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Coups in Africa will be crushed – Tinubu *Enthuses on $15billion Lagos-Abidjan Corridor Highway
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Sunday said Africa could maintain its relevance in a competitive global arena, only through its ability to feed its people, adding that it must be active to compete globally, affirm and defend their continental unity, and reject “a new scramble for the continent.”
Tinubu, Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of States and Government, while arguing that the continent had no place for passive leadership anymore, stressed that it should rather be proactive to deal with the odds stacked against the people.
Rejecting the notion of a new scramble for Africa at a time the historic plundering and exploitation of the past should be consigned to the heap of history, the President, who spoke in Nairobi, Kenya, during the Fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union (AU), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and African Union Member States, also bemoaned the twin challenges of terrorism and the re-emergence of coups, which he saw as reversal of democratic changes of government.
Tinubu’s address at the session, conveyed by his spokesman, Dele Alake, who quoted his boss as saying that ECOWAS Authority was set to strengthen its Standby Force for deployment to fight terror and resist coups, while highlighting the progress made by the sub-regional body in its integration process, including trade, free movement of persons, investment promotion, infrastructure development, and security.
In his speech, entitled: Address on Status of Regional Integration in ECOWAS, the President was said to have emphasised the need for Africa to overcome its challenges and work towards a prosperous future, focusing on inclusive growth, good governance, and leveraging the opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Urging African leaders to foster good governance to ensure a prosperous future for the continent, President Tinubu said: “As Africans, we forge ahead, no matter the barriers thrust before us. The world we inhabit is often unkind and uncertain. History and current global difficulties argue against our future success.
“Lessons of the past few years teach us that the world economy can be disrupted in ways that halt progress and invite downturn. Our nations can suddenly find themselves in dire situations if we choose to be passive observers of our fate. Africa will not permit the repeat of scramble, exploitation and plundering of the continent.”
On peace, security, and stability, the President said the sub-region should be liberated from terrorism and anti-constitutional changes in government.
He added: “We sit here in meaningful discussion of vital economic matters. Yet, it will be impossible to bring full meaning to what we attempt unless we give due consideration to the instability and conflict that now scar many of our nations.
“The fullness of the integration we seek will elude us as long as several of our nations stand in the mist on violence and war. The trade and commerce we talk of today refers to valued goods and services that improve life.
“The trade and commerce these nations suffer is of destruction and disorder that takes lives and steals opportunity. We cannot integrate Africa and attain the prosperity we seek while our nearby brothers and sisters suffer in pain and anguish; they should not suffer. We must advance as one continent toward peace and prosperity.
“Otherwise, we risk the creation of two or more Africa, one a select group of nations moving steadily while the rest remain trapped in the age-old mire of poverty, conflict and lack of hope. It is very clear that in the area of peace, security, and stability, our region is confronted with the twin challenges of terrorism and reversal of democratic gains through undemocratic changes of government.
“To address these challenges, the ECOWAS Authority, which I have the honour to chair, has given directive regarding the enhancement of the role of the ECOWAS Standby Force for deployment to fight terrorism and undemocratic changes in government.
“The Authority has also resolved to raise our funding internally to finance the peace support operations in our community. Meanwhile, we have continued to monitor the transition programmes in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.”
President Tinubu recounted that during the recently concluded ECOWAS Summit in Bissau, West African leaders resolved to maintain engagement with Mali and Burkina Faso to assiduously work towards the implementation of the 24-month transition calendars agreed with ECOWAS.
To assist Burkina Faso and Mali in defending their territories from terrorists, he said ECOWAS had decided to provide support for their security agencies, while appealing to international partners to provide the necessary support that would ensure the restoration of democratic order in these West African countries.
Tinubu who emphasised that ECOWAS had achieved the Free Trade Area and was working on establishing the Customs Union and Common Market, however, expressed concern about the low level of intra-community trade among member-states, noting that the European Union (EU) remained the major trading partner for the region, followed by Asia, North America, and the rest of Africa.
Highlighting efforts made by ECOWAS to consolidate the gains of its trade liberalisation scheme and support the implementation of the AfCFTA, he said the ECOWAS Commission had been assisting member-states in the negotiations, ratification, and implementation of the AfCFTA.
He noted that 13 of the 15 ECOWAS member-states have ratified the agreement, saying the body had commenced action towards the implementation of the Harmonized Visa-Regime (ECOVISA) to facilitate the free movement of non-ECOWAS citizens.
Tinubu, who reaffirmed ECOWAS’ focus on building regional infrastructure, including the Lagos-Abidjan Corridor Highway, to promote economic activities and integration, added: “The Feasibility and Preliminary Design and Studies show a significant investment cost of nearly US$15 billion for the whole highway with an average economic rate of return of 15 per cent per annum.
“In the same vein, preparations are underway for the development of the other corridors, namely the Abidjan-Praia-Dakar.”
On intra-regional cooperation, the President said a joint border post between Nigeria and Cameroon was recently commissioned and handed over in November 2022 to the authorities of the two countries.
He described the project as a bridge between ECOWAS and ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States) and a solid foundation for future cooperation and integration between the regions and ultimately the African continent.
Tinubu also provided an update on the energy sector, expressing delight that several generation and interconnection projects had been implemented within the region, explaining that with the completion of the electric interconnection between Cote d’Ivoire-Liberia-Sierra Leone- Guinee (1,300 km) and between Senegal-The Gambia-Guinee Bissau and Guinee (1,700 km), all the 15 countries in West Africa had now been interconnected.
He said: “The completion of the Information and Coordination Centre of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) will enable member-states to buy and sell electricity in the region as this centre will act as a regional system operator within the framework of the regional electricity market.”
The ECOWAS chairperson also provided updates on investment promotion and the ECOWAS Cybersecurity Agenda to combat cybercrime and improve cybersecurity capabilities in member states.
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Why Prominent Individuals Pay Premium for Online Credibility in the Digital Age – Ayobami Eruobami
As the global economy becomes increasingly digital, Eruobami Ayobami, Chairman of Erumedia Group & Charity Trust who also doubled as the founder of Pressford , has shared a bold perspective on the rising demand for online credibility and why individuals are now investing significantly to build it.
In a world dominated by platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok, first impressions are no longer made in rooms but on screens.
“Credibility today is no longer something people wait to discover about you. It is something they search for instantly,” Ayobami stated. “If your digital presence does not validate your value, you are already at a disadvantage.”
This shift has transformed credibility into a high value digital asset one that professionals, founders, and public figures are now actively building through media exposure, strategic storytelling, and search visibility.
Erumedia Group: Building the Narrative Behind Credibility
As a Public Relations, communications and media company, www.erumediagroup.com focuses on shaping the foundation of credibility helping individuals and organizations define, structure, and communicate their stories with clarity and authority.
“Before visibility comes narrative. Many people struggle not because they lack value, but because they lack structured positioning,” Ayobami explained. “At Erumedia Group, we help clients refine their voice, their message, and the way they are perceived before they ever go public.”
Through brand development, storytelling strategy, and reputation positioning, the company ensures that credibility is not just visible but meaningful and consistent.
Pressford: Distributing Credibility at Scale
While narrative builds the core, Pressford plays a different role amplification.
As a press release distribution and digital PR platform, Pressford enables individuals and organizations to translate their credibility into verifiable public presence across media channels.
“Pressford exists because credibility must not only be built it must be seen, indexed, and validated publicly,” Ayobami said. “It gives individuals the infrastructure to show up in search results, in news mentions, and in conversations that matter.”
By making media visibility more accessible, Pressford addresses one of the biggest gaps in the digital credibility cycle: discoverability.
The Business of Being Seen
Ayobami notes that the increasing willingness to pay for credibility is not driven by vanity, but by necessity.
“Opportunities today are often given to those who appear prepared, visible, and validated. The market responds to perception before it investigates performance,” he stated.
However, he also warns against mistaking visibility for substance.
“If credibility is only built on aesthetics without real value behind it, it will fail. The goal is not to look credible it is to be credible and ensure that credibility is visible.”
A Shift That Cannot Be Ignored
As digital ecosystems continue to shape human interaction and business decisions, Ayobami believes the importance of intentional credibility building will only grow stronger.
“The future belongs to individuals who understand that credibility is not accidental. It is designed, positioned, and distributed,” he concluded.
Eruobami Ayobami is a Professional Public Relations Executive, Media Entrepreneur, Personal Brandinf Expert and communications strategist.
He Chairs Erumedia Group and Charity Trust and Founded Pressford. His work focuses on helping individuals and organizations build, structure, and amplify their digital credibility.
From Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s former President, came a mild rebuke to Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, who in assessing the quality of his six-year tenure as Nigerian leader, all but dismissed him as “inexperienced.”
Atiku, a guest of Prime Time, a public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS Television, last week, told his host that Jonathan was inexperienced, saying his tenure was marked by notable missteps.
“I know Goodluck Jonathan very well. He is a decent young man, but also inexperienced, and I believe that contributed to his inability to manage the affairs of the country, particularly when he was faced with challenges,” Atiku, currently chasing the number one job the former President exited in 2015 for the seventh time, said.
But in a measured riposte at the 2025 Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria awards ceremony in Abuja on Monday, Jonathan, while acknowledging that he must have made some mistakes, argued that errors were inevitably with human beings as only God could be perfect,
Reacting to Atiku’s remarks, he told his audience: “So not too long ago, a very senior politician said, ‘Oh, Jonathan was too young and probably that’s why he made mistakes.’
“If I made mistakes, yes, nobody who becomes a governor or a president will say you did not make mistakes. Even when you promote yourself to the level of a god, you become a deity.
“All human beings must make mistakes. I became president in 2010 at the age of 53. I left in 2015 at the age of 58, and they say I was too young. Must it have been 100 years before I ran the affairs of the state?
“I’m talking to diplomats, so I can say that during my period, I knew what I did for us to appear in the UN Security Council two times… If I were so naive, I don’t think I would have been able to navigate through that process.”
Jonathan also spoke on regional affairs, warning that political instability remains a major obstacle to economic growth across West Africa. He stressed that without stable governance systems, meaningful development in the sub-region would remain elusive.
“We cannot progress economically if we are very unstable societies politically,” he said.
Jonathan noted that while the founders of ECOWAS envisioned strong economic cooperation, persistent political crises have hindered progress, particularly in enforcing democratic standards among member states.
“That means that ECOWAS must interfere with the internal affairs of the states, and the issue of sovereignty becomes a problem,” he said.
Jonathan urged leaders in the region to work collectively towards stability, saying, “The heads of states of ECOWAS must continue to work together and agree on concrete terms and make sure that the sub-region is politically stable.”
He added that economic integration efforts would falter without solid democratic institutions and called on Nigerian diplomats to properly document foreign policy experiences for future leaders.
Paying tribute to ECOWAS founders, including former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, Jonathan described the creation of the bloc in 1975 as a bold and necessary step toward regional unity and economic integration.
Gowon, who was also honoured at the event, recounted the origins of ECOWAS, linking its formation to post-war diplomatic engagements across West Africa.
According to him, “It was as a result of the various efforts of all Nigerians when we went through a very difficult period, and I had to go to the various countries to say thank you.”
He said discussions with regional leaders at the time led to a shared vision for broader cooperation.
“Why don’t we also think about having something that we can at least have in agreement for all of us when we are working together?” he said.
Gowon emphasised that ECOWAS was the product of collective effort rather than individual ambition, crediting government institutions and civil servants for its success.
“This would not have been possible without the support of all the staff of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Development,” he stated.
He added that the recognition bestowed on him should be shared widely.
“The honour that is being done to me today should really go back to all the staff that worked so hard to make sure that this became a reality,” he said.
Also speaking, the President of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria, Joe Keshi, highlighted the importance of honouring excellence in diplomacy, noting that the awards celebrate dedication and service to Nigeria and the continent.
“Diplomacy is one profession where success is often invisible, reflected not by news coverage, but by maintained stability, prevented conflicts, cultivated partnerships,” he said.
Keshi noted that the event coincides with the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS, describing the organisation as “a bold experiment in regionalism,” and urged diplomats to adapt to evolving global challenges.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Waheed Shaibu, also praised Gowon, describing him as a symbol of national unity and visionary leadership.
He said the recognition offers a chance to reflect on a legacy “defined by visionary leadership, courage, and unwavering commitment to the unity, stability, peace, and progress” of Nigeria.
Shaibu added that Gowon’s leadership reflected “patriotism, resilience, and a profound sense of duty,” while commending ARCAN for its continued contribution to diplomatic discourse and Nigeria’s global engagement.
After months of official hiatus, the Federal Government, on Tuesday finally got on the way with the trial of those fingered in the alleged plot to oust President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through a coup, including Timipre Sylva, former Minister of State for Petroleum.
The move, which apart from the former Governor of Bayelsa State, came with the filing of a 13-count charge before the Federal High Court, Abuja, against the alleged plotters including Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, a retired General in the Nigerian Army, Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired Naval Captain, Ahmed Ibrahim, a serving police inspector, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.
Sylva, whose name surfaced as one of the plotters when the news first broke and believed to be the major financier of what would have led to another military government in Nigeria after the last ended in 1999, was listed as being at large – on the run.
The charge, filed on Monday by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), accuses the defendants of offences ranging from alleged treason and terrorism to failure to disclose security intelligence and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
The prosecution alleged that the defendants conspired in 2025 “to levy war against the state to overpower the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, an offence punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
The Federal Government further alleged that the defendants had prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others, but failed to alert authorities.
Furthermore, the defendants were also accused, according to the charge, of, while “knowing that a treasonable act was intended to be committed, did not give information thereof with all reasonable despatch to either the President… or a peace officer.”
They were also accused of failing to take preventive steps and “did not use any reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence”.
Beyond treason, the defendants are facing terrorism-related charges of conspiracy under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as they “conspired with one another to commit an act of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim and Zekeri Umoru were specifically accused of attending meetings linked to the alleged plot “in a bid to further a political ideology which may seriously destabilise the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The charge also accused the defendants of providing support for terrorism, alleging that they “knowingly and indirectly rendered support” to facilitate acts of terror.
The prosecution alleged deliberate suppression of intelligence, stating that the defendants “had information which would be of material assistance in preventing the commission of the act of terrorism but failed to disclose the information to the relevant agency as soon as practicable”.
Financially, several defendants were accused of handling funds linked to terrorism financing, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Bukar Kashim Goni allegedly “indirectly retained the aggregate sum of N50,000,000, which forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing”, while Abdulkadir Sani allegedly retained N2m from a similar source.
According to the charge, Zekeri Umoru “without going through a financial institution accepted a cash payment of the sum of N10,000,000″ and also retained an additional N8.8m suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing.
Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim was also accused of taking possession of “the sum of N1,000,000, being part of proceeds of terrorism financing”.
Alleged Coup Plot, Protests
After the Federal Government cancelled the parade to mark Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary on October 1, 2025, reports had claimed that the move was linked to an alleged coup attempt.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) dismissed the claims, however, saying the parade cancellation had nothing to do with the alleged coup attempt.
In January 2026, the DHQ confirmed that there was an attempt to overthrow President Tinubu.
The DHQ Director of Defence Information, Samaila Uba, said investigations showed some military personnel were involved in the alleged coup plot.
According to Uba, the officers have been detained and would be arraigned before military judicial panels.
Last month, families of the military officers detained over the alleged coup plot appealed to Tinubu to allow the suspects to be tried in an open court.
Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore protested alongside the detained officers’ families. They also asked for access to the alleged coup plotters.
Why Prominent Individuals Pay Premium for Online Credibility in the Digital Age – Ayobami Eruobami
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