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Akpabio’s triumph in Geneva lights the global stage

Published

11 months ago

August 2, 2025

Whirlwindnews

By Ken Harries Esq

In the majestic halls of the Palais des Nations in Geneva, where the world’s parliamentary leaders gathered to wrestle with crises that threaten the very fabric of humanity, Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, strode onto the podium with the composure of a man forged in storms and determined to chart a new course. At the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, convened by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in partnership with the United Nations from 29 to 31 July 2025, Senator Akpabio delivered an address entitled “Courage to Legislate, Will to Lead.”

To be clear, this was no ordinary speech. It was a manifesto of resilience, a call to parliaments to transform turbulence into resolve, and a clear signal that Nigeria intends to play a more assertive role in shaping global governance. Akpabio’s words reverberated far beyond the stately walls of the United Nations complex, echoing across continents as a clarion call for parliaments to rise as architects of peace, justice, and shared prosperity.

For Nigeria, it was more than just another address by the number three citizen in the pecking order of the country’s political leadership. It was a declaration of resilience, a proclamation of leadership, and a bold announcement that Africa’s largest democracy is ready to help shape the global agenda. With his trademark blend of eloquence, Nigerian pragmatism, and the warmth of a village elder, Senate President Akpabio cemented Nigeria’s place as a beacon of legislative courage in an age of uncertainty.

Legislating in the Furnace: Nigeria’s case for courage:

Akpabio began with imagery that captured both Nigeria’s trials and its triumphs. “I come from a nation that has endured fire and risen from ashes,” he told the gathering, his voice imbued with the conviction of lived experience. He spoke of a people who “find clarity in confusion and keep sailing through storms and rough weather,” words that drew knowing nods from delegations representing nations equally buffeted by conflict, climate change, and economic instability.

Far from a lament, it was a bold framing of adversity as opportunity. “We are not defined by what we face, but by how we rise,” Akpabio declared, striking a chord with an audience searching for hope in an age of turmoil. He then laid out Nigeria’s legislative record as proof that courage is more than rhetoric.

The Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons Act and the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act were highlighted as bulwarks against insecurity. These were not isolated measures but, as Senator Akpabio argued, the very foundation of development. Terrorists, he noted, exploit poverty and displacement. To address this, Nigeria’s Senate has paired security legislation with social reforms such as the Out-of-School Children Education Act, designed to ensure the country’s vast youth population, numbering over 130 million, becomes an asset rather than a liability.

His refrain, “We legislate in the storm, reform in the furnace, and lead with courage,” became the heartbeat of his address.

Beyond security, the Senate President championed innovation and inclusion. The 10-Year National Digital Strategy and the Start-Up Act are unlocking what he called “potential long caged by poverty,” offering expanded credit, digital training, and opportunities to a generation that might otherwise be left behind. “Our youth are not a liability but a lifeline,” he proclaimed, drawing applause from delegations across Africa and Asia.

Inclusion, he stressed, is no longer negotiable. The Not Too Young To Run Act has flung open Nigeria’s political space to a new generation, while proposed gender quotas promise to move women and persons with disabilities from the periphery to the centre of decision-making. “Inclusion, not exclusion, must be our standard,” Akpabio insisted, aligning Nigeria with the IPU’s global mission to close the democracy gap. At a conference where the 15th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament had just concluded, this commitment carried particular resonance.

A Call to Action: Reimagining Multilateralism for Global Progress:

If the first half of Akpabio’s speech celebrated Nigeria’s domestic resilience, the second half challenged the global order to act with equal courage.

With the conference theme, “A World in Turmoil: Multilateralism for Peace, Justice and Prosperity for All,” setting the tone, he cut through the familiar fog of diplomatic platitudes with startling clarity. “Multilateralism must not become a rhetoric. It must rise as a movement of resolve,” he said, his words sharp as a blade.

Akpabio urged parliaments to step beyond ceremonial roles and become “peace architects” who “command, not just convene.” He laid out three pillars for reimagining multilateralism.

First, solutions must be locally rooted yet globally relevant. Nigeria’s regional security summits, which bring together governors, traditional rulers, and security agencies, were cited as a model for addressing arms trafficking, banditry, and separatist agitation through bottom-up intelligence rather than distant policy papers.

Second, the Sustainable Development Goals must be treated as binding legislative contracts. Nigeria’s efforts, from tax reforms and cash transfers for the poorest households to education loans and vocational training, were presented not as domestic footnotes but as global commitments honoured in practice.

Third, Akpabio evoked what he called the tapestry principle: “When one corner of humanity is torn by conflict or injustice, the whole fabric is weakened.”

It was a poetic flourish that transcended borders, reminding the assembly that climate change, arms flows, and youth unemployment cannot be solved by nations acting in isolation. His call for legislators to “bind our futures not only in treaties, but in tenacity” drew rousing applause. It was a challenge to move beyond drafting resolutions that gather dust and instead to become paragons of purpose in a world starved of decisive leadership.

Showcasing Nigeria’s legislative achievements on the global stage:

Beneath the soaring rhetoric lay a strategic subtext. Nigeria was not content to participate; it was ready to lead. By showcasing legislative achievements in the face of terrorism, poverty, and economic volatility, Akpabio positioned Nigeria as a thought leader for the Global South. His appeal for “justice for all” carried a pointed critique of unequal resource flows and arms exports that fuel conflicts in developing nations, a diplomatic challenge to Western powers delivered with grace rather than rancour.

The symbolism of the moment was unmistakable. Nigeria had returned to the IPU Executive Committee in 2023 after nearly six decades, and Akpabio now serves among the twenty members of the Preparatory Committee shaping its future. Observers rightly see his well-received Geneva outing as a résumé enhancement for even greater international roles. As one delegate remarked, “Akpabio did not just speak for Nigeria. He spoke for every nation struggling to turn chaos into progress.”

His Nigerian ethos, resilience laced with charm, gave the speech a unique flavour. His greeting “from the Senate and the resilient people of Nigeria” was less a protocol and more a proud declaration of a nation unbowed even when troubles abound. His metaphors of rising from “ashes” and sailing through “rough weather” evoked the spirit of the Lagos trader or Kano farmer: adaptable, unyielding, and never without hope. That relatability ensured his words resonated not only with Geneva’s polished delegates but also with citizens in Maiduguri, Port Harcourt, and Onitsha, who saw in him a reflection of their own struggle and determination.

As the conference closed, one question lingered: Would the world’s parliaments heed his call or remain, as he warned, “scribes of the status quo”?

For Nigeria, Senator Akpabio’s Geneva triumph is more than symbolic. It is a milestone in the country’s ascent as a voice of consequence in global governance. For the Senate President himself, it was a legacy moment, cementing his stature as both a parliamentary diplomat and a statesman of continental consequence.

And as he reminded the world with unwavering conviction: “We legislate in the storm, reform in the furnace, and lead with courage.”

•Ken Harries Esq is a development Communication Specialist

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BREAKING: Court sentences Nigerien, two others to death over terrorism

Published

2 days ago

June 24, 2026

Whirlwindnews

Justice Muhammad Nuraddeen Bello of High Court sitting in Sokoto State has sentenced three men, including a foreign national, to death by hanging, after convicting them on charges bordering on terrorism and arms proliferation.

The convicts, Yusuf Muhammad (alias Sallau), a Nigerien; Jabbi Alhaji Yalle; and Kabiru Muhammad, were apprehended on 13th June, 2025, by the Department of State Services (DSS) Counter Terrorism Unit in connection with cross-border criminal activities bordering on arms trafficking and terrorism.

Bello, who found all three defendants guilty as charged and sentenced them to death by hanging, while also ordering the forfeiture of all monetary exhibits recovered from the convicts to the Federal Government, said: “The conviction is the latest in a series of successful prosecutions by the DSS in its sustained operations against terrorism and organised cross-border criminal networks across Nigeria.”

The sentencing is coming about two weeks after the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja sentenced each of the five suspects arrested on May 31, 2026, by the DSS for their involvement in the November 21, 2025, attack on St Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State, to 25 years’ imprisonment.

Justice Binta Nyako, had handed down the judgment after the men, including two Nigeriens, pleaded guilty to all four terrorism-related charges, bordering on support for the commission of an act of terrorism, breaching both Section 16 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Firearms Act, were pressed against them.

According to Count One, the men were accused of jointly conspiring to assist a terrorist by agreeing and intentionally playing various roles towards conveying 15 AK 103 rifles as well as about 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition from the Diffa region, Republic of Niger, to one Malam Ahmad, a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group based in Borgu, Niger State, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

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BREAKING: Primate Ayodele to pay Kwankwaso N10billion over Obi betrayal claim!

Published

2 days ago

June 24, 2026

Whirlwindnews

Primate Elijah Ayodele, is on the verge of coughing out a whopping N10billion, if he fails to offer unrestrained apology to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former Governor of Kano State within the next 24 hours, and retract his claim that the former Minister of Defence is bidding his time to betray Peter Obi, to whom he is to contest the 2027 presidential election as a running mate.

Without doing so, the controversial cleric, should be ready for a major court battle with the vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), the platform on which the pair is to contest the election.

In a letter indicating a legal action against Ayodele of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church over defamatory remarks, Kwankwaso, through Magaji Mato Ibrahim, SAN & Co., his lawyers demanded an immediate retraction and apology from the cleric over the allegations.

Details of the letter, dated June 11, and unveiled through the X platform of the legal team, was based on a viral video recorded during a live-streamed church service, where the preacher made allegations targeting Kwankwaso’s integrity as Peter Obi’s running mate under the NDC.

Quoting the cleric as stating: “KWANKWASO IS A FAKE TO OBI, KWANKWASO WILL BETRAY YOU. KWANKWASO HAS BEEN PAID TO BE VICE PRESIDENT TO OBI AMONG OTHER LIBELOUS COMMENTS WHILE PRETENDING TO BE A PREACHER,” the former governor said the comments were unprovoked, grossly unfounded, and carefully designed to create a rift within the ranks of the political party and its supporters.

Handing Ayodele a 24-hour ultimatum to publish a full and unequivocal retraction across all social media platforms and news outlets with the same prominence as the original video, they also demanded a written undertaking that he would cease and desist from making any further malicious statements against their client, warning that failure to comply, would lead to full legal actions.

The letter stated: “We shall claim substantial damages to the tune of Ten Billion Naira and cost of the action on a full indemnity basis amongst other reliefs.”

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Exploitation of African minerals must stop now – Tinubu *Demands local processing

Published

2 days ago

June 24, 2026

Whirlwindnews

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday demanded the immediate end to the exportation of minerals from countries in Africa in their raw forms, which he said had led to massive exploitation of the continent.

The President, told member countries of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), a forum of Ministers in charge of Mining and Solid Minerals on the continent to speak with one voice to promote, collective interests, ensure value addition, and prevent the continent from becoming merely a source of raw materials for the rest of the world.

As the Grand Patron of the group, chaired by Dele Alake, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, gave the charge while receiving a delegation of AMSG in the State House, Tinubu told the delegation that the group had a critical role to play in strengthening Africa’s bargaining power in the global mineral market and ensuring that the continent derives maximum value from its natural resources.

His words: “ What we should do is avoid bureaucracy and deceit; we must put an end to exploitation. The rest of the world won’t mind if your country is a cesspit of dams and rubbish and excavates your raw materials without giving value.

“It is our responsibility to collaborate and cooperate to ensure that these metals and minerals bring value to us, bring technology to us, and we can do it. It is how much each country will put into the research, development and refinery. I don’t see reasons we cannot demand centralisation of that conversation somewhere on the continent. So why not utilise that in our research and development and knowledge-based economy to enhance the quality of life and bring prosperity to our people.”

Emphasising that Africa possessed enormous mineral wealth that should be strategically harnessed to drive industrialisation, create jobs and accelerate economic transformation across the continent, the President, said the era of exporting raw minerals without local processing and beneficiation must give way to a new model that encourages investment in local industries, technology transfer and the development of value chains that retain wealth within Africa.

Alake, who had earlier expressed gratitude to the President for his exemplary leadership under the Renewed Hope Agenda, said the gesture had shown support for Nigeria’s mineral sector, especially in the local value-addition and economic diversification drive, where artisanal miners are empowered.

He told the President: “You encouraged us to look at the focal point of the establishment of this group, which is to ensure that the African natural resources, especially with regards to minerals, critical matters, are localised, the beneficiation coming directly to Africans generally.

“You charged us that we should set our sails very high and ensure that local value addition is a pivot around which all the objectives of this organisation should revolve.

“So, sir, we have gone implemented your charge and we are quitted that today local value addition is reverberating all over Africa.”

He added that some member countries have gone ahead to ban the export of raw minerals.

He explained members of the body were in Abuja for the Fifth edition of the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS 2026), to push for a new continental approach to resource management and industrial development.

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