BREAKING! Pope Francis is dead

Published

2 weeks ago

April 21, 2025

ADMIN

The Vatican city has announced the death of Pope Francis .

The first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died at the age of 88 on Monday.

He had suffered various ailments in his 12 year papacy, with severe complications in recent weeks.

Details shortly…

NTAC Deploys 35 Volunteers to Zanzibar in Support of Nigeria’s 4D Foreign Policy

Published

45 minutes ago

May 4, 2025

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

In a significant milestone for Nigeria’s foreign policy and South-South cooperation efforts, the Nigeria Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) has deployed 35 technical volunteers to Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The Director General of NTAC, Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, stated this during a send-off ceremony held in Abuja.

Addressing the volunteers, Yakub described the deployment as a “historic day” for the agency, attributing the initiative to the directive of President Bola Tinubu, he expressed gratitude to the President for his continued support in enhancing Nigeria’s diplomatic outreach through practical, people-centered development efforts.

“As an agency saddled with the responsibility of promoting our soft power and diplomacy, we will always run with the mandate of Mr. President to achieve his 4D foreign policy initiative.

The 4D initiative—Democracy, Development, Demography, and Diaspora—guides Nigeria’s international relations strategy under the current administration,” Yakub stated.

He highlighted NTAC’s long-standing role in technical diplomacy, tracing its roots to 1987 when the federal government shifted from offering direct financial aid to deploying skilled manpower to sister countries across Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Since then, the agency has deployed over 10,000 professionals to more than 40 countries, impacting education, health, and governance.

He recounted a recent visit to The Gambia, and shared how NTAC volunteers have shaped the academic landscape of the country, with several top university administrators being Nigerian experts sent under the programme.

The DG emphasised Africa’s potential to grow through mutual support among developing nations, he charged the departing volunteers to see themselves as field ambassadors of Nigeria.

He said, “That is the spirit of South-South cooperation.

“If you perform well, you can rise to positions you never imagined”.

He referenced a former NTAC volunteer who went on to head the COVID-19 committee in Sierra Leone and later served as a presidential physician.

The Director General therefore urged the volunteers to embrace the service-oriented nature of their mission, reminding them that “volunteerism” means sacrifice.

“Even if you are given half a room with half a mattress, take it in good faith. “You are going there to serve humanity”, he advised.

The volunteers will be deployed for a two-year period, from 2025 to 2027. They are expected to report to the Nigerian embassy in Tanzania for all communications and support, with the embassy acting as their first point of contact while abroad.

The Team Lead for the Volunteer group, Mohamed Jawad Jaffa, a Pediatric Nurse, commended the government for giving them the opportunity to serve humanity in a foreign land, pledging not to let the nation down.

He said: “We give glory to God for this opportunity. And our prayers are that let us do the needful and do as the task requires. And for sure, one thing that is not negotiable is to let us be good ambassadors of our country. And this is what we are going to make sure that we keep to it. And to give a good name for our country, Nigeria, through this programme”.

Also, another Volunteer, Mary Jane Okeze, also said: “Our job here is to help the sick. And this is a very big opportunity for every one of us. And we really appreciate what the government is doing for us. We will make sure we do our best and represent our country properly as we are supposed to do”.

The NTAC programme, established by law in 1993, remains a cornerstone of Nigeria’s foreign engagement, emphasising capacity building, cultural exchange, and technical partnership as tools for regional development and diplomatic influence.

News

Nigeria’s Strategic Foreign Policy Dilemma: Domestic Politics, Regional Instability, Russia’s Encroaching Geopolitical Influence in West Africa and Sahel

Published

4 hours ago

May 4, 2025

Gloria Ikibah

Dr. Emmanuel Zwanbin, El-Amin University, Minna

On the first of August 2024, an organised 10-day demonstration to demand good governance and accountability occurred across cities in Nigeria. However, a twist was added to the protest. Protesters waved Russian flags in Kano and across northern states signifying a possible Russian interference.

This spectacular display of the flag highlighted Russia’s growing geopolitical interest in the region with broad implication on domestic grievances and foreign contestation. This trend represents Russia’s geopolitical effort to counterbalance the dominant role of the West in Africa, especially in the Sahel and West Africa.

The military overthrow of civilian governments in the region may have external influence, however, it is a symptomatic manifestation of domestic public discontent taken advantage of my foreign interests. Therefore, the coup d’etat is an intersection between domestic turmoil on the one hand where the citizens are frustrated with the political elite and France and on the other hand, Russia’s return to Africa to strengthen its global alliances.

There is an increasing shift in global alliances and geopolitical positioning in Africa. These alliances have seen the contestation for influence between the conceptual West on one hand, and Russia and China on the other hand. This is particularly heightened by the widespread domestic discontent, terrorism and regional instability, thereby reinforcing the fact that there is a nexus between domestic issues and foreign policy of a state. Therefore, the end bad governance protests have foreign policy implications that lessons can be drawn from especially with the Russian flag saga.

The display of Russian flag during the #EndBdGovernance protest was believed to have been instigated by Nigerien infiltrators. They alleged Nigerien infiltrators were frustrated with Nigeria’s unfriendly stance against the coup Junta. The Russian flag can be construed in terms of being symbolic and strategic. Conversely, the flag symbolises the growing influence of Russia as was seen in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger before and after the coups. Additionally, it represents the rejection of the status quo and an invitation to Russia and a welcoming gesture. The emergence of a flag became a debate as to whether it was a Russian flag or Nigerian army flag. The focus here was the call for a military intervention, which resonate with the trends of Russia strategies in the Sahel and West Africa particularly in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso. It is worth noting that Russia does not pretend about its expansionist ambition. This, therefore, cannot be ignored.

The July 2023 military coup in Niger marked a watershed in Nigeria’s foreign policy towards Niger. The ties between Nigeria and Niger are not merely diplomatic. Both countries have shared history, religious, linguistic and familial connections. The ECOWAS sanction backed by Nigeria was perceived as a betrayal of the longstanding and cordial relations between the two states. Niger expected strong solidarity from Nigeria but was met with series of sanctions. Nigeria missed the opportunity to utilise its soft power tools to bring the junta under its influence and redirect it to democratic pathways. Thus, Russia took advantage by acting as its messiah from the Western backed sanctions. The tradition is usually, when a coup occurs, Western powers condemn the coup, call for return to democracy and severed diplomatic relations with such country. The lack of quick diplomatic maneuver by Nigeria created a power vacuum which allow international scavengers to consolidate their influence in the country.

The cutting of electricity supply to Niger and the closure of its international borders by Nigeria was a breaking point in the relations between the two historically friendly countries as it was considered an exercise of a last resort. Nigeria should have explored the use of smart power to entice Niger rather than an outright hard power sanctions. For instance, Nigeria-Niger energy partnership has been vital to the flow of water from the Niger River into two major power stations in Kainji and Jebba with a combined power generation capacity of 1,330 Megawatts while Nigeria supply electricity to Niger in exchange. However, this created a trust deficit between the two states and threatened their energy security.

The growing influence of Russia in the Sahel and West Africa has several implications. First, there is increasing geopolitical realignment which culminated in alternative supranational organisations such as the Alliance for the Sahel. Second, Russia’s overt military support for the Junta proliferates coups across the regions. Third, Russia’s disinformation depletes Nigeria’s attractiveness and dominance in the region. Fourth, Russia’s search for coastal access to strengthen its foothold in the region is an issue of great concern. These challenges posed an impasse between democracy and dictatorship.

Looking forward, to address these foreign policy challenges will be critical if Nigeria must assert herself as a regional hegemon with substantial geopolitical influence among the community of states. It is not in doubt that Nigeria’s traditional sphere of influence in West Africa and the Sahel has been threatened by the coups, particularly their withdrawal from ECOWAS diminishes regional cohesion while allowing Russia’s influence to flourish in the region. Therefore, for Nigeria to exert geostrategic and geopolitical influence, she must deliberately adopt smart power strategies and show of force in combining soft and hard power.

Firstly, Nigeria must improve coordination between the intelligence agencies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for prompt response leading to strategic foreign policy decision making. Secondly, Nigeria must move from its accidental public diplomacy to deliberately use institutional synergy and its cultural wealth such as music, sports, food, films and fabric to influence its attractiveness. By intentionally leveraging on the abundance of its soft power resources, Nigeria can push back on regional lack of cohesion. Thirdly, strengthening regional alliances despite the emergence of the Alliance of Sahel States (Alliance des États du Sahel-AES), foreign publics engagements, promotion of regional security initiative such as the Multinational Joint Taskforce. It is imperative for Nigeria to re-assert itself and champion counter efforts against Russian disinformation and predatory influences.

Fourthly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must galvanise foreign policy think tanks and the intelligence community to provide early detection of emerging foreign policy phenomenon. For instance, Nigeria Institute for International Affairs (NIIA) can put up an initiative that will map and organise foreign policy experts in clusters for interdisciplinary collaboration and to provide analysis on pressing foreign policy issues that will enhance intelligence and decisionmaking.

Fifthly, Nigeria’s economic foreign policy must bring together commercial entities with transnational capacity such as the Dangote Group, BUA group and Innoson Motors to mention but a few to the forefront in advancing its national interest in the region and beyond.

By and large, to deal with the shifting regional alliance, Nigeria needs to recalibrate its “Africa as the centrepiece” strategy with a more pragmatic approach to dealing with the realities of emerging geopolitics and national interests. Russian will remain opportunistic while the Western will continue to challenge Russia and other revisionist states in Africa. Nigeria must position itself as a melting pot and take advantage of the dynamic changes in the region. As a regional hegemon, Nigeria must remain focus on strengthening regional alliances, invest generously in public diplomacy, and foster regional security cooperation. By and large, Nigeria remains an important buffer against Russia’s calculated strategy of expansion. It must be decisive in countering the geopolitical encroachment of predatory states to remain relevant in its traditional sphere of influence in the region.

News

Alleged N8bn scam: Achimugu yet to fulfill EFCC bail conditions

Published

4 hours ago

May 4, 2025

ADMIN

Embattled businesswoman Aisha Achimugu is yet to meet the bail conditions set by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) because her two sureties have no landed property in Abuja.

Aisha was still in custody at the weekend over alleged N8.71billion oil bloc transactions.

The EFCC will on Monday verify the claims of new two sureties.

A top EFCC source said: “Aisha is still in detention until she meets the bail conditions.

“The court mandated the EFCC to set bail conditions. We asked her to bring two sureties with landed property in Abuja. Her sureties could not meet our terms.

She produced new sureties on Friday. We will verify the claims of those standing for her on Monday.

If these sureties do not fulfill the required conditions, she will remain with us.”

She, however, will account for how she came about 136 bank accounts, especially corporate types.

Mrs. Achimugu was declared wanted by the EFCC in March 2025 on allegations of criminal conspiracy and money laundering.

According to an affidavit by an EFCC investigator, Nr. Chris Odofin, Mrs. Achimugu was under investigation for alleged conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, money laundering, corruption, and possession of property reasonably suspected to have been acquired through unlawful means

The affidavit also showed the applicant operates a total of 136 bank accounts across 10 different banks, both personal and corporate.

Achimugu, in her statement according to the affidavit, said the inflow of N8.71 billion into her corporate bank accounts was an ”investment fund” for acquisition of an oil bloc.

She said the cash was transferred to the Federal Government’s account through her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, referencing documentation from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

But findings by the EFCC confirmed that Achimugu’s company actually acquired two oil blocs, Shallow Water PPL 3007 and Deep Offshore PPL 302-DO at the cost of $25.3 million.

The payments were allegedly made through bureau de change operators.

The EFCC was looking at clues on the likely sources of the funds.

The commission also alleged that the acquisition of the oil blocs was not transparent enough.

Nation