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Chibok Girls Kidnap, National Embarrassment -Buhari
The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), has described the kidnap of the Chibok schoolgirls as the greatest national embarrassment in Nigeria’s post-independence history.
Buhari, who disclosed this yesterday while speaking at a security summit organized by his campaign team, lamented the failure of the administration to put the country’s refineries in shape, saying his agenda in office would be to tackle insecurity, corruption and the destroyed economy.
Commenting on the present administration’s strategy against insurgency, he faulted the absence of a comprehensive welfare policy or plan for soldiers in the battlefield, regretting that it was irrational to send soldiers to battle on an empty stomach.
His words, “I think the issue of the Chibok girls is really a great embarrassment to this country. Since independence, I do not think we have been reduced to such a position as a nation as the disappearance of 220 girls between the ages 14 and18 for almost a year and government could not do anything about it and this is the same government that says it wants to remain in place.
Buhari said, “I have said that APC as a party has identified three fundamental problems in this country. You cannot repeat them so often because everybody talks about them. They are insecurity, the destruction of the economy and corruption. The state of insecurity, as we said when the election was extended by six weeks, is that if the government and the military could not tame Boko Haram for five years, what will they do in six weeks? But I think that some positive moves have been made, but we are still at it.
“The first thing they should have done is to make sure that you have a good plan on ground to take care of the welfare of the law enforcement agents. You cannot send someone on an operation for months, when his family is living in wants without medical care, no school and no good neighbourhood and you want him to serve the country. “So, one gets disappointed now that soldiers on road block have started saying wetin you chop remain as many of their colleagues were doing many years ago,” he stated.
Bemoaning the fall of naira against major global currencies, Buhari asserted that the present managers of the economy were wrong in the devaluation of the currency.
Recalling that there was international pressure on him as the then head of state to devalue the naira and remove subsidy. He noted that he refused to succumb and instead worked to increase the capacity of the refineries.
According to him, “Again, I think that the incompetence of the government in managing the economy, beside security, is what has led us to where we are. When we came into power in December 1983, we were approached by the world power at some stage to devalue the naira, remove petroleum subsidy and remove subsidy on flour, but we refused.
“The issue was that if we get plenty of naira, what are we going to do with it? We even stopped farming and the only thing we got money from them was oil and that was being paid in dollars. If you have excess of groundnut, cocoa, cotton or palm oil, you sell it in foreign exchange. If you devalue the currency, the naira will be affected and Nigerians will get their goods and services, Buhari stated.
“I was told to remove subsidy on petroleum and because I had the honour of being in charge of petroleum for three and half years, I do not know in terms of Nigeria, who is subsidizing who. To the best of my knowledge then, it is Nigeria’s petrol and capital was used to develop the refineries up to the time I was there, he said.
“We built the refineries from one of 50,000 bpd to four of 450,000 bpd, laid pipeline of over 3,000 kilometres, built more than 20 depots without borrowing a kobo for that development,” he stated.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had lauded the courage and commitment of troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar gave the commendation during a morale-boosting visit to the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, yesterday, in Abuja.
The CAS said their sacrifices were etched in the history of the nation, and in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who sleep safer because of the troops’ vigilance.
He emphasised that their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity have not gone unnoticed, saying his visit underscored the vital role airpower plays in neutralising threats and protecting communities.
Abubakar pledged continued investment in cutting-edge technology to empower frontline units.
According to him, the NAF remains steadfast in its mission, guided by leadership, strengthened by unity, and driven by the selfless service of its personnel.
The visit comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the importance of public support for military operations and spotlighting the human element at the heart of national defence.
Nigeria’s soft drinks and beverage market continues to show strong growth potential, making it the leading consumer of soft drinks in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association.
A statement by the VDMA disclosed during a press conference held in Lagos ahead of drinktec 2025, that Nigeria consumed over 53 billion litres of soft drinks in 2024, placing it well ahead of other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
Despite challenges such as inflation and a weakening naira, Nigeria’s growing population, rising urbanisation, and expanding middle class are key factors driving demand in the beverage sector.
Bottled water led the segment with 48.7 billion litres sold in 2024, a figure projected to rise by 27% to 62 billion litres by 2028.
Carbonated soft drinks followed with 3.4 billion litres, expected to reach 4.4 billion litres by 2028, while energy drinks are forecasted to grow by 30% over the same period. Juices, though relatively small, are also on an upward trajectory.
“The Nigerian beverage market is expanding quickly due to increasing accessibility and affordability,” VDMA stated, citing data from Euromonitor International.
Set to take place in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.
VDMA, a key exhibitor and technical partner for the event, revealed that Nigerian participation is expected to be strong, especially as the country anticipates economic recovery.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the recent ban placed on a song by Nigerian musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the development as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.
Abdulkareem had waxed a song titled “Tell Your Papa” which criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka said in the piece posted on PM news.
He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he said.
He also pointed out the irony that censorship often benefits the targeted artist.
The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.
The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” Soyinka said.
He warned that the ban creates “a permissive atmosphere of trickle-down power,” where state authorities feel emboldened to clamp down on dissent.
Soyinka’s statement also touched on broader issues of impunity and mob violence in Nigeria, lamenting the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State.
“My heart goes out to friends, colleagues and families of victims and traumatised survivors of this senseless slaughter. Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Referencing the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka criticised the culture of impunity, saying, “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces.”
He called for accountability, warning that “as long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail.”
Soyinka concluded by urging the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers “has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”