General
‘Change Begins With Me’ Not To ‘Tame Nigerians—Minister
By Ebitonye Akpodigha
Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, has reacted to a story published by The Economist, claiming that the recently launched ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign by the Federal Government was to cage Nigerians.
Mr Mohammed said the article published in the paper’s print edition of September 24, 2016, entitled: ‘Nigeria’s war against indiscipline, Behave or be whipped’, was “loaded with innuendos and decidedly pejorative at best, and downright racist at worst.”
The Minister, in his reaction, further said The Economist, in its rush to discredit the ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign, fell below its own standards by choosing to be economical with the truth.
“Contrary to the newspaper’s self-professed belief in ‘plain language’, the article in question, from the headline to the body, is a master-piece of embellishment or dressed-up language. It is loaded with innuendos and decidedly pejorative at best, and downright racist at worst.
“The Economist wrote that President Buhari wants to ‘tame’ Nigerians with the ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign. For those who are the owners of the English language, the use of that word is unpardonable, the verb ‘tame’ suggests that Nigerians are some kind of wild animals that must be domesticated, and the usage reveals the mind-set of the authors of the article: a deliberate put down of a whole people under the guise of criticising a government policy.
“The paper, in striving to reach a preconceived conclusion, also insinuated that some 150,000 volunteers are being trained as enforcers of the ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign. This is not true. “In his speech at the launch of the campaign on September 8, 2016, the President, a globally-acknowledged leader who believes strongly in the rule of law, left no one in doubt that moral suasion, the very antithesis of force, will be employed to achieve attitudinal change among Nigerians.
“In that speech, the President said: ‘I am therefore appealing to all Nigerians to be part of this campaign.’ To the best of our knowledge and, surely the knowledge of those who own the language, the words ‘appeal’ and ‘enforce’ are not synonymous.
“In its rush to discredit the ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign, The Economist, a widely respected newspaper, fell below its own standards by choosing to be economical with the truth. Enforcement is not part of the strategies to be employed under the campaign, and nowhere has it been said that the ‘moral police’ will be unleashed, as reported by the newspaper.
“In writing the story, the paper did not even deem it necessary to speak with any official of the government, thus breaching one of the codes of journalism, which is fairness. It chose instead to quote a ‘critic’ of Mr President in a perfunctory manner,” Mr Mohammed said.
He went on to point out that, “Again, The Economist made the same mistakes that most critics of the ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign have made: Rushing to comment on a campaign they do not understand. The Campaign had barely been launched when the critics brought out their big guns to shoot it down. In the process, many of them ended up shooting themselves in the foot. Had they tarried a while to allow the government to roll out the details of the campaign, they might have shown more circumspection than they did in their criticism.
“The campaign, which the President said ‘will help restore our value system and rekindle our nationalistic fervour’, is not designed to shift any responsibility to Nigerians, as many have erroneously said.
“It is an all-inclusive campaign that was designed to start with the leadership. That much was explained by the President when he said the government would ‘drive the campaign’ and that it must be strongly supported by all concerned individually. ‘Change Begins With Me’ was designed to start from the President, then trickle down to the Vice President, Ministers, other top government officials and to all citizens. What is the campaign asking Nigerians to do? Be the change they want to see in the society.
“In other words, if we all want an orderly society, for example, the motorists among us must obey traffic rules, our aggrieved youth must stop destroying public property, patent medicine sellers must stop selling fake drugs, commercial vehicle drivers must stop taking alcoholic beverages before driving etc.
“There is nothing extraordinary or over-burdening in all these. We are the fundamental units of the society. If we are not willing to change our ways for the better, we cannot expect a better society.
“The Economist said that from its earliest days, the paper had ‘looked abroad, both for subjects to write about and for circulation’. That means the paper must be aware that many countries in the world have also embarked on the kind of campaign that Nigeria launched on September 8, 2016.
“In 1979, Singapore launched the National Courtesy Campaign to encourage Singaporeans to be more kind and considerate to one another.
“In 2011, Mozambique launched a campaign to educate students on how to treat foreign tourists as part of preparations for the country’s hosting of the All-Africa Games in that year.
“In 2015, China launched a campaign to ‘name and shame’ any of its own tourists who behave badly, either at home or abroad.
“And this year, the Tokyo Good Manners Project was launched to improve manners in the metropolis of the Japanese capital.
“It is therefore uncharitable for The Economist to hide behind the facade of its own prejudice to denigrate Nigeria’s genuine effort at national re-orientation.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to account for about N55.9 billion earmarked for the purchase of some materials for the 2019 general elections has forced the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to file a lawsuit against the commission.
In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/38/2026 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP asked the court for an order of mandamus to compel INEC to disclose the names of all contractors paid the sum of money.
It was claimed that the N55.9 billion was meant for the purchase of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets and other election materials for the 2019 general elections, which produced the late Mr Muhammadu Buhari as President for a second term in office.
SERAP is relying on the latest annual report published by the Auditor-General on September 9, 2025, to ask for the use of the funds, which is said to be missing or diverted.
The organisation argued that the electoral umpire “must operate without corruption if the commission is to ensure free and fair elections in the country and uphold Nigerians’ right to participation.”
“INEC cannot ensure impartial administration of future elections if these allegations are not satisfactorily addressed, perpetrators including the contractors involved are not prosecuted and the proceeds of corruption are not fully recovered,” a part of the statement issued by the group stated.
“INEC cannot properly carry out its constitutional and statutory responsibilities to conduct free and fair elections in the country if it continues to fail to uphold the basic principles of transparency, accountability and the rule of law.
“These allegations also constitute abuse of public office and show the urgent need by INEC to commit to transparency, accountability, clean governance and the rule of law,” it further declared.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Ministry of Finance has directed all shipping companies and airlines operating in Nigeria to submit their manifests through the Single Window Project (SWP) as part of efforts to strengthen cargo tracking and transparency.
The submission of shipping manifests before the change of policy was handled exclusively by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for onward cargo processing and port clearance.
However, following a memo from late last year signed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, all shipping firms and airlines were directed to integrate with the National Single Window platform to ensure seamless Manifests submission.
“I would like to bring to your attention that His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated the National Single Window (NSW) Project on the 16th of April 2024.
The NSW Project aims to streamline and automate import and export processes at Nigeria’s entry & exit ports, with the dual goals of enhancing trade facilitation and increasing government revenue.
“By integrating the operations of multiple government agencies involved in trade processes on one platform, the NSW platform will ensure faster clearance of goods and services, improve operational efficiencies at the imports and significantly reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“Key components of the Single Window as defined by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and World Customs Organisation (WCO) include: (a) a single-entry point i.e. traders, shipping lines, airlines and other stakeholders should submit all required import and export documentation through a single-entry point on a centralized digital platform, and (b) single submission i.e. all documentation should only be submitted once and data only entered once.
“As a result, the NSW Platform will be the single-entry point of submission for all Sea and Air Manifests. Therefore, all shipping lines and airlines are therefore directed to integrate with the NSW Platform to ensure seamless Manifests submission,” parts of the memo read.
The Comptroller-General of the NCS, the chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) were copied in the memo.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The petition written against the immediate past chief executive of the Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed, which was withdrawn from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has now been taken to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The letter was written by the chairman of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Mr Aliko Dangote. It contained allegations of allegations of abuse of office and corrupt enrichment against Mr Ahmed.
The petition led to the resignation of the former NMDPRA chief from office last month.
It was gathered that Mr Dangote, through his legal representative, filed a formal corruption petition against him at the headquarters of the EFCC, with specific plea of prosecuting Mr Ahmed if found culpable.
The businessman said the withdrawal of the petition from the ICPC was a strategic move aimed at accelerating the prosecution process.
In the petition signed by his lead counsel Mr O.J. Onoja (SAN), Mr Dangote noted that, “We make bold to state that the commission is strategically positioned along with sister agencies to prosecute financial crimes and corruption related offences, and upon establishing a prima facie case, the courts do not hesitate to punish offenders. See Lawan v. F.R.N (2024) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1953) 501 and Shema v. F.R.N. (2018) 9 NWLR (Pt.1624)337.”
He further urged the anti-money laundering agency, under the leadership of Mr Olanipekun Olukoyede, “…to investigate the complaint of Abuse of Office and Corruption against Engr. Farouk Ahmed and to accordingly prosecute him if found wanting.”
“The commission’s firm resolve in handling this matter with dispatch is not only imperative and expedient but will also serve as a deterrent to other public officers out there with such corrupt proneness and tendencies,” he added.
Recall that on December 14, 2025, Mr Dangote raised concerns about Mr. Ahmed’s financial dealings, alleging that the former regulator is living far beyond his legitimate means.
According to him, four of Mr Ahmed’s children attended elite secondary schools in Switzerland, incurring costs running into several millions of dollars—an expenditure that raises questions about potential conflicts of interest and the integrity of regulatory oversight in the downstream petroleum industry.
Mr Dangote listed the schools attended by Mr. Ahmed’s children: Faisal Farouk (Montreux School), Farouk Jr. (Aiglon College), Ashraf Farouk (Institut Le Rosey), and Farhana Farouk (La Garenne International School), noting that each child spent six years in these institutions. He estimated annual tuition, travel, and upkeep per child at $200,000, totaling approximately $5 million for their secondary education.
Additionally, he alleged that Mr Ahmed spent another $2 million on tertiary education for the four children, including $210,000 for Faisal’s 2025 Harvard MBA program.
“Nigerians deserve to know the source of these funds, especially when many parents in Mr Ahmed’s home state of Sokoto struggle to pay as little as N10,000 in school fees,” Mr Dangote stated.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn