penchant of her leaders. The logic is, since it is no longer news that Nigeria has become a notorious terrorism corridor, how does one explain why government had to be picking its tooth while train commuters plied the Abuja-Kaduna notorious route, or any other train route in Nigeria, without adequate security? Apart from the fact that Kaduna State has become one of the most dangerous places to live in Nigeria, it is a known fact that the Abuja-Kaduna highway is one of the most dangerous roads in the country. It is full of a swarm of kidnappers who are known to ambush vehicles at several points on the expressway. Taken altogether, one can then safely say that the blood of these innocent citizens, shed violently midstream, bears government’s vicarious hands.

With the subsequent leakage of a memo said to have been presented by Amaechi to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) but which was rightly rejected, it becomes a necessary conclusion to say that this wastage of the people’s lives in that train attack must have been due to one of three probable reasons, or even all: Sabotage by those hungry to prove a point; government’s deliberately naive trivializing of the destructive powers of terrorists and third, the cruelty of government’s act of placing the cart before the horse. By preferencing the publicity stunts inherent in rushing first to shore up sagging government’s public credential through launching of the train “revolution” in 2006, rather than putting in place a simultaneous installation of security gadgets for the protection and safeguard of people’s lives, the Nigerian government can logically be said to have blood of the people dripping from its hands.

Amaechi was said to have presented the wishy-washy memo to the FEC presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on September 24, 2021. In it, he had requested FEC approval of N3.7bn for contract on surveillance systems along the Abuja-Kaduna rail track. In presenting the proposal, Amaechi, two-term governor of Rivers State and a 7-year minister, had recommended a firm, Mogjan Nigeria Limited, with a very manifest incapability and nil track record of previous handling of such contract, as his preference. The company, incorporated on August 6, 2019, less than three years ago and with a turnover of N84.9m, was Amaechi’s best for the execution of such a humongous job. To worsen matters, this leaked memo was said to have revealed so many more incongruities which, were it to be in a saner clime, Amaechi should have been fired for gross misconduct and laxity. Upon the attack, however, while fielding questions from journalists, Amaechi had claimed that he predicted the imminence of the attack and, ostensibly gloatingly, condemned the rejection of his memo presented before the FEC.

A few questions arise from this macabre atilogwu dance that Amaechi and the federal government are making on the graves of Nigerian dead. The rail services “revolution” was commissioned in July, 2016 by President Buhari and this selfsame Abuja-Kaduna train was the anchor. Speaking at the train’s main station at Idu, Abuja, Buhari promised that government would link all states and commercial centres of Nigeria with the rail lines. He later took a ceremonial train ride from Idu to Kubwa. This was at a time when terrorists’ bayonets were penetrating the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

If Minister Amaechi was then presenting a memo for the procurement of security gadgets on that corridor in 2021, five years after the train services commissioning, it will mean one of three things: that Amaechi was totally naïve about the destructive powers of terrorists; that he was unapologetically simplistic about it or was grossly unmindful of the need to provide an ancillary security of the rail systems to go simultaneously with its commissioning. Or could it be that he just didn’t care? By presenting such an embarrassingly empty doggerel as memo to the highest decision-making body in Nigeria, it seems to point to the fact that such regime of laxity, rigourlessness and, I dare say, fakery must have marked previous presentations to FEC which their sponsors got away with and which strengthened him to present a similarly vacuous memo. The memo may just be pointing at a pedigree of maggot infestations in procurements and contracts at the highest level of governance in Nigeria.

It will appear that Nigerian government and its so-called securocrats are only excellent when it comes to filching budgets of security. For a Nigerian military that went to field operations across the world, garnering laurels and badges of honour for its performance, the only explanation for this feigning of counter-insurgency inability by the Nigerian military must be the gross national larceny sense that has infiltrated the high command of the Nigerian security. Like Eddy Iroh said in his Toads of War, Nigerian military generals have grown rotund bellies and cheeks, like toads, out of this terrorism calamity in Nigeria. It is why there is mutual suspicion, jealousies and efforts at cross-purposes across the forces.

Otherwise, in the rest of the world where terrorist attacks occurred, military Generals, working with the entire national security architecture, took time to study the psychology of the attacks, with a view to countering them. Russia, Germany, Pakistan, Angola, South Korea, Colombia, Japan, UK, France, Spain, Italy, India, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Venezuela, among others, have witnessed worse form of terror on their railway networks than Nigeria did. Immediately after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on September 11 2001, the New York subway became a recipient of its disruption as almost a quarter of a mile of its tunnel got filled with debris from the bombed twin towers, in addition to structural damage to three stations. After these attacks, counter-insurgency experts went into spirited works to prevent further attacks. One, they found out that, aside the mass murder that trains pose to terrorists, the long-term economic loss, as well as massive scare on collective national and corporate psyche, are the garlands that terrorists are obsessed with, which make train attacks their most desirable option. The 2004 Madrid rail bombings, as well as the 2005 attacks on London’s transport network are good examples here.

In Nigeria, however, knowing the ancient predilection of our leaders for being lax and greedy, train attacks like the one of last week are likely to intensify. Terrorists are far more committed to their craft than those paid to keep watch on the people. Security experts know that bombers don’t just strike without doing a reconnaissance and survey of targets. In the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, some of the terrorists were said to have been on board. Did our security know this?

With the soft target that bombing and attacking trains pose in terrorism corridors worldwide, chief of which Nigeria is, it will be gross criminal laxity or inexplicable compromise for the Buhari government not to have anticipated the Abuja-Kaduna train attack. By even seeking to install those security equipment in 2021, it showed that Amaechi had an awareness of the threat terrorists posed. So what has happened between then and now? Did he fold his arms? Those who claim that there is a dalliance between top government officials and terrorists may have had a corroboration material in this train attack. It reminds me of Willo Davis Roberts’ Blood on His Hands, the story of16-year-old Marc and his bloody travails and confrontations. One thing that is not in doubt is that, the blood of the murdered is crying for vengeance from the Buhari government.

Adedayo is an Ibadan-based journalist.

As a girlchild growing up, I was most fortunate to have a father who invested his time, money, energy, and his very soul into raising his children. He made sure my growing brain and formative mind understood how much time God, the creator spent making me – fearfully and wonderfully with no other duplicate made. My father taught me that as the original prototype made in the image and likeness of God and given His free-will too, it means I can call things into being and create things as well. To perfect this act, I must just like God, value every creation and understand my place in the grand scheme of things. I must be ready to work and walk with others, to grow others. He also warned me, that there will be those who will come to tempt me, in my journey of life, despite my determination to walk the path, doing my work of self-actualisation and maintaining my avowed poise to tow humility without losing my Deoxyribonucleic (DNA) make up of self-esteem. He made it clear to me that, if possible, I am to be at peace with all men and women. The operative phrase here is “if possible”. Reason being, that sometimes when you do not wish to step on toes, some persons will ensure they bring their full leg(s) right onto your path, even add their bodies and heads sometimes. Daddy warned me that what you do in these extreme cases when they arrive, is to first get a ladder to climb over, try going around or outrightly, stepping on the presented anatomic obstruction.

Growing up in Nigeria at the time, I was quick to identify individuals across the world, whose lifestyle fitted in some ways (not all of course) into the bulk of what I have explained in the first paragraph. The lessons that my father infused into my psyche. I developed a discerning mind, to pick out those who matched against the childhood list given to and embedded into my mind by my father. Seventy percent is the pass score, that I deem the threshold to make them worthy of becoming my mentor. I pick what I perceive as that which floats my boat from them and leave what I perceive as not my cup of tea about them for them. Make no doubt, the stakes are high for you to make my mentor list; be thou far or near, virtual, or physical. Scoring this seventy percent from my assessment has not been and is “not beans” at all as Nigerians would say.

In Professor Grace Alele-Williams, I found the seventy percent and more. She was a daughter of her Sobe father from Edo State and her Itsekiri mother from Delta State meaning she emitted the full dogged spirit of Midwestern Nigeria and later Bendel. In her, I found a lot of my lessons at the foot of my father vividly come alive. Firstly, I respected the subject she commanded – because even though I studied Further Mathematics in secondary school, my brain often wondered who would be brave enough to tackle Mathematics head-on. She mastered this subject many, including myself consider a monster of the natural sciences to the extent that she obtained her Doctorate in Mathematics Education from the University of Chicago in 1963, while I was yet unborn, “floating in the streets of the heavenly places serving tea and biscuits”.  The regal poise with which this unique creation of God carried herself even till the final days in this earthly realm was another thing that made me sure that she must have found my father’s lesson notes even before me. Having found those lesson notes, she imbibed the fact that on the day she was made, God and the Angels did not make another person – her cathedral size deposit of self-esteem should not be confused for baseless pride but rather, should be emulated by every a girlchild.

When in 1985, Professor Grace Alele Williams became the first female Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and by extension, first female Vice-Chancellor in an African University, there was no social media. This feat, which in her usual way, she made to look effortless would have set social media ablaze if it happened today. She was the one who made me realise that there was such a post as Vice-Chancellor. I never quite understood the import of the position of Vice-Chancellor before she came on the scene. She brought not only her glamour and her Midas touch but also her dedication and quest for excellence to “VC-ship”. For me, being her neighbour in Federal Government Girls College in Benin, Ugbowo where I was a border was a big blessing. At times when I found the rare opportunity to visit the University of Benin for mass or at mid-term breaks, I used to go to the car park in the Vice-Chancellor’s office (VCO as it is called) to sit and wait for when she arrives at the office in her car or is about to leave in her car, so I could catch a glimpse of this “diva and goddess of academia”. On three such occasions out of over ten times when I went “Professor Grace Alele-Williams gazing”, I saw her. Words cannot describe till this day, the joy I felt, the inspiration infused and the determination I mustered to succeed in life just watching her from a distance. Her regal poise and charming disposition were infectious. People need to remember me and many others like me when they attempt to measure her impact on humanity. The indices of her key performance in the lives of the girlchild and women education as well as men upliftment, will be grossly under-measured if it is done based on her numerous roles: directing the Institute of Education, being a Consultant to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), a board director in Chevron-Texaco and the Institute of International Education Planning, as Vice-president of the World Organisation for Early Childhood Education and as Chairwoman of African Mathematical Union Commission for Women in Mathematics. Her impact on humanity may not even be measurable because it becomes exponential when the many Lorettas of this world, who have stood and who will come to stand (some are not yet born) on the shoulders of this giant and amazon of her time are taken into account.

She earned many labels in her time, as strong intelligent independent female minds are prone to be given. However, one label and name given by the social commentator for good governance Dr Tony Agbons, has resonated with me and it is “VC emeritus and ambidextrous academic polyglot of motherly proportions”. He recounted how in 1992, the students at the University of Benin, were demonstrating due to some ills, laid at the foot of the University management and the Government of the day. They were set to go on a riot or “Aluta” as it is called in Nigerian local parlance. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Grace Alele-Williams arrived and walked right through the angry crowd of students with the confidence only she could muster. She came without the paraphernalia of police or bodyguards and yet melted through the crowd as hot knife would cut through butter. He recounted how the sheer aura of her presence parted the mob like Moses parted the Red Sea. Grace the Professor walked through and then gracefully climbed on the concrete slab the angry mob had converted to their podium. She nicely requested the public address system from the leader of the crowd, who had no option but to hand it over. Then, she took over the makeshift podium, addressing the volatile crowd. He recounts how her speech commenced with her saying “I come before you, to join you and be with all of you, not as a Vice-Chancellor, but as a mother…”. He explained how her words though very firm, were very inspiring and soothing to the raw nerves of the “Aluta” crowd. She then gave them the public address system and asked them to make their requests known. The Professor not only spoke but she also listened, and she took notes. Following which she then decided with the students, the needs she could meet from their list, within a jointly accepted time frame. On that occasion, the students felt heard and very valued that they gave up on their “Aluta” move. Dr Agbons went on to tell me that what will be remembered most by all the students, was that she actualised the agreed action points from the day within the promised time frame.

A retired Professor from UNIBEN, currently in his early eighties whom I spoke to a few days ago, wept like a baby at the passing of this National treasure. He said there were many who said she ruled UNIBEN with an “Iron fist” while she was Vice-Chancellor behind the “Iron mask”. However, in his opinion, the reason many of the mediocre minds labelled her that way was because they could not keep up with her lifestyle of and her administrative flare for excellence. In between tears, he told me how she facilitated scholarships for lecturers, training, and capacity building in other universities abroad.  He reinforced how fiercely loyal she was as a friend and how humane she was at her core, with enormous value for human life. Mama Orode, as he called her, was one of his best critics who never hesitated to tell him whenever he goofed as much as she did not withhold praise any time, he merited it.

On the 25th of March 2022 when I saw the message from the current VC of UNIBEN, Professor Lilian Imuetinyan Salami that this great slay queen and colossus of academia had taken a final bow, I felt an oxymoronic sadness and feeling of joy at the same time. The sadness was the vacuum created by her exit – just knowing she did it, she was there, and I did not see her with two heads or eyes was enough propellant for me all those many years ago when I went “Professor Alele-Williams gazing” and now, she was gone. The joy is that the new world, social media and virtual spaces will again, now chronicle her works and value properly, giving them wings to fly and live in younger minds that hitherto, did not know about her. In all, she lives! Even as the UNIBEN flag billows at half mast, I in my capacity as President of the University of Benin Alumni Association, United Kingdom Branch, join the entire Staff, Students, Associates, Friends, and Alumni of UNIBEN Worldwide, to celebrate this iconic and cerebral slay queen.  I solidarize with the message her daughter Dr Orode Williams-Doherty put out on behalf of the family – “let us not mourn but celebrate an exceptional life, a blessing of a mother and grandmother, dearly beloved daughter of the Most High God, outstanding academician and first class daughter of Nigeria”.

I could not help but juxtapose the life of this Diva, her human capacity building and especially her girlchild mentoring to that of certain other Nigerian women and the example they leave the younger generation. I know many of my readers will be saying I am biased towards this great woman; to that, I will say it is true that one woman’s terrorist is another woman’s freedom fighter and remember in the beginning when I told you about not stepping on toes 101 course from my father and how some people will come in your way with their full anatomy plus his suggested solutions to them?  However, for me, the one thing I will be able to speak directly to, is that it is all about balance and how much tilt of the scale an individual’s life work makes in the direction of adding value to humanity. Professor Grace Alele-Williams spent a lifetime mentoring directly and indirectly, many people, especially women, just like me across borders. She continues this mentoring and empowerment even in death. The question is, who and how are you mentoring? Adieu Professor Emeritus Grace Alele-Williams. Indeed a Grace has moved on to a higher Grace to rest in Elysium.

Dr. Ogboro-Okor is Author of the book, My Father’s Daughter

It is indeed unfortunate that in Nigeria, the phenomenon ‘bad news,’ enjoys an undue recognition. With its roving ubiquitous nature and status, many Nigerians have become despondent and discouraged; throwing in the towel about decrying the decaying and failing state of the nation. In a search for succor, some Nigerians go as far as deliberately giving the media a wide berth to preserve their mental health and live in some temporary and momentary illusion that nothing is/was at stake. Conversely, the multidimensional and multifaceted existential crises that perpetually hounds us in Nigeria, bespeaks a nation in confusion, chaos, anarchy, and disarray.

The evidences to these cataclysmic existential issues are not far-fetched; the awful and gory killings in the north; heightened kidnapping and ritual practices; the razing of communities; and the forceful displacement of people from their homelands and homesteads, inter alia speaks volumes. Undoubtedly, the federal government of Nigeria has gravely failed in the area of security, brimming with the mournful tales and stories of botched attempts to restore national peace and stability, needless to say that revisiting the overarching tension existing between herdsmen and farmers is to twist the knife, considering the myriads of problems that accrete from insecurity.

Recently at this year’s Livestock and Aquaculture Trade Fair, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo noted that Nigeria has lost over $14 billion yearly due to the conflict existing between herders and farmers. Mr. Osinbajo’s 411 on this age-long strife reveal a huge loss that does not bode well for a nation whose population was projected to increase to over 250 million by 2030.

Mr. Osinbajo went on to express that the federal government had put a nip in the bud by formulating the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), to “support and strengthen the development of market-driven ranches in the livestock ecosystem for improved productivity, through breed improvement and pasture production, in addition to efficient land and water productivity improvement;” an initiative fondly welcomed by 22 states who have indicated interest.

At this juncture, it is pertinent to state that this so-called initiative is grossly lopsided and does not in any meager measure address the issue. It therefore, becomes crystal clear that the federal government has a dog in the fight between herders and farmers; it is another cynical propaganda which brazenly showboats a preservation of a political hegemony engendered by ethnic and tribal apron strings.

To resolve this problem, there should be a major overhauling of our national policies to favor both herdsmen and farmers; they are connected and needed to forestall food scarcity in Nigeria. Moving further, the channels through which the arms and ammunitions employed in the herders-famers clashes and their consequent reprisal attacks should be shut-down, and anyone who defaults in this regard should be duly punished and brought to face the law, for “criminals are criminals whether they are our brothers or not.”

Furthermore, the role of education cannot be overstated as it helps to erase the warped ideology that permeates the mind of an average herdsmen, which holds that cattle comes first in all things; even before their fellow Nigerian. If this ideology is changed, then fostering national integration and equality would not be a problem. We must come to terms with the fact that we all need each other, and that no ethnic group or individual is superior to another, nor should anyone or tribal group entertain the thought that certain leadership roles in Nigeria is/are their birthright.

Dear Nigerians, we are already harvesting a huge and colossal loss from the herders-farmers unhealthy clash, we must speak until the federal government wades into this matter proffering substantive solutions to a lurking food insecurity that is conspicuously imminent.

Tobechukwu Johnpaul Nwabuisi, melchi5801@gmail.com