NEWS
One year without a monarch, Kwara community cries out to Abdulrahman
Eunice Oluwafunmilayo
The Idofian community in Kwara State’s Ifelodun Local Government Area has been without a traditional leader for more than a year.
After Oba Subair Agboola Oyesoro II, the Oludofian of Idofian, passed away in July 2021, this development took place.
There are just two royal families in Idofian, the Agbalaya and Oloyi ruling houses, according to information gathered.
The late monarch came from the Oloyi royal family and assumed the throne in 1965.
The Agbalaya Royal family who are next in line to produce the next king alleged that there is a plot by some people to impose a candidate from the Oloyi ruling house through the backdoor.
The Chairman of Agbalaya Royal Family, Alhaji Mukaila Agbalaya warned the state government not to set the community on fire over the plan to install the “wrong candidate”.
The ruling house accused some people of trying to impose a candidate for the town.
According to them, ‘someone powerful’ is instigating the kingmakers, townsmen and the youths against the candidacy of Rasheed Agbalaya.
“This person is not from here. He is quoted to have said ‘I would use power except for if I don’t have power’. Man can be greater than man, but God is supreme to us all.”
In the same vein, a kingmaker, the Aare of Idofian, Chief Ibrahim Akolade Abioye stated that it is the turn of the Agbalaya Royal Family.
Chief Abioye who is one of the kingmakers of Idofian said, “there are only two royal families in Idofian: Agbalaya and the Oloyi. The last Onidofian of Idofian, Alhaji Zubair Agboola Oyesoro was from the Oloyi ruling house, so it is the turn of Agbalaya to produce the next Oba.
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“Those people just want to install their candidate through the backdoor. Nobody knows him in this town, they however in the depth of their minds know it is Agbalaya’s turn. We must not back the wrong tree. They are mentioning Baale House, there is no such thing. There is no record of a third party or ruling house.”
“I call on fellow kingmakers to do the rightful thing. The Agbalaya Royal Family has given us Rasheed Alabi Agbalaya,” Cheif Abioye said.
Agboola, an Idofian young leader, claimed that since Oba Zubair’s passing, the town has been reflective.
He rejected the idea that some members of the Oloyi royal family are planning to have an Idofian king as their next monarch.
Anger-filled locals rushed the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftain Affairs in Ilorin earlier on Friday, accusing the commissioner, Architect Aliyu Saifudeen, of collaborating with spies to impose a new chieftain on the town.
The commissioner’s response was to deny any role in the selection procedure and to call for restraint in the situation.
He believed that certain factors were attempting to damage his reputation with the development.
He said, “One thing I can assure you here is that all the people that were presented to us have the endorsement of the kingmakers.
“But if the kingmakers present somebody who is not a prince, that is left for them to resolve with the community.”
NEWS
Moghalu Prescribes Good Governance As Panacea To Ethnic Agitation
The President of the African School of Governance, Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu has admonished state actors against resorting to brutal force in the bid to muscle out separatist agitators.
In the aftermath of Mazi Simon Ekpa, the Finland based Biafran nationalist agitator being caught in legal web and the Nigerian government moving swiftly to seek his repatriation, the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned that ‘We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.’
ALSO READ: Finnish Police Arrest Simon Ekpa Over Terror-Related Allegations
The political economist, while expressing his hope in Nigeria, made it clear that “hope is not a strategy”.
He bared his mind in a series of posts on his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X on Friday.
Moghalu wrote, “Despite sustained contemporary difficulties, I am hopeful about Nigeria. But hope is not a strategy. We need to improve state capacity for effective governance.
“We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.
“We must learn to be honest with ourselves and address the root causes of our problems. Why ignore them, when the problem is actually quite solvable? The problem with continuing with this approach is that when the danger crystallizes, those who thought they were benefiting from
NEWS
N1.7trn Loan: Atiku Blames NASS For Worsening Nigeria’s Debt Burden
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.
International News
ICC Issues Arrest Warrants For Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Others
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.”
READ MORE: Osun Govt Decries Attempted Murder Of Park Mgt Chairman By Police
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.