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BREAKING: What Tinubu Doesn’t Want Nigerians To Know About Meeting With ‘The Patriots’ – Moghalu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu admitted before The Patriots that he was overwhelmed by the economic crisis confronting Nigeria, for which he would not delve into constitutional reforms in for now, but doesn’t want Nigerians to know this.
Former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, himself a member of The Patriots, disclosed this in a series of tweets in his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X, on Monday.
To drive his points home, Moghalu openly copied President Tinubu and former Commonwealth Secretary, Chief Emeka Anyaoku in the statements.
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He noted that President Tinubu “asserted that economic reform (and the crisis that it has created in the country) is his priority right now”.
Moghalu wrote, “I respectfully disagree with President @officialABAT’s response to the visit to him by The Patriots, led by former @commonwealthsec Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, during which the group (of which I am a member) pressed for a new Constitution for Nigeria as a matter of urgency, and recommending specific steps to achieve this.
“While PBAT received the eminent elder statesman and his colleagues with the appropriate dignity and protocols (“this is a group I cannot ignore”, Tinubu noted), the President asserted that economic reform (and the crisis that it has created in the country) is his priority right now, but that his government would of course study the recommendations of The Patriots and respond (hopefully with action and not merely words).
“What Nigeria’s leaders fail to understand is that it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to bring a fundamental fix to Nigeria’s economy in the absence of a new constitution that is anchored on real federalism, and preferably anchored on a regional structure of 6-12 regions. The reason is that Nigeria is a country but not yet a nation.
“There is no unity of purpose, no cohering worldview. And this is because the country means different things to different groups. The very essence of Nigeria, what it is in reality (as opposed to the “one indivisible entity” parroted by its leaders for decades) is fundamentally contested.
“As examples of economically successful nations all over the world show, real nationhood is a fundamental requirement for an economic rise based on productivity-driven transformation. I have stressed this in many of my writings, speeches, and other interventions.
“The longer this matter is delayed (presumably because it is a sensitive and politically challenging matter) the more we will continue to struggle. Even more fundamentally, as the eminent diplomat reminded President Tinubu (essentially), Nigeria as a pluralistic country that refuses to turn its plurality into a workable nationhood through an appropriate federal constitution, runs the risk of disintegration in the medium to long term. This is not “alarmism” (for those who have not studied the history of nations). It is a historical fact.
“Anyaoku recalled the success of countries like Canada and other real federations as opposed to the former Yugoslavia, Sudan, and Czechoslovakia. The latter was broken up peacefully and in a mature manner into Czech Republic and Slovakia, two separate nations. The earlier two disintegrated through conflict.
“Nigeria’s economy has remained a natural-resource driven, unproductive, and rent-seeking one for decades because the absence of stable nationhood means that the contention for political power by essentially narrow groups and vested interests is for the purpose of state capture of economic rents, and not anchored on a shared vision of a common future and destination. For as long as this motive is the driving force in Nigerian politics, the economy cannot be transformed.
“There is a reason for the phrase “political economy”, the study of how the political processes and institutions of a state (country) interact with economic ones and the marketplace, and the resulting realities this interaction creates. I urge President Tinubu to take this matter with the seriousness it deserves.
“6 yrs ago in my book Build, Innovate and Grow (BIG), I wrote: “Nigeria today appears rudderless, with no particular direction. Our country has no purposeful destiny that we can say with conviction is our lodestar. Our citizens are increasingly unsure, what being a Nigerian means”.”
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.
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