The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 604 (August 23 - September 5 2023)

TheTrumpet 

Africans now have a voice... Founded in 1995 

V O L 29 N O 604 AU G U S T 23 - SEPTEMBER 5 2023 

Teenager 

convicted 

of 22 rapes 

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali (Photo by 

Blair175 CCA Share Alike 4.0 Int) 

Ethiopia 

shaken by a 

new and 

growing 

rebellion in 

Amhara 

Edited by Obi Anyadike 

Continued on Page 2> 

Ateenager has been 

convicted of 22 counts 

of rape against six 

separate victims. 

19-year-old Kevarnie Queen 

of Barrington Road, SW9 was 

convicted after a trial at Inner 

London Crown Court. 

He was remanded in custody 

to appear at the same court on 13 

October for sentencing. 

Detective Constable Jennie 

Seward, investigating, said: 

“Queen’s disregard for the 

young women’s rights to 

consent, and his complete lack 

of respect for them, is 

disgraceful. He treated the 

women as objects to use for his 

own gratification. 

“The bravery of these young 

women attacked by Queen is 

humbling. As police officers, we 

of course understand that taking 

part in a police investigation and 

attending court is extremely 

challenging, but these 

courageous women have done 

just that. Their actions will, no 

doubt, have prevented this from 

happening to other young 

women.” 

The court heard how Queen 

had met all but one of the six 

victims on social media, where 

he’d use his street name of ‘K1’ 

as his username. Queen would 

manipulate the victims and go on 

to rape them. 

The multiple offences were 

committed over a three-year 

period from May 2019, when he 

was 15, to 2022 when he was 18- 

years-old. 

Prior to May 2022, police had 

received multiple allegations of 

sexual offences against Queen, 

but in each case, the victims 

were unable to provide a formal 

interview or support an 

investigation as they did not feel 

ready because of what had 

happened to them. 

However, on 7 June 2022, 

Queen was arrested on suspicion 

of rape after a report was made 

to police on 31 May 2022 where 

Continued on Page 15

Page2 TheTrumpet AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 5 2023 

News 

Ethiopia shaken by a new and 

growing rebellion in Amhara 

Continued from Page 1< 

Two weeks after irregular militia 

fighters called the Fano seized several 

towns and cities in Amhara, 

Ethiopia’s second-biggest region, the 

barricades have been cleared from the streets 

and an uneasy calm has been restored by the 

federal military. The fighting was the fiercest 

to grip Ethiopia since a November ceasefire 

ended the two-year conflict in the next-door 

region of Tigray. 

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had set his 

sights on welcoming back foreign investors 

and kickstarting the economy. Instead, earlier 

this month, he found himself putting down 

yet another regional rebellion. Across 

Amhara, the Fano – a historical term in 

Amhara for “freedom fighter” – ambushed 

federal military units and took control of 

government buildings as civilian protesters 

blocked roads and hurled rocks. 

In Lalibela, Ethiopia’s main tourist 

destination, the Fano seized the airport, while 

in Gondar, Amhara’s second-biggest city, 

terrified officials barricaded themselves 

inside the main police station as militiamen 

freely roamed the streets outside. 

The military answered with tanks, 

artillery, and airstrikes, rushing in 

reinforcements from Tigray and the Sudanese 

border, as the government declared a state of 

emergency. In several areas, soldiers fired 

upon demonstrators, killing an unknown 

number of civilians. 

Humanitarian access was also disrupted 

during the roughly one week of violence. 

World Health Organization boss Tedros 

Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is Ethiopian, 

called for Amhara’s healthcare system to be 

protected, and Save the Children warned that 

children’s lives were at risk. 

“We must shield vulnerable children 

from violence, displacement, hunger, and 

abuse and it is imperative that vulnerable 

families are granted safety and unimpeded 

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Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali 

Joubert, Save the Children’s Ethiopia 

director, said in a statement. 

Services to Alemwach, a camp outside 

Gondar that houses 22,000 Eritrean refugees, 

were suspended as government agency 

officials fled, according to residents. 

On 9 August, the authorities said the 

military had wrested back control of 

Amhara’s towns from the Fano, who have 

retreated into the countryside. “It is peaceful 

here now,” said a resident by phone from 

Bahir Dar, the regional capital, which had 

seen days of street fighting. 

Deepening distrust 

Unrest had been simmering in Amhara 

for months. In April, a plan to dismantle 

regional forces and integrate them into the 

police and the military led to gun battles and 

the assassination of the head of the regional 

branch of Abiy’s ruling Prosperity Party. 

Even during the war with Tigray, the 

authorities and the Fano had eyed each other 

uneasily. Amhara’s regional forces were a 

key ally of the military against the Tigray 

People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), but the 

Fano had clashed regularly with federal 

forces in the months leading up to the war, 

with many Amhara fighters instinctively 

mistrusting Abiy, who is an Oromo, 

Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group. 

Amhara forces took advantage of the war 

to seize Western Tigray, a fertile territory 

bordering Sudan long claimed by the 

Amhara, and an area called Raya. Human 

Rights Watch and Amnesty International say 

they waged a campaign of ethnic cleansing 

in Western Tigray – characterised by arbitrary 

arrests, killings, and deportations – that 

uprooted hundreds of thousands of Tigrayan 

residents. 

In mid-2021, TPLF fighters recaptured 

most of their region and then pushed deep 

into Amhara, committing their own human 

rights abuses while also looting hospitals and 

schools. Amhara was mobilised for total war, 

with thousands of young men given 

rudimentary military training and sent to the 

front as militia. Many felt let down by the 

government and regular military, which had 

been unable to stop the TPLF advance. 

“The PM was saying during the war that 

these contested regions are Amhara, and now 

people feel betrayed.” 

Then, in April 2022, during a truce with 

the TPLF, Abiy moved against the Fano, 

launching a sweeping crackdown that saw 

thousands arrested. 

After the signing of the Tigray peace deal, 

the sense of spiralling mistrust heightened. 

Even though Amhara’s Vice President was 

part of the team who negotiated the peace, 

Amhara activists complained that their 

interests were not represented at the talks. 

The final text of the peace deal says the 

future of “contested areas” will be settled 

according to the Constitution. Since it was 

agreed, Abiy has touted the possibility of 

holding a referendum to determine the status 

of Western Tigray and Raya. 

Even questioning the status of these 

territories is deeply unpopular with Amhara 

nationalists, who see their return to the TPLF 

as an uncrossable redline. “The PM was 

saying during the war that these contested 

regions are Amhara, and now people feel 

betrayed,” a member of the Amhara branch 

of Abiy’s ruling Prosperity Party told The 

New Humanitarian. 

‘He is killing Amhara people 

everywhere’ 

This feeling of betrayal feeds into a wider 

sense that the Amhara are under attack 

elsewhere in Ethiopia. In western Oromia, 

Amhara farmers have been massacred by the 

Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which says 

it is fighting for greater autonomy for the 

Oromo. There have been similar attacks in 

the Metekel region of Benishangul-Gumuz, 

where the Amhara are also a minority. 

Under the imperial regime of Haile 

Selassie and then the communist Derg 

government, Amhara dominated Ethiopian 

national life. Many Amharas now complain 

that the Oromo have taken over under Abiy, 

Ethiopia’s first Oromo Prime Minister. Many 

even allege his government is behind the 

OLA’s attacks on ethnic Amharas. 

A resident of Lalibela, for instance, told 

The New Humanitarian over the phone that 

the Fano are “liberators” from Abiy’s “OLA 

government”. Views like this are widespread. 

“Abiy is a dictator,” said a Gondar resident. 

“He is killing Amhara people everywhere in 

the country.” Both spoke on condition of 

anonymity due to fear of reprisals. 

“The war was a bonanza for the Fano. 

They could recruit, they could keep the 

weapons they found in Western Tigray for 

themselves, and they had the government’s 

support for everything they did.” 

Yet, in many ways, Abiy helped create 

the Fano militia now fighting his 

government. Under Ethiopia’s former TPLFdominated 

government, many of the leading 

lights of today’s Fano movement were locked 

up. When Abiy came to power in 2018, 

promising democracy, he released them as 

part of a mass amnesty for tens of thousands 

of political prisoners. 

These Amhara strongmen subsequently 

built small-scale militias that were used to 

provide security services and fight other 

insurgent groups on the government’s behalf. 

On the eve of the war with Tigray, Abiy’s 

government was beginning to crack down on 

these Fano groups, believing they had grown 

too powerful. Then the fighting broke out. 

“The war was a bonanza for the Fano,” 

said a Western researcher who did not want 

to be named. “They could recruit, they could 

keep the weapons they found in Western 

Tigray for themselves, and they had the 

government’s support for everything they 

did.” 

That the Fano are now fighting the 

government is not surprising, said the 

researcher: “I was expecting this to happen 

much earlier.” 

Fear of a widening rebellion 

Abiy may have been compelled to act 

against the Fano after seeing the threat 

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces 

(RSF), under Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, 

known as Hemedti, pose to the country’s 

establishment. 

“You have dozens of Hemedtis in the 

Amhara region, dozens of guys who are able 

to build forces and get some 

institutionalisation from the state apparatus, 

and that is exactly what the RSF did,” the 

researcher said. 

Although the federal military has 

reclaimed control of Amhara’s towns, the 

Fano rebellion is not over. The group will 

likely continue to wage a guerrilla campaign 

in Amhara’s vast mountainous interior, where 

they have widespread popular support. 

“The public supports the Fano.” 

On Sunday, a government airstrike killed 

at least 26 people and wounded 55 more 

when it struck the Amhara town of Finote 

Selam. Many of the victims were local 

people who had been taking food to the Fano, 

according to eyewitness accounts. 

Even before this month’s violence, rural 

Amhara was witnessing a similar uptick in 

insecurity. 

Unlike the TPLF, the Fano may be able 

to bring in supplies across the Sudanese 

border. Eritrea, meanwhile, helped train the 

Fano during the Tigray war, and many 

Western diplomats suspect it had a hand in 

fanning this month’s fighting. Eritrean 

President Isaias Afwerki was an ally of 

Continued on Page 3

AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 5 2023 


Page3 

News 

Ethiopia shaken by a new and 

growing rebellion in Amhara 


Abiy’s, but he is believed to have opposed 

the Tigray peace deal. 

It is unclear what Abiy’s government can 

do to quash the growing rebellion in Amhara. 

The Fano are loosely organised, with deep 

internal divisions. Even if Abiy’s government 

wanted to negotiate with them, it is unclear 

who could talk on behalf of the movement. 

A recent wave of arrests in the capital, 

Addis Ababa, which the State human rights 

body says is targeting ethnic Amharas, is only 

likely to fuel the group’s sense of 

persecution. Last week, Human Rights 

Watch said the federal government had 

responded to the unrest with “increased 

repression”. 

Analysts predict a general breakdown of 

law and order across Amhara as the Fano 

insurgency escalates, similar to the situation 

in Western Oromia, the OLA’s stronghold, 

where government control rarely extends 

beyond the suburbs of towns. 

If that happens, the group will not find it 

difficult to find recruits among the millions 

of young Amhara men fed up with Abiy’s 

government. “You can’t fight with the 

public,” said a resident of Kobo, one of the 

centres of the fighting. “The public supports 

the Fano.” 

This story was originally published by 

The New Humanitarian. 

The New Humanitarian puts quality, 

independent journalism at the service of the 

millions of people affected by humanitarian 

crises around the world. Find out more at 

www.thenewhumanitarian.org.

Page4 



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AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 5 2023 TheTrumpet 

Page5

Page6 TheTrumpet AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 5 2023

Opinion 


Of Niger, breathing problems 

and other matters 


Page7 

“Bros, you dey town?” 

“Yes. Where you think say I for 

dey. I no tell you say I dey travel” 

“I thought maybe you would 

have gone to Niger.” 

“Go Niger go do wetin?” 

“I hear some civil society groups 

are compiling names of persons 

who will go to Niger to talk to the 

coup leaders to give peace a chance, 

forget about the coup and reinstate 

President Muhammad Bazoum in 

power.” 

“Of all the pressing problems 

that I have in Nigeria: fuel price has 

gone up, diesel is expensive, 

landlord has announced rent 

increase, school fees have been 

raised, Tinubu’s economic policy is 

not working, how on earth do you 

think that my main priority should 

be what goes on in Niger? People 

are fighting their former colonial 

masters, they have removed a 

President that is a lackey of the 

West, the people of Niger 

themselves are on the streets 

jubilating and hailing the coup 

leaders and you say, I should go 

there to talk to them. Please, in my 

capacity as what?” 

“As a notable noise maker in the 

Nigerian society, and a champion of 

democracy. This is about 

democracy, and the need to preserve 

it in the West African region, from 

the Sahel to the rest of Africa. 

ECOWAS has already taken up the 

responsibility. The Heads of States 

and Governments have imposed 

sanctions. They have dispatched a 

standby force.” 

“Yes, yes, I know. They have the 

support of the African Union, the 

European Union Commission, and 

the United Nations. Americans, the 

French, the Germans have military 

bases in Niger. They did nothing 

until shege happened, and now it 

has become our collective 

responsibility. Please my main 

responsibility now is how to pay 

school fees next month, and how to 

buy diesel for the generator at home 

and fuel the cars. Whatever they do 

in Niger is not my personal problem 

right now. Have you not heard that 

here in Nigeria, we too are trying to 

breathe?” 

Former President Mohamed Bazoum (Photo by Bogdan Hoyaux via European Commission) 

“Many Nigerians are concerned 

because Niger is our sister country. 

We have strong religious, cultural 

and historic affinities. Are you 

aware that the head of the military 

junta in Niger is married to a 

Nigerian woman from Kangiwa in 

Kebbi State, while the Emir of 

Dosso in Niger pays homage to the 

Emir of Argungu in Nigeria? Seven 

States in the North share a border of 

about 999 miles with Niger, 

including Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, 

and Katsina. Some people sleep in 

Nigeria and eat breakfast in Niger. 

That is how close we are. And even 

if you are not aware of anything, are 

you not aware that when President 

Buhari was leaving office one thing 

he said is that if anybody disturbs 

him too much in Nigeria, he will 

relocate and join his kith and kin in 

Niger? Now the old man has 

nowhere to go. He is stuck here. You 

people complain too much in 

Nigeria. The people in Niger are in 

a revolutionary mood.” 

“I sympathize with President 

Buhari. His plight must be a lesson 

to all persons who assume dual 

citizenship as allowed by the laws of 

Nigeria. You could find yourself in a 

situation where there could be issues 

in your two countries and you are 

caught betwixt and between. If 

gbege come gbege now, where 

BY REUBEN ABATI 

President Buhari go run to? Father 

country no well, mother country dey 

boil. This is why I always say what 

we need in Africa is good 

governance and responsible 

leadership.” 

“But I think that there is now 

some light at the end of the tunnel, 

though. Nigeria’s Council of 

Ulamaas, the Jamma’tu Izalatu 

Bidiah wa Ikamatu Sunnah 

(JIBWIS) led by the Chairman, 

visited Niger on Sunday. They were 

granted audience by the coup 

leaders. They met with President 

Abdourahamane Tchiani himself 

and the newly appointed Prime 

Minister. The coup leaders in fact 

sent their apologies to President 

Tinubu for having refused 

previously to grant audience to the 

delegations that he sent before now: 

President Patrice Talon of Republic 

of Benin, a Nigerian delegation 

comprising former Governor of 

Katsina State, Aminu Masari, Head 

of Nigeria’s National Intelligence 

Agency and Nigeria’s Chief of Air 

Staff, subsequently, President 

Mahamat Idris Deby of Chad also 

went to Niger, and thereafter too, 

General Abdusalami Abubakar and 

the Sultan of Sokoto. Emir Sanusi 

Lamido Sanusi went to Niger in his 

capacity as the head of the Tijanniya 

sect. They granted him audience. 

The Council of Ulammas from 

Nigeria also went there. They met 

with them. I am afraid Niger may 

have been taken over by Jihadists 

and terrorists, right on our doorstep. 

Afterall, President Alassane 

Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire pointedly 

accused them of terrorism. The good 

news is that they now say they want 

to dialogue with ECOWAS.” 

“It is because the sanctions 

Continued on Page 8


Opinion 

Of Niger, breathing problems and 

other matters 


imposed by ECOWAS, the EU 

Commission, France and those who 

donate money to keep Niger going 

are beginning to bite hard. Yes, 

Niger is rich in Uranium, the 

seventh largest deposits in the 

world, but it is also a poor country 

that depends on about $20 billion 

worth of international aid per 

annum. The sanctions are actually 

not enough. I assume that the coup 

leaders are now panicking. The 

thing to do is to add more sanctions. 

Nigeria should take the lead by 

telling our daughter from Kebbi 

State who is married to the coup 

leader to pack her bags and come 

back home. That is one sanction that 

will hit home. I don’t trust Tchiani. 

ECOWAS must resolve to hit him 

hard below the belt.” 

“You know sometimes, I don’t 

understand you. We are discussing 

peace, diplomacy and international 

relations, you are reducing 

everything to marital issues. What if 

your sister says it is in fact the coup 

leader of Niger that she wants and 

ECOWAS can go to hell, will you 

go and force her to leave her 

husband because Nigeria wants to 

show it has power even in the 

bedrooms of Niger?” 

“I don’t trust General Tchiani and 

his men. Look at how they snubbed 

Nigeria, the giant of Africa”. 

“Leave that giant thing. Nobody 

considers Nigeria a giant anymore. 

In fact, it is so bad, if President 

Tinubu himself dares to go near 

Niger, they will arrest him and lock 

him up with Bazoum and serve him 

agbado which they must have heard 

he likes a lot. And nothing will 

happen. In fact, some Nigerian will 

say it serves him right. Please leave 

that matter about being a giant. 

Nobody sees Nigeria as a giant 

anymore please.” 

“Those boys in Niger will detain 

Nigeria’s President? That will be an 

assault on the sovereignty of 

Nigeria. Then, the war that nobody 

wants will begin immediately” 

“My friend, go and calm down. 

You think all the Nigerians who 

have been saying Nigeria should not 

commit to any act of aggression 

don’t know what they are saying? 

ACF, Katsina Forum, Afenifere, 

Council of Ulamaas, HURIWA, 

Senator Shehu Sani, NLC, PDP, LP, 

you think they don’t know what 

they are saying? Nigeria is broke. It 

cannot finance any major military 

operation that is likely to end up as 

proxy war between the East and the 

West. It also cannot afford a fullscale 

war in its backyard. And what 

does Nigeria stand to gain from 

committing troops to an operation in 

Niger?” 

“Peace and stability at home. 

That is Nigeria’s national interest, 

particularly to prevent the coup 

virus from spreading from the Sahel 

region into the West African 

heartland. It is not in Nigeria’s 

interest to have a coup anywhere 

around its vicinity. Nigerian citizens 

President Abdourahamane Tchiani 

at the moment cannot breathe at the 

moment. If they get suffocated 

further, you don’t know what they 

can do. We may have to use Niger 

to send a strong lesson to anybody 

that werey is disturbing his or her 

head.” 

“Have you thought of the 

implications of joining ECOWAS to 

send troops to Niger? Nobody 

knows the reaction we will get. 

Terrorism in the Northern borders, 

more refugees trooping into Nigeria, 

the possibility of aggrieved 

Nigerians supporting Niger, and 

sabotaging their own country. If I 

were President Tinubu, I will 

borrow myself small sense, and 

tread cautiously. Niger is a Banana 

peel for President Tinubu. He 

should not step on it.” 

“I see we are a country of 

cowards. ECOWAS is a community 

of shadow-boxers. They don’t even 

have a standby force anyway. Just 

making mouth. In the next few days, 

I imagine that Tinubu and 

ECOWAS will try to do damage 

control and save face.” 

“I think the former Governor of 

Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, 

former Minister of Foreign Affairs 

put his fingers on it when he said 

Tinubu has no experience in 

international diplomacy, and he 

should seek the help of former 

Heads of State and Presidents of 

Nigeria. And he is right. This is not 

the Kabiyesi rulership of Lagos 

State. This is something far more 

complex, because of the 

international dimensions. Nigeria is 

bigger than the swashbuckling, 

Continued on Page 9

Opinion 



Of Niger, breathing problems and 

other matters 

Page9 


triumphal, “awalokan” boys from 

Lagos.” 

“Please can we talk about 

something else?” 

“Did I not hear that one Nigerian 

aircraft on its way to Niger has 

crashed somewhere in the North? 

Those are the people you say are 

sending apologies to Tinubu? If they 

want dialogue, then on what terms? 

Will they listen to ECOWAS?” 

“Can we change subject? It looks 

like Pastor Tunde Bakare has joined 

the ranks of those criticizing 

Tinubu? Did you listen to his State 

of the Nation address on Sunday? 

Vice, Virtue, Time: three Things 

That Cannot stand Still.” 

“What prophecies did he make? 

Did he predict that the Naira will be 

N2,000 to the dollar by October and 

that the pump price of petrol will be 

about N900 per litre?” 

“He said more than that. He 

spoke truth to power. He said 

Nigeria is on a downward slope 

under Tinubu, and that what we 

have is an imperial presidency and 

leadership by impulse” 

“Pastor Bakare is one of the 

original founders of the ruling APC, 

Nigeria’s ruling party.” 

“He said APC could never have 

won the 2023 general election if 

there was no split in the PDP, and 

that President Tinubu is showing a 

tendency to act before thinking.” 

“He said that? Isn’t that antiparty?” 

“I think the man was speaking 

under the influence of the Holy 

Spirit. I heard him saying with 48 

Ministers, Tinubu is running a 

bloated government and abusing the 

tenets of neoliberalism, and that 

there cannot be any economic 

reform without economic justice, 

and the poor must be allowed to 

breathe.” 

“Yes, yes, yes, on that one, he is 

right. The poor in Nigeria are 

suffocating. That is why they are 

now protesting in Yola, Ibadan, Port 

Harcourt, and Kano due to the high 

cost of living. We, the people, just 

want to breathe. The people are 

saying let government remove its 

knees from our necks and not choke 

us to death like George Floyd was 

choked to death in the US.” 

“You know Pastor Bakare even 

said Godwin Emefiele, the 

embattled and suspended CBN 

Governor is a victim of vendetta, 

and political impunity, who is being 

made a scapegoat.” 

“I won’t be surprised if Pastor 

Bakare is accused of anti-party 

activities and he is expelled from 

the APC. Has Mr. Dele Alake 

responded to him yet?” 

“I have not seen anything. No, 

not yet.” 

“You can be sure the President’s 

spokespersons are still loading their 

bazooka. When they fire, you will 

hear the boom, boom of attacks on 

Pastor Bakare.” 

“And you think the Pastor will be 

bothered? Na dem dem. If they fire 

bazooka, he will respond with an 

inter-continental ballistic missile!” 

“At home and abroad, just creepy 

stories all over within 75 days of 

Tinubu in office. Punitive economic 

policies that impoverish the people. 

A Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 

that publishes a balance sheet for the 

first time after seven years that is fit 

only for the dustbin. An uninspiring 

cabinet list. Mediocre performance 

in international relations Oh, what a 

curious set!.” 

“Oh, come on. I can think of one 

or two sweet stories. The Super 

Falcons did well in the Women’s 

World Cup. They may have lost out 

in the Round of 16, but they were 

good, and they deserve to be 

celebrated truly. Also under Tinubu, 

our girls won the AfroBasket 

Championship for the fourth time in 

a row, beating their arch-rivals, 

Senegal 84-74. That’s something to 

cheer about. And our boy, Anthony 

Joshua knocked out Helenius in the 

seventh round, his first knock-out in 

three years… let’s be fair.” 

“Yeah, I also saw the Governor 

of Osun State, Jackson Ademola 

Adeleke hosting Rasheedat Ajibade 

and Rofiat Imuran, two Super 

Falcons from Osun State and 

celebrating them with Jacksonian 

dance steps. Quite refreshing.” 

“The Governor of Osun is a 

naturally happy man. He is always 

giving us good content. He should 

consider opening a Tik Tok page on 

social media, and that can be a good 

source of non-oil revenue for Osun 

State! He will beat all social media 

influencers at their game. He is just 

a natural entertainer. Nice one.” 

“So which two teams do you 

think will make the Women’s World 

Cup final? Four teams are already in 

the semi-finals. Spain vs Sweden 

today. Australia vs England 

tomorrow.” 

“I must confess this year’s 

Women’s World Cup has been topnotch. 

Record attendance. 

Impressive quality of play. In fact, 

some of those female teams are so 

technically proficient, if they play 

against the current Super Eagles of 

Nigeria, our male national team, 

they will serve them woto woto. But 

do I want England to win? No. For 

defeating Nigeria without putting up 

a convincing performance, No, 

please. Australia should beat them 

and Spain or Sweden should win. 

“This is exactly what Pastor 

Bakare calls the politics of vendetta 

oh. Can you see that there are no 

saints anywhere?” 

“Not exactly the same thing. I 

have a right to protect my country’s 

interest. I still don’t understand the 

overriding national interest that 

Nigeria wants to protect in Niger. I 

keep saying that the time may have 

come when we have to review this 

mantra about Africa being the 

centre-piece of Nigeria’s foreign 

policy process. Nigeria must be 

Nigeria’s number one interest, not 

the ego of ambitious politicians – 

call it Nigerian exceptionalism.” 

“I hear you. Na here we dey, 

everything go soon clear for 

everybody eye. Make all of una dey 

talk your talk. Na here we dey as 

Dede dey.” 

AI is set to disrupt 70% of jobs over the 

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Opinion 

Osun government and 

politics of plurality 

Governor Ademola Adeleke of 

Osun State deserves a pat on 

the back for instructing the 

three senators representing the State 

in the Upper Chamber to “mobilize 

support for former Governor 

Gboyega Oyetola’s nomination as 

Minister” during last week’s 

screening exercise. Of course, it is a 

gesture that could not be caged! 

But beyond sheer propaganda, did 

the Senators’ support amount to 

anything? Are we saying that, as 

Senators, they cannot reason or talk 

unaided? If Osun Senators have 

spoken against Nominee Oyetola, 

would the Senate have rejected him 

and would the President have 

dropped him? How many ministerial 

nominees have been so rejected in the 

past? 

Just the same, a section of 

Nigerians are already alleging 

deterioration of leadership value in 

the Adeleke-led administration. They 

are saying that it is nepotistic: a ‘nawe-spend-all-our-money-to-win-theelection-so-we-are-beyond-reproachfrom-anybody’ 

government. This set 

of Nigerians believes that it’s wrong 

for the Commissioner for Finance to 

have come from Ede and that the 

Ministry of Works, being the biggest 

spender, shouldn’t have been held by 

the Governor, who is from Ede. 

“Apart from the Governor, Ede 

also has the Chief of Staff; Executive 

Secretary, Osun State Universal 

Basic Education (SUBEB); 

Chairman, Local Government 

Service Commission; Rector, Osun 

State Polytechnic, Iree; and Corps 

Marshal, Amotekun, in its kitty. In 

this government, the town alone has 7 

Commissioners, 7 Permanent 

Secretaries, 4 Special Advisers and 3 

Boards’ Chairmen. Others are still 

coming! 

“Yes, people love entertainment. 

The very serious-minded people are 

small. The Governor understands 

that psychology and he’s playing on 

it; and he understands that leaders 

can continue to purchase pleasure 

while the led recycle poverty”. 

On the sack of the teachers 

employed by his predecessor in 

office, the group insisted that Adeleke 

should have handled it in a more 

mature way. And, on the Osun State 

Anthem which was recently repealed 

by the State Assembly, they posited 

Governor Ademola Adeleke 

that the Governor was bent on 

destroying whatever was of Afenifere 

and/or Obafemi Awolowo’s legacy in 

the State. 

That the Adeleke administration 

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KOMOLAFE 

opted for electric generators to power 

the disputed 332 boreholes in an age 

of solar power and allied cutting-edge 

technology is also generating a furore 

in some quarters. What about the 

Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) 

where it has become easier for a 

camel to pass through the eye of the 

needle than for patients to get 

ordinary Paracetamol tablets; and 

Osogbo, the State capital, where 

median strips have become breeding 

grounds for snakes and other 

dangerous reptiles due to bushy 

roads? But for time and space 

constraints, lots more! 

Politics of plurality is a fraud, and 

a shameful one at that. Take, for 

instance, why do people talk about 

‘Ijesa politics’? Why do they say 

‘Iragbiji politics’? In reality, there’s 

nothing like that! If the political 


Opinion 

Remembering Abba Kyari 

AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 5 2023 TheTrumpet Page11 

By Abiodun Komolafe 

Abba Kyari, CFR, OON! 

Remember him? Kyari was 

the Chief of Staff (CoS) to 

former President Muhammadu 

Buhari. Born on September 23, 

1952, he served in that prestigious 

position between August 2015 and 

April 2020. 

While in office, little was 

actually known about Kyari in the 

public realm. Unfortunately too, his 

name actually symbolized an 

uncanny error of namesake. The 

Borno State-born lawyer and banker 

shared a name with somebody who 

once had a favourable public 

perception, until Satan smiled; and 

the ‘super cop’ lost it! 

Kyari died on April 17, 2020, 

following complications from 

COVID-19. 

In the case of the former 

President Buhari’s top aide, there’s 

no doubt that the man saw it all and 

had it all! However, going by media 

reports after his demise, Kyari was a 

highly misunderstood and 

misrepresented person. As a matter 

of fact, everything about him was 

misrepresented in the Nigerian 

space, even beyond. Even his 

friends and acquaintances who 

posthumously were trying to 

outshine one another in their tributes 

to the dead did not help matters. It 

was Geoffrey Onyeama who tried to 

bail him out. However, had he put 

together, say, a beautiful piece to set 

the record straight while his friend 

was alive, Kyari would have 

secured respite from the deluge of 

negative impressions hanging on his 

neck at the time. Had he and others 

alike done at least one quarter of 

what they did after his death, maybe 

the depiction would have been 

different. 

From observation, Kyari died 

with his brilliance unacknowledged 

in Nigeria’s socio-political space; 

and that was painful. He had a 

trumpet but he refused to blow it. He 

refused to announce his 

achievements to the world and he 

paid dearly for it. That he allowed 

“false allegations” and “all the 

defamations” to have their way 

while his sojourn on earth lasted 

was not a sign of strength, more so 

as his silence was misconstrued for 

consent. Wherever the late legal 

luminary is now chanced to wander, 

he’s most likely to be regretting his 

inability to dispute some negative 

comments when opportunities 

presented themselves. After all, 

there’s no repentance in the grave! 

In human organizations, madness 

and humanity go hand-in-hand. 

While what happened to the late 

CoS was an unforgivable error, that 

the Nigerian press also failed to do 

some digging deep into his life to 

avoid misinforming the public is no 

longer news; and it’s something that 

should make the Fourth Estate sad. 

Kyari was so erroneously portrayed 

that, even if the angels had seen 

him, they’d just have condemned 

him to hellfire. The more reason the 

media owes it a duty to watch it and 

do a thorough job before putting pen 

to paper. It’s not a bad thing to paint 

a man black. It’s also not that it’s 

wrong to be black; only that the 

media has to be sure that what it is 

putting out for public consumption 

constantly swims in the river of 

truth. This is because the masses 

depend on what it pushes out to 

them. But if it is writing errors, they 

become errors that are ‘very 

errorian’; and that becomes a 

problem! Abba Kyari was a victim 

during his time. Who knows whose 

turn it will be tomorrow? 

Unfortunately, many Nigerians who 

have also heard that Kyari was a bad 

man might have even died; and they 

went away with that sad impression! 

Kyari’s final journey from 

Mother Earth has taught us many 

lessons. A couple who tied the 

nuptial knot in the presence of only 

the priest and the matchmaker will 

not be crucified for not inviting 

more people as guests. Likewise, a 

man who’s also vowed that it’s the 

President who must preside at his 

wedding reception can now see that 

nature has its way of enforcing its 

laws. Indeed, that only few people 

attended Kyari’s internment in an 

age of COVID-19 rage did not make 

it less of a burial. After all, he who 

buried his father with only 8 people 

present at his graveside has buried 

his father; and the man has gone! 

Abba Kyari and former President Buhari 

Most importantly, if we have less of 

‘owambe’ fanfares accompanying 

social functions, maybe the make-itby-force 

struggles which now define 

our world will become subdued. 

Like the Abba Kyari in all of us, 

people say, ‘let me not talk about 

what I am doing or my 

achievements’. But what’s wrong 

with it, especially, when what they 

are doing is right? Since nobody 

will do it for them, why don’t they 

blow it for the future to judge them 

right or wrong? Why not blow the 

trumpet so that issues can be put in 

proper perspectives, even after they 

are long gone? 

Without doubt, those who 

remember Abba Kyari from their 

personal perspectives will read 

meanings to this write-up. Those 

who didn’t know him might be 

wondering why it’s so important for 

yours sincerely to bring him back 

while perception-compliant 

Nigerians will understand that this 

intervention is about ‘one blowing 

one’s trumpet’, especially when 

one’s trumpet is good and enhanced, 

and it’s in one’s hand. Take it or 

leave it, we live in a society that 

doesn’t help anybody! Even when 

one has lofty goals and objectives, it 

still gives one sandbags that 

constrain one. 

A Yoruba proverb says: ‘Bi 

omode ba subu, a wo iwaju. Bi agba 

ba subu, a wo ehin wo’ (Upon 

falling, a youngster looks ahead (for 

help), an elder looks back (for the 

cause). Well, the problem with 

looking down is that it is deliberate. 

It is also decisive to look up because 

changing position to look down is a 

big trouble. In our fated clime, 

everybody is just following trends. 

But nothing is as frustrating as 

trends. Contrary to thoughts that 

nothing seems to be working, the 

truth is that Nigerian society is 

loaded but no one knows the 

direction in which things are tilting. 

When circumstances take their toll, 

they reduce a perfect man to a man 

of yesterday. Of course, such a 

situation cannot but saddle one with 

sober reflections. But the reality of 

sober reflections is that they tell one 

the truth about oneself. They reduce 

one to one’s original self even as 

they don’t give room for falsehood. 

Instead, they make something that’s 

so big become so small which, in 

any case, is not a crime. 

Beyond partisan considerations, 

government and governance in a 

democracy are the products of the 

consent of the governed. However, 

democracy is like dictatorship; it 

also has its inconsistencies. For 



Opinion 

Remembering Abba Kyari 


instance, I have argued elsewhere 

that former President Olusegun 

Obasanjo would always want to 

take Nigerians through how many 

sheep and cows he left behind when 

he was relinquishing power to his 

choice of successor in 1979. He 

would want to entertain us with how 

he met not only a treasury riddled 

with the bullets of debts but also 

task our tolerance with the miracle 

of debt forgiveness during his 

second coming. Unfortunately, the 

former President has never for once 

made the mistake of either telling 

Nigerians the shape of the burden of 

debt he handed over to the former 

President Shehu Shagari on October 

1, 1979, or the size of the estacodes 

and accompanying expenses the 

Abba Kyari 

taxpaying Nigerians had to carry on 

behalf of our debt-cancellation 

seekers who practically turned the 

airspace into their offices, post 

1999. This is in addition to the 

hymns of the loots repatriation 

without the accompanying stanzas 

of their judicious use. That’s how 

successive leaders have been faring 

in office; and it’s a shame! 

Abba Kyari attempted to be 

different but, again, this is Nigeria! 

May the Lamb of God, who 

takes away the sin of the world, 

continue to rest Abba Kyari’s soul! 

Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu- 

Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria 

(ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk) 

Osun government and politics of plurality 


gladiators understand the mix and the 

correct sentiments underpinning it; 

and, if the moment is ripe, it can 

propel its adherents to any height. In 

transactional politics, people also 

base favours on transactions. In this 

‘chop-I-chop’ system, one who is idle 

eats nothing but one who is 

intelligent enough to ‘belong’ will 

surely have something to eat. One 

who is in politics but not intelligently 

brilliant is likely to eat very little. 

One may not even eat anything, 

because those who are prepped up to 

eat most, if not all, have already 

positioned themselves; and they are 

many, and they are ruthless; and they 

are increasing in number with each 

passing day. And, since society that’s 

expected to curb the menace is the 

owner of the initiation, nothing is 

going to change! Thus, it begs the 

question: on which platform is 

democracy actually built, especially 

now that everything is in a flux? 

So, who will muster the courage to 

tell the ‘Dancing Governor’ that 

politics is over; and that what Osun 

needs is real governance? Who will 

advise him that it’s only a 

transactional administration that will 

give its members rice and beans 

before winning elections but, during 

the last Ileya festival, the rice and 

beans would almost disappear 

completely? Who will tell him that all 

the promises he made during the 

campaigns have long dropped out of 

sight? 

Go to L.A. Primary Schools 1 & 

2, Imo, Ilesa and you’ll see an edifice 

overgrown with weeds! 

A visit to Jehovah Jireh African 

Primary School, Ijebu-Jesa will also 

reveal the rot that’s become the fate 

of education in Osun. Founded in 

1930, the school has practically 

become a den of criminals and a 

breeding ground for deranged youths 

and misfit toys who daily converge 

on its old, dilapidated classrooms to 

puff smokes into their lungs and 

pump alcohols into their systems. The 

few buildings that are still standing 

have had their roofs removed by 

those trying to eke out an existence. 

At Jehovah Jireh African Primary 

School, Ijebu-Jesa, pupils and weeds 

now compete for courtesy. Here, the 

archaic ‘shot-put’, open defecation 

saw an opportunity and capitalized on 

it; and it’s as if the potentials of 

humanity were heading in the dark 

ages. With close to 200 pupils, the 

school has only 6 teachers, including 

the headmistress. 

Perhaps these informed the 

decision of Digging Well Foundation, 

a United Kingdom-based charity 

organization, to see what can be done 

to return the school to its old glory. 

With its plan to build modern toilets 

and dig a borehole for the school, 

Nigerians wish the Foundation well. 

‘If the foundation be destroyed, 

what can the righteous do?’ Pity the 

poor pupils who are being exposed to 

chain smokers and drug addicts so 

early in life, courtesy of their learning 

environment! For God’s sake, what 

foundation are we laying for our 

future leaders? 

Jehovah Jireh African Primary 

School, Ijebu-Jesa is an indictment, 

not only on the government but also 

the religious community, particularly 

the Ijesa Diocese of The African 

Church. Sad that people’s lives and 

destinies are being wasted because of 

unhealthy politics, insensitivity and 

lack of institutional values. That the 

sweats and efforts of our heroes’ past 

are now lying in ruins portends a 

tragic future, if not remedied! 

For obvious reasons, that the Osun 

government is sleepwalking is no 

surprise. For reasons also best known 

to the opposition, that it is thinking 

that 2026 is 100 years away, or that 

victory is a fruit pluckable from a tree 

is no longer news. If not, the 

opposition ought to have known that 

its job goes beyond issuing Press 

Statements; that it’s a real job, allencompassing 

and very challenging! 

Interestingly, Nigerians are hungry. 

So, they can hardly read! Besides, 

many things are working for the 

ruling Party in Osun: an extremely 

rich Adeleke dynasty, power, State 

resources and the people’s sympathy 

which again, for obvious reasons, is 

presently tilted towards the Party in 

power. 

Among the central functions of 

the opposition is the protection of 

Nigeria’s political integrity. For the 

opposition in Osun, August 9, 2014 

ought to have shown that ‘our Party 

holds the centre’ or “our man is 

Nigeria’s No 1 citizen” is not enough 

to covet victory in any serious 

election. One has to work for it! 

Taking the All Progressives Congress 

(APC), Osun State Chapter, as a case 

study therefore, preparations for 2026 

should start with disclosing the 

findings of its Repositioning 

Committee to show that the Party is 

truly picturing the future and that it 

takes the people seriously, because 

Nigerians are anxiously waiting. 

Unlike religion, democracy is not a 

project whose dividends should be 

delayed till one gets to heaven. No! 

Here on earth is a better, if not the 

best place! 

May the Lamb of God, who takes 

away the sin of the world, grant us 

peace in Osun State! 

Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu- 

Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria 

(ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)


Page13


Careers 

NHS encourages students to 

consider a future in nursing 

The National Health Service (NHS) 

in England has congratulated local 

students who received their A 

Level, T Level or BTEC results recently,r 

joining the NHS through the final 

remaining Nursing and Midwifery degree 

places available. 

Already this year, 31,430 people in 

England have signed up for a Nursing 

degree, and 7,490 have applied to become 

a Midwife. 

Now exam results have been 

announced, clearing places are available 

for Nursing and Midwifery and the NHS is 

reminding students who may be 

reconsidering their choices that a future in 

health care could be the life-changing 

career they’re looking for. 

Regionalry Workforce, Training and 

Education Directorate NHS England, 

Nichole McIntosh said: “It’s fantastic to 

see so many young people making the 

decision to pursue a career in the NHS. 

Nursing is one of the most rewarding and 

diverse careers, with over 50 different jobs 

and specialties 

“For those who are still deciding on 

their next steps or perhaps rethinking their 

original choices, I would urge you 

to consider applying for a nursing or 

midwifery course through UCAS clearing, 

and to search NHS nursing careers to find 

out more. 

“There are also great career options for 

anyone who doesn’t want to go to 

university but would still like a future ine a 

Nichole McIntosh 

Continued on Page 15 >

News 


Teenager convicted of 22 rapes 

Page15 


the victim felt able to make a formal 

report and support a criminal 

investigation. 

Officers then made contact with 

the previous victims and five agreed 

to support the investigation, 

supported by specialist officers. 

The investigation into Queen 

uncovered some upsetting details. 

Some of the victims had been taken 

by Queen to tower blocks where he 

raped them in communal stairwells. 

Others spoke of being in 

relationships in which they were 

emotionally manipulated, allowing 

for the abuse to be minimised by 

Queen. 

Queen preyed on his victims, 

making them think the sexual abuse 

they had been subjected to was a 

Kevarnie Queen 

normal part of being in a 

relationship. 

Queen’s defence was that he had 

cheated on all of the victims and as 

a result they had got together to 

teach him a lesson – but this was 

proven to be false. 

Detective Constable Lena 

Kraemer, said: “We are doing 

everything we can to ensure that 

sexual predators who make our 

streets unsafe for women and girls 

are placed before the courts. We 

can’t do that alone. If you have been 

the victim of a sexual offence and 

have not yet spoken to police, we 

urge you to do so; at the very least 

so we can ensure that you are being 

supported. 

As demonstrated in this case, 

without the information provided 

about Queen, the full details of his 

offending may not have come to 

light. 

We understand that supporting a 

police investigation for sexual 

assault is a daunting prospect but 

with police and professional support 

we can ensure your voice is heard. 

“If you have any information 

about sexual predators please 

inform police directly or via 

Crimestoppers as this helps to build 

a picture providing police with the 

tools to prevent and detect crime.” 

Detective Inspector Ian 

Kenward, Senior Investigating 

Officer, added: “I am pleased with 

the conviction and would like to pay 

tribute to the tremendous courage 

shown by the young women 

targeted by Queen. Their support 

has led to a dangerous predatory 

offender being taken off the streets 

and I am immensely grateful. 

“I would also like to thank the 

team, in particular the officers in the 

case DCs Seward and Kraemer who 

have worked tirelessly with the CPS 

to bring Queen to justice.” 

Careers 

NHS encourages students to 

consider a future in nursing 


degree and give the chance to gain practical 

on-the-job experience with patients while 

offering fantastic progression 

opportunities.” 

Those whochoose to attend university 

to study nursing or midwifery could also 

be eligible for the NHS Learning 

Support Fund, which will guarantee a grant 

of £5,000 a year, as well as specialist 

payments for studying mental health or 

learning disability nursing. 

UCAS clearing is now open and 

prospective students will be able to apply 

for courses until 17 October. Entry 

requirements for nursing and midwifery 

degree courses will vary, but students are 

advised they will likely need at least two A 

Levels or equivalent. Contact a university 

directly to find out what specific 

qualifications are needed. 

If you think nursing could be the career 

for you, search ‘NHS nursing careers’ to 

find out more about the range of roles 

within the NHS and how to apply. 

https://www.ucas.com/undergraduatestatistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduatereleases/ucas-undergraduate-applicant-rele 

ases-2023-cycle/2023-cycle-applicantfigures-30-june-deadline


TheTrumpet is published in London fortnightly by Trumpet 

Field: 07956 385 604 E-mail: info@the-trumpet.com (ISSN: 1477-3392)

The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 604 (August 23 - September 5 2023)

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