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This Professor Says That Buhari Is Not A Nigerian

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 As written by Professor Soremekun of Political Science at the National Open University of Nigeria

As I contemplate the Nigerian condition or non-condition, I continue to marvel at contemporary happenings.

  The nirvana is certainly not here yet. Still, it is possible to discern new ozone in public life.Suddenly, public officials are more responsive. The refineries appear to be working. Petrol queues, for now at least, are gone. Electricity supply seems to have improved. And therefore one is tempted to ask: What has happened? Have we really had any novel policy thrusts since Muhammadu Buhari assumed the Presidency of the country? As a student of public affairs, it is possible to answer this question in the negative. Yet, there is a new ozone in public life. It does not take much to appreciate that, what has happened so far is that the President’s reputation and sheer force of personal example have probably struck the fear of God in people who run our institutions. The upshot is that a novel and positive lease of life seems to pervade the land

One striking instance here is President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent public declaration of his assets. As we all know by now, these assets are now in the public space. And if those details are true, then what has been declared should sear the conscience of all past and present public officers, particularly at the highest of levels. Here is a man, who has been in control of vast resources as a military governor, minister of petroleum and a former Head of State. Yet, all that he could claim to own are houses and lands in places like Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Abuja as well as N30n in his bank account. To be sure, by the general Nigerian standards, Buhari is not a poor man. But by the jaded and conscienceless standards of his peers, he certainly comes up short-at least in materialistic terms. Some people with warped values are even likely to snigger and ask: Is this the entire worth of this man? Probably yes. But on the platform of morality, very few of his peers can really hold up the candle to him. And this is partly why, I have dared to state here that, Buhari is not a Nigerian. If he was the typical Nigerian in public life, he would be in possession of trillions, cash wise and non-cash equivalents in other areas like properties and jets ownership.
Even then, the declaration in itself has sparked off implicit and explicit comparisons, which seem to indicate that this man stands out. Indeed, some people with a dark sense of humour or out of sheer wonder and concern have pointed out that the average local government chairman in Nigeria (where else?) is richer than Buhari. And of course and as we all know, this may well be true. But, what is perhaps much more revealing especially in these times is that other public officials are refusing to be drawn into the ring of public asset declaration. Take our elected governors for instance. Either out of ignorance or mischief, they are saying that there are no statutory provisions which require them to do so. Very much the same bankrupt postures can be observed on the part of the senators and members of the House of Representatives who, by the way, are supposed to be distinguished and honourable.
Meanwhile, and as revealed in newspaper reports, Buhari appears to be exasperated by the fact that, despite his attempts to come clean with what he owns, he appears to have opened up another round of controversy on this issue. In a sense, this is only to be expected. Vultures as they are wont, have to feed on something. Which is why, the General’s contentions are very instructive. According to him, in the course of his public life, he has declared his assets four times since 1974. At the risk of being contradicted, I do not think that any Head of State or public official has come forth in this way.
However, for the records, as well as balance, it is relevant to state here that in the recent past, former President Umaru Yar’Adua, and his then deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, respectively declared their assets. But when the latter mounted the saddle as the point-man of our system, and the self-same issue came up, he pointedly and memorably remarked: I do not give a damn! Which is just as well. For in a rather Freudian and self-indicting way, Jonathan was known to declare in another context that some of our leaders behave like motor park touts!
But even then, before I am done, since Buhari has bitten the bullet, it may be useful for other public officials to do the same. I am referring here to governors, ministers, and the invisible army of invincible permanent secretaries. And to President Buhari, he should take heart. After all, my ancestral folk, in their eternal wisdom, have always said that if you indict someone for cooking a bad soup, what will you do to the person who has cooked none?
Last line: I am sure that the hidden dimensions of Buhari’s assets would have been exposed by now if such information was available.

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‘They wanted blood’ — J Cole reveals why he avoided Kendrick Lamar beef

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J Cole, the US rapper, has finally revealed why he bowed out of a feud with colleague Kendrick Lamar.

Last year, Cole, on the song ‘First Person Shooter’, suggested he, Drake, and Lamar were the current “big three” names in hip-hop.

Lamar, however, disagreed with Cole. In his verse on the song ‘Like That’, he said there was “no big three — it’s just big me”.

He also called Cole’s best verses “insubstantial” and claimed he was the “Prince to Drake’s Michael Jackson”.

In response to Lamar, Cole released a song titled ‘7 Minute Drill’, saying Lamar has “fallen off like The Simpsons”.

On the track, he also described Lamar’s latest album ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ as “tragic”.

In April, Cole apologised to Lamar for his “lame” and “goofy” response. He also said he had gotten “a thousand missed calls” and felt pressured to write a comeback.

In a recently released song titled ‘Port Antonio’, the Dreamville rapper defended his decision to step back from a rap battle with longtime friend Kendrick.

In the five-minute track released on Wednesday night, Cole argued that the people promoting the controversy wanted “blood” and publicity to profit from it.

“I pulled the plug because I’ve seen where that was ’bout to go / They wanted blood, they wanted clicks to make their pockets grow / They see this fire in my pen and think I’m dodgin’ smoke / I wouldn’t have lost a battle, dawg, I woulda lost a bro / I woulda gained a foe,” he raps.

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Phyno rejects Olamide comparison, says they’re brothers

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X (formerly Twitter) users every so often pit artists against each other to drive engagement or ignite a popularity contest.

On Friday, October 4, 2024, a user with the handle @TheDamiForeign posted images of Nigerian indigenous rappers, Olamide and Phyno with an open-ended question thrown to the public.

The post read, “When it comes to rap, who’s the GOAT? Phyno, Olamide.” Not long after, it began to attract comments from netizens. Some argued that both acts are relevant and phenomenal in their own way. Others pitched their tent with either of the two.

However, the ‘Do I’ crooner was displeased on seeing the post and wasted no time in expressing his disapproval.

Responding to the post, he wrote, “Yo!!! Tf is wrong with u guys for God sake .. stop putting me up against my brother or anybody else for that matter . Do your banter with someone else .. na ala adi agba unu.. wtf.”

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Wizkid, Davido’s feud, strategy to remain relevant, says Portable

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Controversial Nigerian singer, Portable, has weighed in on the ongoing feud between music stars Ayodeji Balogun a.k.a Wizkid and David Adeleke a.k.a Davido, accusing them of using their rivalry to stay relevant in the industry.

The recent clash between Wizkid and Davido began on October 1, when Wizkid posted a cryptic tweet that many interpreted as a dig at Davido this was after Davido teased a snippet of his first single for 2024.

The feud escalated quickly, with both artists exchanging insults and personal attacks on social media.

Wizkid had also planned to release the first track of his highly anticipated “Morayo” album on the same day.

In a twist, Davido’s associate, Kayode Yajaur, popularly known as Black Tycoone, took a jab at Wizkid, seemingly mocking the delay in his album drop. He tweeted, “Tell your Daddy to drop an album already.”

Unfazed, the Grammy award-winning singer responded by throwing shade at Davido’s camp, writing on X, “P***y boys dropping mid again,” before adding, “Una don tire! Make una go rest small!”

Although Wizkid refrained from directly naming Davido, fans were quick to interpret the post as a clear shot at the ‘Fem’ crooner.

In an Instagram post, Portable criticized the duo saying “using your brother to shine” instead of focusing on their own music.

He opined that their songs are no longer selling well, and they are relying on social media drama to promote themselves.

“Don’t use your brother to shine, shine yourself. Una songs no dey market again, na fight una dey use do promotion,” Portable wrote.

The singer also distanced himself from the feud, stating that he is not aligned with either Wizkid or Davido. “Me, I no dey for Davido. Me, I no dey for Wizkid. I dey for myself. That’s why I dey for those who dey for me,” he added.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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