News
Sermon: Osoba’s Metamophorsis
By Babatunde Jose
Having read Chief Olusegun Osoba’s book; Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics, and my personal life journey with the author, my take away from the book is that it is a story of an unending adventure with fate. A man whose resilience, hard work, perseverance and belief in himself and service to God and man has paved the path for a successful life in what we could describe as the cauldron called the Nigerian post-colonial state. Born during the colonial era of the early constitutional development in Nigeria; precisely 1939, during the governor generalship of Sir Bernard Bourdillon 1935-1943 who laid the groundwork for the constitutional proposals which his successor Sir Arthur Richards (Lord Milverton) later submitted in 1944 and which became the Richard’s Constitution. He succeeded in convincing the Northern Emirs of the advisability of coming to join with the southerners in the Legislative Council of the country.
It is one of the mysteries of life that 80 years after, Osoba would be in the vanguard of progressive politicians who are bent on returning Nigeria back to its roots of ‘true federalism’. It has not been an easy task and it is still a work in progress. Whether it would succeed or fail is to be seen as the political climate of the country is in a state of ebullition.
Today, the gulf between the political elite widens by the day in terms of ethnicity, religion and a glaring lack of ideological persuasion. The Awolowo school of Hegelian philosophy and welfarism which Osoba belong to, has become divided and the unity of opposites which is the bedrock of Hegel’s dialectics has failed to produce a synthesis from the union of thesis and antithesis of Nigerian politics. Even within the political parties there is no unity of opposites. Hegelianism is the philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel which can be summed up by the dictum that “the rational alone is real”, which means that all reality is capable of being expressed in rational categories. His goal was to reduce reality to a more synthetic unity within the system of absolute idealism .True to form; Hegel was criticized as being’ not a logical thinker but a master in the use of trenchant aphorisms’.
What we are witnessing today is a schism in the political class; a crack in the political pot and a return to primitivism, parochial and primordial tendencies. In all these however, Olusegun Osoba stands out as one political animal who has cut a distinct persona for himself and a different breed from the hubris of ‘come and chop’ political class; a collective of brigands and ruthless socio-economic barracudas, hell bent on robbing the national coffers of all that it contain.
His sojourn in journalism started during the time of his adopted uncle and godfather, late Alhaji Babatunde Jose. Being a good student of human philosophy, Osoba would imbibe the salient qualities of his mentor to rise and shine above his peers. Despite his apogee in journalism, he was not only cool headed but worked hard to maintain his comportment. This is attested to in the wide network of his associates, particularly in his youthful, clubbing and rascally days. He never lost focus and at the back of his mind was always the dictum: Remember the son of whom you are.
As it was in journalism, so had it been in politics. Having worked closely with the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the man with a mission, Osoba had no choice but to pitch his tent with the progressive elements of Nigerian politics. It worked and has continued to work for him.
In all these however, one trait that has been discernible in Osoba’s personality is his contentment in life. This is the takeaway from his book. Contentment is a sign of a true believer. The virtue of contentment is closely connected with the quality of putting trust in God. With contentment one feels inner peace and increase in spirituality. He does not compare himself with those who are in better conditions, but rather he remembers those who are in worse conditions. For example, if someone is one-handed, he should be content and remember those who do not have hands at all. It is said that a man complained about his old shoes until he saw a man who had no feet. “Contentment is not the fulfilment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.” Contentment and patience earn one Paradise in the Hereafter. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “Allah will not accept other than Paradise for a believing person who is afflicted with the death of his beloved one from among the inhabitants of the world and shows patience.” (Al-Nasa’i) Allah said: The (material) things which ye are given are but the conveniences of this life and the glitter thereof; but that which is with Allah is better and more enduring: Will ye not then be wise? (Quran 28:60) The greatest cause for the lack of contentment is greed and avariciousness, covetousness and ‘long throat’. And I can attest to it that Osoba is none of these. These are very objectionable traits in any human being and they are the root cause of corruption; I can also posit that to all intents and purposes, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Akinrogun Egba is an epitome of contentment. May his days be long!
Barka Juma’at and happy weekend
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested a former chairman of defunct Skye Bank Plc, Tunde Ayeni, over alleged money laundering, misappropriation and diversion of funds amounting to N36.54bn and $30m.
Ayeni, a businessman, was arrested in Abuja on Thursday, and is currently being held at the commission’s facility.
The arrest followed an EFCC probe into alleged misappropriation and diversion of funds said to have been obtained from Polaris Bank through multiple entities linked to him.
“Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested a former board chairman of defunct Skye Bank Plc and businessman, Tunde Ayeni, in connection with alleged money laundering, misappropriation and diversion of funds to the tune of N36,540,058,400.00 and $30m.
“Ayeni was arrested sequel to the investigation of the EFCC into alleged misappropriation and diversion of funds to the tune of N36,540,058,400.00 and $30m obtained from Polaris Bank Plc by different entities linked to him.
“The funds were loans obtained allegedly for specific investment projects but subsequently transferred to other entities’ accounts. Investigations showed that, though the loans were obtained for purposes such as finance of marine security activities, electricity distribution contract, estate development, they were diverted to the NITEL/MTEL asset acquisition through NATCOM account,” one of the sources said.
Another source said the commission is currently probing 12 companies allegedly linked to Ayeni, which it said were used to obtain the loans from Polaris Bank.
“Twelve different companies linked to Ayeni are being investigated by the EFCC. They are entities he allegedly used to obtain loans from Polaris Bank for his shady activities. The loans are depositors’ funds fraudulently obtained and frittered into diverse wasteful purposes. Ayeni will be arraigned in due course upon conclusion of investigations,” the source said.
When contacted, EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale confirmed the arrest but declined to give further details.
The Punch
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
To be fruitful is to be productive, profitable, and successful in all areas of your life. When one is fruitful, he will attract many opportunities and values. When we are fruitful, we won’t be barren because we will be producing fruits and results with our work. Even the book of life said no woman will be barren in your land. That’s being fruitful.
Fruitfulness permeates every area of our life. When you are fruitful, your life, marriage, business, academic, ethics, relationship/network will flourish. Our business must be fruitful to survive, otherwise it will be out of business. We shall discuss several areas where one can be fruitful.
Parents
The joy of every father is for the child to be greater than him. Any father that wants to be greater than his son is not a good father in my understanding. Parents, mentors, government, teachers, leaders of faith, etc. all want us to be fruitful.
Let’s take a case study of parents. They sacrifice their time, resources and health just to give us a decent life. They do it because they want us to be successful in life.
Personally, I watched my late father and mother deprive themselves of the luxury of life just to give me and my siblings a decent life. My late parents never had the opportunity of having a decent education, it won’t be out of place for one to say they are unlettered, but they knew the value of education.
My late dad will always say, he’s not concerned about building houses, or living a luxury lifestyle, to him, those are secondary needs of life. His primary concern is for his children to have a good education. My late dad will always say assuming he’s educated, he would have excelled higher in life.
My late mother is not an exemption. I vividly remember one day my late mother said to me, her colleagues are buying jewelry, shoes, clothes, making their hair, etc. to fit into trends, but she’s not concerned about that, her major concern is for her children to have a decent education and look good.
Most people don’t understand the inspiration behind why I do what I do today. My late parents were and remained my biggest supporter. Apart from going to heaven, my greatest goal is to make my late parents and children proud. The moral of this analysis is my late parents sacrificed even their life for me and siblings just because they want us to be successful and fruitful.
Mentors
Mentors are not left out of this equation; mentors can be regarded as gatekeepers because they have paid the price of success. It is the fruitfulness of mentors that attracts values and mentees to them. When a mentor accepts a mentee into his fold, he’s simply telling the mentee, “I want you to be successful, I don’t want you to fail. However, it is important to state that before a mentor can accept to mentor a mentee, the mentor would have seen some potential in the mentees.
It’s instructive to mention that there are five types of mentors namely:
- Position Mentor: People follow you because they have a right to follow you which can be because of the position you occupy.
- Permission Mentor: People follow you because you allow them. For example, in relationships when you decide to allow people to build relationships with you.
- Production Mentor: People follow you because of what you have done for the organization or association. This is result oriented.
- People Development Mentor: People follow you because of what you have done for them.
- Pinnacle Mentor: People follow you because of who you are or what you represent. The question now is where do you belong?
For the umpteenth time, I am a product of mentorship. My mentors have really shaped my life.
Teachers
Teachers are not left out. Teachers are generally regarded as professional educators who play a critical role in fostering student achievement, personal growth, and social development. They are seen as the “lifeblood” of the education system, often serving as mentors, role models, and agents of social change.
There are many components of teachers namely:
- Professional Experts: Teachers are trained specialists in pedagogy (the art/science of teaching) and subject matter, holding degrees and certifications that qualify them to guide learners.
- Facilitators and Mentors: Beyond delivering content, they act as guides who help students acquire critical thinking skills and knowledge, shifting from “information dispensers” to active facilitators.
- Lifelong Learners: Effective teachers are viewed as individuals who continuously learn and adapt their practices to new technologies, curricula, and student needs.
- Moral and Cultural Guides: Teachers are often expected to act as stewards of community values, maintaining student safety, and cultivating civic responsibility.
- “Backbone of Society”: They are considered crucial to a nation’s social and economic development by preparing the future workforce. Above all, they assist in making us fruitful human beings.
Leaders of faith
The leaders of faith are regarded as the molders of the human faith because they help to build our faith. When the scripture says in Genesis 1:8, be fruitful and multiply, the scripture is also referring to them because they are regarded as shepherds. As Christians, we expected to be fruitful because our heavenly father is fruitful. Being fruitful here entails bearing fruits with our life and this entails using our life to attract people into the kingdom of God as evidence of our heavenly father who expects us to be Christlike.
Government
Let’s talk about the government. When a government is fruitful, it will reflect on the lives of her citizens, but when the government is performing below expectations, the citizens will be on the receiving end. The principal responsibility of the government is protection of life and security for her citizens. Every other thing is secondary. The government is also responsible for creating job opportunities for the citizens. However, it should be noted the government cannot create for all her citizens, and as such they provide an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.
Employers/Supervisors/Leaders
These sets of people are regarded as people of influence. You need them at your corner, if you intend to move higher in life. Your employers and supervisors are regarded as your leaders. You can never outsmart them; the best one can try is to be in their good books and tolerate their excesses. When an employee is fruitful and exceeding expectations at work, they tend to be rewarded by their supervisors or employers because of the value they create and the problem they solve
In conclusion, whatever you do in life, please try and be fruitful.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Justice Darius Khobo of the Kaduna State High Court has adjourned the bail hearing of former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to the first week of June, 2026.
El-Rufai is being arraigned on multiple charges bordering on alleged financial crime and abuse of office by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“Similarly, another charge, number KDH/KAD/ICPC/01/26, against Mallam Nasir El-Rufa’i and one Amadu Sule (LEDA) has also been filed before a Kaduna State High Court in the Kaduna Judicial Division,” the ICPC said last month.
“The charges in the State High Court case range from abuse of office, fraud, and intent to commit fraud to conferring undue advantage, among others. Both charges were filed by the ICPC on the 18th of March, 2026.”
Speaking after the court session, counsel to the former governor, Ukpon Akpan, kicked against the lingering adjournment of the bail hearing by one presiding judge as politically motivated.
The high-profile case has drawn significant public attention, with heightened security presence observed around the court premises.
The former governor had arrived at the court at about 9 am in a convoy accompanied by ICPC officials and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
During the proceedings, supporters of the former governor gathered outside the courtroom, while security agencies maintained order and restricted movement within the vicinity.
Inside the courtroom, journalists, as usual, were not allowed, as proceedings are expected to focus on arguments presented by both the defence and prosecution regarding the bail request.
At the last sitting, the defence team had maintained that their client poses no flight risk and is willing to comply with all conditions set by the court.
Meanwhile, the prosecution has urged the court to carefully consider the gravity of the charges.
The 66-year-old former governor of Kaduna has been in ICPC custody since February 19 following his release by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
El-Rufai, a former minister of the FCT, was, however, released on March 27 based on compassionate grounds following his mother’s death
