News
Nigeria Must Beware of “Backdoor Colonialism”
By Joel Popoola
More than 60 years after our independence, Nigeria once again, must be wary of colonialism – this time in a very different shape.
At the end of August, Nigeria and Russia signed a military cooperation deal involving the supply of equipment, the training of troops and “technology transfer”.
Given our need to tackle the simultaneously insurgencies of both Islamists and Separatists, there is no doubting that Nigeria needs this sort of support, not least with historic allies such as the United States currently unwilling to sell military supplies to our nation due to concerns over human rights abuses.
But there is also no doubt that this also increases our dependency on a foreign power, whose interests are not always going to be aligned with our own. The phrase “technology transfer” could mean anything – from the sale of hardware to allowing another country access to our national security infrastructure.
Then there’s the growing influence of China on our growing technology sector.
Again, the need for their involvement is unquestionable. But their motivations are not.
The Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei already operates more than 70% of Africa’s telecommunications network – even though concerns about its links with the Chinese government have led to countries like Britain and the United States banning it from their mobile and internet networks.
Their concern is that Huawei’s dominance could allow the Chinese government to use state-sponsored hackers to spy on Nigeria or disrupt communications – something only likely to become more important as we move towards the era of self-driving cars and virtual domestic technology assistants such as Alexa and Siri.
The Wall Street Journal has already alleged that Huawei has helped Ugandan and Zambian authorities spy on political opponents.
A report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies even claimed that Huawei’s activities could “provide Chinese authorities with intelligence and even coercive leverage.”
This may not be the traditional form of colonialism, which arrived on our shores baring weapons but a new sort of colonialism baring investment in vital infrastructure, but at it is heart it remains remarkably similar – an overseas power with undue influence on our way of life.
This form of international interconnectivity is inevitable in the twenty-first century, and I am no nativist or economic nationalist – and it is of course unrealistic at the present time for Nigeria to develop an independent cloud infrastructure, for example, not least when it is exactly what we need to maximise the potential of our booming fintech sector.
We can also not allow foreign dominion over our emerging digital sector. According to one report, no less than 14 of the 20 most exciting tech start up are Nigerian – and the entire top 10! We must ensure that the benefit of this ingenuity and innovation is felt at home.
Huawei has also announced plans to train up to 3 million young Africans in digital skills, including artificial intelligence. Make no mistake; we need this – not least because as a nation we have failed to provide this for ourselves.
But we also need to be cautious of becoming over-reliant on overseas powers.
The first step towards achieving this is to built a more united Nigeria, and in particular we must bridge the divide between our people and our political class. And ironically, it is technology that can deliver that.
At the digital democracy campaign I lead, we are also working to bring electors and elected closer together.
We’ve created a free smartphone app – Rate Your Leader – to use mobile technology to let elected officials to interact directly with confirmed voters in the divisions they serve – in a way where insults are impossible and dishonesty is undesirable.
This way politicians and people can use Rate Your Leader to connect person-to-person, understanding each other’s needs and positions. This way, leaders immediately ascertain what matters most to the people who vote for them, and join forces to tackle those topics. And voters can even rate local leaders for transparency and accessibility.
And that in turn fosters trust, sadly lacking in so much of our political process. .
Opening up our economy to the rest of the globe is unavoidable, and opens up Nigeria to a world of potential. But we must face the inevitable risks and challenges as a united nation.
To create that united nation we need greater co-operation and communication between people and the political class, both of which can be delivered at the touch of a button.
Joel Popoola is a Nigerian tech entrepreneur, digital democracy campaigner and creator of the Rate Your Leader app. He can be reached via @JOPopoola
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned social media personality and self-acclaimed relationship adviser, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, before the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged N36 million fraud.
Blessing CEO was arraigned on Friday before Justice D.I. Dipeolu on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and alleged theft involving N36 million
According to the EFCC, the defendant allegedly obtained the money from one Mrs. Ifeyinwa Nonye Okoye under the pretext of securing a six-bedroom duplex in Lekki, Lagos — a claim prosecutors said she knew to be false.
During proceedings, defence counsel P.I. Nwafor informed the court that the defendant had refunded N24 million to the complainant and requested a short adjournment to allow discussions over the outstanding balance.
“We have an application to make. The defendant approached the nominal complainant and refunded N24 million out of the N36 million.
“We are asking for a short adjournment to resolve the outstanding balance. The nominal complainant agreed that if the balance is paid, they can prevail on the EFCC to drop the case,” the lawyer said.
However, prosecution counsel S.I. Suleiman opposed the request, insisting that the commission was not involved in any private settlement arrangement.
“The complainant here is the Federal Government of Nigeria, and we are here for the arraignment. We urge that the defendant take her plea, as that is the business of the day,” he argued.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Dipeolu held that settlement talks could continue independently but would not stop the arraignment process.
“The defence and the nominal complainant can have discussions even during the pendency of the charge. It does not affect the proceedings before the court. The defendant will take her plea,” the judge ruled.
One of the charges alleged that between July 14 and 17, 2024, Blessing CEO fraudulently obtained N36 million from the complainant over a purported property lease in Lekki.
Another count accused her of unlawfully converting the money to personal use, contrary to provisions of the Criminal Code Act.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following her plea, the prosecution asked the court to commence trial and remand her in a correctional facility, while the defence requested that she remain in EFCC custody pending bail arrangements.
Justice Dipeolu subsequently ordered that the defendant be remanded in EFCC custody and adjourned the matter to June 5, 2026, for commencement of trial.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has narrated how his principal almost sacked him because of Lagos State House of Assembly member, Desmond Elliot.
He said he almost lost his job during the Lagos Speaker Mudashiru Obasa impeachment saga.
Recall that lawmakers of the Lagos State House of Assembly had said that Obasa was impeached to save the integrity and sanctity of the House of Assembly and Lagos State.
The lawmakers, while jointly addressing journalists at the Assembly Complex, said: “It’s just a change of baton. It is only death that is constant, so change is inevitable.”
However, with President Tinubu against the impeachment, the Speaker was restored and peace returned to the Assembly.
Addressing members of the All Progressives Congress on Thursday, Gbajabiamila said, “I almost lost my job as Chief of Staff last year because of Desmond Elliot. Mr President called me to his house in Abuja during the Lagos Speaker Obasa saga.
“He said, ‘I hear this Desmond is your boy, the one we gave you,’ and I said, ‘Yes, sir. He is one of the people causing problems in the Lagos House of Assembly.’
“Immediately, I told the president that Desmond wasn’t part of them, but the president replied and said that, from the intelligence he received, Desmond was part of them.
“After that meeting, I called Desmond and told him what the president said, and asked him to leave the group if he was part of them. Three days later, the DSS DG called me and said there was a problem.
“He said your name is being mentioned, that you’re the one behind the impeachment saga and that you’re supporting Desmond.
“I spoke to the DSS DG and told him I had spoken to Desmond and he denied being part of the group. I then asked Desmond to make a public statement denying his involvement in the impeachment saga, but till today, he hasn’t done it.”
By Eric Elezuo
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has announced the kickoff of the 2026 West African Second-term School Certificate Examination, saying it would be computer-based, and decrying the decline of male participation as against their female counterparts.
The Council made the disclosure on Monday, while addressing the media at its National Office in Yaba, Lagos, on steps so far taken to ensure a hitchfree 2026 Examination.
In his address, the Head of National Office, Mr. Jacob Josiah Dangut, remarked that the 2026 computer-based WASSEC, started on April 21, 2026 with practical test papers, stressing that the nitty gritty parts of the exercise will kick off on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, therefore the reason for the sensitization of the Nigerian public on the exams.
He noted that nearly two million candidates registered to sit for the examinations.
In his words, “A total of 1,959,636 candidates from 24,207 schools enrolled for the examination.
“Of this number, 958,564 candidates (48.92%) are male, while 1,001,072 candidates (51.08%) are female. This reflects an increase in female participation and a decline in male participation compared to last year.”
Dangut called on policy formulations to take the matter serious so as to reinvent the urge for education among the malefolks.
Meanwhile, Dangut informed the public that candidates are being tested in 37 subjects across 97 papers, supervised by about 29,000 senior secondary teachers nominated by state ministries of education.
Dangut said the rise in computer-based entries followed the successful debut of the format in 2025, with more schools and offshore institutions adopting it for its efficiency and alignment with global standards.
The 2026 exercise will run through to June 19th.
