News
ADAMS OSHIOMOLE: The Labour Leader Died
By Babs Daramola
There are moments in a nation’s life when words shock more than bullets. Not because they are violent, but because they are absurd, disconnected and offensive to reality.
When Senator Adams Oshiomhole recently went on national television and declared that Nigerians are now complaining that food is becoming too cheap under President Bola Tinubu, the country did not just hear a statement; it witnessed a rupture in memory, history, and identity.
This was not said by a random politician, or by an out-of-touch technocrat. This was said by Adams Oshiomhole, the one we once knew as the fiery labour leader, street-fighter for the masses; the man who once stood toe-to-toe with power on behalf of the oppressed. And that is what makes it painful.
There was a time when Adams Oshiomhole’s name was synonymous with resistance, courage and labour struggle. He was the voice of the voiceless. He was the man who confronted government with data, with facts, with moral authority. He was a man who spoke the language of the streets because he came from the streets.
This was a man who understood hunger. Who understood inflation. Who understood the cost of survival. So when that same man now looks Nigerians in the face and says food is becoming too cheap, something deeper than politics has gone wrong.
It would be understandable, though still unforgivable, if our distinguished senator now suffers a selective amnesia where facts and data should live. So, let’s help his memory:
In 2022, on a minimum wage of ₦33,000, a Nigerian worker could buy three bags of rice, sometimes even four. Today, with ₦70,000, that same worker struggles to buy one bag of good rice.
In 2022, a full tank of fuel for some cars cost about ₦22,000. Today, an entire minimum wage can’t fill that same tank.A 350g box of cornflakes rose from around ₦600 to ₦3,500 in the same period, while a 900g loaf of bread moved from ₦600 to ₦2,000. A crate of eggs climbed from ₦600 to ₦6,000. These are just scattered samples from a marketplace drowning in inflation.
One then wonders how a man once defined by data and discipline now finds it so convenient to falsify reality on the altar of partisan exuberance, trading truth for loyalty, and conscience for convenience.
So when anyone, especially Adams Oshiomhole, says food is becoming too cheap in Nigeria, it is not just incorrect. It is insulting.
It is one thing to argue that prices may be stabilizing or slowing down compared to last year. It is another thing to claim that food is now cheap. But to say food is becoming too cheap borders on the ludicrous.
That narrative holds neither on the grounds of optimism nor on any known macroeconomic logic. It is pure fiction.People often think poverty destroys reasoning. But Nigerian politicians are daily proving to us that comfort, power and privilege can do the same.
They are letting us know that proximity to authority can breed psychophancy If a man likes Senator Adams Oshiomole can gleefully tell us that food is becoming too cheap under Tinubu’s administration, it only shows one thing: comfort can detach a person from reality; too much power can erase memory, and tha too much politics can rewrite conscience. And that is exactly what we are witnessing.Let’s just pause for a moment.
Imagine the Adams Oshiomhole of the labour movement era leading a union under the current Tinubu administration.
This country would not know peace. Power would not sleep. Policy would be pressured. That Oshiomhole would have shaken this system so badly the government would either be forced to give or go. But that man is gone. What remains is a politician.
Adams Oshiomhole has every right to defend his party. He has every right to defend his political benefactor. He has every right to defend government policies. That is democracy. That is freedom of speech. That is political alignment. But there is a line. And that line is insulting the intelligence and suffering of Nigerians. Defending policy is one thing; manufacturing fantasy is another.
But, honestly, here’s the truth: The real tragedy is not the statement. The tragedy is what it represents. How politics can change people. How power can rewrite identity. How comfort can erase compassion. How partisanship can silence conscience.
Even a deaf and dumb man on the street knows food is not by any means cheap in Nigeria, in relation to available means. The market woman knows it. The bus driver knows it. The mechanic knows it. The teacher knows it. The student knows it. The unemployed youth knows it. Nigeria knows it.
So when a man who once fought for the masses tells the masses that their suffering is imagination, the betrayal is not political; it is moral.
This is not the Adams Oshiomhole we knew. As Professor Wole Soyinka once implied in another context: The man died. True, the labour leader died. What remains is a politician who speaks not from the streets, but from the comfort of power.
And that, more than anything else, is the real tragedy.
Babs Daramola is a Lagos-based broadcast journalist
The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) will hold its 2026 All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Enugu, on September 24 and 25.
The flagship annual gathering is expected to attract more than 500 editors from across the country and distinguished guests to discuss critical national and global issues with social, economic and political implications. It comes ahead of the 2027 general election.
The theme is “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,” with the sub-theme “When Lies Look Real: Detecting and Debunking AI Disinformation Before, During and After Election.” His Royal Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha, will chair the conference.
Former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, will deliver the keynote address at the opening ceremony on September 24 from 2pm. Prof. Auwal Yadudu of the Faculty of Law, Bayero University, Kano, will speak on “Public Trust, Electoral Justice and Democratic Stability.” Enugu State Governor Dr. Peter Mbah will also address the conference.
Ombudsman and Public Protector of ThisDay Newspapers, Kayode Komolafe, and veteran journalist and civil rights campaigner Owei Lakemfa will jointly present on “Reporting Terrorism Without Becoming a Tool for Terrorists.”
On September 25, immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, will speak at 9am on “Election Petitions in the Digital Age: Independence, Evidence, BVAS and the Courts.” Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Paul University, Awka, Prof. Chinyere Okunna, will address “Neutrality, Professionalism and Election Security in Democratic Governance.” Founder and Chief Medical Director of Save A Life Hospital, Port Harcourt, Dr. Richard Okoye, will speak on “The Human Side of Journalism: Managing Stress, Deadlines and Personal Wellbeing.”
Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media at Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA, Prof. Farooq A. Kperogi, will examine the sub-theme on detecting and debunking AI disinformation around elections.
An Executive Session is scheduled for 12:30pm on the second day, during which editors will engage governors, political party leaders and heads of government agencies on issues of national importance.
According to a statement by NGE President Eze Anaba and General Secretary Onuoha Ukeh, the conference will provide a platform for editors and stakeholders to examine pathways for advancing democratic governance, promoting national development and strengthening nation-building through responsible journalism. It will also allow media leaders to interrogate challenges facing democracy and the media’s role in safeguarding credible elections, public trust and democratic values.
President Bola Tinubu has constituted the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 elections, with himself as chairman and Vice President Kashim Shettima as vice chairman.
According to a State House statement released on Saturday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), former Zamfara State governor Senator Abdulaziz Yari will serve as Director-General of the campaign. Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State is the secretary.
APC National Chairman Professor Nentawe Yilwatda will also serve as vice chairman. National Secretary Senator Ajibola Bashiru and Hadiza Bala-Usman are deputy and assistant secretaries respectively.
The council’s body of advisers includes Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Segun Osoba, Senator Rochas Okorocha, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Senator Florence Ita Giwa.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas and Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni have been named deputy directors-general for the South and North. They will work with Senators Bamidele Opeyemi and Jibril Barau in the two zones.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole is deputy director-general in charge of mobilisation, while the President’s Chief of Staff is deputy director-general for administration. James Abiodun Faleke returns as deputy director-general for election planning, coordination and monitoring.
Zonal directors under Faleke are: Senator Olushola Adeyeye (South West), Dr Ngozi Olejeme (South South), Senator Uche Ekwunife (South East), Muntaqha Rabe (North West), Ahmed Muhammed Ketso (North Central) and Senator Sani Danladi (North East). Stella Okotete, Engineer Abdullahi Garba Ramat and Audu Maikori are secretaries of the election planning directorate.
Muiz Adeyemi Banire heads the legal directorate, with Dr Liman Hassan and Babatunde Ogala as deputies. Other members include Prince Lateef Fagbemi, former governor Ibrahim Shema, Worgu Boms and Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh.
Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris Malagi will coordinate the media and strategic communication directorate alongside Dele Alake, Bayo Onanuga and Lanre Issa-Onilu. Coordinating deputy directors are Tunde Rahman, Sunday Dare, Daniel Bwala and Felix Morka. Abdulaziz AbdulAziz, Temitope Ajayi, Arabinrin Aderonke and Frederick Nwabufor are coordinating secretaries, while Segun Dada returns as Director of New Media with Solomon Arowolo as secretary.
Five spokespersons, led by Dele Alake, have also been appointed: Alwan Hassan, Ayobami Oyalowo, Kemi Asekun-Shittu and Adamu Fanda.
President Tinubu charged members of the council to work tirelessly for the party’s victory in the January 2027 elections and urged directors to involve other party members not formally listed.
“We have delivered on our campaign promises and set our country on a path of economic progress. We are definitely out of the dark tunnel and are now at the cusp of reaping the benefits of a prosperous economy that will benefit all Nigerians.
As we march into the campaign season, we have many achievements to trumpet—let us confidently showcase our record and inspire hope in every corner of our nation. Let us soundly defeat all those forces who plan to take our country backwards,” the President said.
President Tinubu Orders Arrests, Suspends Permanent Secretaries
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered another fake agency operating from within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
According to sources familiar with the investigation, the illegal entity was discovered during an ongoing probe into fraudulent government structures. The so-called agency allegedly functioned under the cover of the SGF’s office, raising serious questions about internal oversight and possible collusion by senior civil servants.
In a swift response, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of all individuals linked to the fake agency. The President has also directed the suspension of the Permanent Secretaries connected to the matter pending the conclusion of full investigations.
The development marks another high-profile case of institutional fraud being exposed by the ICPC within the Federal Civil Service. Officials say further details of the operation and the identities of those involved are expected to be made public as the probe intensifies.
The Presidency has described the discovery as “unacceptable” and vowed that those found culpable will face the full weight of the law.
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