News
‘Nigeria Needs Serial Miracles’
If Nigeria were to be a company, by now it would have been under receivership for possible resuscitation, the former Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Prof. Anya O. Anya, has said.
Anya, who stated this in Lagos, yesterday, while delivering the 21st Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture, added that it would take a series of miracles for the nation to get out of the interwoven socio-political and economic challenges it has found itself.
This is just as the former Chief of General Staff, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, called on clerics and religious leaders in the country to fervently pray for divine intervention.
Ukiwe, who was the chairman of the occasion, noted that having served in various capacities as a public officer, he could not recollect a period where the level of intolerance, division, and other negative forces were this high in Nigeria.
“My remarks are not influenced by any emotion or sentiments, but I am speaking from personal experience gained from serving this country in various capacities before and after independence. There is no time we have experienced this level of intolerance and, division among ourselves. Bishop Mike Okonkwo should liaise with other clerics and they should go on their knees to seek divine intervention in the affairs of this country,” he said.
Anya, whose lecture was titled “Nigeria: Culture, Values, Democratic Governance And Development,” noted that with the national debt being close to N50trillion, and national earnings not enough to service the huge debt, all indices of bankruptcy were already manifested in the economic life of the country.
“Unemployment is chasing the 40percent mark even as inflation rate is slowly inching upward towards the 20percent mark. The exchange rate has come from around N400 to a dollar to N700 to the dollar in less than two months. We now need trillions of naira to pay the so-called petroleum subsidy. If this were a private company, we would have called in the receivers because the case for bankruptcy is strong. Over the last seven years, our GDP has hovered between 2,3 or at most 4percent per annum.
For accelerated growth that would match population growth, we need a growth of 11percent in our GDP.
“Experience over the last 50 years has shown that it is possible for economies to grow on the fast track and double their GDP within a decade as Singapore, China, South Korea and Taiwan have been able to do in the last 30 years. This is why Singapore has the highest GDP per capita in the world, higher than the United States the largest economy globally,” he said.
He faulted the disharmony and the disequilibrium entrenched in the distribution of wealth that has driven many youths to drug abuse and crime.
On the security challenges facing the nation, Anya opined that the country is in a state of undeclared war and the major task should be how to secure the state.
“We need to recall and mobilise all the retired military and paramilitary personnel in our country. There are among them a reservoir of experience, expertise and patriotism that we can ignore only at our peril. We must also create an environment for enduring social and political harmony. The easiest path to that end is the immediate implementation of those aspects of the 2014 National Conference that have constitutional and long term policy impact,” he added.
He urged Nigerians not to be despondent, recalling that some of the nations of choice today like Dubai, Malaysia etc. were nowhere some regions in Nigeria in terms of economic development and growth in the First Republic.
He advised that Nigerians and their leaders only need to toe the path of patriotism, honour and self-sacrifice the leaders of those days followed.
In his remarks, the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Bishop Mike Okonkwo, who was celebrating his 77th birthday, said Nigerians should seek the face of God and live according to His will.
He noted that the challenges confronting the country were not insurmountable, but that the people should also be ready to do the needful.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two long trailers heading for Kano as it intensified efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
The agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer in Rivers State, a businesswoman linked to cannabis shipments from Canada, a Chadian woman, a couple and other suspects in coordinated operations across Lagos, Edo, Kogi and Rivers states.
The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, yesterday.
According to the statement, the latest intelligence-led operation came barely one week after NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 pills of tramadol concealed in the false-bottom compartment of a truck that entered Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.
Babafemi said, “Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo, through Benin Republic into Nigeria have yielded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to move One Million Six Hundred and Thirty (1,630,000) pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of the trucks across multiple borders into Lagos.”
He added that one of the two trailers was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor.
Babafemi said, “One of the two trucks already heading to Kano was tracked and located on 2nd July 2026 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested the 22-year-old driver Jabir Kabiru.”
He further disclosed that another trailer was intercepted two days later on the same route.
“Two days later, 4th July, NDLEA operatives acting on processed intelligence successfully tracked and recovered the second trailer from the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while heading to Kano. A total of 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the truck were evacuated and the 22-year-old driver Muhammed Nuhu arrested,” the statement read.
According to Babafemi, investigations established a link between the three intercepted consignments.
He said, “Investigations revealed that all three trucks and consignments intercepted on 21st June, 2nd July and 4th July belong to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria axis.”
The agency also intercepted 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Babafemi said, “Two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a combined weight of 4.70 kilograms have been intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The cargoes, which arrived the Lagos airport from Canada in cartons with ‘Odugwu’ boldly written on them, came aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on 24th June and 3rd July respectively.”
He said two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested in connection with the shipments, while another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was apprehended after arriving at a logistics company to take delivery of the consignments.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has denied claims that it has commenced registration for a purported ?50,000 National Support Allowance.
The ministry, in a public notice posted on its official X handle, yesterday, described messages, links and websites advertising the alleged programme as fraudulent.
It urged Nigerians to disregard such claims and verify information only through official government channels.
“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has NOT commenced registration for any ?50,000 National Support Allowance,” the ministry said.
It added, “Disregard fraudulent messages, links and websites claiming otherwise. Verify any info only through official govt channels.”
The alert is in response to a circulating scam flyer that falsely claims the program is ongoing under President Bola Tinubu’s directives.
The fake advertisement, which includes text in Hausa and English, directs victims to a suspicious website (kluspz.com) for applications.
The ministry’s warning comes amid heightened concerns over digital fraud targeting vulnerable populations seeking social support.
Similar scams have previously surfaced around programs like N-Power, prompting questions from citizens in replies to the official post.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed its preparedness for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, hinted at this while making his remarks at the commissioning of the Comrade Godwin Abumisi Pensioners Legacy House and Multipurpose Hall in Abuja.
Ajaero said it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
He advised workers and pensioners to get prepared for the ideological and economic battles that lie ahead.
According to the NLC president, “The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) is one of the proud affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress. Therefore, your struggle is our struggle, and your welfare remains a priority for the organised labour movement.
“We are currently in the preparatory stages for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
“However, let me state unequivocally that it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
“Accordingly, the Nigeria Labour Congress will not only push for a new national minimum wage but will also demand the establishment of a national minimum pension. It is a historical injustice that men and women who devoted their youth, strength and productive years to the service of this nation should be condemned to live below the poverty line after retirement.”
Ajaero noted that the cost of living has risen astronomically as food, healthcare and transportation have become increasingly unaffordable.
“We cannot continue to allow our senior citizens to survive on pensions that have become poverty wages. Every retiree deserves to live with dignity after decades of faithful service to the nation,” he said.
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He said the completion of the project should serve as a clarion call to all workers and lovers of the masses.
“We must not only build physical structures but also build a strong movement capable of compelling government to honour its commitments,” he said.
Ajaero further stated: “We will continue to demand the immediate payment of all outstanding pension arrears and the implementation of a pension regime that guarantees every retiree a life of dignity and security.
“Together, we shall continue to fight until every Nigerian worker and pensioner receives the justice, respect and welfare they deserve.”
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