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Let Us Make A New Deal For Nigeria , by Chukwuma Soludo

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▪︎Being a Convocation Lecture delivered at the Veritas University, Abuja; 7th November, 2024, by Chukwuma Charles Soludo, Governor, Anambra State.

This University is a promising unique experiment in Catholic higher education, and I am glad to celebrate with you on this 13th Convocation ceremony.

This University A Real Centre of Excellence

About 2014, I led a discussion on the financial sustainability of the University under the auspices of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria’s (CBCN) finance committee.I am therefore thrilled to learn that the University has not only grown phenomenally over the past 10 years in every aspect but has become a real centre of excellence.

Let me salute the vision of the founding fathers as well as the hard work and determination of the successive management of the University to bring it to this spectacular stage.

800 Students Graduate

May I, at this moment, congratulate all the 800 graduating students for having been found worthy in character and learning to deserve the degrees of this University.

Perhaps, commiserations are also in order, and I will come to this later.I confessed to your Vice-Chancellor, Rev. Fr. (Prof.) Hyacinth Ichoku (who was my student) a few days ago that I was not sure what to say to you at this event.

Graduation Speech or Motivational Speeches

Graduation speeches have become a cliche.I am not sure I remembered what was said at my own graduation lecture nor even who delivered it.In sum, they have become motivational speeches on how fresh graduates should seize the moment and conquer the world— with a litany of principles and practical guides to successful living.

There are dozens of self-help books and with phones in your hands, you can Google and educate yourselves better. Or better still, with variants of Artificial Intelligence platforms, AI can help you piece together a better “to-do list” for fresh graduates.

So, increasingly graduation speeches might become a waste of time for everyone. I will, therefore, disappoint you since I will not rehash those “how to succeed” homilies here.

Quite frankly, I expected a near-empty hall for this event!For me particularly, what should a state governor at this moment in Nigeria (governors are largely the butt of many jokes) be telling fresh graduates?

Limited Edition Generation

Second, my generation of the 1960s,1970s and older ones constitute what I describe as the “Limited Edition Generation ” generation.

Someone noted that we are the last generation to listen to and take care of our parents and the first that are forced to listen to and even take care of our children until death.

So, I just wonder whether we should not reverse the roles: you do the talking while I do the listening?

Or can you endure the torture of my boring advisory?

I graduated 40 years ago in 1984

As I stand before you, I can feel some parallels between my own graduation and yours today.

Yes, I graduated 40 years ago in 1984, and I recall the hope and despair we all felt as we came from our various postings for the National Youths Service for the Convocation ceremony.

The military was groping in search of answers to Nigeria’s myriad and seemingly intractable social, political, and economic problems.

It was the year of severe austerity measures, with long queues for the so-called “essential commodities” (rice, salt, milk, vegetable oil, etc) as well as rationing of foreign exchange.

The era of NEPA, NITEL and SAP 

The Nigerian Electric Power Authority (NEPA) was derisively described as meaning “Never Expect Power Always,” while the less than 200,000 available telephone lines were largely moribund.

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) removed subsidies on students’ feeding in the universities, and the subsequent Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) came with all the SAP-related riots and protests.

ASUU strikes closed universities for months/years. That was the beginning of an era when jobs for university graduates could no longer be taken for granted.

Which Way Nigeria?

There was an acute scarcity of basics with rising inflation, unemployment, and poverty while the War Against Corruption and Indiscipline was launched. This was the year we all thought that Nigeria had fallen apart.

Sonny Okosun summed up the collective despair and hopelessness in his famous song entitled: “Which Way Nigeria?”

Please Google and listen to the song—40 years ago!Fast-forward to today, 40 years after. You are all graduating in 2024—the year that Nigeria finally summoned the courage to end decades of debilitating and destructive petrol subsidies as well as forex and electricity subsidies, with all the consequential shocks including, once again, rising headline and food inflation as well as poverty and unemployment.

Criminality Becomes The “ New Economy”

It is also the year of the big floods which have affected 34 states and displaced nearly two million Nigerians. Criminality has become the “new economy”—banditry, kidnapping and drug epidemic. Much of our public service is transactional rather than transformational, and it is increasingly becoming difficult for people to render service except it benefits them personally.

The quest for money as an end is deafening, and for a growing percentage of our youths, their motto in life is: “Get rich young or die trying.”

For many, it is increasingly difficult to maintain balance, especially in a culture where virtue has little currency.

The global megatrends are such that only those who have scalable skills and continuously innovate and adapt will thrive.

The United States has just elected Donald Trump as president with some trepidations and hopes for what it portends for the world. Soon, you will face some uncomfortable truths.

Your Dream Jobs Are Not There

For starters, your dream jobs are not there, and about 80% of you will not practise what you studied. It is scary and I am not sure how adequately the University has prepared you for survival in chaotic times.

As I draw the parallels between my time of graduation and yours, I am not sure whether to say congratulations or commiserations.

But what you make of the current situation depends on whether you see it as a challenge or an opportunity.

For me, Nigeria remains the Black man’s greatest opportunity. National Youth Service The next year–your one year of National Youth Service may be the year for re-setting.

You will meet new people; you will stumble on new ideas—good and bad; and you may even try some adventures.

Community Service

One day a week, you will have what we used to call a day for “community service.”

Make that day count! It might be your rehearsal for selfless public service. Start with Volunteerism: volunteer to serve at every opportunity.

Do something good for the benefit of society from which you do not expect to be paid. It is a pivotal year, your balcony moment, and you must make it count.

During my youth service at the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife), I attended all M.Sc classes in the Department of Economics—though I was not a registered student.

Perhaps, part of the impetus for me to resign from Coopers and Lybrand after five months to go back for post-graduate studies may have come from my NYSC experience.

My tailor in Abuja, Mr. Adekunle from Osun State, is a graduate of Geology from the University of Maiduguri.

He sold used clothes during his NYSC in Akwa Ibom and, from there, learned tailoring during the same service.

Today, he has more than 150 tailors, 30 graduates in Management, and other staff—all totalling over 200, working for him.I can cite over 100 similar examples. Thus, what happens in this one year of your ‘national service’ might determine whether Nigeria ends up as a half-empty or half-full glass for you.

Still, on your personal survival, let me add a little digression. Many of you probably only studied/read seriously while preparing for examinations, and believe that henceforth, the torture is over.

Bad News for You

I have bad news for you. Your bachelor’s degree (B.A.) might mean “Begin Again.”In today’s world, there is a connection between continuous learning and earning.

If you stop learning, you start decaying, or you can sum it up in a slogan: learn more to earn more! I have heard several of the richest people in the world brag about how many non-fiction books they read in a year.

I will not say more.As you venture into the uncertain world, you will need all the help you can get. You will need all the networks and partnerships you can get. Success in life is not just about what you know but even more so about whom you know.

As the saying goes, if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. So, you will need the help of others to get ahead.

Anything” Cannot Take You “Anywhere”

Soon, you will start looking for jobs or other ‘help’ from people to jumpstart a new life.

For some decades, I always had young people approach me to help them find a job, and when you ask, ‘What do you want to do,’ a common answer was, “Anything.” Of course, “anything” cannot take you “anywhere” because as the saying goes, “if you don’t have a destination in mind, any road will take you there.”

So, my only tip to you on this occasion is to always seek intentionally to add value. Before you approach someone for help, there is a minimum investment/preparation you must make to be ready to be “helped.”

When you approach people, start with what value you will bring to the table—how you intend to ‘help them.’ This might sound counterintuitive.   Paradoxically, that is also how you make money. Making money cannot be an objective; adding value is what makes money.

The Richest People in The World

Think of it for a moment. The richest people in the world (through enterprise, and not through rent or criminality) are those who set out to solve specific problems for society and money followed as a reward—naturally!. Think of the inventors, the software developers who set out to connect people socially (Facebook, Twitter, etc), industrialists, consultants, tailors, traders, or anyone seeking to create value for customers, and how money followed them consequently.

So, the next time you approach someone for help, start by telling them what you can also do for them, and you will see that they are more likely to listen to you than if you approach them for charity.

When You Are Applying for a Job

When you are going to apply for a job, spend time researching how you can help to improve the fortune of the company.

Instead of just “applying for a job,” write them a proposal on what you can offer, and you will see the difference.

Try it! Sorry, I veered off into advisory which I promised not to get into. Let me share some statistics that may jolt you to action.

Without a doubt, the first need of man is survival and safety. Maslow prioritized human needs as physiological needs (air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, sleep, and health), safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

Incomes Distribution

Again, the reality is that given Nigeria’s current income distribution, more than 60% of you may not go beyond satisfying the first need –physiological needs. When I was Governor of the Central Bank, we had a study that gave us a casual inference about the income distribution/inequality in Nigeria (beyond the Gini coefficient).

We discovered that 92% of the millions of depositors in Nigerian commercial banks had bank balances of N300,000 or less. But this 92% of depositors controlled about 7% of the total deposits, while the 8% that had over N300,000 controlled 93% of the total deposits.

I understand that a similar exercise was repeated several years later with a threshold of N500,000 and the distribution was largely unchanged.

Someone can crudely interpret this to mean that about 8% of the population controls 93% of the income, while 92% of the people control just 7% of income.

Crude as the statistics may seem but it tells a thousand stories and highlights the context of a society in which our new graduates must thrive and excel.

Unemployed or underemployed

I know many of you will already be casting and binding and praying that it is not your portion to end up among the 92% or among the many who may remain unemployed or underemployed for several years after your national service.

The point, however, is that if we all do not work to alter the meta-level architecture that produces such outcomes, much of our efforts at individual survival might be circumscribed.

My Core Message to YOU

This brings me to my core message to you: the current situation in Nigeria is not destiny. Everyone—I mean, everyone including you, the new graduates, can and must do something about it. Nation-building is too serious a business to be left to the politicians or public servants alone. A new social contract with basic socio-economic rights is possible.

Mission of Veritas University

Luckily, you are graduates of Veritas University—whose mission broadly interpreted is to mould new Nigerians that will create a new Nigeria. Let me bore you by reminding you of the Mission of your University, as boldly stated on the school’s website as follows: 

“The mission of Veritas University is to provide its students with an integral and holistic formation that combines academic and professional training with physical, moral, spiritual, social and cultural formation together with the formation of Christian religious principles and the social Teachings of the Catholic Church…

Based on Christian inspiration and Christ’s sacrificial witness, the University shall promote authentic human and cultural development modelled on the person of Christ and shall champion the cause of justice and uprightness in society, work to empower the weak and the marginalized and promote dialogue and collaboration in human relationships at various levels and among various cultures and religions…..

Thus, graduates from Veritas University, Abuja, after successfully completing their studies, should be able to use the knowledge for the upliftment of themselves and the Nigerian society…

”Wow! The public-purpose mission of your university is a bold statement of progressive social thought. Combine the Catholic Social Teachings with Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life” and laced with Chapter Two of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (“Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy”), and you have a robust Progressive ideology and manifesto.

I pray that these documents can be mandatory readings in one of the ‘General Studies’ courses at your university. If your students/Nigerians take them as their compass in pursuit of private and public good, a new Nigeria will indeed be on the way.

These documents motivate us to a life driven by purpose above self and remind us that to serve is to live. Selfless public service is the greatest form of philanthropy.

I am in love with pragmatic progressivism, particularly Chapter Two of our Constitution, which provides a compass to a competitive yet humane and compassionate society where no one is left behind. It seeks to establish the social contract between the State and the citizens, although this contract is adjudged non-justiciable.

Making much of the aspirational contents of Chapter Two of the Constitution justiciable will create a new generation of Nigerians who feel a great debt of gratitude and, therefore, are fired by an intense sense of nationalism/patriotism to want to “give back to society.”

Increasingly, I meet young people who argue that they do not feel any sense of obligation/duty to the country.

They do not feel that the country has invested in them to demand patriotism and duty to the country. Unlike my generation, the nation did not offer them qualitative and tuition-free education at all levels. Why, after pulling themselves by their own bootstraps, should they care for Nigeria that has not cared for them? Sometimes it is difficult to respond appropriately without bringing God into the conversation.

Often, my answer is to remind everyone that if God, in His infinite wisdom, decided to make us Nigerians, there must be a purpose—and that purpose must be for us to contribute to His creation by leaving the country better than we met it. I must admit that this Homily, ennobling as it sounds, is not enough.

We must collectively do something to give every Nigerian a stake in the future of the country. Nigeria is undergoing a fundamental and disruptive reset. Hopefully, we have ended the debilitating scam called fuel subsidy as well as the forex and electricity subsidies. We have entered a “muddling-through” phase which we must navigate carefully. Soon we must migrate from the destructive subsidies that benefitted largely the urban elite to a productive social contract that creates opportunity for all.

Take education for example. I am a beneficiary of tuition-free, qualitative primary, secondary and university education in public schools.

We even had subsidized meals at the public University until the government could no longer afford them.

If there was nothing else that the military regimes used our first and second oil booms for, at least I can attest to their investment in education.

My generation will remain grateful, and for some of us, much of our life, especially in public service, is payback time.

As we muddle through the shocks occasioned by the needed disruptive changes, we must sit and craft a pragmatic New Deal for Nigeria plus an emergency national infrastructure plan akin to the U.S. Marshall Plan for Europe after the Second World War.

In the 21st and 22nd centuries driven by digitalization, only societies that intentionally mine their human capital will triumph.

A New Deal for the U.S. was a “series of programs, public works projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the U.S. between 1933 and 1938 to rescue the U.S. from the Great Depression”.

Some elements of the New Deal, such as the Minimum Wage legislation, Draft Tax Reform Bill, planned cash transfers, etc, as well as the audacious Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Lagos-Skoto highway, are positive signs.

This moment calls for historic coordination between the federal and state governments to agree on the critical elements of the augmented New Deal and Marshall Plan as well as their implementation to deliver outcomes within the shortest possible time. A key issue will be the ‘national plan’ for the deployment of the apparent “fiscal/subsidy windfall.”

I say “apparent” windfall because much of the nominal increase in fiscal revenues is largely a money illusion.

In both US dollar terms and real purchasing power terms, much of the current revenue windfall is still far lower than in previous years.

For example, a state that received N5 billion or US$43.4 million as monthly FAAC allocation in 2007/8 when the exchange rate was N118 to the dollar and a bag of cement sold for a few hundred Naira would need to receive at least N77 billion a month at current exchange rate and prices to be restored to its 2007/8 position.

Infrastructure for the 21st and 22nd Centuries

But the state does not get even a third of such. Fixing the oil output will be a critical game changer in the short to medium term.

However minuscule or even non-existent the windfall in real terms, the federation must be seen to intentionally execute a new Deal that pragmatically coheres with our peculiar federalism while urgently addressing the needs of the people.

Besides the humongous investment to build infrastructure for the 21st century, we urgently need to prioritize our national investment in human capital— to transform our abundant human resources into productive capital.

In the 21st and 22nd centuries driven by digitalization, only societies that intentionally mine their human capital will triumph.

Deploying our depleting natural resources to invest in the bridge to the future—human capital—will not only give our teeming population a stake in society but also secure their future.

As a country, we must aim to remember this time in our history as the moment when we dared to remove the negative subsidies but deployed a part of the windfall to benefit our children and youths—via their education and health.

At the minimum, we should set a national target to bring out-of-school children to zero within 5-8 years and qualitative tuition-free secondary education to all Nigerian children within 10 years while mainstreaming selected centres of excellence for the exportable labour force.

As pragmatic progressives, we are trying the experiment in Anambra State.

Within our two and half years in office, we have kept our eyes on creating this future we desire.

Besides the historically unprecedented investment in transport networks especially to communities/local governments that never saw tarred roads/bridges/flyovers, aggressive urban regeneration, state-wide pipe-borne water revolution, three new cities including an entertainment/leisure city (fun-city) and an industrial city, breaking the 33-year old jinx of giving Anambra a government house/governor’s lodge, reforming and strengthening the public service, massive investment in security, law and order; etc, we have prioritized human capital development as our beacon to the future. We aim for human capital that is productive at home and exportable abroad.

There is an ongoing infrastructure revolution in our public hospitals—building/modernizing and equipping 326 primary health centres in 326 wards in the state; remodelled and equipping three general hospitals and completing/equipping five new general hospitals; pioneering telemedicine; building best-in-class trauma centre in our tertiary hospital as well as a world-class college of nursing sciences, etc.

Our health policy offers free antenatal services (with drugs) as well as free delivery (including CS surgeries) to pregnant women in all public hospitals. So far over 60,000 women have benefitted and with near zero mortality rate. 

On education, besides the massive infrastructure upgrade of primary and secondary schools (with some migrating to smart education), we set out to end the era of schools without teachers by employing 8,115 new teachers.

We now have free education—free of tuition and all levies—in all public primary and secondary schools in Anambra.

We also subsidize Mission primary and secondary schools by posting thousands of government teachers to their schools, costing the government over N1.3 billion per month as a subsidy them. We also make grants to them as well as grants to Mission tertiary institutions.

Within the first nine months of the programme, enrolment in public schools increased by 18.7% and out-of-school children dropped to 2.9% — the lowest in Nigeria among the thirty-six states and FCT. Currently, we are aiming for zero out-of-school children.

One Youth, 2Skills Programme

Our investment in youths, with our innovative ‘One Youth, 2Skills Programme’— which the FGN has now adapted into the national curricula, has created over 5,000 new entrepreneurs, with an additional 8,300 soon to complete their apprenticeship and will be empowered to become an entrepreneur.

Our innovation district— our own Silicon Valley—aims to create a One Million digital tribe army, and so far, tens of thousands have received digital training including Coding skills.

Many are already employed in the digital space. We are very intentional in this drive to empower the next generation to take charge of their lives and move Nigeria forward.

Our goal is to break the dynasties of poverty by making education the ladder of opportunity for the poor to break the vicious circle.

When I was growing up, the children of the rich and the poor attended the same school and were taught by the same teacher. If the children of the poor were brilliant, they had a chance to do better than the children of the rich.

Today, not anymore! The children of the rich now attend expensive and well-resourced private schools while the children of the poor, especially the poorest of the poor attend poorly resourced public/community schools.

With poor learning outcomes, these children of the poor end up with no skills/opportunities and end up poor while their own children end the same way. Poverty, therefore, becomes a dynasty.

All of us must intentionally work to break this vicious cycle. A new national social contract can intentionally eliminate illiteracy and upscale the labour force within a generation. Yes, it is possible!

The year 2050 Expectations

By 2050, it is expected that there will be more than 400 million Nigerians and by the end of this century, Nigeria will be the third most populated country in the world after India and China.

With an ageing Europe and North America, Nigeria must opportunistically prepare to become the number one supplier of labour to the rest of the world.

Probably by then, the export of labour will be Nigeria’s largest source of export earnings. So, the Nigerian state must deliberately prioritize and invest in the people—especially their health and education.

We may have to rethink the current structure and model of education in the country. We must now conclude.

The governing elite has a state of emergency in our hands, and we must not fail the country. Every citizen is called to duty. God did not make a mistake in making us Nigerians.

To our young graduates, Veritas University has imbued you with knowledge, skills, and social thought to mobilize you for the public good. The future you seek is in your palms, and only those who plan can control the future.

As I look into your eyes, I can see hope. Yes, Nigeria may not have offered you much, but in fulfilment of your divine purpose on earth, you will be expected to give more than you have received.

I therefore urge you all to show up and participate in shaping the destiny of this nation.

We are Nigerians and this country belongs to all of us. We are all birds of passage but each of us must account to our Creator what we did while at our pilgrim post here on earth.

As I look around, I do not see many of the doyens of Nigeria’s first, second and even third republics.

Let no one tell you that you are the leaders of tomorrow.

That tomorrow is here: take it and shape it so that Nigeria can realize its manifest destiny as the greatest Black power and the leader in the 22nd century.

May your road be rough, and let us get it done, together!

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Electoral Reform, Politics, and Broken Promises: Nigeria’s Democracy at a Crossroads

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The August 16, 2025 by-elections were supposed to be a routine democratic exercise — a constitutional means of filling vacant parliamentary seats across 12 states in Nigeria. Instead, they became another tragic reminder of the dysfunction that has come to define Nigeria’s electoral system. For many Nigerians, these elections weren’t just flawed; they were a grim preview of the 2027 general elections, and a painful echo of broken promises long past.

From faulty equipment and logistical nightmares to voter intimidation, violence, and brazen vote-buying — the elections descended into what many now describe as a sham. Even by Nigerian standards, the scale of irregularities shocked the public. Reports from civil society groups and observers such as the Movement for the Transformation of Nigeria (MOTiON) and Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) painted a bleak picture: systemic inefficiency by INEC, failure of BVAS and IREV technologies, and the open exchange of cash for votes. One trader was even caught with ₦25 million in cash — not in a bank, but at a polling unit in Kaduna.

This isn’t just about one election gone wrong. It’s about a country whose political elite continue to sabotage reform, abuse power, and weaponize dysfunction for personal gain. The by-elections were, quite frankly, a dress rehearsal for what may become a democratic collapse if nothing changes before 2027.


A Legacy of Violence and Decay

Nigeria has always had a troubled relationship with elections. From the bloody contests of the First Republic to the annulled 1993 election, and now to digital-age vote-rigging, the playbook has remained largely the same: violence, manipulation, and the subversion of democratic will.

The names may have changed, but the tactics haven’t. In Kano, more than 300 armed thugs were arrested with weapons ranging from pump-action rifles to swords — not in a warzone, but during elections. Across the country, politicians deploy money and muscle to win at all costs. Why? Because the stakes are high — public office in Nigeria is not about service, it’s a gateway to personal enrichment.

As Dr. Charles Mezie-Okoye of the University of Port Harcourt aptly put it: “What we just witnessed is a tip of the iceberg.” He’s not exaggerating. If this is what by-elections look like, what will happen when the presidency and all legislative seats are up for grabs in 2027?


Reform Talk, No Reform Action

After the disaster that was the 2007 general election, even late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua admitted it was flawed. He established the Justice Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee, which made bold and well-reasoned recommendations. Chief among them: remove the power to appoint the INEC chairman from the president, unbundle INEC to improve efficiency, and create an Electoral Offences Commission to tackle violence and impunity.

But more than 15 years later, most of those reforms remain on paper. Successive administrations and lawmakers have cherry-picked cosmetic amendments to the Electoral Act while ignoring the foundational problems. The appointments to INEC remain heavily politicised. Electoral violence continues to go unpunished. And the 2022 amendments — though progressive in some areas — did not address the power dynamics that choke the credibility out of Nigerian elections.

Let’s be honest: the political class has no incentive to reform a system that keeps them in power.


Trust in INEC Is at an All-Time Low

In 2023, INEC registered 93.5 million voters. 87 million collected their PVCs. But only around 27% showed up to vote. That’s a historic low. Even Zimbabwe in 1996 had a better turnout. This isn’t just voter apathy — it’s voter despair.

Nigerians are tired of elections that don’t reflect their will. Tired of queuing under the sun to vote, only for the results to be written in backrooms. Tired of a rigged system that rewards impunity and punishes honesty. And when trust in the electoral process erodes, democracy becomes hollow.

As Professor Ken Nweke puts it, “Citizens’ trust in government depends on the quality of institutions. Appointing devious persons into these institutions erodes that trust.”


2027: Another Election or Another Crisis?

With less than two years to go until the next general election, the warning signs are flashing red. Civil society is alarmed. Political analysts are worried. Ordinary Nigerians are anxious.

If the system is already this broken during by-elections, there is every reason to fear for what might happen in 2027. This could be Nigeria’s last chance to save its democracy — or at least what’s left of it.


What Must Be Done

  1. Implement the Uwais Report: Not selectively. Not half-heartedly. Fully. This includes taking the appointment of INEC chairperson out of presidential control and creating an Electoral Offences Commission.
  2. Strengthen Institutions, Not Just Technology: BVAS and IREV won’t work if the people managing them are corrupt or poorly trained. Electoral credibility starts with competent and independent institutions.
  3. Hold Politicians Accountable: Vote-buying, violence, and electoral manipulation must be prosecuted without exception. Enough with the impunity.
  4. Empower Citizens: Civil society, trade unions, faith-based organisations — all must put pressure on the National Assembly and presidency to act now. Reform must be people-driven, not politician-led.

A Final Word

Nigeria’s democracy is sick — and it’s not a mystery why. Broken promises, compromised institutions, and a political culture that rewards violence and deceit have poisoned the system.

But it’s not too late. If Nigerians choose to organise, resist, and demand accountability, this nation’s story can still change. History teaches us that democracies die not just from coups, but from indifference. We cannot afford that.

Now is the time to act. 2027 is not far off. And unless urgent reforms are implemented, we may be heading for a political crisis we won’t walk away from.


About the Author
This article was written exclusively for Ohibaba.com.

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UNGA2025: World Leaders Cannot Achieve Gender Equality Without UNMen in the Global Agenda

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• Halima Layeni

By Halima Layeni

As world leaders converge for the 80th United Nations General Assembly, the world will once again be filled with lofty declarations of equality, justice, and the global commitment to “leave no one behind.”

For decades, heads of state have mounted the UN podium to reaffirm their dedication to building a fairer and more inclusive world.

Yet behind the powerful rhetoric rests a stark reality: our international system has systematically excluded men and boys from the gender equality agenda.

Each year, billions of dollars are directed toward programs for women and girls.

Entire agencies exist to advance their progress. Yet there is no UN Men. No dedicated institution, no agency, and no systematic recognition of the unique challenges faced by men and boys.

At the United Nations, gender equality remains, at best, an unfinished project.

The creation of UN Women was a historic milestone, and its work has been transformative.

But an equality framework that consistently overlooks half of humanity cannot truly be called equality.

It is omission, and that omission carries devastating consequences not only for men, but also for women, families, communities, and economies.

Billions of dollars are invested in women’s health, maternal health, reproductive rights, and women’s empowerment in education and business.

These investments are vital. But there is no equivalent investment for men.

The irony is striking: the very men whose wealth sustains much of UN funding, from Bill Gates to male founded corporations and institutions, are excluded from the agenda they help finance.

Men have become the financial backbone of global development, yet their own mental health crises, workplace risks, and social challenges remain invisible.

Men are four times more likely than women to die by suicide. In many countries, suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50.

September is Suicide Prevention Month, yet there is no UN resolution, no global campaign, no flagship effort that addresses men’s crisis with the urgency it demands.

Movements like Movember have done more to spotlight men’s health than the United Nations itself. That fact alone should compel world leaders to act.

The imbalance is equally evident on the UN calendar. There are more than seventeen official days dedicated to women and girls, from the International Day of the Girl Child to the International Day to End Violence against Women.

Yet there is not a single UN recognized international day for men. The United Nations has institutionalized the belief that men’s issues are not worthy of recognition.

If the promise is to “leave no one behind,” then why have men and boys been left behind at the highest levels of global governance?

Grassroots initiatives demonstrate that men will engage when given the space.

Andy’s Man Club in the UK offers weekly peer support to thousands of men.

Life After Abuse Foundation in Nigeria has led groundbreaking campaigns on men’s mental health, trauma, and gender equity.

These organizations are pioneering vital work, but they cannot replace the institutional power of the United Nations. Without a global platform, men’s struggles will remain fragmented and chronically underfunded.

At the same time, men are consistently called to be allies for gender equality, to stand up for women, to fight violence, and to create space in politics and business.

These are noble and necessary goals. But the contradiction is glaring: how can men be allies when their own struggles are ignored?

How can they feel they belong in a system that denies them acknowledgment?

True allyship requires belonging, yet men are relegated to supporting roles in a framework where they themselves are not included.It is also important to acknowledge that the vast majority of world leaders are men.

The Inter Parliamentary Union reported that over 85 percent of heads of state and government remain male.

At the UN General Assembly, leaders present their boldest visions for humanity, yet the challenges of men and boys are almost never mentioned.

The paradox is undeniable. These are men who speak passionately about climate change, peace, poverty, and the rights of women and girls. Yet when it comes to their own gender, they remain silent.

From shaping international frameworks to championing human rights, the United States has been the engine of many global successes. Now, it is time for the U.S. to lead again by advancing the establishment of UN Men.

If men dominate the seats of power, why is there such reluctance to address men’s challenges?

Why is it that leaders who themselves are fathers, brothers, and sons do not raise the issues that directly affect their own gender on the global stage?

This silence is not accidental. It is cultural. It is rooted in the entrenched belief that men must always be strong, stoic, and self sufficient, even when the evidence says otherwise.

The silence of world leaders mirrors the silence many men endure in their personal lives.

The United States has long stood apart as a pioneer in shaping the modern world. It was America that helped create the very United Nations that today gathers world leaders. It was America that put humanity on the moon.

America has consistently led the way in building institutions, driving democratic values, advancing global health, and fostering technological revolutions.

From shaping international frameworks to championing human rights, the United States has been the engine of many global successes. Now, it is time for the U.S. to lead again by advancing the establishment of UN Men.

In recent years, leaders like Donald Trump reminded the world that millions of men felt overlooked and undervalued.

His policies on growth and jobs, his focus on American workers, and his message of strength resonated with men who believed globalization had left their struggles unaddressed.

That was not merely politics. It was a signal that men’s grievances are real and must be confronted.

America has historically demonstrated the courage to face truths that others avoid, and it must now lead again at the 80th UNGA by championing the creation of UN Men.

This is not just a call to the United States, but to every nation at the UNGA. From France to Japan, from Brazil to Germany, world leaders must acknowledge that the health, dignity, and well being of men are not peripheral concerns. They are urgent priorities.

The time has come for courage, and courage begins with truth. The truth is simple: we need UN Men. Not to compete with UN Women, but to complement it. Just as UN Women institutionalized women’s rights, UN Men must institutionalize the advancement of men.

Together, they can create a holistic vision of gender justice that fully embraces the human experience.UN Men would champion men’s mental health. It would address vulnerabilities in education, work, justice, and health.

It would research fatherhood, caregiving, and evolving male identities. It would dismantle harmful stereotypes that fuel cycles of silence and violence.

Most importantly, it would ensure men are recognized not just as allies to women, but as human beings with their own struggles and their own right to care, support, and dignity.

Yes, this call will be controversial. Some will argue that it undermines women’s rights. But history shows the opposite.

When one group is elevated while another is ignored, imbalance and resentment take root. When both are recognized, stability and collaboration follow. UN Men would not diminish women’s gains. It would complete them.

To the leaders at UNGA 2025, the message is clear: history is watching.

The men of the world are waiting. Their families are waiting. The United Nations was created to be a beacon of justice and inclusion for all. Establish UN Men.

Dedicate resources, research, and recognition to the struggles of men and boys. Institutionalize their inclusion in the global agenda.

The world will not remember safe speeches. It will remember leaders who had the courage to confront realities others ignored. UNGA 2025 is more than another summit.

It is a historic opportunity to build gender equality on balance rather than omission. The time for UN Men has come.

Halima Layeni is a Men’s Mental Advocate and Founder & Executive Director, Life After Abuse Foundation.

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NUJ and the Question of Membership: Why It’s Time to Embrace Journalism Beyond the Newsrooms

In sports, Ernest Okonkwo, who never worked in a newsroom, electrified Nigerian radio with football commentary; John Motson commanded global football coverage; and Charles Anazodo, armed with an English degree but no newsroom training, became a defining voice on SuperSport Nigeria and SportZone.

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By Babs Daramola

For decades, a quiet question has stirred in Nigeria’s media landscape: what does it truly mean to be a journalist?

Is it the newsroom, the microphone, or perhaps something in between?

This conversation spans those who honed their craft behind the scenes and those who connect with audiences on air.

As the profession evolves globally, exploring these different paths offers a fascinating glimpse into the many faces of journalism today.

The NUJ, as Nigeria’s foremost professional body for journalists, has naturally found itself at the center of this conversation.

Its membership guidelines and standards reflect a long-standing commitment to professional rigor—but they also raise interesting questions about how journalism is defined today.

Exploring the NUJ’s role offers a window into how traditional paths intersect with modern practice, and how the profession continues to recognize both experience and innovation in telling the country’s stories.

One of the most enduring points of discussion lies between those who “grew up in the newsroom” and those who made their mark on air.

Newsroom-trained journalists have long been celebrated for their investigative rigor and adherence to editorial processes, while broadcasters bring immediacy, connection, and often a deep understanding of current affairs directly to the audience.

Both paths contribute to the media landscape in meaningful ways, yet the conversation around recognition and professional legitimacy continues to spark curiosity – and sometimes controversy – within the industry.

I must admit that I too once leaned toward a narrow definition.

I argued that only those directly involved in news gathering and dissemination should rightly be called journalists.

My point, however, was not to dismiss broadcasting.

A disc jockey, an on-air personality, or a presenter of purely entertainment content is not a journalist by default.

But once a broadcaster ventures into news, current affairs, or issue-driven programming; once they engage the public in conversations that inform, interrogate power, and shape opinion, they are squarely within journalism, regardless of whether they passed through a newsroom.

As someone who has spent nearly 37 years in the profession, working in newsrooms, programme production rooms, managing broadcast outfits, and training upcoming broadcasters, I speak not as an outsider but as one deeply immersed in the craft.

Over these decades, I have seen first-hand how broadcasters and programme hosts, even those without formal newsroom training, have risen to handle current affairs with a depth and rigour that match, and sometimes surpass, their newsroom-trained colleagues.

My vantage point convinces me that the NUJ’s narrow criteria exclude valuable voices that have enriched Nigerian journalism.

History proves it: you don’t need a newsroom or a journalism degree to shape public discourse.

Larry King became a global icon with his probing interviews; Oprah Winfrey turned daytime TV into a platform for national reflection; Trevor Noah transformed comedy into incisive political analysis.

In one state, a media aide to a deputy governor was barred by the local NUJ chapter from using the title of Chief Press Secretary simply because she was not a card-carrying member of the Union

In Nigeria, Funmi Iyanda’s New Dawn fearlessly interrogated social issues, Mo Abudu’s Moments with Mo and EbonyLife TV elevated African narratives, and Ebuka Obi-Uchendu has grilled political leaders on Rubbin’ Minds with unmatched precision.

Bisi Olatilo’s multilingual presentations chronicled Nigeria’s political, social, and cultural life for decades.

In sports, Ernest Okonkwo, who never worked in a newsroom, electrified Nigerian radio with football commentary; John Motson commanded global football coverage; and Charles Anazodo, armed with an English degree but no newsroom training, became a defining voice on SuperSport Nigeria and SportZone.

None were newsroom-bred, yet all embodied journalism’s hallmarks: rigour, relevance, and undeniable public impact.

For anyone to denounce these iconic personalities as journalists is simply criminal!

The consequences of NUJ’s rigid posture are not merely theoretical.

In one state, a media aide to a deputy governor was barred by the local NUJ chapter from using the title of Chief Press Secretary simply because she was not a card-carrying member of the Union.

Her professional affiliation lay instead with the Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers’ Union (RATTAWU).

She eventually settled for the title of Director of Communications. That kind of trivial gatekeeping does little to promote professionalism; instead, it hurts developmental journalism by erecting artificial barriers where none should exist.

Some defenders of the NUJ argue that its restrictive membership posture is a way of ensuring standards among practitioners. But this line of reasoning is weak and unacademic.

How does limiting membership to those with newsroom training or formal certificates guarantee professional standards?

Doctors and lawyers are licensed because their trades rest on highly technical knowledge with life-or-death consequences. Journalism is different.

It is not about certificates or regulatory seals; it is about truth-telling, verification, accountability, and informing society.

Indeed, UNESCO has consistently defined journalism not by degrees but by practice: “the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information.”

The African Union’s Windhoek+30 Declaration on Information as a Public Good (2021) affirms the same spirit, urging states and institutions to recognize diverse media actors in advancing democracy.

And as Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel remind us in their influential book The Elements of Journalism, the profession is ultimately defined by enduring principles: verification, independence, and a commitment to citizens; not by a union card or a newsroom pedigree.

Across the world, professional associations in journalism tend to be more inclusive.

The U.S. Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) admits practitioners across the broad spectrum of news and current affairs, whether they are print reporters, online editors, talk-show hosts, or multimedia producers.

The UK’s National Union of Journalists (NUJ) similarly accommodates a wide variety of roles, from broadcasters to photojournalists.

Even within Africa, countries like South Africa and Kenya run relatively liberal systems where unions and associations recognize the diversity of the modern media space, instead of reducing journalism to one path. Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind.

What our own NUJ needs now is a rethink. It must broaden its tent, not narrow it. It must recognize that journalism is not a one-size-fits-all craft tied to old newsroom hierarchies.

The media landscape has expanded: citizen journalists, digital storytellers, and broadcasters who shape public discourse all fall within journalism’s wider orbit. To continue excluding them is to deny reality.

The Union has played a vital role in defending press freedom in Nigeria’s history, and it can play an even greater role in shaping the future.

But to do so, it must align itself with international best practices and with the lived realities of the profession. Journalism thrives not on exclusion but on relevance, adaptability, and fidelity to truth.

For the NUJ, the choice is clear: evolve into a forward-looking institution that embraces diversity in practice, or risk irrelevance in a world that has already moved on.

Babs Daramola is a Lagos-based broadcast journalist with nearly four decades of experience in newsrooms, programme production, management of broadcast outlets, and training of upcoming media professionals.

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