By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Dignitaries from across the nation gathered at Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo, on Saturday to witness the coronation of the 46th Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade

The historic event drew a distinguished crowd, including President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu; the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde; former Deputy Governor, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon.Debo Ogundoyin; and Senator Yunus Akintunde, representing Oyo South, among other notable figures.

Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade I and his Wife Abiwumi Owoade.
Royalty was richly represented as well, with the presence of revered monarchs such as the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Olaoye; and the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, adding grandeur and cultural depth to the occasion.

The driver and conductor of a BRT bus have fled for their lives, abandoning passengers to their fate, as a BRT bus caught fire at Maryland, Lagos State, on Saturday morning.

Our correspondent, who was at the scene of the incident, said that the vehicle departed from Ikorodu en route to CMS when the sad incident occurred.

As of the time this report was filed, emergency responders, including officers of the Nigeria Police Force, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), fire services, and local security personnel, arrived at the scene to contain the blaze.

Firefighters at the scene.
One of the passengers on the bus told our correspondent the fire started as smoke from the driver’s side.

According to her, the passengers initially thought the smoke emanated from other buses; however, the slight smoke soon worsened, immediately sending them into panic mode.

“As soon as we saw that the smoke grew bigger, we immediately rushed off the bus before the fire ignited”, she said, adding that none of the passengers sustained any injury.

She added that the driver fled the scene immediately after the fire started.

“The driver and the conductor ran away. They didn’t even wait to see what would happen to us.

“Definitely, they knew what happened. They knew the bus was bad before putting it on the road and risking our lives,” she alleged.

Channels

The United States-funded Voice of America (VOA) has gone off air in Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, and several other African countries after President Donald Trump cut financial support to the global broadcaster.

The shutdown, first noticed by millions of listeners in northern Nigeria, sparked panic when music began playing in place of scheduled broadcasts, a haunting reminder in the region of military coups or political takeovers.

“People started calling in, worried that there had been a coup in America,” Babangida Jibrin, a journalist who worked with VOA’s now-defunct Hausa-language service was quoted by Daily Trust.

The station’s abrupt disappearance from the airwaves last month left stunned reporters scrambling to explain what had happened to their loyal audience.

VOA’s Hausa service, a lifeline for millions of listeners in rural and conflict-prone areas of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and Niger, had become a trusted source of international and regional news, especially in places where local media is either censored, inaccessible, or compromised by state influence.

With internet access unreliable or non-existent in these regions, shortwave and radio broadcasts like VOA filled a crucial void.

“People are now cut off from the world, especially from critical international news,” lamented Moussa Jaharou, a listener from southern Niger.

He described the shutdown as a “deliberate silencing of the poor.”

Founded during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda, VOA later became a major player in Cold War-era broadcasting, offering an American perspective against Soviet disinformation.

Over the decades, it evolved into a beacon of credible journalism worldwide, particularly in authoritarian regions where press freedom is under attack.

In northern Nigeria, where insurgency, banditry, and government corruption are everyday realities, VOA Hausa provided in-depth, unbiased coverage that is often missing in local media.

Its disappearance has now left a gaping hole in a media landscape already struggling with state repression and misinformation.

Critics blame Trump’s ideological war on independent institutions and his administration’s push to dismantle U.S.-backed international media.

The US president slashed VOA’s funding as part of a broader effort to bring the outlet under tighter political control, effectively killing off several regional language services.

It was also reported that over 1,100 “Hands Off!” protests and meetings were scheduled to take place across all 50 states in the U.S. on Saturday.

This was in response to the significant cuts to the federal workforce, reportedly overseen by Trump adviser and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

These nationwide demonstrations aim to voice opposition to the dramatic reductions in the federal workforce, which organisers believe are part of a broader effort to dismantle public services, including Social Security, Medicaid, and public education.

The protests are being organised by a coalition of over 150 organisations, including Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Service Employees International Union, and the American Civil Liberties Union, according to Yahoo News.

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them,” the organisers say on their website. “They’re taking everything they can get their hands on, and daring the world to stop them.”