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We speak to the most famous African American country music singer about the lack of diversity in the genre.

A journalist, Ayoola Babalola, has been arrested and remanded in prison custody by the Department of State Services for criticising President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime and also the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu.

Babalola is being held at the Ibara Maximum Prison, Abeokuta, Ogun State, for expressive his views – a fundamental right under a democracy. 

SaharaReporters gathered that the journalist was seized from his home on Thursday morning by some alleged members of a cult gang led by President of National Association of Political Science Students of Gateway Polytechnic where he recently graduated.

The cult members claimed that Babalola deserved to be brutalised or killed for writing against them, the school’s management, Tinubu and President Buhari.

However, after brutalising the journalist, the gang handed him over to operatives of the DSS, who later whisked him to the Ogun State Command of the agency in Abeokuta.

A source within the DSS told SaharaReporters that the journalist was interrogated over the articles he published in a campus magazine. 

However, during interrogation, the journalist asked to contact his lawyer but was not allowed to do so, instead the DSS personnel threatened that he will rot in their facility.

The DSS source said, “The journalist was forced to make his statement under duress, and was forced to sign an undertaking that he will desist from writing anything about President Buhari's government, the APC and its national leader, Bola Tinubu.

“He was accused of being sponsored by Omoyele Sowore to make inciting statements in a campus newspaper.”

Though Babalola was briefly moved to the DSS office at the Remo area of Ogun State, he was soon paraded at the Magistrate Court, Abeokuta, from where he was remanded at Ibara Maximum Prison on a six-count charge of alleged breach of public peace and incitement of violence to which he pleaded not guilty.

The judge however, granted Babalola bail on a bond of N150,000 with two sureties in like sum.

The case was adjourned until January 27 for hearing.

 

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A journalist, Ayoola Babalola, has been arrested and remanded in prison custody by the Department of State Services for criticising President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime and also the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu.

Babalola is being held at the Ibara Maximum Prison, Abeokuta, Ogun State, for expressive his views – a fundamental right under a democracy. 

SaharaReporters gathered that the journalist was seized from his home on Thursday morning by some alleged members of a cult gang led by President of National Association of Political Science Students of Gateway Polytechnic where he recently graduated.

The cult members claimed that Babalola deserved to be brutalised or killed for writing against them, the school’s management, Tinubu and President Buhari.

However, after brutalising the journalist, the gang handed him over to operatives of the DSS, who later whisked him to the Ogun State Command of the agency in Abeokuta.

A source within the DSS told SaharaReporters that the journalist was interrogated over the articles he published in a campus magazine. 

However, during interrogation, the journalist asked to contact his lawyer but was not allowed to do so, instead the DSS personnel threatened that he will rot in their facility.

The DSS source said, “The journalist was forced to make his statement under duress, and was forced to sign an undertaking that he will desist from writing anything about President Buhari's government, the APC and its national leader, Bola Tinubu.

“He was accused of being sponsored by Omoyele Sowore to make inciting statements in a campus newspaper.”

Though Babalola was briefly moved to the DSS office at the Remo area of Ogun State, he was soon paraded at the Magistrate Court, Abeokuta, from where he was remanded at Ibara Maximum Prison on a six-count charge of alleged breach of public peace and incitement of violence to which he pleaded not guilty.

The judge however, granted Babalola bail on a bond of N150,000 with two sureties in like sum.

The case was adjourned until January 27 for hearing.

 

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Justice I. M. Sani of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has ordered that Mercy Daniel Ogbonaya, a pastor, be remanded at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre for obtaining N23m by false pretences. 

The offence is contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the accused will remain at the correctional centre until the date of the next hearing.

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Justice I. M. Sani of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has ordered that Mercy Daniel Ogbonaya, a pastor, be remanded at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre for obtaining N23m by false pretences. 

The offence is contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the accused will remain at the correctional centre until the date of the next hearing.

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The Nigerian Army has completed a pre-deployment training for 185 troops for peacekeeping mission in Guinea Bissau.

News Agency of Nigeria on Friday reports that the 185 troops began their pre-deployment training on January 6 at the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peace Keeping Centre, Jaji, Kaduna State.

Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai, said the troops will be Nigeria’s Company 8 in the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea Bissau.

Buratai was represented by Maj.-Gen Kelvin Aligbe, Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Infantry.

Buratai said the graduation further confirmed the commitment of Nigeria to deploy quality peacekeepers as part of its contributions to the quest for global peace and security.

He explained that the pre-deployment training was aimed at refreshing and polishing their knowledge and expertise in peace support operation.

He said, “The training was to equip you with the requisite skills required to protect yourselves, ECOWAS Mission in Guinea, equipment and the citizens of Guinea Bissau your host nation while carrying out the mission’s mandate.”
 

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The Nigerian Army has completed a pre-deployment training for 185 troops for peacekeeping mission in Guinea Bissau.

News Agency of Nigeria on Friday reports that the 185 troops began their pre-deployment training on January 6 at the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peace Keeping Centre, Jaji, Kaduna State.

Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai, said the troops will be Nigeria’s Company 8 in the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea Bissau.

Buratai was represented by Maj.-Gen Kelvin Aligbe, Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Infantry.

Buratai said the graduation further confirmed the commitment of Nigeria to deploy quality peacekeepers as part of its contributions to the quest for global peace and security.

He explained that the pre-deployment training was aimed at refreshing and polishing their knowledge and expertise in peace support operation.

He said, “The training was to equip you with the requisite skills required to protect yourselves, ECOWAS Mission in Guinea, equipment and the citizens of Guinea Bissau your host nation while carrying out the mission’s mandate.”
 

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Project Ferry Nigeria, an organisation committed to rescuing Nigerians trafficked abroad, has begun fundraising process to help 12 Nigerian ladies stranded in Lebanon return home. 

The 12 ladies trafficked to Lebanon for slavery ran to the Nigerian Embassy for help but were initially rejected before being accepted.

The ladies had in a video obtained by SaharaReporters revealed that they were yet to receive any update from the Nigerian Government about their return home.

They also lamented that the embassy had placed them under house arrest as management of the hotel they were currently lodged had been told not to allow them to leave the facility.

Project Ferry opened a GoFundMe account to help crowdfund money for the ladies’ return.

In an accompanying note on the website, Omotola Fawunmi, Co-founder of Project Ferry, said that the organisation had 180 women on its list to be returned to Nigeria.

She explained that they would be use the funds raised to purchase flight tickets, seek medical attention and get vocational training for the ladies.

She said, “We currently have 180 women on standby waiting for our assistance, we have only been able to help six women return safely home.
“Many have worked as modern slaves, sex slaves and forced labour especially in countries in the Middle East.

“We need funds to buy tickets, we need funds for medicals when they return home, we need funds to allow them a decent care pack with basic toiletries.
“We need funds to help them attend vocational training to earn better, we need funds to assist them to go back to school, we need funds for accommodation in temporary shelters and halfway homes."
Meanwhile, when contacted on the current situation of the girls within the care of the agency in Lebanon, Director-General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Dame Julie Oka-Donli, said that they were working on their safe return to Nigeria.

She said, “They are being taken care of by the embassy in Lebanon whilst arranging with NAPTIP to see how to return them.”

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Project Ferry Nigeria, an organisation committed to rescuing Nigerians trafficked abroad, has begun fundraising process to help 12 Nigerian ladies stranded in Lebanon return home. 

The 12 ladies trafficked to Lebanon for slavery ran to the Nigerian Embassy for help but were initially rejected before being accepted.

The ladies had in a video obtained by SaharaReporters revealed that they were yet to receive any update from the Nigerian Government about their return home.

They also lamented that the embassy had placed them under house arrest as management of the hotel they were currently lodged had been told not to allow them to leave the facility.

Project Ferry opened a GoFundMe account to help crowdfund money for the ladies’ return.

In an accompanying note on the website, Omotola Fawunmi, Co-founder of Project Ferry, said that the organisation had 180 women on its list to be returned to Nigeria.

She explained that they would be use the funds raised to purchase flight tickets, seek medical attention and get vocational training for the ladies.

She said, “We currently have 180 women on standby waiting for our assistance, we have only been able to help six women return safely home.
“Many have worked as modern slaves, sex slaves and forced labour especially in countries in the Middle East.

“We need funds to buy tickets, we need funds for medicals when they return home, we need funds to allow them a decent care pack with basic toiletries.
“We need funds to help them attend vocational training to earn better, we need funds to assist them to go back to school, we need funds for accommodation in temporary shelters and halfway homes."
Meanwhile, when contacted on the current situation of the girls within the care of the agency in Lebanon, Director-General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Dame Julie Oka-Donli, said that they were working on their safe return to Nigeria.

She said, “They are being taken care of by the embassy in Lebanon whilst arranging with NAPTIP to see how to return them.”

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Fire on Friday gutted the popular Bayelsa State wholesale market known as Swali-Market in Yenagoa, the state capital, destroying items worth several millions of naira in the process.

The cause of the fire is not yet known but there are reports of looting ongoing at the place. 

Efforts to get firefighters to combat the inferno proved unsuccessful, leaving people around to improvise in trying to put out the fire.  

Spokesperson for the police in the state, Butswat Asinim, confirmed the situation, adding that no life was lost in the tragedy.

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Fire on Friday gutted the popular Bayelsa State wholesale market known as Swali-Market in Yenagoa, the state capital, destroying items worth several millions of naira in the process.

The cause of the fire is not yet known but there are reports of looting ongoing at the place. 

Efforts to get firefighters to combat the inferno proved unsuccessful, leaving people around to improvise in trying to put out the fire.  

Spokesperson for the police in the state, Butswat Asinim, confirmed the situation, adding that no life was lost in the tragedy.

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The sound of “Amotekun” has drowned out all other issues in the Nigerian public space for many days, and there is a great likelihood that the Yoruba word will have meanings and connotations beyond the original meaning of leopard. Soon enough, Wikipedia will include Amotekun. Maybe the word will also enter into the Oxford English Dictionary as was recently the case for several words of domestic Nigerian uses.

Listening to and reading about the loud pronouncements that have accompanied the establishment of the Western Nigeria Security Network, also known as Amotekun, one has to be deaf not to conclude that Nigeria is “not at ease” – to borrow a line from the title of the famous book by Chinua Achebe.

From its outing, there were whispers, gasps, exclamations of relief and contentment by many people who found the Amotekun security outfit a very appropriate step taken by five governors of South-Western states. At last, the security situation might improve, and life might become normal, many people concluded.

But there were also hisses, jeers, facial contortions, by many other people on how unnecessary Amotekun was. Nothing could be farther from establishing better security than Amotekun because it would be manipulated to foster violence, the others contended.

Whilst the murmurs were still germinating and mounting gradually, Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami, threw fuel into the low fires and the explosion started. He said that Amotekun was illegal and unconstitutional. Those who support Amotekun or similar policies would have none of Malami’s points. They found that his statement was not only wrong, but it confirmed the status quo. In simple terms, it showed how the Northern ruling class wanted to perpetuate their hold on the rest of the country’s security architecture and other important spheres.

Who is right and who is wrong? This is the debate that is going on. It is loud and angry.

And the leadership of the country is silent. President Buhari has not made any pronouncement. Nor any of his proxies. Characteristically. The highest Federal Government official who has spoken on the issue remains the Attorney-General. From a communication point of view, his statement is the official position of the Federal Government. This is the interpretation of the current silence in communication.

Silence has been used frequently as an instrument of governance by the current government, and it is a strong communication tool. Whether the government has used silence strategically, or merely by accident is less important than what effects the use has created.

After a heated political campaign and delicate elections in May 2015, President Buhari emerged as winner on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. The manifesto of his party which was used as the preaching instrument across the country by APC had promised to change the country. The new APC government was going to repair the economy, forge a secure nation, and reduce if not eliminate corruption.

More than 15 million voters, constituting 54 per cent of total votes cast, who favoured Buhari waited for the beginning of a new Nigeria to emerge as soon as Buhari came into office.  Silence. There was no team or energetic principals to run the affairs of state. President Buhari took about six months before he broke the long silence to appoint his cabinet.

The president’s frequent travels abroad for medical treatment were usually accompanied also by silence. His health was poor, a situation that was beyond him and anyone for that matter. But the silence, not informing the country, not appointing an acting president often, or not handing over to a designated official publicly, made his silence seriously problematic.

The herdsmen phenomenon generated national furore for a long time. Silence reigned on the matter from the number one political head of the country until it became uncomfortable to be silent.

Silence at critical times when serious issues are at stake seem to have become the norm. You may remember the following:

- The tense relationship between two principal security agencies, namely DSS and EFCC, which at times became public stand-offs.

- Closer to home, the President’s wife and First Lady Aisha Buhari has become a megaphone of how the domestic life in Aso Rock resembles an interesting soap opera of Nollywood. But Aso Rock is not meant to be a Nollywood stage. Silence is being used as the instrument of managing the crisis.

- The agitation by several groups from the South-Eastern part of the country for a re-establishment of Biafra which started as little noises and has become a storm.

- The power-play at the presidency that appeared to place the Vice-President under siege.

Operation Amotekun will mother many children. The ferocity of future Amotekuns will be determined by competent handling of the babies from birth. Security of people and assets cannot be compromised.

Those who use silence as a strategy for results state that “actions speak louder than words”. There are certainly uses for silence as a veritable instrument of management, leadership and communication. Silence is powerful when silence will bring solutions, healing, unity and contentment. Silence cannot stop disaffection that is obvious. A deep sense of insecurity and distrust permeates the country. Timely interventions and clear statement of positions forestall eruption of latent anger and mis-interpretation of situations.

If there were any doubts in anyone’s mind, Amotekun has confirmed that Nigeria’s security situation is broken and needs mending.

In a country where the president is all-powerful and his voice can direct and influence thoughts and conclusions, the perpetual withdrawal and silence of Buhari leaves serious issues unresolved. There is too much dust in the air, and when the dust settles, we shall have yet another crisis swept under a bulging carpet covering dirt. Silence has become a liability, and it will spawn more Amotekuns.

Bunmi Makinwa is the CEO of AUNIQUEI Communication for Leadership

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