By Sunny Igboanugo

“The purest treasure mortal times afford is a spotless reputation. That away, men are but gilded loam or painted clay…My honour is my life both grow in one. Take honour from me and my life is done.”

This was Shakespear, writing in King Richard 11, in 1597. It was one of the scenes where two nobles, Henry Bolingbroke Duke of Lancaster squared up against Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. The subject matter was that rare item – honour. Bolingbroke had accused Mowbray of high treason in an alleged attempt to overthrow King Richard – accusation that amounted the highest crime in the land.

For that Mowbray, who pled his innocence, swore that the only remedy that would cleanse and cure the dishonour was the blood of the man from which the treasonable word issued. The two hot-bloods would not listen to their elders.

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Hear Mowbray’s retort to his father, when he tried to persuade him not to fight:

My king, I throw myself at your feet. You have power over my life, but not my honor: it’s my duty to obey you, but my good name, even if you take my life, will not be dishonored by you in death. I am disgraced, insulted, and slandered here, my soul pierced with the venomous spear of lies, which no medicine can cure except the blood of the man who has poisoned me. 

It even got sharper when the king threatened Bolingbroke with his authority. King Richard’s staff was made of a lion’s head while that of the Duke, his cousin was made of a leopard. So, he commanded – give up the fight I command you – lions make leopards tame. But listen to Bolingbroke, still emphasising his honour even over his life said in reply:

Yes, but the lions notwithstanding its powers cannot make leopard change its spots. To take that gage from me is to take my honour.  A brave spirit in a loyal person is like a jewel in a chest protected by ten locks. Then, my dear liege, let me prove my integrity in combat: I live for my honor and will die for it.

What does all this say? Simple! Without honour, a man is no more than a moulded sand or painted clay – completely lifeless! Therefore men who know the value of honour do everything to protect it. Like the British nobles who were prepared to kill themselves to preserve their honour, every man is supposed to prefer death over dishonour. In other words, not even the entire world or pain of death would make them trade this rare virtue.

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Bola Ige, former Governor of Oyo State and Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, months before he was assassinated in December 2001, at the main auditorium of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), Enugu gave a local impetus to the idea. There, he spoke so eloquently and profoundly to accentuate the meaning of honour that his audience became clearly roused to why individuals must fight or die for it.

The essence of that event in the court of King Richard 11, more than 400 years ago and its reenactment by Ige two decades ago, remain as profound and true then as they represent the true spirit of man in the import of creation today. Men are still ready to die today to preserve their honour and integrity as they were in those eras.

Even with the thinning down of their numbers across the world, due to many years of sustained corruption and the interplay of personal interests, some men still manage to see honour and integrity as the main credo for existence of man. The name, Samuel Ayodele Adebanjo, foremost Yoruba leader and exemplary nationalist would certainly find itself in that fast-diminishing list.

Until his passing on Friday, February 14, 2025, Pa Adebanjo, gave a grand performance like a principal character in an opera accentuating that concept of humanity. The stage was the Nigerian politics. Just two years earlier, in 2023, men of integrity were called to that stage. The nonagenarian led the pack. As the Leader of Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, he had every reason to benumb his conscience and bury the truth as he knew it.

After all, how could he abandon the people he led when one of their own was in the arena for a contest? Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a Yoruba son and one of his subjects as the alter ego and numero uno of the Yoruba people by virtue of his leadership of the Afenifere, was one of the contestants for the presidential election of that year.

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It was therefore not only expected to stand behind the Jagaban Borgu, the Asiwaju of Lagos, but imperative. He could have given that excuse to his colleagues in Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), or the Middle Belt Forum with whom there was a previous agreement for the Igbo to produce the next President. Of course, in the Nigerian context, it would have sufficed as an excuse.

But that was where Adebanjo’s quality stood out. The Yoruba, is also inured in the doctrine of Omoluabi – the unique value expressed in a well-behaved person and stressed only in the principle of doing the right thing at all times – which also includes upholding the doctrine of equity, justice and fair-play – the essence of man in a plural and divergent world.

That was the pitch! That was how instead of Tinubu, Adebanjo, led the Yoruba support for Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, an Igbo man. Reason: “The Yoruba will not take its turn and take the turn of another person just because it has the advantage or power to do so.”

For his compatriots who argued otherwise, he had this to say to them, in an Arise News Television interview: “Why are we supporting Obi? The constitutional, logical, and equitable reasons for it, I have stated. Those are the issues they should address. They should tell us that the rotation system which showed that Yoruba have had their slot and automatically disqualifies Tinubu now is false.

“None of them can claim to love the Yoruba people more than me, Ayo Adebanjo; no Yoruba man living. I am challenging them to come out if there is any organisation in existence that surpasses Afenifere in protecting Yoruba interest.

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“This is not a Yoruba matter; it’s not a contest between Yoruba and Igbo. It is about who are the best champions of the people. This is an equitable thing for the unity of the country. That is what we should address. We should first decide whether we should have a second chance when one of us has not had a chance.

“Those are facts of the issue. We are not only opposed to the issue of Tinubu; we are also opposed to Atiku. How can a Fulani man rule for eight years and another Fulani man is going back there? Those are the issues. Let us base this election on issues, not on sentiments.

“And if you read that statement where I first announced our support for the South East, I didn’t even know who was going to be the candidate then; it was principle and certain ideals. It is that ideal they should challenge.

“They should not bring in any price line or sentimental attachment. I won’t accuse them of any other ulterior motive; that’s their affair, but that is our own case; it is the case that they should address; address the message, forget the messenger.

“We cannot continue to demand that the Igbo people remain in Nigeria while we at the same time continue to brutally marginalise and exclude them from the power dynamics. Peter Obi is the person of Igbo extraction that Afenifere has decided to support and back. He is the man we trust to restructure the country back to federalism on the assumption of office.

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“We will not compromise this principle of justice, equity, and inclusiveness because one of our own, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a frontline candidate. It is on this same principle we condemn the People’s Democratic Party for sponsoring Atiku Abubakar, a Northern Fulani Muslim, to succeed General Muhammadu Buhari, another Fulani Muslim.

“The current President is a Fulani from the Northwest, and by virtue of the zoning arrangement that has governed Nigeria since 1999, power is supposed to return to the south imminently. The southwest, as I have pointed out, has produced a president and currently sits as VP; the South-South has spent a total of six years in the Presidency, but the Igbo people of the South-East have never tasted presidency in Nigeria, and now that the power is due back in the South, equity demands that it be ceded to the Igbo.”

Even after Tinubu grabbed, snatched and ran away with the trophy, Adebanjo was neither any less relentless, nor perturbed. Like the father, whose recalcitrant and wayward son brought back a stolen item, he refused to be part of it in spite its seemingly resplendent beauty and inviting allure. He knew that the magnificence of that item, was superficial and beneath it, just like a tomb, was rottenness and fetidness.

So, as punishment, he might not have received some freshly-minted state of the art exotic cars into his home, deservedly as an Afenifere leader. His house might not have been renovated and decorated with the latest designs of ornamental furniture. No! He might not have received hefty amounts in his bank account as allowance or gifts during festive periods. No streets or monuments were named after him either as some people who took a different road are getting today.

But did it bother him? Did he care? Certainly no! Ostensibly, he knew what he had was far more valuable than silver and gold. Just like the biblical reenactment, he saw the riches of the world shown to him with the prospect of owning them if only he could bow down and serve mammon. But he screamed with a loud voice – away with you!

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Bola Ige, in that Enugu outing, while describing the beauty of honour, had told his audience that in that assemblage at the auditorium, were people, whose entire life bore the imprimatur of official sleaze – who from the brooms in their kitchens to the slew of exotic automobiles in their garages were the proceeds of corruption. Amid the enthusiasm and loud ovation his words generated, were registered countenances of discomfiture as with thieves whenever stolen items are mentioned.

Clearly, Samuel Ayo Adebanjo, would hardly be counted in that group of established villains to whom integrity and honour are alien, having sold their souls to the devil. He did not want to gain the entire world and lose his soul. So, he chose the uncommon path.

Like the noblemen in the court of King Richard 11, 400 years ago, he went into a duel with the renegades and reprobates of the world. In the end, at the age of 96, he closed his eyes in his modest house in Lekki Lagos. On that Friday, he breathed his last, clutching in his bosom the biggest trophy his traducers yearn for but would never have – the purest treasure mortal times afford – a spotless reputation!

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By Sunny Igboanugo

That the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), has become the new face of journalism in Nigeria, is no longer an issue for debate. It has become a definite, constant and acceptable fact over the years, when it took the centrestage in providing a new impetus for the practice in the country by aligning itself to the emerging global best practices of the profession.

What is new is that the body is also proving itself as a formidable platform for shaping information, thoughts and ideas, critical not only to pulling Nigeria out of the muddy pit in which it appears to have sunk in recent times, but providing the planks, which nailed together would create the platform for its quantum leap into the future.

In other words, GOCOP, has become a bastion for the stimulus to the New Nigeria that has crept into and remained in the national consciousness quite recently. That much was confirmed last week when the body assembled in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital. It was the eighth edition of the Yearly GOCOP conference, which began few years after the founding of the body, by a group of practitioners in the online news platforms – who keyed-in to the emerging media practice that has since grown to dominate the world.

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Initially, the idea for the formation of the group was to streamline the operation of practitioners to ensure that members – all well-established journalists – not only deviated from the suffusing bad-practices that non-professionals, rookies and outright fraudsters had introduced into the business, but took charge to ensure strict professional ethics as well as share intelligence, including business information on the realities of the new media platform.

That much has since been achieved by not only ensuring the strict and tall criteria set for admitting its membership – intending members must have spent at least 10 years in core journalism, have established office with a compliment of at least three staff, etc – but maintaining adequate monitoring mechanism to guarantee standard.

With that in the kitty and keeping to the ethics and maintaining standard no longer an issue, the group has since moved into the next stage of agenda setting – in itself, a critical component of the media functions. Over the years, the group has hosted many prominent Nigerians from all segments of the economy where information is not only shared internally but projected externally all geared towards national development and how to wake the sleeping giant many people have likened Nigeria as.

So, for four days – October 1 – the day of arrival to October 4 – departure – the 104-member body converged on beautiful city of Lokoja, capital of Kogi State for yet, another attempt at National Discourse to find the best answers to the National Question. Venue was the Reverton Hotels in the heart of the city, in a state that is said to be currently rediscovering itself as the base of Nigeria’s historic beginning.

Recall that Lokoja, once housed Fredrick Lugard, the British Lord and administrator, who provided the needle and thread with which Nigeria, hitherto, a conglomeration of divergent ethnic tongues, values and cultures, was knitted together, and therefore is ascribed a special place in the history of the country, with all the relics and structures, still evident till date.

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Usman Ododo, Governor of Kogi State, made no pretenses over his recourse to this historic fact in his detailed account on how he is determined to make the state not only a cynosure of eyes but a demonstrable pivotal base to mimic in Nigeria’s road to self-discovery. In his time in office, he promised to restore the state as the home of tourism in Nigeria and an economic hub, using all the natural infrastructures – those either buried in the ground, provided by nature or built by human hands.

Praising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu profusely, Ododo told his audience: Kogi State is not joining protests to end bad governance in the country because we are seeing the impact of Mr President’s administration and his economic policies. Our administration has hit the ground running on road infrastructure development, investment in food production.

This is where we are doing our protests through mechanised farming with the view to bringing down the high costs of food in the state. Our administration in the state is all inclusive regardless of tribe and religion, among other fault lines. This government is the people’s government. We are silently turning things round in the state. We have signed up for the open government partnership. We are working to ensure that the resources of Kogi state work for the people of the state.”

Details of these, the governor provided in his several literatures, which were distributed to the GOCOP members and his speech to flag open the conference. Represented by Salifu Joel, his deputy, he was emphatic that Kogi was on the path to rediscovery in the Nigerian essence and true growth and prosperity.

This position was emphasised by Olorunfemi Kingsley Fanwo Commissioner for Information and Communication when he promised an encore next year to showcase how the state would have transformed in its journey to recreate itself as the bedrock of Nigerian rejuvenation. “You’re going to come back next year for us to show you what we mean when we say that Kogi would become the nation’s centre of attraction,” he told the visitors at a dinner organised for the GOCOP members to end the conference.

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But that was at the subnational level. Beyond that was the issues that took the centre-stage, which were captured in the theme: Nigeria: Tackling Insecurity, Power Deficit, And Transitioning To Digital Economy, issues believed to be at the core of the current parlous state of affairs in the country. For more than 15 hours that were spent on the subject matters, in the two days the parley lasted, Tukur Buratai, former Chief of Army Staff, Liyel Ikoke, former Chairman of the Power Sector Technical Board of former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC-CEO), Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC), all provided key insider information on the need-to-do basis, for Nigeria to rise from the bottomless pit despair and engage the gear for a jet-like leap into the future.

With Yusuf Mammam, former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain as Chairman, Rotimi Ajayi, a Professor in the Department of Political Science, Federal University Lokoja and Debrah Ogazuma, Edutainment Communicator and Veteran Broadcaster, dissected the papers as lead discussants.

One key feature of this year’s edition, was the introduction of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in which the GOCOP President led members on a visit to two orphanage homes – Margaret Garba Ohiani Orphanage/Less Privileged Home and Rehoboth Children’s Homes, in Lokoja, during which various food items were donated.

By the time the parley rose on the evening of Thursday, October 3, a new set of templates have been reached through the gleaning and extensive discussions on the papers presented from Buratai, who spoke on the crisis of insecurity that is threatening to overwhelm the country in the last decade and more, Imoke, who spoke on the decades-old intractable power supply malaise and Maina, who pointed to the limitless benefits of the digital economy, it was clear that like in the past, a surgical operation had been performed to discover the nation’s main afflictions.

Observations and projections from the event:

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Security:

Since Nigeria returned to democracy 25 years ago, we have been experiencing security challenges ranging from Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, separatist agitations to Niger Delta militancy. These security challenges have no doubt impacted negatively on the Nigerian economy thus, causing economic hardships on the citizens. The Conference notes that poverty and high unemployment rate which is close to about 40% today are major factors contributing to insecurity across the country.

It notes weak governance, inconsistent government policies and widespread corruption in the security forces as factors leading to compromising efforts in tackling insecurity effectively. The Conference acknowledges the federal government’s efforts in significantly degrading the Boko Haram insurgency through the use of technology and intelligence, and notes however, that insurgent attacks have continued unabated, especially in the north-east region.

The Conference therefore, calls for decentralization of security by granting state governments greater control over local security forces so as to improve regional responses to insecurity. It further advocates the urgent need to strengthen our local security architecture through Community Policing, which will no doubt improve intelligence gathering, foster trust between security forces and communities, and ensure a more proactive response to local threats.

The Conference stresses the need for increased funding for Security Agencies, while emphasizing the need to reduce corruption in the procurement process so as to ensure judicious use of available resources. To address the root causes of banditry, kidnapping, and farmer-herder conflicts, the government should implement development initiatives targeting rural poverty and job creation.

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The Conference opines that tackling insecurity effectively depends largely on political will and the right leaders that will see corruption as evil and confront it frontally. It therefore charges members of GOCOP to take interest in interrogating the governance process that will ensure that committed and sincere leaders emerge to pilot the affairs of the country.

The Conference realizes that there is a corollary relationship between poverty and insecurity. Hence, it calls for specific economic empowerment programs targeting the youths such as entrepreneurship training, and access to financing for small and medium enterprises, SMEs.

POWER DEFICIT:

In Nigeria, electricity supply remains one of the most significant constraints to economic growth despite several power reforms that have been introduced since 1999 by successive governments. The Conference laments that despite huge resources that have been expended on electricity generation and distribution, Nigeria can only manage to deliver 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts.

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It notes that Nigeria’s per capita electricity consumption which is around 150 to 200 kWh per year, is too low compared to other African countries and only reflects challenges in electricity access, infrastructure, and supply. On the way forward in addressing Nigeria’s power deficit, the Conference enjoins conscious efforts aimed at diversifying generation capacity through investment that guarantees expansion of the gas pipeline network, to ensure more stable gas supply to power plants.

The Conference identifies the need to diversify Nigeria’s energy mix by increasing the share of renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and small hydropower projects that could provide electricity to areas that are not well-served by the grid. It observes that the current transmission system is not working hence, calls  for the unbundling of the Transmission Company of Nigeria to allow greater private sector involvement in the transmission network.

The Conference advises the government to encourage more private sector investment in the power sector by creating a more stable and predictable regulatory environment to attract long-term investments. It notes that this is achievable if the government could stick to agreed contracts, reduce political interference, and ensure a transparent regulatory process.

Transition to Digital Economy:

The significant gains recorded through liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in 2001 notwithstanding, Nigeria still lags behind in digital infrastructure, digital literacy, and the adoption of digital technologies in government and business processes.

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The Conference notes that transitioning to a Digital Economy remains a major challenge for the country due to inadequate broadband penetration and unreliable internet services. It observes further that despite the fact that Nigeria boasts a young and dynamic population, digital literacy remains low, limiting the ability of the workforce to participate in the global digital economy.

The Conference agrees that Nigeria’s transition to a digital economy holds immense potential for transforming its economic landscape, creating jobs, and driving inclusive growth. Therefore, to fast-track this transition, the Conference calls on the government to prioritize infrastructure development, digital literacy, favourable regulations, and indigenous innovation.

It also advises that the government should address challenges such as poor internet access, regulatory uncertainty, and cybersecurity risks, noting that opportunities in fintech, e-commerce, agritech, and digital services present significant growth potential for Nigeria. The Conference lauds GOCOP for promoting responsible online publishing devoid of fake news, and urges its members to continue to discharge their responsibilities with patriotism.

GOCOP also charges its members to key into the various digital platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to promote their products or services and engage more with their audiences. GOCOP thanks the Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Usman Ododo, members of the State Executive Council and the good people of the state for providing the necessary facilities that made the hosting of the 8th annual conference of the Guild a huge success. GOCOP reiterates its commitment to continue to promote ethical and professional journalism, foster collaboration as well as advocate for the interests of online publishers in Nigeria.

Maureen Chigbo, incumbent President, who had acknowledged the great work and achievements of the body through its progressions under Mojeed Muskilu, the pioneer President, Dotun Oladipo, his successor, had ended her welcome address by noting that: “Like a river will wash away all the stress of the last year and energise us to forge ahead with our businesses successfully until we meet again in October 2025.”

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She had also acknowledged the numerous individuals and entities that contributed in the successes of the event, such as the Olufemi Soneye of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Horatius Egua, Director, Special Duty at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the managements of Dangote Group, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Sovereign Trust Insurance PLC, among others.

As the members packed their bags to depart their rooms and head back to their individual bases across the country, one central thought was evident – GOCOP, which began as an idea of a few people, has like the tiny mustard seed grown to huge tree to provide homes for all manner of habitations that speaks on the nation’s diversity, the manure to nurture all the plants representing its myriad ideas and the vibrant voice in its ecosystem to project the idea of a New Nation.

Kogi, was good. Lokoja was the first to host the event outside Lagos and Abuja. By identifying and striking a symbiotic relationship with GOCOP, Ododo, has proved his vision, foresight as well as determination not only to lay bay his government to public glare, but to project his state into the future. From the confluence of ideas in the Confluence State, who knows who next?

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For the first time since the video of Adams Oshiomhole taunting her for being “childless” Betsy Obaseki, wife of Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has come out with full reply to the former governor and her husband’s predecessor, over the comment, which has raised a lot of dust across the country with echoes as far as the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Against the backdrop of reports that Remi Tinubu, wife of President Bola Tinubu, who was said to have been rankled with the statement, actually summoned Oshiomhole, former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Edo First Lady, on Saturday, rejected the tag of being barren, stating that she indeed had multiple miscarriages and stillbirths.

She told a group of 200 Edo women living outside the country, in a live video during a zoom meeting that everyone was created by God for a purpose, advising childless women to see themselves not as barren but as fruitful, potential and proud mothers of children that would come in God’s time, citing herself as an example.

Speaking alongside Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, wife of Esua Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, she reminded women, Obaseki also shared a message of encouragement for women who, like herself, had faced the pain of miscarriages and stillbirths, urging them not to feel discouraged or defined by their losses.

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Hear her: “I dare to call you fruitful. You and I are potential and proud mothers of children that will come in God’s time. Enjoy the life God has given you. My words of comfort to you, like myself, who have conceived and experienced miscarriages, painful stillbirths, and evacuations of babies who died in our wombs is that everyone was created by God for a purpose.

“And as a result, have no children to show for the pain we have endured; you are not barren. Take your mind off your challenge, and before you know it, children will start coming. My contributions to the society are far greater than just being a mother. Being fruitful is not limited to childbearing but about impacting lives and creating positive change in the society. There is no point in feeling bad. Women can fulfill God’s purpose in many ways beyond motherhood.”