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Raymond Aliga: X-raying a ray of hope for humanity
By Alozie Ibe
Some people don’t like you because your strength reminds them of their weakness. Don’t let the hate slow you down. – Dr Thelma Bryant Davis
There is an African adage – which is very prominent among the Yoruba people – that discourages parents and people generally from comparing children with one another. Specifically, the adage says that if we compare one child with another, we may end up beating the other one who is not doing so well to death. So, it is better we allow all kids of different characters, traits, talents and abilities to grow at their pace and time.
Having digested the theme of this adage, we in Africa over the years have learnt how not to compare two people at all, whether they are kids or adults. So in a family, community, workplace etc, we just silently dispense favours, benefits, commendations, awards, disciplinary actions and punishments on the basis of those who are deserving of any of them.
This is a culture we have to revisit for the purpose of inspiring, especially the younger generation to aspire for greatness. Because of this recent culture and the humility, modesty and fear of God in certain individuals, the fact that these individuals don’t blow their own trumpet, some persons have been seeking to rewrite our recent history and pull wool over the eyes of unsuspecting people by dressing truth as falsehood and packaging heresy as gospel. These people are trying to launch a lie that if we allow them to sustain in the front burner of discourse, it will begin to look like the truth.
Based on recent events in the political landscape of Abia state , we have to begin to separate the wheat from the chaff for the purpose of posterity. Raymond M. Aliga, a proud indigene of Nenu in Obingwa LGA of Abia state, a self-made, wealthy entrepreneur and philanthropist par excellence, is one of the underrated titans that I am talking about. A great, patriotic Nigerian who has for decades dominated the business landscape of the state and environs like a colossus and who has now expanded his terrain to Lagos and other parts of the country. An Industrialist of repute, Aliga has over two decades of experience in Shipping and General Marine Consultancy, Oil Field Services, Procurement Services, Construction, Oil and Gas, Hospitality, Agriculture and Manufacturing.
He is a multi-talented personality with a proven record of successfully steering organisations from humble beginnings to limelight. He holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), Human Resource Management option from the prestigious Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo state. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Planning (Transport) from Lagos State University (LASU), and a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Shipping Management from the Certified Institute of Shipping, a Maritime University. Aliga is a Chartered Shipping Practitioner having been awarded Associate of the Chartered Institute of Shipping of Nigeria.
In 2005, he founded Allray Maritime Services Limited, an integrated shipping company which commenced operations immediately, offering services in Shipping, Air and Sea freight, LCL Consolidation, Trucking, Project Logistics, General Marine Consultancy, Oil Field Services and Procurement Services.
A restless entrepreneur, Raymond Aliga also founded Goodseed Foundations, which is a co-founder of Australian Academy in Nigeria. The Goodseed Foundation, an Africa-based philanthropic organisation, focuses on vocational training and providing short courses for artisans.
He is also the Chairman of Goodseed Industries with technical college called Kiara De – Luke Academy and with clusters of six industries which include Goodseed Farms Ltd,Integrated Farm, Logistics, De Luke Garment Manufacturing Company Ltd, a company whose specialty is textile and garment production, Logistics De Luke furniture manufacturing company Ltd, that is employing over 100 Abians, Logistics De Luke Construction Company Limited which specialises on construction of all kinds of building and roads, Logistics De Luke Electrical and Logistics De – Luke Fabrications.
Aliga has a strong flair for humanitarianism and hospitality. He is the managing Director of Staywell Hospitality Services Nigeria Limited; operators of Aries Suites Hotel, Osborne Foreshore Estate, lkoyi, Lagos, Nigeria. He serves as a community leader in Abia State, also an Elder of United Evangelical Church.
Mr Aliga is furthermore, a member of the Board of Directors, Vica Hope Foundation (VHF) a humanitarian organisation whose mission is “to provide a platform for enhancing the status of women, teenagers, and children through education, empowerment, welfare, healthcare provisions/ skills development and to undertake interventions in poverty reduction, obnoxious widowhood and teenage girl abuses as well as promote maternal and childcare, women, and children’s rights.”
Democracy, with its accompanying freedom of expression, is however a leveller… The sort of leveller that makes all manners of roadside charlatans and nonentities take advantage of the lack of adequate gatekeeping on social media to spew all sorts of ridiculous stuff against honourable gentlemen who have over the decades toiled day and night to get to the top and build mighty empires that are the envy of all and sundry.
As a result of the failure they have made out of their own below-average lives, some persons have conditioned their warped minds to think that it is impossible for anyone to make it as a result of decent toil or hard work. Because of their criminal mindset which would have made them loot the God’s own state dry if they ever got close to the cookie jar, they think people like Aliga had also depended on illicit money from politics to reach the heights it pleased God to take him to.
Let us however set the records for the sake of posterity, not for the purpose of these shady characters who are obviously uncoachable and can never learn. Aliga’s success in business did not start with the outgoing administration of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu. In fact, it was Aliga’s office that served as Ikpeazu’s campaign office when he aspired to be governor and won in 2015. It is therefore preposterous for people to insinuate or allege that Aliga made his fortunes from illicit funds from the Abia state government under Ikpeazu.
Aliga has for years been making game-changing impacts on the business climate of the state and beyond long before the coming of Governor Ikpeazu. Contrary to the lies the vocal minority would want to feed people with, all sane Abians will agree with me that Aliga has been making impact in philanthropy, human development, employment generation and community development and advancement of Christendom with his legitimate resources years before the coming of Governor Ikpeazu.
It was his contribution to philanthropy and humanitarian causes that earned him the national honour of Member of the Order of Niger (MON), which was bestowed on him by President Muhammadu Buhari last year. Even though he had prior to that time won several awards and commendations locally and internationally, the one from highest authority in a country like Nigeria is a crowning glory of his efforts over the years and a fitting tribute to his sacrifices and impact on his people. In a nutshell, Elder Aliga’s giant strides have over the decades been noticed by the people that matter in Abuja even though envious people do not know that their evil thoughts would never stop the work of God.
For us to be able to build a Nigeria of our dreams and reach the proverbial Promised Land, we have to be a society that gives honour to whom it is due. By the time we elevate the crooked elements among us and rubbish the icons who are deserving of celebration, we give our young ones the wrong impression that hard work doesn’t pay and that cutting corners pays, and by doing so, we destroy our society gradually.
Elder Raymond Mkpuruoma Aliga, MON, deserves better !!!
Ibe, wrote from Aba, Abia State
“Nothing must happen to Peter Obi. An injury to one is an injury to all. When one opposition leader is intimidated, every opposition voice is diminished,” came the immediate reaction of Atiku Abubakar candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in the 2027 presidential election on Thursday.
It was a day Atiku, who came second in the 2023 election and Obi, third, in the declaration made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), also asked for the release of Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, warning that democracy is threatened when opposition figures are intimidated.
Obi, Governor of Anambra State between 2006 to 2014, had accused the federal government of deliberately frustrating his means of livelihood and targeting opposition figures, while appearing on #WithChude podcast, a programme hosted by Chude Jidonwo, a popular Nigerian social media host.
On the same Tuesday, Obi’s outing broke on social media, where he claimed that the way the Tinubu government was pursuing him, he was not sure of making it to the 2027 election alive, the family of the former Kaduna State Governor, also came publicly to describe stark details of what the family head, currently in detention since February this year, has been facing.
Conveying his distaste on the two situations through, Phrank Shaibu, his spokesman, Atiku, Nigeria’s Vice President between 1999 and 2007, added: “When one citizen begins to fear because of his political beliefs, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”
In a quick riposte to the scant regard, Aso Rock seemed to have placed on Obi’s fears, the former VP, said: “The Presidency must understand that democratic leadership demands composure, not contempt. When a citizen, particularly an opposition figure, voices concerns about the state of the nation or his personal safety, the first duty of government is to reassure through statesmanship, facts and responsible conduct—not through insults.
“Democracies are strengthened by reasoned engagement, not by invective. A government that answers every criticism with abuse projects insecurity, not confidence. The opposition is not the enemy of Nigeria.
“Poverty is the enemy. Hunger is the enemy. Insecurity is the enemy. Corruption is the enemy. Kidnapping is the enemy. The daily bloodletting across our communities is the enemy. A government that devotes more energy to attacking its critics than confronting these existential challenges has confused political survival with the purpose of governance. There are schoolchildren and teachers still waiting to be reunited with their families. There are countless innocent Nigerians languishing in the camps of kidnappers,” he said.
“These are the emergencies that deserve the full machinery of government—not endless political sparring with opposition figures. The Federal Government must devote the same urgency it applies to political communication to rescuing kidnapped Nigerians and restoring public confidence in national security.”
Regarding the plight of el-Rufai, Atiku stated: “The continued detention of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has generated widespread public concern. Every Nigerian, irrespective of political affiliation, is entitled to due process, equal protection under the law and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a competent court. Justice must never create the appearance of selective application.
“Public confidence is not restored through insults or propaganda. It is restored through openness, accountability and the courage to answer legitimate questions,” he said.
“Governments earn trust by confronting controversy with facts, strengthening institutions and demonstrating that no one is above scrutiny. Our elders say: ‘When the drums of injustice beat for your neighbour, do not dance, for tomorrow they may beat for you. Every Nigerian, regardless of political affiliation, has a stake in defending the democratic space. Release Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
“Bring home every abducted schoolchild, every teacher and every innocent Nigerian still languishing in the hands of kidnappers.
“Stop chasing political opponents and start confronting the crises that are bleeding our nation. History will not remember how fiercely a government fought its critics.
“It will remember whether it protected its citizens, upheld justice, rescued the vulnerable and preserved the democracy entrusted to its care.”
“They apologised to me privately. I said they should put it on social media. They said they will not put it on social media, it will affect their credibility, because it’s not just them, but their other programmers at the Al Jazeera network too.”
These were the words of Daniel Bwala, while giving further insight into what has transpired along the line since his controversial interview with Mehdi Hasan of Al Jazeera, a global television network in March 2026, stating that the station privately apologised to him.
Bwala, who appeared on The Morayo Show, a private talk-show programme, hosted by Morayo Afolabi-Brown, a popular television presenter, however said because both Mehdi and Al Jazeera, refused to make the apology public, he was prompted him to instruct his lawyers in England to sue for defamation.
Clips on the controversial outing in which Bwala, spokesman for the campaign of Atiku Abubakar during his presidential bid in 2023, were in the public domain for several weeks after where a groundswell of commentators believed his performance was not only underwhelming, but he was outrightly disgraced.
He added: “The substance of the apology was that they should have told me that part of what they discussed with me was a talking point, that they were also going to interrogate me on my credibility for supporting the person I had attacked before.
“By their own ethics, they ought to have told me that, but they said they were sorry they didn’t. If you’re bold, if you call yourself a journalist, a fact-checker, you run your programme live and let people judge live.
“If you’re thinking straight, that’s what you’d do. You took creative control of the programme. You made a recorded programme. Ethics demanded you publish it exactly as it was recorded.”
Informing that the programme ran for one hour and 30 minutes but Al Jazeera published only 49 minutes, he accused the network of skewing the footage in Hasan’s favour, adding: “The deeper point is that they cut out the parts where I was fact-checking him and the crowd was clapping for me, and instead kept the parts where he was speaking and people were clapping for him. He’d ask me a question, I’d deny it, then he’d play the old clip. We call that ‘cut and joined’ in media. After doing that, which amounts to a smear campaign, he didn’t give me the chance to react to it.
“Instead, he let it appear that I was simply asked a question, denied it, was shown the clip, denied it again, was shown another clip, and denied it again. He removed that part, because if he’d left it in, anyone watching would understand that I had already answered the question upfront, and that my later denials were a response to his repeated bringing it up. That’s where the unethical conduct of a professional issue arose.
“When they apologised, I said no, put it on social media. They refused. So, I instructed my lawyers in England to go to court. The case is currently in court. Because my advisers in England said it’s defamation of character.”
More successes are being recorded by Nigerian forces trying to rout out terrorist in parts of the country, with emerging reports indicating that the perpetrators are currently running scared from the hot onslaughts they are getting from the operatives.
Channels Television, is quoting military authorities at the Operation Hadin kai (OPHK) conducting military blitzkrieg against the terrorists in the North East as saying that the troops received six Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP), one of the major terrorist groups operating in the area, who surrendered alongside their families, at the 192 Battalion (Main) Sector 1 of the body.
Quoting a statement on Wednesday by Mohammed Goni, spokesman of the military operation, with headquarters in Maiduguri, Borno State, the report, said that among the items recovered from the terrorists and their families included a cumulative sum of more than N1.5 million, two Tecno mobile phones, and other items.
Th statement, added that troops of 115 Task Force Battalion, while conducting ongoing search and rescue operations in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, on July 7, rescued two additional abductees from a terrorist hideout, where they also recovered cash of N1.2 million suspected to be proceeds of criminal activities, food items, and other logistics believed to have supported terrorist operations.
The rescued victims have since been evacuated to a secure location where they are receiving appropriate medical care and psychosocial support, the report said, adding that during the same period, the troops noted that it contained a coordinated attack by ISWAP terrorists in Borno, and one of the soldiers was killed.
“Although the insurgents briefly exploited a section of the base’s defensive perimeter during the intense firefight, the troops rapidly regrouped, mounted a determined counter-offensive and decisively expelled the attackers, inflicting significant casualties and forcing the surviving terrorists to flee with varying degrees of gunshot wounds.
“Regrettably, one gallant soldier paid the supreme price, while two gun-trucks and some combat enablers sustained damage during the engagement. The situation at FOB Logomani remains firmly under the control of Operation HADIN KAI troops, with reinforcements deployed, exploitation operations ongoing and additional measures being implemented to further strengthen the defensive resilience of the location.”
Detailing how troops of 232 Battalion apprehended a notorious criminal in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, the statement, said: “Follow-up exploitation of the arrest led to the recovery of one AK-47 rifle, two magazines, and twenty-eight rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition.
“The suspect and recovered items are currently in military custody, while further investigations are underway to identify and apprehend other members of the criminal network.”
Similarly, the statement said troops of the 149 Battalion arrested two suspected terrorist logistics suppliers in the Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State.
The recovered items include cash sums, a Volkswagen Golf vehicle, construction materials, household items, and other supplies suspected to have been destined for terrorist elements.
The suspects are currently undergoing interrogation, while the recovered items remain in military custody as investigations continue.
As part of ongoing offensive operations, troops of 24 Task Force Brigade, in conjunction with members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, conducted a clearance operation on known terrorist enclaves around Wulgo.
During the operation, the troops said they exploited the terrorists’ hasty withdrawal and recovered a sack containing assorted illicit drugs abandoned by the fleeing insurgents.
“The recovery further underscores the sustained pressure being mounted on terrorist elements, denying them freedom of movement and disrupting their operational capabilities.”
Relatedly, the troops apprehended a suspected BHT/ISWAP logistics supplier at the Molai checkpoint in possession of large quantities of medical supplies without due clearance. The suspect and items recovered are in custody for further interrogation.
Again, in Sector 2 Area of Responsibility, Troops of 233 Tank Battalion, in conjunction with local hunters, intercepted and arrested a suspected BHT/ISWAP terrorist logistics supplier from Ngirya village of Tarmuwa LGA with five motorcycle tires. The suspect and items are in military custody for investigation.
“These latest operational gains underscore the effectiveness of sustained offensive operations, actionable intelligence and the seamless collaboration among security agencies and auxiliary forces in dismantling terrorist logistics networks, disrupting criminal activities and protecting vulnerable communities across the North East”, the statement added.
Headquarters Operation HADIN KAI assured the public that ongoing search and rescue operations will continue with unwavering resolve until every abducted person is accounted for and safely reunited with their families.
“The Theatre Command also issues a stern warning to individuals involved in supplying food, fuel, construction materials, transportation or any other form of logistics to terrorist groups to immediately desist. Anyone found aiding, abetting or collaborating with terrorist elements, directly or indirectly, will be identified, apprehended and prosecuted in accordance with the law.”
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