Professor Pat Utomi has once again chosen to dance naked in the public square, playing to the gallery with a familiar cocktail of grandstanding and gloom. This time, he has come to dismiss the reform programme of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as “ridiculous,” “poorly structured,” and, in a flourish of intellectual overreach, a “Ponzi scheme.”

At this point, the issue is no longer what Utomi is saying. The issue is why his interventions consistently collapse under the weight of their own exaggeration, under the slightest scrutiny or interrogation.

Any reflective — indeed, discerning — mind would note that, after all these long years of sophistry and vacuous pontifications, all Utomi can possibly point to as his bonafides or bragging rights in the civic space today are the ruins of Volkswagen Automobile Ltd and BankPHB where his much touted “academic wizardry” was exposed as “Ponzi scheme”.

An Economy of Words, Not Results

Utomi’s public persona has long rested on the alarmist  aura of a “political economist.” But strip away the titles, the panels, and the endless commentary, and a more uncomfortable question emerges: where is the evidence of all his posturings in the public space?

Nigeria’s economic distortions did not emerge in a vacuum. They were sustained over decades by a rotating class of commentators and advisers who:

* theorized dysfunction instead of dismantling it

* intellectualized failure instead of correcting it

and, crucially, found relevance within a broken system.

Utomi was not outside that ecosystem. He was part of it. Contrast this with measurable shifts under the current reform cycle:

* Fuel subsidy removal (May 2023): eliminated a multi-trillion-naira fiscal drain, freeing up revenues for subnational allocations and deficit reduction.

* Exchange rate unification: collapsed multiple FX windows into a single market-reflective rate—an essential step flagged for years by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. (The actual “Ponzi scheme” that benefited a few with privileged access through arbitrage.)

* FAAC disbursements have risen materially post-subsidy removal, improving state-level fiscal liquidity.

These are not theoretical positions. They are structural actions with verifiable fiscal impact.

From Insider Comfort to Outsider Outrage

There is a pattern here that is too glaring to ignore. For years, the rent-seeking architecture of Nigeria’s economy—subsidy leakages, FX arbitrage, policy opacity—created space for a certain kind of “expert”: visible, vocal, and perpetually adjacent to power, yet rarely accountable for outcomes.

Now, that architecture is being disrupted. And suddenly, the volume of outrage has gone up. This is not a coincidence. It is a reaction.

When a system that once rewarded commentary begins to prioritize structural correction, those who thrived in the old order often rebrand themselves as its fiercest critics. Not out of principle—but out of displacement.

Meanwhile, early macro signals are adjusting:

* Oil revenue remittances have improved post-subsidy removal and reforms in NNPCL transparency frameworks.

* External reserves stability has strengthened relative to pre-reform volatility cycles.

* Debt service-to-revenue pressure has begun easing marginally as fiscal leakages are curtailed.

The “Ponzi Scheme” Claim: A Collapse of Serious Thinking

Let’s be blunt. Calling a national reform programme a “Ponzi scheme” is not provocative—it is intellectually hollow.

A Ponzi scheme is built on deception and zero value creation. Nigeria’s reforms—however painful—are attempting to:

* eliminate fiscal leakages

* restore price discovery in the FX market

* rebuild macroeconomic credibility

If anything resembled a Ponzi structure, it was the previous regime of:

* borrowing to sustain consumption.

* subsidizing inefficiency at scale.

* masking structural weakness with artificial stability.

An economy that sustained the likes of Utomi and his “Patitio’s gang” of economic bucaneers. Utomi’s analogy does not expose the present—it exposes a troubling looseness in his analytical discipline.

He ignores the fact that investor-facing fundamentals are being reset:

* FX backlog clearance efforts have improved confidence among foreign portfolio investors.

* Repatriation conditions—a long-standing investor concern—are gradually normalizing.

Under the Tinubu administration, policy signaling now aligns more closely with orthodox macroeconomic frameworks.

Noise Without Substance

What is most striking is not the criticism—it is the emptiness behind it.

Utomi offers:

* no coherent alternative framework.

* no credible sequencing model.

* no fiscal pathway that avoids the very crisis he warns about.

Just declarations. Just alarm. Just noise. For someone positioned as a thought leader, this is a remarkably thin offering. In contrast, reform-linked institutional moves are underway:

* Tax reform architecture (2025 Acts) aimed at broadening the base and improving compliance efficiency.

* e-invoicing rollout for large taxpayers—enhancing transparency and revenue assurance.

* Customs modernization and AEO programme—improving trade facilitation and compliance.

These are systems-level interventions—not soundbites.

The Familiar Playbook: Alarm, Amplify, Exit.

We have seen this pattern before:

1. Declare impending collapse.
2. Use dramatic language to command attention.
3. Avoid the burden of proposing solutions.
4. Harass Goverment into putting you on some commitee, think-tank or council to correct it all.

It is a performance—one that thrives in media cycles but adds little to policy depth. Yet the data trajectory, while imperfect, is not static:

* GDP growth has remained positive, avoiding contraction despite reform shocks.

* Non-oil revenue performance (VAT and CIT) has shown upward momentum.

* Subnational fiscal space has expanded due to higher distributable revenues.

A Waning Voice Struggling to Stay Relevant

There is also an underlying tension that cannot be ignored. This administration has not leaned on the usual circle of media intellectuals and policy commentators who, for years, occupied advisory and influence corridors within our national polity. And since then, some of those voices have grown increasingly strident—less analytical, more combative.

Utomi’s latest intervention fits that pattern uncomfortably well. When relevance is no longer assured, outrage often becomes therapeutic.

Meanwhile, reform continuity is being institutionalized:

* Medium-term fiscal frameworks now reflect post-subsidy realities.

* Targeted social intervention programmes are being recalibrated to cushion reform shocks.

* Investment promotion efforts are aligning with a more transparent FX and pricing regime.

Nigeria’s reforms are not beyond criticism. But they are on track and trackable. They demand scrutiny, refinement, and stronger social cushioning.

But what Professor Utomi has offered is not scrutiny. It is not even rigorous dissent. It is amplification without depth. Critique without responsibility. Rhetoric without rigour.

And in a moment that demands serious thinking, that kind of intervention is not just unhelpful—it is a distraction masquerading as insight—especially when set against a reform programme that, for the first time in years, is confronting the structural contradictions that voices like his long circled, but never resolved.

Utomi may do well to consider maintaining a dignified silence, hide his vacuousness and let President Tinubu do his work.  Counsel is welcome, distraction is not.

*Dare is Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communication

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There is a certain electricity in the air when a candidacy feels less like an imposition and more like a collective choice. The emergence of Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi) as the APC governorship candidate carries that charge. It has not been greeted with the usual grumbling compliance, but has been met, in many quarters, with something closer to relief, even expectation.

The reaction to his emergence is not accidental. It is something rooted in memory. In places where yawning gaps in infrastructure make government a rumour or folklore, people remember who intervened tangibly. While representing Lagos West, Yayi built a reputation for not treating constituencies like abstract map points.

In Obawole, in Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area where I live, he installed a 500KVA transformer in my CDA. He followed that up by tarring seven streets, complete with drainage. Five years on, those roads have held their shape with a dignity that shames many newer projects. In a country where roads do not last longer than lettuce, that kind of durability becomes a political argument.

Those seven roads are inner street affairs that are the responsibility of Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area. The Chairman at the time, the now deceased and formidably useless Toba Oke, had his house in the vicinity in which the roads were built. He could not build them. Even the one on which his house stands remained under construction till his two terms ended. It was completed by his successor.

Multiply what Yayi did in my hood across communities that have felt his interventions and you begin to understand the groundswell. For many, this is not about the party platform, but about a man whose record suggests that he understands needs, especially of the very desperate variety. It is not certain that he will win the election, but he looks the out-and-out favourite.

For his candidacy to mean anything beyond comfort for those already touched, I think, it must become something harder, sharper and more consequential. The truth is that just beyond the pockets of progress lie whole belts of abandonment.

We have seen promise curdle into incompetence and self-described reformers turn arsonists, fanning the very neglect they swore to end. Those areas have had enough of that cycle.

You want to know? Akute, Lambe, Oke Aro, Agbado, Matogun, Osere, Maidan, Legun, Adiyan, Ijoko, Mowe, Ofada, Ibafo et al. These are not obscure hamlets, but dense, energetic and economically-alive corridors sitting on the Lagos boundary that have been condemned to exist as afterthoughts for 27 years of civil rule.

In these communities, there are no roads worth the name, no functional schools that can carry the weight of their swelling populations and no hospital worth the description. The nearest fire station to Lambe, for example, is 24 kilometres away.  A few years ago, a tanker fire licked many buildings, including a Celestial Church parish on Matogun Road. Fire trucks could not have arrived timeously because the fire station is far away and because the surface of the moon is smoother than the road leading to the scene of the accident.

In these areas, neglect is not an abstract policy failure. It is a daily assault gleefully carried out by successive administrations, with the worst being that of Ibikunle Amosun. Businesses have been quietly strangled by inaccessibility. Those that survive do so on one leg, unable to expand, unable to employ and unable to breathe. Property values have collapsed, turning what should be family assets into liabilities. Health outcomes are worsening because distance and bad roads are often the difference between life and death. Beneath all of this is a more corrosive message that residents of those places do not matter.

Yayi’s emergence, for all the goodwill it has generated, must confront this history head-on, if he is elected. It cannot be another cycle of selective intervention, of islands of competence in a sea of disregard. The Lagos-Ogun boundary belt is asking for inclusion, not miracles. It has an agenda that suggests itself. It is clear and urgent.

First, roads. Not those ceremonial stretches built for social media. Those areas need a comprehensive grid that connects the communities internally and to economic hubs. They need roads that can carry commerce, not just okada and Keke NAPEP. Second, public services such as functional primary and secondary schools, properly equipped hospitals and fire stations positioned with intent.

Third, economic revival through support for small and medium enterprises and incentives that recognise the strategic location of these areas as spillover zones from Lagos. Fourth, planning. These communities have grown in spite of the state. They must now be integrated into a coherent urban vision that prevents chaos from becoming permanent. I should know. I lived in one for nine years and if you lived in one, you have lived in all.

Finally, dignity. Those areas need governance that signals, in policy and in presence, that the residents do not remain children of a lesser god. That is what they currently are.

The enthusiasm greeting Yayi today is a form of credit earned through past interventions. But credit, in politics, is perishable. It must be redeemed with a broader and bolder commitment, if and when he earns the mandate. He has shown he can fix streets. If he gets elected, he will be required to fix a pattern of exclusion that has endured for nearly three decades.

If he does, this moment of delight will harden into trust. If he does not, it will slip quietly into that long ledger of missed chances. There is reason for caution. Our history is crowded with false dawns. We have seen promise curdle into incompetence and self-described reformers turn arsonists, fanning the very neglect they swore to end. Those areas have had enough of that cycle.

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As if that was not enough, I did not hear any noise or dirges when Brigadier-General, dozens of soldiers were slaughtered like they had no wives, children or parents. Encouraged, terrorists took out a Colonel, Commanding Officer and more gallant soldiers. Nobody cited their fundamental human rights. They signed up for the job, they must have rationalised. But such sudden departures, amputation without anaesthesia of dreams are always painful irrespective of the job you signed up for. It doesn’t matter whether you are a trader at a market shut down five years ago or a soldier trapped in an armoured tank with a dead engine.

We should mourn, mourn wisely, mourn decently.

They said it was accidental.

A bomb meant for shadows fell on a market full of mothers, traders, children—people whose only crime was showing up for life. Somewhere between Borno State and Yobe State, grief rose like smoke again, stubborn, familiar, Nigerian.

And as we mourn, as we shake our heads and count the dead in whispers, a harder question pushes through the silence:

What kind of people hide terrorists?

What kind of people trade with them?

Let me answer you with a story. Not from the headlines, but from the old paths our grandmothers walked—where stories did not just entertain, they warned.

We must kill this snake before it kills Nigeria. That is why I’m suspicious of those who insist this monster-deity has fundamental rights. As how now?

Long before asphalt roads and security briefings, there was a quiet town called Aduke-Oke, named after a powerful priestess and healer.

It sat between two forests. One gave fruit. The other gave fear.

The people of Aduke-Oke were farmers, traders, hunters. They slept with their doors open. Goats wandered into neighbours’ compounds and came back fat. Trust was their currency.

Until the night the forest changed.

At first, it was whispers, suspicion discussed in hushed tones.

Travellers spoke of men who did not farm but ate, men who did not invest but came to collect dividends. They came at night and left tears behind.

Bandits. Thieves. Agbalowomeeri, the ones who snatched from the poor had taken over.

The Baale (village head) sent the town-crier out. ‘Do not leave a snake on your roof, it will find its way into your bedchamber. A snake is wicked even when it looks tiny and harmless. No matter what these snatchers tell you, do not let them live in your hut. Do not trade with them or accept their gifts.

Everyone nodded and agreed with Baale.

Everyone… except Akanmu.

Akanmu was not poor. That is what makes this story bitter. He had land. He had barns. He had wives who cooked steaming meals and many children. Pounded yam and bush meat were not just for festive occasions. It was just dinner.

But Akanmu had a hunger that his large farms could not satisfy—the hunger for more, irrespective of the source of that more.

So when the bandits came—not with guns blazing but with quiet requests,  Akanmu listened.

“We need food,” they said.

“We will pay.”

Not coins. Not naira.

Gold.

And when evil pays, it pays well. It spoils his victim until he loses his sense of reasoning and decency.

At first, Akanmu only sold them yams. Then goats. Then information.

“Which houses are wealthy?”

“Who just sold harvest?”

“Which road has no vigilantes?”

Akanmu knew everything and Akanmu said everything.

Soon Aduke-Oke began to bleed.

One market day, the bandits struck.

They did not come for Akanmu’s house. No.

‘A kii fi omo ore bo ore.’

He was one of the bandits now so his compound had immunity.  The monster refused to eat the man feeding him.

The thieves came for the market.

Women were dragged. Men were beaten. Goods were stolen. A boy who tried to run did not get far.

The village cried. The elders cursed the forest, then prayed to the ancestors.

Akanmu, as an untouchable, counted his gold with his wives in the hut.

While the village buried its dead, Akanmu built a bigger barn, acquired more land.

He became “Oloye Akanmu”.

People greeted him with forced smiles and quiet suspicion because no one really could swear with facts.

Soon, the monster finished its regular victims but it was still hungry. As the Yorubas say, when what we enjoy eating finishes, the things we used to ignore should get ready to be eaten.

The bandits grew bolder. Why wouldn’t they? Someone was feeding them. Someone was guiding them. Their heartless partners profited from the blood and gore.

One night, they came again but this time, they did not go to the market.

They went to Akanmu’s compound.

Perhaps greed made them careless, perhaps evil does not keep loyalty.

Perhaps karma finally found the road to an evil man’s hut.

They broke his doors, scattered his barns and carted away his gold. Even when Akanmu shouted, “I am your friend!”

They laughed.

Friend?

A man who betrays his own people is not anybody’s friend. He is a tool and tools can be discarded when they have outlived their usefulness.

By daybreak, Akanmu’s compound was smoke and silence, and ghost of its once bubbly self. Well, the bubble had burst. One wife was gone. The second wife was groaning in the throes of childbirth, unattended. Another lay wounded.

His children, those barefoot, laughing children, were all cowering in their mothers’ huts. The village gathered, not in anger this time, but in cold understanding.

The elders did not curse him.

They simply said, “The snake has found its keeper.”

Akanmu was not killed that day. No. He lived. That was his punishment. He died in instalments. The gods ensured his shame. Both those who feared him and the ones who called him Baba Oloye watched him from afar as he sat in the ruins of what greed built.

To remember every warning he ignored.

To know that the evil he fed had finally learned his name and was calling him nonstop.

Now, let’s return to our reality.

What kind of people hide terrorists?

They are not always poor.

They are not always forced.

Sometimes, they are Akanmu.

People who just profit from evil. They sell food to killers, give shelter to destroyers.

They trade information for profit, knowing that their decisions would cause death of many. They are feeding babies and pregnant women to monsters. They collect money to kill our soldiers. They send their children to private universities with money made from increasing the number of widows and widowers.

They sit among us. They smile with us. They mourn with us.

And then they return to the shadows to feed the very fire that will one day burn our roofs, our hopes, our dreams.

Here’s the bitter truth Nigeria must face.

Terrorism does not survive on guns alone. It survives on information from insiders, supplies from enablers, silence from communities.

Every terrorist hiding in the forest has a friend in town, parents who know his ways are not pure, wives or side-chicks who profit from his blood and sorrow enterprise.

We can continue to mumble “It is not my business.” But is our business, our pain, our losses, our disappearing nation. Like Akanmu, like that market between Borno State and Yobe State where innocent lives were lost not just to a bomb but to a long chain of complicity we refuse to break.

It is easy to blame government, to blame soldiers, the system. However, let us ask ourselves: who is feeding the snake? A terrorist in the bush is dangerous but a collaborator in the village? That one is deadlier. The snake Nigeria and its terrorists sympathisers, banditry rationalisers and sponsors have fed over the years has become a monster-deity demanding the flesh of army generals and blood of Colonels. It is no longer satisfied with staying in its grove, it wants new territories, daily sacrifice.

We must kill this snake before it kills Nigeria. That is why I’m suspicious of those who insist this monster-deity has fundamental rights. As how now?

*Egbemode (egbemode3@gmail.com)

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Prussian war strategist, Carl von Clausewitz, defines war as the continuation of politics by other means. In other words, when diplomacy fails, nations resort to war to achieve the same objectives they had set out to achieve with diplomacy. Thus, war is not an end in itself but a means to an end. And like Niccolo Machiavelli posits in his political treatise, The Prince, the end justifies the means. Once the end or objective is achieved, then, the loss, destruction, dislocation, and terrible suffering that war brings become justified.

Three quick take-aways from Clausewitz’s treatise are that war is a very serious business which is not levied for flimsy reasons. Two: War is the last resort after and only after diplomacy has failed. Three: What determines the success of war is, if the same set goals or objectives which diplomacy had failed to achieve are now achieved by war. It is then that the efforts invested in the war by the protagonist(s) will be worth the while.

The loser also learns the useful lesson of the need to bend over backward at the point of diplomacy to avoid war; for, why be intransigent at negotiations only to eventually lose everything and accept the same or even more crippling conditions than those hitherto rejected? The examples of the powers that lost out in the 1st and 2nd World Wars and the crippling conditions imposed on them after the loss bears repeating here.

To what extent does Clausewitz’s treatise apply to the just-concluded tripartite war (with proxies throwing in jabs from the sidelines!) between the United States of America, the State of Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran? In war, says the ancient Greek tragic dramatist, Aeschylus, the first casualty is truth; meaning that truth is not only deliberately concealed but its concealment is elevated to the high art of state policy, with vicious penalties for dissenters.

Honest reporting of events is not only forbidden but is also treated as crime committed against the State, its national interests, and survival. Death penalty for offenders has often and routinely been resorted to, especially by totalitarian or dictatorial regimes. Thus, propaganda, misinformation, disinformation and the brazen distortion of facts become official state policy. The media is heavily censored. Even in so-called democracies, rulers acquire emergency powers which enable them to suppress fundamental human rights and ride roughshod over the will of the same people they claim to represent.

The US-Israel-Iran war was not different. A lot happened which were not only shielded from the public but were also disfigured and distorted. Therefore, our knowledge of what happened pre-war, during the war and after it is limited to what we were allowed to know.

We heard that the US and Iran had started negotiations and were just a few hours away from reaching an agreement when the US made a volte-face and, jointly with Israel, launched a barrage of missiles on the Islamic republic. The US and Israel were the first to attack; under international law and conventions, they were the aggressors. When Iran responded in kind, it acted legitimately in self defence, which is permitted under international law and conventions.

As Iran and the US return to the negotiation table in Pakistan, what ails the entire world is no longer the exchange of missiles by the combatants but Iran’s effective closure and control of the Strait of Hormuz, which the US appears to have tacitly acquiesce to with Trump’s diplomatic language of referring to the strait as “joint venture” between the US and Iran!

Why did the US and Israel attack when negotiations were not only ongoing but were said to be proceeding smoothly and a positive end was in sight? One argument is that neither the US nor Israel trusted the Iranians to honour any agreement reached. In other words, they saw Iran as merely playing games to ward off an attack, after which it would go back on whatever agreement was reached by the parties.

A counter argument, however, is that both the US and Israel had made up their mind a long time ago and were fixated on the attack, come what may. They had prepared and were armed to the teeth. But Iran chose to take the wind off the sail of its opponents by cooperating during negotiations, to the chagrin, embarrassment and frustration of both the US and Israel. To allow negotiations to proceed and conclude on a positive note would further make the preconceived positions of the US and Israel more untenable.

Clausewitz’s treatise that war is launched only after diplomacy has failed thus fell flat on its face. Not only has diplomacy not failed here, it was, in fact, succeeding when the US and Israel aborted it and levied war on Iran.

Now, what were the publicly-stated goals or objectives (apart from hidden goals) that the US and Israel sought to achieve with their attack on Iran? One is not just to disrupt or postpone but to completely destroy Iran’s nuclear programme. The US and Israel accuse Iran of seeking to produce nuclear weapons; Iran denies this, stating that its nuclear programme is for peaceful means. The US and Israel, which are both nuclear powers,  disbelieve this.

Iran has refused to recognize the State of Israel, unlike some other Arab and Middle East countries. The fear of Israel is that Iran’s nuclear weapons programme is an existential threat while the US reasons that a nuclear-power Iran will distort and disrupt the balance of power equations it has adroitly erected and gingerly maintained in the region for its own continued hegemony.

Another reason not officially stated is that the US eyes Iran’s vast oil resources. After the success of its Venezuelan invasion, the argument in some American quarters is that if the US could also “capture” Iran, it would automatically control over 30 per cent of the entire world’s oil reserves. Not only that, with Iran beholden to both Russia and China, which are superpower rivals of the US, dragging Iran into the US orbit would be a huge blow on both China and Russia, which will not only deny them access to Iran’s vital resources but will, after the loss of Venezuela, also mean the loss of another strategic ally.

Thus, regime change in Iran became a very key component of the US agenda. Iran would be attacked; its leadership would be exterminated, a mass uprising against whatever remains of the Islamic regime will unfold and the US will move in not only to install a pliant regime beholden to the US but also one that is permanently crippled and would be unable to pose an existential threat to Israel or any of it neighbours that operate within the US orbit.

The above are goals, stated and unstated, that the US and Israel must have reckoned could not be totally achieved through diplomacy. Only a decimated and conquered Iran will afford them the opportunity to ride roughshod over the Islamic Republic; hence war.

Now, how far have the US and Israel achieved their goals? From video and other pictorial evidence, both the US and Israel substantially destroyed Iranian military and civilian facilities. They virtually wiped out the Iranian leadership, including its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; so also were scores of its military officers and top scientists, as well as thousands of other Iranian citizens, hundreds of them being school children.

But whereas Khamenei was killed and regime change effected, it was not along the line envisaged by the US. Khamenei has been succeeded by his son. The Iranian regime remains fully in charge of the country. The public uproar expected from the Iranian population has failed to materialize; instead, the war appears to have solidified majority of Iranians behind their leaders, who were now afforded the opportunity to bear down heavily on dissenters.

The US claimed to have destroyed Iran’s nuclear capability, but it turned out it has only buried the enriched uranium fuselages and will now need to put thousand of boots on ground in Iran to get to where those fuselages are buried deep under the ground, excavate and ship them to the US. What a tall order! The US also claims to have decapitated Iran’s military, yet the same Iran was able to attack locations within Israel, inflicting damages that the media was not allowed to fully report, as well as attacking US military bases and allies in the region.

But, perhaps, the most intriguing aspect is the US report that it has destroyed the Iranian navy; that it no longer possesses the capability to threaten, adding that the US would keep the Strait of Hormuz safe for ships to pass through and ensure that 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil and gas trade that pass through the strait would go on uninterrupted. Not only is Iran still strong enough to close the strait; not only has the US been unable to stop it from doing so; the US’s NATO allies have also declined President Donald Trump’s call for help!

As Iran and the US return to the negotiation table in Pakistan, what ails the entire world is no longer the exchange of missiles by the combatants but Iran’s effective closure and control of the Strait of Hormuz, which the US appears to have tacitly acquiesce to with Trump’s diplomatic language of referring to the strait as “joint venture” between the US and Iran! What does that mean – defeat, acquiesce or what? Did the US and Israel achieve the goals for which they levied war on Iran or did they only succeed in opening Pandora’s box?

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of the Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the “ON THE LORD’S DAY” column in the Sunday Tribune and “TREASURES” column in the New Telegraph newspapers. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

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Whether by design, destiny, or political calculation, Hamzat, born on September 19, 1964 and married to Oluremi, has emerged as perhaps the most visible, talked about and institutionally prepared figure in the conversation about who may occupy Alausa after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. If Lagos chooses experience, technocratic competence, and continuity over political theatrics, then Hamzat may well be the man to beat.

Unlike many politicians whose public careers began in party structures, Hamzat’s rise was first forged in academia and professional excellence. An engineer by training, he earned a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State before adding a master’s degree and later a doctorate in System Process Engineering from Cranefield University, England. His academic trajectory, no doubt, established him early as a serious-minded intellectual with a strong technical and analytical grounding.

And in a political environment where anti-intellectualism sometimes thrives, Hamzat has consistently projected the image of a cerebral leader – one more comfortable discussing policy frameworks, digital transformation, and governance systems than engaging in populist grandstanding and unnecessary controversies.

If Lagos chooses preparation over populism, competence over noise, and continuity over experimentation, KOH may indeed be the man who becomes the next governor of Lagos State.

Before politics finally arrested him, Hamzat had built a reputation in engineering, systems management, and technology-driven administration. His expertise in technology and infrastructure made him a natural fit for public service at a time when Lagos was aggressively modernising its governance systems.

That technical competence became his entry point into the political establishment. He served as Commissioner for Science and Technology, later Special Adviser on  Works. Across these roles, he developed a reputation as a policy wonk and implementation-driven administrator.

Interestingly, Hamzat’s political evolution has been unusual by Nigerian standards.

He is not usually the loudest politician in the room. In fact, he is rarely seen engaging in needless drama. He does not even dominate headlines with flamboyant rhetoric. Yet, within Lagos’ political machinery, his influence has steadily grown.

Born into a politically conscious family, his late father, Oba Mufutau Hamzat, was himself a notable political figure in Lagos. But unlike many second-generation politicians who rely solely on legacy, Hamzat has spent nearly two decades building his own political résumé. His eventual emergence as Deputy Governor in 2019 was not accidental; it was the culmination of years of strategic positioning, administrative competence, and loyalty within the Lagos APC establishment. Since then, he has served as Governor Sanwo-Olu’s dependable deputy, helping to shape and execute the administration’s developmental agenda.

Several factors, of course, make Hamzat a compelling governorship prospect. First, he understands Lagos and its operations as an ‘insider.’ Unlike other contenders who know little about the bureaucracy, infrastructure ecosystem, and policy architecture of the state as intimately as he does.

Second is that he is a technocrat with measurable governance experience.

Third is political acceptability, especially within the APC hierarchy. Yes, Hamzat is widely viewed as disciplined, loyal, and non-disruptive – traits often prized in succession politics.

The fourth is public perception. To many Lagosians, he projects calm intelligence, competence, and seriousness – qualities that contrast favourably with the theatrics often associated with Nigerian politics. Recent endorsements and increasing public succession conversations further reinforce his growing profile as a leading contender.

Challenges, however, cannot be ruled out. Especially because Lagos politics is never straightforward.

Competence alone often does not secure power in Nigeria. Political equations involving zoning, ethnic balancing, party interests, religious leaning, godfatherism, and grassroots calculations will all influence who eventually gets the nod.

Nonetheless, Obafemi Kadir Hamzat represents a rare breed in Nigerian politics: the scholar-technocrat who successfully transitioned into high-level political leadership without sacrificing his intellectual identity.

He has the education, the experience, the institutional knowledge, and the political grooming to govern Lagos. But whether he eventually becomes governor will depend not only on his credentials but on how well he navigates the intricate power dynamics of Lagos politics, under the firm grip of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the months ahead.

But one thing is clear: If Lagos chooses preparation over populism, competence over noise, and continuity over experimentation, KOH may indeed be the man who becomes the next governor of Lagos State.

*Azuh Arinze, FNGE, is the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine and author of important books like The CEO’s Bible 1 and 2, Anything and Everything Journalism, Success Is Not Served A La Carte, My Story of Many Colours, etc.

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Internet fraudsters fleece Nigerians of millions of naira every day.

The dead resurrected and spoke in Kenya’s financial sector theatre. When Alfred Basweti’s signature appeared on Kenya Union of Savings & Credit Co-operatives (KUSCCO)’s 2022 financial statements, it was not merely an administrative oversight. It was the perfect metaphor for a financial system haunted by phantom profits and ghostly accountability. There was one problem, though: Basweti died before the document went public.

A November 2024 PwC forensic audit exposed how the executives inflated assets by Sh14 billion: They paid fictitious dividends from member savings. They funnelled Sh1.6 billion in untraceable commission. This macabre detail emerges from the heart of Kenya’s most devastating financial scandal. It threatens the stability of a financial sub-sector that forms the backbone of middle-class aspirations in Kenya.

On the other hand

Nigerian banking fraud has trippled. A report released by Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) revealed that funds lost to fraud in Nigeria’s banking system have nearly trippled over the past five years. Analysis by the NIBSS estimated that 52.3 billion naira ($34.8 million) was lost to fraud in 2024.

On the one hand

In 2020, 11.6 billion naira went missing. This happened in Nigeria with a thriving technology and finance sector, the finance sector that is confronting a rival industry: Yahooze. That is another name for the industry populated by the internet-savvy Yahoo boys. Do you remember Yahooze? It was a successful song released by Afrobeats star Olu Maintain in 2007. The song celebrated the internet fraudsters.

Internet fraud is now an industry. It is thriving. It is jostling for attention with the finance sector. The fraudulent acts listed above came via the internet. Many Nigerians have lost billions of naira to these rats. What have we done to arrest the situation? We turned the act into a song and a dance. Yahooze.

In the long term

According to the report, fraudsters attempted to steal 86.4 billion naira in 2024. The numbers came after the latest GDP figures showed fourth-quarter growth of 3.8 per cent. This increase got a boost through the services sector: Finance and insurance. “The amount lost to fraud has increased over the past five years along with the growth of financial transactions in the digital payments sector,” the report stated.

Nigeria’s digital payment system is one of the most robust in Africa. We have a thriving technology startup ecosystem that raised an estimated 400 million dollars in 2024. According to media reports, such services are important as a cash shortage and currency reforms pushed users away from physical banknotes.

Because of the learned e-payment habit by Nigerians, fraudsters are using various methods to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians. Gift cards. Accounts opening. They are using stolen identities of senior citizens, minors, and foreigners to perpetrate the act. Due to this, an estimated 400 million naira was received in accounts opened with the stolen identities. Aside from this, many Nigerians were complicit in the act. Some were ‘’employed’ to find victims online through phishing. They targeted mostly Americans. Canadians. Mexicans. Etc.

Why do these matter?

The law recovered the stolen funds and arrested some bank employees. However, the international fraud monitors have categorised Nigeria under the “grey list.’’ Do you know the co-travellers? South Sudan. Bulgaria. Monaco. Croatia. These countries were deficient in preventing money laundering and terrorism financing. Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had arrested several foreigners in connection with the internet fraud.

In the short term

While we danced to Yahooze, the fraudsters are fleecing Nigerians of millions of naira. Every day.

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While having a lazy Sunday morning four years ago, I got a call from Onoruwo ibn Ambali of Okeliwo AKA Wale Adedayo. He sounded urgent. Very urgent. “Ogbologbo, nibo lo wa?” he asked. Home. In bed. “Ipata, o kuku ni lo si church,” he said, mocking my well-established church avoidance. The levity lowered my guard. I had thought something serious had happened.

“Are you calling from the pulpit?” I asked, returning levity for levity. He wanted me in Ojota in an hour. He had sent garri from Ijebu through a bus driver and needed me to pick it up. Driving was not an aspiration that morning, so I told him to have the driver take it to his Lagos home in Olowoora. I would pick it up at my convenience. “Send your home address,” he said. I did.

About two and a half hours later, the security man at the entrance of my close called. Someone was asking for me. It was a driver Onoruwo had sent with the garri. Half a bag of premium-grade Ijebu garri. Almost snow-white. Not a fleck of dirt. It also had, very importantly, that aggressive tang that blossoms best in very cold water. I am a garri connoisseur. I know the good stuff when I see it. I called to thank him, but told him it was too much. We had just bought garri the previous week. I do not have a brood. I do not have a parallel family. I do not have multiple wives. I am not like Ado Doguwa of the House of Reps with four wives and 28 children (as at 2022). I ended up giving much of the garri out.

The white substance trafficking  would continue. Na garri o before you go think say na cocaine.  Less than a month later, another Sunday morning, he called again to ask where I was. He should know by now. Home. About three hours later, a man called to say he was at gate of my close with something from “Shairman” in Ijebu. I knew who Shairman was. Oruwo was the Chairman of Ijebu East LGA at the time. I call him My Shiar, Onoruwo, the gap-toothed journalist for his toll gate-wide diastema or Ewele of Onitsha.

I asked the driver to hand the phone to the security man so he could be let in. To my astonishment, it was a full bag of a substance suspected to be garri, as the police would say. I had been expecting fish from Epe, which he had promised more than a dozen times. I called him immediately, not to thank him. I asked, quite muscularly, if he was nuts. “Am I setting up a ‘food is ready’ business or why am I getting a full bag of garri weeks after half a bag?” I added that he had no sense of proportion. He did not care. He simply changed the subject.

Classic Onoruwo, a living, breathing plot twist. In a world of curated personalities, he is gloriously unscripted. You never quite know what he will say or do next, but it will arrive with conviction (even if loopy), confidence and just enough mischief to keep life interesting.

Each time he has visited me at home has been at a notice shorter than an olosho’s skirt. He would call to ask if I was home, ask again for the address and in a little over half an hour, show up, sat at the owner’s corner of an okada and wearing jalabiya, a sartorial identity of his faith before he was seized by Ayelala.

Another time, he video-called me from Okeliwo, in the company of Olusiji Oyesile, AKA Ologbo Ijeun, who had travelled from Lagos. On his return, Ologbo came bearing a bag of garri from Onoruwo. I did not thank him. I accused him of attempting to build a cenotaph with garri. At some point, we should have renamed him Garri Lineker, Garrincha or Garri Kasparov. He was prolific.

In 2011, when he was in the UK, I asked him to buy me the CD of Millie Jackson’s Caught Up/Still Caught Up. Of course, he had no idea who she was. I doubt he has a musical taste, the cave man. He said he would buy it. He returned without it, but assured me he had ordered it and it would arrive in 10 days. It did, delivered to my office. I was delighted.

Still, if you need a man you can rely on to be unreliable, Oruwo is your man. The archives are thick. For a starter pack, consult Mojeed Jamiu, Sanya Onayoade and Olumide Iyanda. They could produce a three-volume anthology of the flexibility of his promise-keeping, opening with a party that never was. Ologbo Ijeun was also a victim, in a different way. He trusted Oruwo too much. Once, as narrated by ibn Ambali himself and corroborated by the victim, Ologbo was invited to breakfast at a gutterside mama put, the kind that gets Tokunbo Wahab fizzing with ire. I mean the type with benches beside a gutter clogged to a standstill by plastic bottles of Orijin, Action Bitters, sachets of Fenu Ja and pure water. A housefly paradise, let us say.

They ate, astonishingly without revulsion. Afterwards, Oruwo stood gidigba like First Bank. His intestines are forged from iron filings. Ologbo, meanwhile, spent three days and three nights in a hospital for explosive dysentery. By ibn Ambali’s account, his cheeks had collapsed like the empty IV bags hanging off his arms. Trust Oruwo at your own peril.

But even then, at 60, Onoruwo has achieved what many only aspire to. He has become a fully certified, uncompromisingly original human being. He is not eccentric. That is too tame a word. He is a full loony system upgrade; a top-tier nutcase. A man who has spent six decades perfecting the art of doing things his own way, whether or not the rest of us approve. That art includes making promises that go unfulfilled quicker than a G-string falls off a stripper.

Oruwo is just different; the kinda guy who starts an argument at point A and, with athletic ease, lands somewhere around Q without acknowledging the alphabets in between. At 60, most people slow down. Oruwo will not. He cannot. He is unable, unwilling and unready. He will not rebrand. He will not adjust. He will not suddenly discover age-appropriate behaviour.

What a gift that is.

So, I celebrate his 60 years of singularity. He did not think he would live this long. His father died before 50. But here he is, a man who, at age five, travelled from Idi Oro to Obalende unaccompanied. Omo Esu tokan tokan, Ajilarinrin of Okeliwo, emi e a se pupo l’ola Ejiogbe, l’ola kum faya kum ati l’ola Jesu. Coming at you from multiple spiritual angles feels the most appropriate thing to do. You are, after all, a religious transvestite.

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Last week, I started the series on personal habit awareness and mastery. I trust that you are finding it as useful as I intended. Remember that habits are power forces that can make or mar your goals. Today, let’s talk about habit awareness.

It is possible to slip into a bad habit pattern, but good habits are formed intentionally. Becoming self-aware about your habits is therefore one of the most powerful decisions you can make for your life. It is the starting point of growth, clarity, and lasting transformation.

Many people move through life on autopilot, repeating patterns they have never paused to examine. True self-mastery begins the moment you choose to observe yourself honestly.

Start by paying attention. Notice what you do consistently, your reactions, routines, and triggers. What do you do when you feel stressed, bored, or excited?

Your habits often reveal themselves in these unguarded moments. Keep a simple daily reflection journal. Write down actions you are proud of and those you would rather change. Awareness grows when you make the invisible visible.

Next, ask yourself deeper questions. Why do I act this way? What need am I trying to meet? Many habits are rooted in emotional needs comfort, validation, control, or escape. When you understand the “why” behind your behaviour, you gain power over it. Without this understanding, change becomes temporary and frustrating.

If you need support on your personal habit mastery journey, please get my book: Your Weakness is Not a Verdict.

Once you have clarity, take responsibility without judgment. Self-awareness is not about guilt; it is about ownership. Accept where you are while committing to where you want to be. Replace harsh self-criticism with honest evaluation and a willingness to improve.

Now, begin the process of intentional change. Choose one habit at a time. Trying to fix everything at once often leads to burnout. Create small, consistent actions that move you in the right direction. If you want better discipline, start with keeping one promise to yourself daily. Consistency builds confidence, and confidence fuels progress.

Finally, build an environment that supports your growth. Surround yourself with people, content, and structures that reinforce the person you are becoming. Self-mastery is not a one-time event; it is a continuous journey of refinement.

A greater life does not happen by chance. It is built through conscious choices, daily awareness, and disciplined action. When you understand your habits, you take back control and that is where transformation truly begins.

Next week, I will take you through a list of habits that despite getting older, wouldn’t change, except you take deliberate actions. If you need support on your personal habit mastery journey, please get my book: Your Weakness is Not a Verdict.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

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The team also recovered an anti-aircraft launcher and several high-grade weapons.

The Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Anthony Okon Placid, disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing at the FID-IRT headquarters in Abuja.

He stated that the 33 suspects were apprehended in coordinated operations across Kwara and Kogi states following investigations into the November 20, 2025 attack on a Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State.

According to him, on November 18, 2025, armed bandits attacked the church, killing worshippers and kidnapping 38 members, including the pastor, during an evening service.

He explained that the attack was captured on live stream, sparking national outcry, with victims later released following a joint security operation.

According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were involved in criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, kidnapping, cattle rustling, culpable homicide, unlawful possession of firearms, arms dealing, and acts of terrorism.

He added that items recovered from the suspects included seven AK-47 rifles, seven magazines, one anti-aircraft launcher, 32 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, five walkie-talkie communication devices and a camouflage hydration backpack.

According to him, “Following the attack on the C.A.C in Eruku Town, Ekiti LGA of Kwara State on 20th November 2025, operatives of the IRT, acting on credible human and technical intelligence, conducted coordinated operations across Kwara and Kogi states.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the gang was involved in criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, kidnapping, cattle rustling, culpable homicide, unlawful possession of firearms, arms dealing, and acts of terrorism which prima facie case has been established.

“The gang members were arrested at multiple locations including Gbugbu, Ora-Ago, Baballa, Kaiama, Awi, Charagi, Patigi, and Okeode. During operations, the suspects abandoned an anti-aircraft rifle and three AK-47 rifles, which were subsequently recovered by the police.

“Investigation is ongoing to apprehend any fleeing members of the gang to recover additional operational weapons.”

The police listed the 33 suspects arrested in connection with the case as Abubakar Usman, also known as Siddi, 26; Ibrahim Sa’idu, alias Idi Soho, 35; Adamu Mohammad, aka Baushe/Dogo, 58; Abdullahi Abubakar, a.k.a. Bature, 35; Abubakar Abdullahi, a.k.a. Turke, 35; Yusufa Isah, a.k.a. Munyaye, 50; Zubairu Abubakar, 35; Shaibu Usman, 35; Mohammed Lawai, a.k.a. Jalel, 40; Dahiru Adamu Mohammedu, 50 and Mohammadu Audu, a.k.a. Alti, 40.

Others are: Dahiru Alh Ahmadu, 25; Iliyasu Umar, a.k.a. Magaji, 38; Usman Alh Mati, a.k.a. Saidu, 30; Umar Mohammed, a.k.a. Mulandan, 25; Shehu Usman Mohammedu; Umar Mohammed Jos, 25; Mohammadu Ali, a.k.a. Jabbi/Ruwa, 30; Abubakar Mamman, 28; Mohammadu Alti, 32; Idris Auwal, a.k.a. Samaila, 26; Ajiboye Biodun, 20; Lawali Shehu, 32; Mohammadu Sani, a.k.a. Kachalla Ruga, 65; Musa Ado, a.k.a. Maidu, 65; Abubakar Adamu, a.k.a. Buba, 26; Mohammadu Zangina, a.k.a. Zangina, 23; Abubakar Shaibu, a.k.a. Jijji, 20; Mohammadu Salihu, a.k.a. Fulani, 25; Mohammadu Musa, a.k.a. Musa, 23; Abubakar Sani, a.k.a. Siddi, 25; Yusufa Isah, a.k.a. Leriya, 22; and Mohammadu Ibrahim, a.k.a. Iro, 21.

The suspects are among the 50 individuals paraded by the police on Monday as part of ongoing efforts to clamp down on criminal networks across the country.

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 By LANRE OGUNDIPE

If Part 5 examined the structure of power surrounding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the more decisive question lies beneath that structure: what animates it? Power, once constructed, does not operate on inertia. It requires continuous interpretation—of actors, of moments, of shifting alignments. It requires judgment.

At the centre of Tinubu’s political durability lies a factor frequently acknowledged but insufficiently interrogated—political intelligence.

This is not reducible to formal education or years in public life. Nor is it identical with experience, although experience refines it. Political intelligence is a distinct faculty: the ability to read patterns within elite behaviour, anticipate shifts before they fully materialise, and act within narrow windows of opportunity where others hesitate or miscalculate. It is the difference between participating in politics and shaping its trajectory.

In Tinubu’s case, this faculty appears to function as the cognitive engine behind the political architecture examined in the previous part.

The first dimension of this intelligence is anticipatory perception—the ability to read the field before it fully forms.

Political change rarely announces itself. It emerges through subtle signals: fractures within ruling coalitions, fatigue within dominant narratives, ambition among rising actors. These signals are often visible but not yet legible. Most actors respond only when patterns become obvious. By then, the strategic advantage has narrowed.

Tinubu’s political trajectory suggests repeated engagement with moments of early interpretation. His movement from regional consolidation to broader national relevance did not occur in a vacuum. It reflected an assessment—correct or otherwise—that existing political alignments at the federal level had reached a point of internal contradiction. Acting at that stage required not certainty, but judgment.

Judgment, in politics, is a form of risk.

This leads to the second dimension: timing.

In political systems, the value of a decision is inseparable from its timing. Actions taken too early encounter resistance; those taken too late lose impact. Between these lies a narrow strategic window where uncertainty is high but possibility is real.

Tinubu’s interventions across different phases of his career often appear situated within such windows. Whether in alliance formation, candidate positioning or strategic withdrawal, there is a pattern of acting not at moments of clarity, but at points of emerging direction. This is not infallibility; it is calculated engagement with uncertainty.

History provides multiple examples of leaders who mastered the acquisition of power but struggled with its application to national development. The distinction lies not only in capacity, but in the ability to reconfigure strategic thinking to meet the demands of statecraft.

Timing, therefore, becomes an instrument of power.

It converts ambiguity into opportunity.

The third dimension is a granular understanding of elite psychology.

Politics at scale is not merely institutional; it is behavioural. Actors within political systems are driven by ambition, fear, loyalty, insecurity and calculation. Effective political operators do not treat elites as homogeneous blocs. They recognise differentiation and work within it.

Tinubu’s method appears to involve aligning interests rather than enforcing uniformity. This includes accommodating ambition where possible, managing conflict where necessary, and structuring relationships in ways that encourage continued engagement within a shared framework. The result is not the elimination of rivalry, but its containment within an overarching system.

This approach requires constant calibration.

Elite alignment is not a fixed achievement; it is an ongoing process.

The fourth dimension is risk calibration.

Enduring political actors are neither reckless nor excessively cautious. They operate within a zone where risk is assessed, not avoided. Tinubu’s political decisions reflect this calibrated posture. Entering uncertain alliances, backing emerging actors, or repositioning within shifting party structures all involve risk. Yet these moves suggest a pattern of measured exposure—engaging risk where potential structural advantage outweighs immediate uncertainty.

This is not risk-taking for its own sake.

It is risk as strategic instrument.

The fifth dimension is narrative awareness.

Political action unfolds within a landscape of interpretation. Policies, alliances and decisions are not only evaluated on substance but on how they are perceived. Narratives shape legitimacy, and legitimacy shapes endurance.

Tinubu’s political journey has been accompanied by persistent and often conflicting narratives—ranging from strategic mastery to accusations of over-concentration of influence. What is notable is not the existence of these narratives, but his apparent capacity to operate through them without immediate recalibration of core strategy.

This suggests a distinction between perception and positioning.

Narratives may fluctuate in the short term. Strategic structures are built for the long term.

The sixth dimension is adaptability.

Rigid political systems tend to fracture under pressure. Adaptive systems adjust. Tinubu’s political method demonstrates a capacity to recalibrate without abandoning core objectives. Alliances shift, tactics evolve, but strategic direction is maintained.

Adaptability, however, is not without cost. It can dilute ideological clarity and invite accusations of opportunism. In a political culture that often equates consistency with integrity, adaptability can be misread. Yet in complex systems, rigidity may be less sustainable than controlled flexibility.

This duality forms part of the broader Tinubu paradox.

Taken together, these dimensions—anticipation, timing, psychological insight, risk calibration, narrative awareness and adaptability—constitute what may be described as a cognitive architecture of power. Networks provide the structure; political intelligence provides the direction. Without the latter, the former risks stagnation. With it, the system remains dynamic.

Yet this analysis must move beyond political effectiveness to a more demanding inquiry.

Can the intelligence that acquires and sustains power be translated into the intelligence required for governance?

The distinction is critical.

Political intelligence is oriented toward competition, negotiation and positioning. Governance requires additional competencies: policy coherence, institutional strengthening, economic management and administrative execution. Success in one domain does not automatically translate into success in the other.

At sub-national levels, particularly in Lagos, elements of this translation appeared to function with relative coherence. Institutional continuity, revenue expansion and administrative reforms provided a governance complement to political structure. However, national governance introduces a different scale and complexity.

The variables are broader.

The constraints are deeper.

The consequences are more immediate.

At the national level, political intelligence must interact with economic realities, global pressures, institutional limitations and public expectations that extend beyond political alignment. Decisions are not only strategic; they are distributive. They affect livelihoods, inflation, employment and social stability.

This is where the Tinubu model encounters its most significant test.

The same faculties that enable anticipation and coalition management must now operate within policy frameworks that demand clarity, consistency and measurable outcomes. Negotiation must give way, at times, to decision. Flexibility must be balanced with direction. Strategic ambiguity must confront administrative precision.

This transition is neither automatic nor guaranteed.

It requires an expansion of political intelligence into governance intelligence.

History provides multiple examples of leaders who mastered the acquisition of power but struggled with its application to national development. The distinction lies not only in capacity, but in the ability to reconfigure strategic thinking to meet the demands of statecraft.

For Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this reconfiguration is now the defining challenge.

The political engine has been built. The intelligence behind it has demonstrated resilience across decades of shifting terrain. What remains unresolved is whether that same intelligence can produce outcomes that extend beyond political continuity into national transformation.

This is not a question that can be answered in abstraction.

It will be answered in policy.

In economic direction.

In institutional reform.

In the lived experience of citizens.

Power can be anticipated.

It can be assembled.

It can be sustained.

But governance demands a different conversion.

It demands that intelligence move from strategy to outcome.

*Ogundipe, public affairs analyst, former president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists and Africa Union of Journalists, writes from Abuja.

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