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Islamisation agenda: Bode George berates Lamido, backs Obasanjo

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BY: Justice Godfry

Former National Vice-President of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and military governor of Ondo State, Olabode George, has slammed a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, for referring to former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a religious and ethnic bigot.

Speaking at his Ikoyi office in Lagos, George accused Lamido of disrespecting the former president, whom he described as a concerned nationalist over the latter’s allegation of plans by some elements to ‘fulanise and Islamise’ Nigeria and other West African countries.

Obasanjo had recently alleged that there was a grand plot by some elements to foist a Fulani and Islamic agenda on Nigeria and other West African countries.

While speaking at the second session of the Synod of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, held at the Cathedral of Saint Paul’s Anglican Church, Oleh, Dleta State, he said: “It is no longer an issue of lack of education and lack of employment for youths in Nigeria which Boko Haram began.

“It is now West African fulanisation, African Islamisation and global organised crimes of human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking, gun trafficking, illegal mining and regime change.”

But Lamido responded to Obasanjo’s statement, saying he should not allow his displeasure with the current administration make him a religious and ethnic bigot.

He said: “Please sir, don’t let your disappointment with the sitting president turn you into a bigot. “You must not abandon the national stage.

“The cracks along the various divides in our national cohesion are already turning into huge gorges.”

However, George backed Obasanjo, saying he has the right to express his observation over the incursion and increased activities of herdsmen in the South West.

He said: “Things have never been this bad in this country and the way that we are going about it is creating unnecessary division. What is our problem as Nigerians?

“When Obasanjo left office as military head of state in 1979, a lot of Yoruba people blacklisted him saying he should have handed over to Pa Awolowo instead of a Fulani man. There was no name that he was not called, but Obasanjo is a straightforward person.

“Recently, he made a comment as an observation that things are not going right in this country. The incursion of herdsmen is disturbing.

He is also a farmer and a lot of farmers are complaining bitterly that their farms are being ravaged. My friend, the former governor of Jigawa, Sule Lamido accused Obasanjo who has always been a nationalist of being a bigot. What Lamido said was absolute nonsense and an insult. Does he know what Obasanjo suffered?

Was it not the same man who made Lamido whom he is by giving him the opportunity to become a minister? But he is now turning round to call him a bigot.

Why did Lamido not find out from Obasanjo why he made that statement? Wole Soyinka made the same observation that Obasanjo made and you know that both men are not usually on the same page.

“Maybe we should reverse roles and get some Agbekoya farmers from the South West to go to Lamido’s village and start ravaging farmlands, and then we would know what he would say. What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong.

I invite Lamido to come to the South West and I will take him round the villages so that he can see what these farmers who are losing their livelihoods are feeling.

Our people are complaining about the sudden incursion and increased activities of herdsmen in the South West; why can’t Lamido see through that prism? We should be careful about some of the reckless comments that we make.

Does it mean if tomorrow an Igbo man becomes the president, Igbo traders will now carry cutlasses and chase everyone away from their villages? Buhari should use his position as the President of the Fulani herdsmen in West Africa to calm these people down. It is a challenge to him.”

Source: The Sun

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France Urged to Address Colonial Legacy as Senegalese Activists Call for Reparations in Dakar Roundtable

Reporter: Sandra Ani

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France Urged to Address Colonial Legacy in Senegal
Babacar Dioh, representative of the Thiaroye 44 Movement, speaks during the Dakar roundtable on reparations. The movement brings together descendants of Senegalese tirailleurs and advocates for historical justice.

France’s colonial legacy came under renewed scrutiny as journalists, historians, and pan-African activists gathered at African Memorial Square in Dakar for a powerful roundtable advocating reparations and economic justice. 

The event highlighted growing demands for France to take full responsibility for its historical role in Senegal and across West Africa.

France Urged to Address Colonial Legacy - Senegal
Attribution: Babacar Dioh, representative of the Thiaroye 44 Movement – a coalition advocating reparations and justice for descendants of colonial-era African soldiers.

Organized by advocacy groups including the Association of Descendants of Senegalese Soldiers, the Front for the Withdrawal of French Military Bases (GASSI), and JIF’AFRIK, the roundtable brought together influential voices pushing for reparatory justice and structural transformation.

Among the key speakers were Babacar Dioh of the Thiaroye 44 Movement—a coalition of descendants of Senegalese tirailleurs—and Souleymane Jules Diallo, leader of JIF’AFRIK. Discussions centered on two central demands: official reparations for colonial-era injustices and the urgent renegotiation of trade and military agreements that activists say perpetuate economic dependence.

“The time for symbolic gestures is over,” said Dioh. “We are now filing an official reparations claim and taking concrete steps to hold France accountable.”

Speakers called for the dismantling of existing neocolonial frameworks, stressing the ecological, financial, and social harm that has endured beyond the colonial period. The roundtable marks a turning point in Dakar’s positioning as a hub for coordinated African-led advocacy aimed at restoring historical justice.

This event adds momentum to a growing continental movement seeking tangible reparative action from former colonial powers and reinforces the call for equity, autonomy, and acknowledgment of historical truths.

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Gov Mbah Inaugurates Committee to End Gender-Based Violence in Enugu

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The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.

The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.

The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.

Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.

Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.

“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.

“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”

He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.

“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.

“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.

In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.

“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.

“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.

“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.

“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.

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Emulate Christ’s virtues, Glo urges Christians at Easter

Reporter: Sandra Ani

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Glo and Globacom
Globacom

Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.  

The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ. 

“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added. 

The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all. 

Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.

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