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Broadcast: Soyinka Hammers Tinubu’s Address, Response to Protests
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka has hammered President Bola Tinubu’s Sunday morning broadcast declaring that it failed to address police brutality.
Soyinka said, “I set my alarm clock for this morning to ensure that I did not miss President Bola Tinubu’s impatiently awaited address to the nation on the current unrest across the nation.
“His outline of government’s remedial action since inception, aimed at warding off just such an outbreak, will undoubtedly receive expert and sustained attention both for effectiveness and in content analysis. My primary concern, quite predictably, is the continuing deterioration of the state’s seizure of protest management, an area in which the presidential address fell conspicuously short.
“Such short-changing of civic deserving, regrettably, goes to arm the security forces in the exercise of impunity and condemns the nation to a seemingly unbreakable cycle of resentment and reprisals.
“Live bullets as state response to civic protest – that becomes the core issue. Even tear gas remains questionable in most circumstances, certainly an abuse in situations of clearly peaceful protest. Hunger marches constitute a universal S.O.S, not peculiar to the Nigerian nation. They belong indeed in a class of their own, never mind the collateral claims emblazoned on posters.
“They serve as summons to governance that a breaking point has been reached and thus, a testing ground for governance awareness of public desperation. The tragic response to the ongoing hunger marches in parts of the nation, and for which notice was served, constitutes a retrogression that takes the nation even further back than the deadly culmination of the watershed ENDSARS protests.
“It evokes pre-independence – that is, colonial – acts of disdain, a passage that induced the late stage pioneer Hubert Ogunde’s folk opera BREAD AND BULLETS, earning that nationalist serial persecution and proscription by the colonial government.”
Soyinka noted that the “nation’s security agencies cannot pretend unawareness of alternative models for emulation, civilized advances in security intervention”.
He said, “Need we recall the nationwide 2022/23 editions of what is generally known as the YELLOW VEST movement in France? Perhaps it is time to make such scenarios compulsory viewing in policing curriculum. In all of the coverage that I watched, I did not catch one single instance of a gun leveled at protesters, much less fired at them even during direct physical confrontations.
“The serving of bullets where bread is pleaded is ominous retrogression, and we know what that eventually proves – a prelude to far more desperate upheavals, not excluding revolutions.
“The time is long overdue, surely, to abandon, permanently, the anachronistic resort to lethal means by the security agencies of governance. No nation is so under-developed, materially impoverished, or simply internally insecure as to lack the will to set an example. All it takes is to recall its own history, then exercise the will to commence a lasting transformation, inserting a break in the chain of lethal responses against civic society.
“Today’s marchers may wish to consider adopting the key songs of Hubert Ogunde’s BREAD AND BULLETS, if only to inculcate a sense of shame in the continuing failure to transcend the lure of colonial inheritance where we all were at the receiving end. One way or the othetinubu’svicious cycle must be broken.”
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has lamented that the northern part of the country is grossly lagging behind in terms of development particularly in education and agriculture, causing the region to suffer significantly.
Sanusi said this on Saturday at the 50th anniversary of the visit of the founder of Faidha Tijjaniyya in West Africa, Sheikh Ibrahim Nyass, in Jos, Plateau State.
The Emir, who was the guest speaker at the event, said the North had failed to capitalise on its huge population, noting that significant percentage of people from the region are mostly agrarian farmers who lack the requisite knowledge on modern agricultural technology.
He urged stakeholders in the North to invest in education and agriculture for the betterment of the region and its people, adding that the north must wake up.
Delivering a lecture on the imperative of harmonious coexistence in a multi-ethnic/religious setting, the Emir recalled that 50 years ago, late Sheikh Ibrahim Nyass, visited Nigeria from Senegal on the invitation of the then former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, to foster peaceful coexistence among the Muslims and non-Muslims in the then Benue-Plateau State.
He added that his grandfather, Muhammadu Sanusi I, received Sheikh Nyass under the permission of the then Governor of Benue-Plateau State, J. D Gomwalk.
While commending the present administration in the state for its support and commitment towards activities of Muslim community, Sanusi urged Muslims in the state to complement the efforts of the state governor to achieve sustainable peace and development.
News
Agidigbo FM denies organising Oyo’s tragic children’s party sponsored by Ooni’s ex-wife’s foundation
Agidigbo FM, a prominent private radio station, has disclaimed involvement in the ill-fated children’s festive party that tragically resulted in multiple deaths on Wednesday morning in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.
The tragedy which struck on Wednesday morning at the Islamic High School in Bashorun, Ibadan when a stampede occurred during a children’s Christmas party.
The station’s management clarified they were not sponsors or organisers of the event, contrary to initial reports. It identified the organiser as WINGS (Women In Need Of Guidance and Support), whose founder is Queen Naomi Silekunola Ogunwusi, the ex-wife of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.
Eyewitnesses report that many children were trampled in the chaos, with several others injured and currently receiving treatment at the University College Hospital in Ibadan.
The exact number of fatalities and injuries is still unknown, but the incident has sent shockwaves through the community.
Reacting in a press statement shared via his personal X profile, Governor Seyi Makinde also confirmed the multiple deaths during the stampede as reported by SaharaReporters.
He added that the organisers of the event had been arrested and that an investigation was ongoing to unravel the cause of the tragedy.
Queen Naomi Silekunola Ogunwusi, the former wife of the Ooni of Ife, was a key organiser of the tragic children’s festive party. Additionally, Agidigbo 88.7 FM, owned by Oriyomi Hamzat, had actively promoted the event in the days leading up to the devastating incident.
A press statement signed by Olayinka Abdul Wahab, Director of Programmes at Agidigbo FM on Wednesday evening, however, denied the involvement of Oriyomi and its organisation in the planning of the event.
The statement reads: “This is to inform the general public that the management of Agidigbo FM, Ibadan, received the news of the tragedy that heralded the children’s fun fair at Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan, organized by the WINGS foundation with great shock and wholeheartedly commiserate with the families involved.
“Amidst the tragedy, the news making the rounds says that Agidigbo FM is the organizer of the children’s funfair. However, the management wishes to state that Agidigbo FM is not the organizer of the event but one of the media outfits used to promote the event.
“Upon receiving the notice that a mammoth crowd had assembled before 5 am this morning at the venue, Agidigbo FM, the people’s voice, used all media strategies to sensitize the populace with jingles and public service announcements, from that time that people should stop going to the venue of the funfair.
“The organizers of the event also did all they could to ensure that the tragedy was curtailed by deploying security apparatus, medical officials, and other relevant agencies to come to the aid of those affected by this tragic event.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has arrived in Lagos for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Tinubu arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, at noon on Wednesday, December 18.
Tinubu had earlier today presented the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the 10th National Assembly in Abuja.
His arrival was disclosed in a post via the X handle of his Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, on Wednesday, December 18.
The caption reads: “President Tinubu arrives in Lagos where he will spend the Christmas. He is received by H.E #jidesanwoolu and members of the Lagos Executive Cabinet.”
Upon arrival at the Lagos airport, Tinubu met his ‘longtime friend’, Abiodun Ayo Yinka (a.k.a Papa Ajasco).
Disclosing this, Olusegun wrote: “Beautiful moment between PBAT and his long-time friend, Mr Abiodun Ayo Yinka (a.k.a Papa Ajasco) at the Presidential Wing of the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.”
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