Olaniran News Network ONN

  Bola Tinubu  On January 11, 2012, Bola Ahmed Tinubu published a sober, thoughtful, deeply insightful, and penetratingly foresightful article titled “Removal of Oil Subsidy: President Jonathan Breaks Social Contract With the People” that uncannily prefigured the untoward consequences of petrol subsidy removal that Nigerians are currently grappling with. The article has trended on social media in the last couple of weeks, but I had never taken the trouble to read it until multiple people who I regard highly sent it to me in what seemed like a coordinated torrent of forwards. But after reading the 4,000-plus-word article and finding out that it predicted the current petrol-subsidy-removal mass excruciation Nigeria is suffering with almost mathematical exactitude, I became suspicious of its authenticity. It was too good to be true. My incredulity compelled me to make inquiries, which led me to realize that the Nigerian Tribune had actually fact-checked the genuineness of the art...

  Prof Kperogi  The searing torment that everyday folks are going through in Nigeria right now is so dire, so unbearably extreme, and so unexampled in its rawness that even diasporan Nigerians like me who live tens of thousands of miles away from home can feel it not just vicariously but also experientially. The unending streams of requests for help to meet the most basic obligations of life that we get from previously proud, resourceful, and self-sufficient family members, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers are the conduits through which we have experiential encounters with the ongoing cost-of-living turmoil in the country. The lower classes are sinking deeper into soul-depressing depths of poverty, despair, and hopelessness, and the middle class is so hobbled by the economic crunch that it is disappearing faster than soap bubbles. The lower and the middle classes are now united by a common sensation of emptiness, agony, and anxiety for the future. Every day is worse,...

  Seun/Tinubu  Amidst the palpable tension in the land, from insecurity to economic hardship, the Channels TV presenter, Seun Okinbaloye pours his heart out to Bola Tinubu, the regime leader in Nigeria. Watch the video here:

Festus Adedayo    Big calamities seldom knock before opening the door. Calamities’ sneaky essence is articulated in one song by grand old Odolaye Aremu, Ilorin, Kwara State-born Dadakuada song minstrel. While philosophizing the concept of calamity, which Yoruba call “eemo”, Odolaye sang that surprise and swiftness are primary features of calamities, holding tight to them like leaches. So he sang, “Peki laa k’eemo,” (calamity is met suddenly). The singer points at horses used in races and in ancient wars meeting their own end unprepared during races. It is the same with soldiers who mount horses and ride them to death. Odolaye sang that, as sudden death pounces upon warhorses, so also do buffalos meet their end in the treacherous thickets of the savannah. Last week, though not racing on horses nor does it have anything in similarity with buffalos, calamity swiftly walked into the capital of Oyo State and like Odolaye aptly dissected it, it was sudden. It came with its handmaide...

  Betta Edu In the last 24 hours, the name of Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, has been all over Nigerian news sites over the transfer of public funds into private account. Many have criticized Edu while many others have defended her. But who is she? Who is Betta Edu? Betta Edu, a name now frequently mentioned in Nigerian households, is not just a politician but also a respected physician and public health specialist. Born on October 27, 1986, in Abi Local Government Area, Cross River State, Edu’s journey in healthcare and public service is notable. She earned her medical degree from the University of Calabar and later pursued a Master’s in Public Health from the prestigious London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, followed by a Ph.D. in Public Health from Texila American University. Edu’s career took off in 2015 when she became the youngest Special Adviser on Community and Primary Healthcare in Cross River State. Her rapid ascent in the p...

Betta Edu Mr Bayo Onanuga Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy has issued a statement through his X (Twitter) account that no corrupt official shall be spared during the regime of Bola Tinubu. Writing on suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, Onanuga says the regime of Mr Tinubu is committed to transparency, accountability and “highest standards of integrity”. Here’s his full statement: “Breaking: No sacred cow as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspends Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Betta Edu and asks EFCC to handle investigation. Read official statement: In line with his avowed commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the management of the commonwealth of Nigerians, President Bola Tinubu suspends the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, from office with immediate effect. The President further directs the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes...

  Mario Zagallo  The world renowned professional football player Mario Zagallo is dead. Born in August 1931, Zagallo was a professional football player, coordinator and manager who played as a forward. According to the Wikipedia, “Zagallo holds the record for World Cup titles in general with four titles in total. He also holds the record for World Cup finals with six participations. He was the first person to win the FIFA World Cup as both a manager and as a player, winning the competition in 1958 and 1962 as a player, in 1970 as manager, and in 1994 as assistant manager. Zagallo also coached Brazil in 1974 (finishing fourth) and in 1998 (finishing as runners-up) and was a technical assistant in 2006. He is the first of three men, along with Germany's Franz Beckenbauer and France's Didier Deschamps to have won the World Cup as a player and as a manager and the only one that has done it more than twice. In 1992, Zagallo received the FIFA Order of Merit, the highest honour award...