The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 614 (January 10 - 23 2024)

TheTrumpet 

Africans now have a voice... Founded in 1995 

V O L 30 N O 614 J A N U A R Y 10 - 23 2024 

Democratic Republic of 

Congo's President 

- Félix Tshisekedi 

18 Africans 

honoured at 

GAB Awards 

London 

South Africa to 

lead new 

military force in 

the DRC: an 

expert on what 

it’s up against 

By Thomas Mandrup, Stellenbosch University 

Continued on Page 2> 

Nigeria's Acting High Commissioner to UK - 

Ambassador Dr Cyprian Heen at the 25th 

Annual GAB Awards 

Eighteen distinguished sons and 

daughters of Africa, who have 

excelled in their various 

spheres of influence, were honoured 

at the 25 th Annual Gathering of 

Africa’s Best (GAB) Awards held in 

London recently. 

The GAB Award Recipients 

include: Governance Practitioner – 

Ms Bamidele Farinre; Former 

Managing Director of Nigerian 

Communications Satellite Ltd 

(NIGCOMSAT) – Dr Abimbola 

Alale; English Barrister and 

International Family Law expert – Dr 

Onyoja Momoh; Nigeria’s Ekiti State 

Government’s Director-General of 

Diaspora Relations - Barrister Mrs 

Adeola Adeleye-Fasubaa; and 

accomplished Scholar, Journalist and 

Media Practitioner – Dr Reuben 

Abati. 

Other recipients include: Nigeria 

Police Force’s Assistant Inspector- 

General and former Chairman of the 

Economic and Financial Crimes 

Commission (EFCC) – Ibrahim 

Magu; and Chair of Nigeria’s Senate 

Committee on Housing and Urban 

Development - Senator Aminu 

Tambuwal. 

Nigeria’s Acting High 

Commissioner to the United 

Kingdom – Ambassador Dr Cyprian 

Heen commended organisers for 

sustaining the Awards and implored 

all to continue to excel in their 

various areas. 

In a goodwill message to 

organisers, British Prime Minister – 

Continued on Page 4

Page2 TheTrumpet JANUARY 10 - 23 2024 

News 

South Africa to lead new military 

force in the DRC: an expert on 

what it’s up against 

Continued from Page 1< 

The United Nations peacekeeping 

mission in the Democratic 

Republic of Congo (DRC), 

Monusco, is ending after 20 years. It will 

be replaced by troops from the Southern 

African Development Community 

(SADC), led by the South African 

military. Thomas Mandrup, an expert in 

African security governance and South 

African military and foreign policy, 

recently wrote a paper on the subject. We 

asked him about the new mission and 

what awaits it. 

What prompted the deployment? 

The security situation in the eastern 

DRC has deteriorated in recent months, 

and criticism has been raised against the 

UN force, Monusco, which was due to 

start its drawdown shortly after the 

national elections on 20 December. 

There was also increased frustration 

with the East African Community 

Regional Force because of its lack of 

positive impact on the security situation 

in the eastern DRC. In addition, there was 

competition between the East African 

Community and SADC Member States 

for future influence in the DRC. 

The DRC became a member of the 

East Africa Community in 2022 and has 

historical trade relations with east Africa. 

What challenges await the SADC 

mission? 

The SADC mission in the DRC – 

which carries the acronym (SAMIDRC) 

– is expected to replace the East African 

Community Regional Force and help the 

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national security forces in fighting 

especially the M23 rebels, a group 

allegedly supported by Rwanda. 

The SADC force is expected to 

attempt, in cooperation with the local 

security forces, to neutralise the main 

rebel groups operating in the eastern 

DRC. This is something that Monusco 

and the East African Community 

Regional Force have not been able to do 

for the last 20 years. 

The rebel groups have operated in that 

area for many years, know the terrain, 

and are integrated with the local 

population. 

The lessons learned from the 

SADC/Monusco Force Intervention 

Brigade show that the new intervention 

force must be sizeable, and have proper 

The SADC mission in the DRC 

air cover as well as transport and air 

elements. It must also have Special 

Forces capabilities, and mobility in very 

difficult terrain. Also required are tactical 

and operational intelligence and enough 

fire-power. 

In addition, a SADC internal 

document is instructive: it says the 

regional force found it difficult to fulfil 

its mandate of disarming the Al-Sunnah 

insurgents in Mozambique because of a 

lack of a clear mandate and the necessary 

capabilities. 

What role will the South African 

National Defence Force play? What 

resources does it have? 

Post-apartheid South Africa has 

played a central role as a mediator and 

peacemaker in Africa. The DRC has been 

at the centre of these efforts. The South 

African National Defence Force will lead 

the SADC intervention force. 

However, the South African National 

Defence Force is overstretched and 

underfunded and has been for a long 

time. 

There is a discrepancy between what 

the politicians want it to do and the 

resources available for this. In addition, 

the South African government has 

increasingly used the military for 

domestic security and policing tasks 

while also deploying soldiers and 

equipment in complex international 

peace missions, including combat 

missions in the DRC and Mozambique 

and ad hoc shorter international 

deployments. 

The South African National Defence 

Force faces a host of challenges. The 

politicians are seemingly unwilling to 

prioritise its tasks. Instead of releasing 

forces by closing one operation, the force 

is expected to handle an ever increasing 

number of tasks and deployments at the 

same time. Many of these are of a more 

civilian nature, such as sending out army 

engineers to stop the pollution of the Vaal 

River or protecting installations of 

Eskom, the power utility, without 

additional funding. 

The defence force has problems 

keeping its equipment operational and 

has, for instance, only one operational C- 

130 transport aircraft. It has only a few 

helicopters available for all domestic and 

international missions – five Oryx, out of 

an initial 39, and three Rooivalk, out of 

11. 

Hence it will not be able to provide 

the much-needed air transport and air 

cover for offensive operations. The 

soldiers will have to use road transport in 

the DRC. But the country has very 

limited functional roads, making it 

especially difficult to operate and move 

around during the rainy season. 

The specialised elements and mobile 

elements, like the paratroops, the 

reconnaissance units and the Special 

Forces, which can be effective against 

Continued on Page 3

News 

JANUARY 10 - 23 2024 


South Africa to lead new military 

force in the DRC: an expert on 

what it’s up against 

Page3 


groups like the M23, are overstretched to 

such an extent that it negatively affects 

their operational readiness. 

The reserve force, in principle 

numbering 19,000, constitutes an 

important augmenting tool for the 

permanent force. Due to personnel 

shortages, the reserve force has 

increasingly been used for both domestic 

and international deployments. 

However, it is ageing and only at half 

its supposed strength. The average age of 

the personnel is 46 years old, which is a 

big operational challenge. Active soldiers 

should be young and fit. Ideally the 

majority of the force (private-level) 

should be 25 or younger. Officers and 

Non-Commissioned Officers will have a 

higher average age. 

The South African National Defence 

Force has reached a stage where it can no 

longer continue to deploy without 

significant additional funding and intake 

of recruits. The force will also have to 

take a critical look at its institutional 

structure and set-up. It has too many 

expensive senior officers, and too few 

young deployable soldiers. 

Continued on Page 4

Page4 


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GAB Awards 

18 Africans honoured at 

GAB Awards London 


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South Africa to lead new 

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expert on what it’s up against 


From left - Dr Bilyamin Romo (who represented Senator Aminu Tambuwal), Mr & Mrs Femi Okutubo and AIG Ibrahim Magu 

Rishi Sunak said: “I was delighted to 

discover that the event is now in its Silver 

Jubilee, which since inception has 

recognised and rewarded the incredible 

talents of over 300 individuals and 

organisations, promoting a positive 

image of Africans around the world. This 

is a fantastic achievement, which all 

connected with the awards are rightly 

very proud of.” 

The Chairman and CEO of the 

Nigerians in Diaspora Commission 

(NIDCOM) – Hon. Abike Dabiri said: “I 

What are the risks? 

The risks are multi-faceted. If the 

needed funding is not secured, the troop 

contributing countries will have to fund 

the missions from their own budgets. The 

SADC mission in Mozambique, for 

instance, has struggled with funding, 

which has hampered its operational 

capabilities. 

The next challenge is whether the 

SADC Member States will make the 

needed capabilities and equipment 

available to the new force, allowing it to 

successfully fulfil its mandate. The 

discrepancy between what a mission 

needs and what is provided has been seen 

in Mozambique, negatively affecting the 

mission’s ability to achieve its 

congratulate and commend you for a 

great job. What you have been doing is 

amazing. I say with confidence that the 

GAB Awards is one of the very best 

programmes ever organised for the 

Diaspora Community and by the 

Diaspora Community. It has showcased 

the excellence of a lot of people in the 

Diaspora.” 

Founder of the GAB Awards and 

Publisher of Trumpet Media Group – 

‘Femi Okutubo stated that: “The GAB 

Awards has become an institution, 

operational objectives. 

In the operational area the new force 

will face an adversary allegedly 

supported by Rwanda. If the SADC force 

comes under-equipped or wrongly 

equipped, it increases the risk to the 

soldiers. The lessons learned from the 

strategic failure of the South African 

National Defence Force in 2013 in 

Central African Republic is a clear 

warning. Then a small bilateral South 

African training mission, augmented by 

a few hundred lightly armed special 

operation forces and paratrooper 

elements, fought a rebel force of 7,000 

for two days. A small airborne element 

was left stranded, facing an 

overwhelming enemy without air cover, 

logistical support, heavy equipment or 

extraction possibilities. 

showcasing the richness of our culture, 

the brilliance of our minds, and the 

strength of our collective spirit. It has 

become a platform for voices that 

resonate far and wide. We are proud to 

assert that the GAB Awards serves as a 

reminder that Africa’s future is bright, 

and its potential is limitless.” 

In inaugurating the maiden edition of 

the Future Gems cohort of the GAB 

Awards, Okutubo noted that: “We must 

nurture the dreams of the next generation, 

Continued on Page 15< 

It was only the bravery and skills of 

the deployed force that limited the 

number of casualties to 17. However, the 

mission was a strategic failure, which 

illustrated the limitation of the South 

African National Defence Force in 

logistically and practically supporting a 

force deployed several thousand 

kilometres away. Notably, the South 

African National Defence Force is in a 

worse shape than it was in 2013. 

* Thomas Mandrup is Associate 

Professor, Security Institute for 

Governance and Leadership In Africa 

(SIGLA), Stellenbosch University. 

This article is republished from The 

Conversation under a Creative Commons 

license. Read the original article.

Food & Drink 



Coca-Cola in Africa: A long history 

full of unexpected twists and turns 

Page5 

By Sara Byala 

University of Pennsylvania 

Anew book called Bottled: How 

Coca-Cola Became African tells 

the story of how the world’s most 

famous carbonated drink conquered the 

continent. It’s a tale of marketing 

gumption and high politics and is the 

product of years of research by Critical 

Writing lecturer Sara Byala, who 

researches histories of heritage, 

sustainability and the ways in which 

capitalist systems intersect with social and 

cultural forces in Africa. We asked her 

some questions about the book. 

What do you hope readers will take 

away? 

There are three main takeaways. The 

first is that while Africa is largely absent 

from books on Coca-Cola, the company’s 

imprint on the continent is enormous. It is 

present in every nation. Most estimates put 

Coke as one of the largest private 

employers in Africa, if not the largest. 

Beyond official jobs, the company has 

been shown to have a multiplier effect that 

means that for each official job, upwards 

of 10 other people are supported. 

The second takeaway is that Coke’s 

story in Africa is an old one. It starts with 

its use of the West African kola nut, from 

which it takes its name (if no longer its 

source of caffeine). Arriving in Africa in 

the early 1900s, it’s a story that is deeply 

and, often surprisingly, entangled with key 

moments in African history. This includes 

the end of apartheid in South Africa and 

the advent of postcolonial African nations. 

Third, I want readers to see that while 

we may assume that a multinational 

company selling carbonated, sugary water 

is inherently a force for ill, both the history 

of Coke in Africa and my fieldwork 

suggest a far more complicated story. 

Coca-Cola is what it is today in Africa, I 

argue, because it became local. It bent to 

the will of Africans in everything from 

sport to music to healthcare. Its ubiquity 

thus tells us something about African 

engagement with a consumer product as 

well as the many ways in which ordinary 

people wield power. 

How did Coca-Cola first arrive in 

Africa? 

Coca-Cola doesn’t export a finished 

product from its corporate headquarters in 

the US. It sells a concentrate, which comes 

from a handful of locations around the 

globe, including Egypt and Eswatini. This 

concentrate is sold to licensed bottlers who 

then mix it with local forms of sugar and 

water before carbonating and bottling or 

canning it. 

Coca-Cola lore says that the company 

first secured local bottlers for its 

concentrate in South Africa in 1928, its 

first stop on the African continent. By 

combing through old newspapers, archival 

documents, and pharmaceutical 

publications, however, I found evidence to 

suggest that Coke may in fact have been 

sold in 1909 in Cape Town as a short-lived 

soda fountain endeavour. This is just 23 

years after the product was invented in 

Atlanta, Georgia. 

It was neither easy nor assured that 

Coca-Cola would take off anywhere in the 

world upon its arrival. The early chapters 

of my book detail the often ingenious 

lengths that bottlers had to go to, to get 

Coke off the ground. This included 

creating a new line of sodas to support the 

fledgling product called Sparletta. This 

includes green Creme Soda and Stoney 

ginger beer, both still available for 

purchase. Later chapters explore the routes 

by which the product spread across the 

continent, by detailing everything from the 

co-branding of petrol stations with Coca- 

Cola, to the rise of Coke beauty pageants, 

the birth of local forms of Coke 

advertising, the proliferation of Coca-Cola 

signage, and much more. 

What role did it play in apartheid 

South Africa? 

Coca-Cola was entrenched in South 

Africa before the advent of the racist, 

white minority apartheid State in 1948. 

While the company largely attempted to 

stay out of politics in South Africa, much 

as it did elsewhere in the world, it resisted 

certain “petty apartheid” rules. For 

example, the washrooms and lunchrooms 

in its plants were open to all ethnic groups, 

unlike the “whites only” facilities 

established under apartheid. A turning 

point came in the 1980s when, in tandem 

with activism in the US calling on the 

company to redress racial imbalances in 

America, the company was forced to reexamine 

its racial politics in South Africa 

as well. 

What followed was perhaps the most 

interesting chapter in the story of Coca- 

Cola in Africa. Breaking with established 

precedent, the company took a stance 

against the apartheid State. Coca-Cola 

executive Carl Ware led the way here. 

Under his direction, the company crafted a 

unique form of disinvestment that enabled 

it to do what no other company managed: 

keep the products in the country while 

depriving the apartheid State of tax 

revenue. To do this, the company sold all 

its holdings to a separate business that 

continued to sell Cokes. It then moved its 

concentrate plant to neighbouring 

Eswatini, leaving Coca-Cola with no 

assets or employees in South Africa. 

In part, this was possible because the 

company aligned itself with the African 

National Congress (ANC), making a host 

of moves to help to end apartheid. These 

included meeting in secret with ANC 

leadership, funding clandestine meetings 

Coca-Cola (Pic by Matthew Bellemare - Wikimedia 

CCA Share Alike 3.0 Unported) 

between the ANC and businesspeople, and 

setting up a charitable fund headed by 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu to support 

Black educational empowerment. In the 

book, I document these activities for the 

first time with extensive interviews and 

archival material. 

It was during this era of disinvestment 

that Coca-Cola exploded within densely 

populated and remote parts of the country, 

providing on-ramps to economic 

participation for scores of South Africans 

that were later replicated with its global 

5x20 project to empower women in 

business. 

This spread in turn drove the 

consumption of liquid sugar to new 

heights, causing a host of other problems 

such as diabetes and dental cavities, which 

both the company and my book tackle too. 

What I demonstrate in the book is that 

Coca-Cola’s shrewd positioning at the end 

of apartheid allowed it to emerge, in the 

post-apartheid landscape, ready not only 

to renew business in South Africa, but also 

to reinvigorate its presence on the 

continent at large. The question is how to 

weigh this spread (and its attendant 

benefits) against the costs. 

* Sara Byala is a Senior Lecturer in 

Critical Writing at University of 

Pennsylvania. 

This article is republished from The 

Conversation under a Creative Commons 

license. Read the original article.

Page6 TheTrumpet JANUARY 10 - 23 2024

JANUARY 10 - 23 2024 TheTrumpet 

Page7


Fashion 

Fostering sustainability in the 

Fashion Design industry 

Think of every time you dress up in 

those gorgeous clothes, we rarely 

consider where those clothes finally 

end up when we no longer fancy them, or 

become old or we decide to give them out. 

The fate of these once-admired pieces 

remains unknown, not to talk of the wastes 

and off-cuts from the fabric. Few fashion 

designers know where their once-upon-atime 

bespoke masterpiece designs or offcuts 

from their fabrics end up, especially 

among small and medium fashion 

designers. In an industry premised on 

growth, from big brands competing to 

deliver on low-price clothing to small and 

medium fashion designers striving for 

recognition; the consciousness and 

campaign for sustainability in fashion 

design needs to be loud. 

The production of every yard of textiles 

demands significant amounts of chemicals, 

water, energy, and other natural resources. 

Sewing those bespoke dresses leaves 

behind off-cuts that, most times, eventually 

end up in our landfill sites. Depending on 

the type of fabric, these off-cuts take years 

to decompose. While going through the 

decomposition process, textile materials 

generate greenhouse methane gas and leach 

toxic chemicals and dyes into the 

groundwater and our soil. 

While many big brands are working to 

reduce textile waste, small and medium 

fashion designers are also trying to make 

our environment and world better and safer. 

Their commitment to reducing the 

industry’s environmental footprint is 

evident in various initiatives. One such 

example is Oluwaseun Adeyemi, a fashion 

designer when she created a dress from offcuts 

and wastes of different textile materials 

she had accumulated over a period. This 

innovative repurposing not only showcases 

her creativity but also serves as a tangible 

example of sustainable fashion practices. 

As the fashion design industry evolves, 

the call for sustainability grows louder. 

From the ecological impact of textile 

production to the fate of discarded off-cuts, 

every aspect of the design process holds 

implications for our environment. 

Acknowledging the efforts of designers like 

Oluwaseun Adeyemi is crucial, as they 

inspire a shift toward sustainable practices 

and contribute to creating a greener, safer, 

and more responsible fashion industry. 

Dress made from wastes of Ankara 

fabric by Oluwaseun Adeyemi 

(Betrot Stitches & Crafts). 

Betrot Stitches & Crafts

Opinion 

2024: Looking Forward 



Page9 

It is a new year, a new month, a new 

day, and fittingly, this is the right 

moment to look backwards and to 

the future. One of the major planks of 

received wisdom is that the past is linked 

to the present and both offer indications 

about the future and that is precisely 

where we are at this moment, that Janus 

moment of transition, the very 

significance of the new month. January 

is named after the Roman God, Janus, 

who has two faces, and a set of four eyes 

looking in two different directions. And 

so, let us begin by looking back at the 

year 2023 with domestic lenses. 

For me, four things stood out in 

Nigeria in 2023. The first is the fact that 

it was the year of Nigeria’s seventh 

general elections since the return to 

democracy in 1999, and thus represented 

a major test for the democratic process 

in the country. It was a test for the 

electoral framework, and the institutions 

in charge of the management of the 

electoral process; the Independent 

National Electoral Commission (INEC), 

political parties, the security agencies, 

the judiciary, and the civil society, 

including the media. Expectations were 

particularly high among Nigerians in the 

lead up to the elections, especially with 

much hope invested in the review of the 

Electoral Act 2010, which birthed the 

Electoral Act 2022. 

The new Act was different in many 

significant parts, such as Section 3(3) 

which requires that electoral funds 

should be released at least a year before 

the next election date; Section 29(1) 

which provides that Party primaries and 

submission of candidates be done at least 

180 days before the election date; 

Sections 47 and 50 which provide legal 

backing for the use of technology for 

voter accreditation and electronic 

transmission of results; Section 54(2) on 

the rights of persons with disability in 

need of special care to vote and be voted 

for; Section 62 which gives legal 

backing for INEC to maintain an 

electronic register of votes; Section 65 

which says INEC can review results 

declared by any Returning Officer under 

duress within seven days. Other new 

aspects of Electoral Act 2022 can be 

found in Sections 8(5), 27, 29(5), 34, 

84(12), 88 (2-7) and 94. These 

amendments generated so much 

excitement that at least one retired 

Resident Electoral Commissioner made 

media rounds proclaiming with 

prophetic candour that the new Act 

would be a “a game changer”, and that 

the introduction of the Bi-Modal Voters 

Accreditation System (BVAS) and the 

INEC Report Viewing Portal (IREV) 

were technological measures that would 

prove to be stronger than the Titanic, that 

is “unsinkable.” Elections were held on 

February 25 (Presidential and National 

Assembly), March 11 (gubernatorial and 

state Houses of Assembly) and 

November 11, viz the off-cycle 

Gubernatorial elections in three States - 

Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa. Long before the 

November 11 elections, our enthusiastic 

promoter of the new Electoral Act had 

quietly vanished from the media space. 

He wisely removed himself, because 

Electoral Act 2022 did not change the 

game, and the introduction of 

technology failed in a manner worse 

than the Titanic. 

The usual factors that had always 

abbreviated the integrity of Nigeria’s 

electoral process proved resilient: there 

was violence across the States, the 

exploitation of religion and ethnicity, 

attempts at voter manipulation, 

suppression, vote buying by political 

actors, the rhetoric of hate, open 

disregard for the peace accords 

midwifed by General Abdusalam 

Abubakar’s National Peace Committee, 

late arrival of voting materials, poor coordination 

between INEC and other 

agencies involved in election 

management. INEC mismanaged the 

technology that it promised, swelling 

controversies about integrity and 

accountability. INEC’s excuse was 

“technological glitches. The people 

regarded this as an excuse for 

manipulation. Voter apathy was rife - for 

the Presidential election, voter turnout 

was 27%, about the lowest since 1999. 

The declared winner of the Presidential 

election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All 

Progressives Congress (APC) won with 

8.8 million votes, representing less than 

10% of the record 93 million Nigerians 

who registered to vote. In terms of 

outcome, women representation in 

elective office was also poor. Many 

Nigerians however would further 

remember four things in the 2023 

electoral process: Tinubu’s campaign 

slogan – “Emilokan” (it is my turn), the 

Obidient Movement which proved to be 

resilient, the dis-embowelling of the 

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and 

what turned out to be the muchcriticised, 

controversial role of the 

BY REUBEN ABATI 

judiciary. Nigerians are entering a new 

year with the hangover of the electoral 

experience of 2023. 

The second stand-out issue of 2023 

was the poor state of the economy. The 

statistics as collated and published by the 

National Bureau of Statistics and other 

agencies, including The World Bank 

largely confirmed how Nigeria in 2023 

was a victim of stagflation, and 

multidimensional poverty. In the first 

half of 2023, GDP growth was 2.4%, 

rising to about 2.8% by the end of the 

second half. In June 2023, inflation rate 

was 22.79%, by November 2023, it was 

already 28.22% compared to 21,34% in 

December 2022. Food inflation was a 

major problem: 32.84% as of November 

2023, following an increasing trend year 

on year. The heterodox policies adopted 

by the Federal Government did not help 

the people. The Central Bank of 

Nigeria’s wrong-headed introduction of 

new Naira notes of N200, N500, and 

N1,000 resulted in cash scarcity, the 

scarcity of everything else and hardship. 

The government complained about poor 

revenue, the people groaned. Fuel price 

was N191 per litre in December 2022. 

On May 29, 2023, President Tinubu on 

the day of his inauguration as President 

announced that “fuel subsidy has been 

removed… it is gone”. This spontaneous 

declaration further compounded the 

people’s woes, driving the cost of petrol 

per litre to N626. Salaries have not been 

increased. More jobs have not been 

created. 

The government says its plan is to 

obey the law, the Petroleum Industry Act 

(2021) which the Buhari administration 

failed to implement in full as the law 

requires. The Tinubu administration also 

argues that the removal of fuel subsidy 

will curb inefficiency and corruption and 

generate more revenue for the 

government. Many economists attest to 

the fact more money has been saved as a 

result of subsidy removal, hence the 

sharp increase in federal allocations to 

the States. But how has this impacted on 

the people? What the people see is the 

conspicuous consumption by their 

elected representatives at both national 

and sub-national levels, while the people 

wallow in abject poverty. The Tinubu 

administration also harmonized the 

Continued on Page 10 >

Page10 TheTrumpet JANUARY 10 - 23 2024 

Opinion 


foreign exchange rate, but the naira has 

continued on a downward spiral against 

the dollar, even when the dollar is in a 

weak state. Budget 2024 has been 

pegged at N800/$1 whereas on 

December 17, 2023, the CBN 

announced a new exchange rate of 

N951/$1, and by December 2023, the 

parallel market rate was N1,233/$1. 

Capital importation in 2023 was low, 

with 27 States of the Federation getting 

zero FDI. Many companies have left 

Nigeria – GSK, P&G, Sanofi, Unilever, 

Bolt Food, and Jumia, due to a poor 

operating environment. 

The irony is that since the 

assumption of office, President Tinubu 

has been very active wooing investors 

from all over the world to come to the 

Nigerian market. His key economic 

managers: Minister of Finance - Wale 

Edun and CBN Governor - Yemi 

Cardoso have been most emphatic in 

reminding Nigerians that the Buhari 

administration left Nigeria in a miserable 

economic state. The country’s public 

debt stock for example was N49.85 

trillion in Q1 2023, by the end of Q2, it 

had risen to N87.38 trillion indicating a 

growth rate 75.27% on a quarter-onquarter 

basis. Yet, in the 2024 budget, 

Nigeria is planning to borrow more! The 

economic crisis that Nigeria faces was 

driven home on Friday, December 29, 

when as President Tinubu’s long and 

conspicuous convoy made its way to the 

Lagos Central Mosque, the hapless 

people of Lagos kept shouting: “Ebi n 

pa wa o” (We are hungry!). It was a 

telling moment, underscoring the richpoor 

social gap in Nigeria. 

The third issue is the insecurity in the 

land. Nigerians had voted for General 

Muhammadu Buhari with the firm belief 

that he being a military general and a 

war hero would be able to take the war to 

the bandits, insurgents and terrorists 

2024: Looking Forward 

making life impossible in many parts of 

the country: terrorism in the North East, 

insurgency in the North Central, crude 

oil theft in the Niger Delta, illegal 

mining in the North West, kidnapping 

and agitations in the South East and 

South West. Buhari’s spokespersons 

including those who went about with the 

specious title of Buharists kept selling 

the lie that the government had 

decimated terrorists. The truth is that the 

Buhari administration left the country in 

a worse state security-wise than it met it. 

As events unfolded, the year came to an 

end with attacks on over 50 communities 

in Plateau State Local Government 

Areas of Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin 

Ladi on Christmas eve and on Christmas 

Day and after. It was reported that about 

200 people were killed, over 300 were 

injured, over 10,000 were displaced, 

becoming refugees in their own country. 

There have also been reports of attacks 

in Zamfara and Taraba States. For more 

than two decades, Nigerians have not 

been able to enjoy the full benefits of 

Section 14 (2b) of the 1999 Constitution 

which says that “the purpose of 

government shall be the security and 

welfare of the people”. The sad thing is 

that for decades, the Nigerian 

government set up so many judicial 

commissions of inquiry on the crisis on 

the Plateau beginning with Justice 

Fiberesima Commission 1994, Justice 

Niki Tobi 2001, Justice Bola Ajibola 

2009, the Justice Disu Commission and 

the Sankey Commission. There have 

also been similar interventions such as 

the Presidential Peace Initiative 

Committee on Plateau State 2004, the 

Plateau Peace Conference 2004, and the 

Presidential Advisory Committee on the 

Jos Crisis. What happened to the 

findings and recommendations? Why 

has nothing changed? Why is the 

situation deteriorating? The Jos Council 

of Traditional Rulers had to cancel the 

celebration of Christmas 2023 in 

Plateau. State. The people entered the 

new year on a note of grief and sadness. 

Their grief was compounded by the 

strange explanation by the Defence 

Headquarters that it indeed received over 

30 distress calls before and during the 

carnage, but the troops could not 

intervene because the terrain was 

difficult. The same terrain where 

criminals operated freely for hours and 

days? The Inspector General of Police 

has since deployed a team led by a 

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) to 

investigate what happened. Medicine 

after death! The strangest of all was the 

Commander of Operation Safe Haven, 

having the temerity to tell the grieving 

people of Plateau State that it was the 

devil’s handiwork, and that the situation 

could have been worse, the military was 

overwhelmed. Thus, “Operation Safe 

Haven” has not been able to provide any 

safety in Plateau State, and to see that a 

military General would be so dumb as to 

blame the Devil points to the height of 

insensitivity. 

The fourth major issue in 2023 is the 

lack of trust and confidence in the 

government by the people of Nigeria. 

The people are alienated from those who 

govern them and the reason is not far to 

seek. At a time, the government of the 

day has been calling on the people as 

“heirs of the commonwealth” to make 

sacrifices and work together with 

government to move the country 

forward, people are miffed to see people 

in government not willing to make any 

sacrifice. President Tinubu has promised 

the people “Renewed Hope” but he is 

running the most bloated government 

since 1999. The National Assembly has 

increased Budget 2024 with N1.2 trillion 

bringing the new total to N28.7 trillion. 

The lawmakers are obviously more 

interested in their own perks and 

privileges. Two per cent of the budget is 

ear-marked for education in a country 

where there are over 20.1 million 

children out of school. The allocation for 

sports development is a paltry N31.24 

billion – 0.11% of the Budget. 

Meanwhile, the lawmakers have 

earmarked N12.12 billion as take-off 

grant for the National Assembly library 

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complex, and N3 billion for library 

books – a library that they have no 

intention of visiting; books that they may 

never read! They also want to build a car 

park with N3 billion. Nigerians have 

every reason to be angry. Leadership 

should be about service not self-interest, 

pursued with unbridled greed. 

It is just as well that the President has 

acknowledged the people’s pains. In his 

New Year broadcast, he said inter alia: 

“I am well aware that for some time 

now, the conversations and debates have 

centred on the rising cost of living, high 

inflation which is now above 28% and 

the unacceptable high underemployment 

rate. From the board rooms 

at Broad Street in Lagos to the main 

streets of Kano and Nembe creeks in 

Bayelsa, I hear the groans of Nigerians 

who work hard every day to provide for 

themselves and their families. I am not 

oblivious to the expressed and 

sometimes unexpressed frustrations of 

my fellow citizens. I know for a fact that 

some of our compatriots are even asking 

if this is how our administration wants 

to renew their hope.” It is good to know 

that the President knows what the people 

are going through. It is important for him 

to know that as they enter a new year, the 

people also have high expectations, 

meeting those expectations should be the 

government’s priority in 2024 to bridge 

the gap of alienation and rebuild trust 

and confidence. 

The people want the high cost of 

living reduced. The President must 

remember the people’s chorus on his 

way to the Central Mosque in Lagos 

(“Ebi n pa wa”). Governments at all 

levels must address the scourge of food 

inflation. Every step must be taken to 

create an enabling environment for 

businesses to flourish, and for the 

economy to become productive. The 

government must also tackle high 

corruption, not by harassing people but 

by setting up processes and mechanisms 

to check it. The report of the CBN 

independent investigator must not be 

swept under the carpet. The investigator 

may have gone beyond his brief by 

making specific recommendations - that 

task should have been left to the office 

of the Attorney General of the 

Federation or a committee set up for that 

purpose. Nonetheless, government must 

take a look at the findings. The 

conversation about electoral reform, 

constitutional amendments is already ongoing. 

The National Assembly must be 

encouraged to embark on that task very 

early, far ahead of the next round of 

general elections. The professional 

political class and civil society must act 

as opposition and play their part as true 

“heirs of the commonwealth”. 

Government must step up the war 

against insecurity. The New Year has 

started. Time waits for no one.


Page11


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Page13


Opinion 

Osun APC and some hard 

home truths – (1) 

Olajumoke Ogunkeyede is a 

leader of the All Progressives 

Congress (APC) in Osun State. 

JMK, as Ogunkeyede is popularly 

called, was also a chieftain of the nowrested 

National Democratic Coalition 

(NADECO). He participated actively in 

putting an end to military rule and the 

enthronement of democracy in Nigeria. 

In a chance encounter with yours 

sincerely recently, JMK has these to say 

on the State of Osun APC: 

“I am not a member of the People’s 

Democratic Party (PDP) and I try not to 

dabble into the running of Osun PDP. 

But, with the current situation of things, 

there’s no doubting the fact that we need 

to rejig the opposition APC in the State 

if we are going to challenge the current 

government. We must create structures 

that will help put our house in order. 

Politically, our house is not in order. If 

we are going to challenge PDP in the 

next Osun Governorship election, we 

should be doing more than what we are 

doing presently. 

“The fact that a lot of people are 

running after former Governor 

(Gboyega) Oyetola does not resolve the 

quagmire into which we have fallen in 

Osun. Charity is said to begin at home. 

The leadership should do its best to 

make sure that we are not just sitting on 

the fence. Whether we like it or not, 

Otunba Olajumoke Ogunkeyede 

(Ademola) Adeleke’s government is there 

and we will just keep complaining, 

unless we are able to get our house in 

order. 

“With the way Osun APC is going 

about resolving its internal dynamics, it’s 

like we are feeling that, because Asiwaju 

Bola Tinubu is in Abuja, we will win. No! 

Tinubu will only do his best for the Party. 

But his responsibility is to the whole 

nation and whatever he is able to do will 

be minuscule, compared to what he 

would do were he not to be the President 

of Nigeria. To this end, we should begin 

to get our people ready so that in the 

next election, we are fully prepared 

because, from the look of things, we are 

not yet prepared. As things stand, the 

falcon doesn’t seem to hear the falconer. 

In Osun APC, the centre is not holding. 

And we are complacent, thinking that it 

will be good. Of course, that’s the 

concept of miracle. We can’t fold our 

arms, thinking that manna will fall from 

heaven. We can sit down under a makebelieve 

canopy of ‘it’s done’. The way 

things stand, nothing is done. 

“Yes, President Tinubu is known to 

be a strategist. But he needs that strategy 

for the nation. He would have done a lot 

to push the nation up and that may have 

a positive effect on the electioneering 

processes in 2026 but, according to an 

adage, ‘it is a child that raises his hand 

that will be picked up’. We cannot 

depend on him doing it alone. It will be 

a huge joke if we are expecting him to do 

it for us at all costs. Already, he is doing 

it for us by being the President. Or do we 

expect him to move Aso Rock to Osogbo 

because his Party is contesting an 

election? The more reason we must 

struggle hard to complement his efforts. 

If the election is in 2026; and this is 

2023, what are we waiting for? We have 

not done much to reposition our people. 

We have not done anything in the area of 

empowerment. Yes, we are criticizing the 

ruling party, but it should be more than 

that. For now, we are an empty mouth, 

just clanging and making noise. There 

should be substance to the noise-making. 

If we focus too much on what the PDP is 

doing, that’s good. But that won’t help 

the APC. Rather, the opposition should 

have its strategy to counter and subdue 

the antics of the ruling party before, 

during, even after the election. 

“Truth be told, Osun APC is not yet 

ready for the next election. Otherwise, 

one is never ready by word of mouth. 

Empowerment should begin right now to 

be able to face the tedious challenges of 

electioneering, instead of hoping that, 

from Ile-Ogbo to Ila-Orangun, and from 

Orile-Owu to Ilase-Ijesa, we would win. 

“In 2022, Osun PDP caught the then 

Party in power by surprise. Though 

what’s done cannot be undone again, the 

way out is adequate preparation. PDP 

had never had it so good like the 2022 

Governorship election. Although the 

enemy within made it possible for that to 

happen, the fear I have now is that we 

still have some members of the PDP who 

are diabolical and may still infiltrate our 

Party. I was looking at the list of those 

that were suspended or expelled. Some 

names were still missing there. So, we 

should shine our eyes and make sure that 

we are prepared for the election.” 

JMK has said it all; and a word is 

enough for the wise! 

Surely certainly, politics as a 

vocation has a way of mesmerizing its 

adherents. While one is not attempting 

to be adventurous as to how Osun APC 

decides its destiny, that there’s an urgent 

need for political retooling or 

reengineering is no longer news. To get 

the Party back to the market, there 

should be a commitment to seeking the 

cause in order to prevent reoccurrence. 

Of course, this is no time to engage in 

the trappings of politics or dirge of selfpity. 

Instead, a moment like this calls for 

a reappraisal of how the party got to this 

pass. So, let those in need of penance 

establish a framework for it with 

penitent hearts and let those who think 

BY ABIODUN 

KOMOLAFE 

no one else matters in the affairs of the 

party pursue a critical political thinking 

that’s consistent with the dynamic 

changes in the world we live in. 

In the light of truth, nobody is an 

island. No one is also blameless. 

Therefore, a recalibration of the Party’s 

politics and needs is a viable option. 

Those who have no direction shouldn’t 

delight in elevating peculiar interests 

over and above everybody. Those who 

ate all the honey and have relocated to 

Abuja, struggling to be attached to 

somewhere must be made to account for 

the roles they played or failed to play 

while the honeymoon lasted. 

If you ask Nigerians, heaping the loss 

of the 2022 governorship election solely 

at the doorstep of Rauf Aregbesola is a 

tale long stale. Yes, Aregbesola’s factor 

might have done a lot to July 16, 2022, 

but it’s time the gladiators invoked 

critical, self-introspection to find out 

why their treasured Party missed the 

mark. For instance, was Aregbesola 

responsible for the party’s loss in 

Boluwaduro, a Local Government with 

only 10 Wards but having the immediate 

past State Chairman and more than 20 

other high-ranking leaders and first-rate 

political appointees in its kitty? Was it 

Aregbesola who made it lose in Ila- 

Orangun where Bisi Akande and other 

Party bigwigs came from? What about 

the shallow and hollow fries who 

pretended to be big birds: those who 

were adequately mobilized for the 

election but ended up losing even their 

Polling Units? Should we start 

mentioning the names of those who were 

pursuing vanity and pride which 

eventually left the Party in torments? 

Have they been sanctioned for their 

unprofitable adventure? 

Let’s face the truth: to say that 

Aregbesola was the reason APC lost the 

Osun Governorship election in all the 

three Senatorial Districts is to say that 

‘Ogbeni’ was the most powerful person 

in the Party and that, without him, 

nothing could be done. Unknown to 

Osun APC, the political strength and 

influence that the former Governor 

himself may never possess have already 

been ascribed to him, freely. 

To be continued.

GAB Awards 


18 Africans honoured at GAB 

Awards London 


Page15 


inspiring them to reach for the stars and 

contribute to the continued growth and 

prosperity of our beloved continent. The 

GAB Awards – Future Gems showcases 

an array of talents and future gems under 

the age of 35.” 

The GAB Awards which was 

instituted in 1999 by UK-based Trumpet 

Media Group to combat the negative 

stereotypes against Africa and Africans 

around the globe, rewards excellence 

among those contributing to the positive 

image of Africa and Africans around the 

world. 

The 25 th Annual GAB Awards was 

held at the Hilton London Kensington 

and guests included the Mayor of 

Southwark – Councillor Michael Situ and 

the Mayoress – Mrs Itunu Ajeigbe; 

Southwark Councillor – Sunny Lambe; 

Publisher of African Voice – Prince & 

Mrs Mike Abiola; Chair of Trumpet 

Media’s Board of Advisers – Pastor 

Kolade Adebayo-Oke; GAB Patrons – 

Otunba and Princess Femi Adenuga; 

Youth Empowerment Motivational 

Speaker – Jackson Ogunyemi (a.k.a 

Action Jackson); Singer and Songwriter 

– Ben Ofoedu; and Producer, Singer and 

Songwriter – Kule T. 

'Femi Okutubo - Founder of the GAB Awards 

Continued on Page 16> 

AIG Ibrahim Magu receives his Award Plaque from London Borough of Southwark Councillor - Sunny Lambe 

The GAB Awards 2023 recipients are: 

GAB Excellence 

1. Barrister Mrs Adeola Adeleye-Fasubaa - Community 

Cohesion 

2. Ms Remi Bisi Oke Amusan - Health 

3. Ms Esther Fajoye (MBE) - Social Work 

4. Mr Babatunde Falode - Philanthropy 

5. Ms Bamidele Farinre - Governance 

6. Hon. Mrs Patricia Kenneth-Divine - Diplomacy & Protocol 

7. Mrs Joy Ogeh-Hutfield - Coaching 

8. Prof. Isaac Ojutalayo - Facilities Management 

9. Shoggy Shoggz - Entertainment 

10. Dr Reuben Abati - Media 

11. Dr Onyoja Momoh - Law 

12. Dr Abimbola Alale - Satellite Technology 

13. Al Mustapha Liman - Information Technology 

FUTURE GEM AWARD 

14. All Things Christian - Community Cohesion 

15. Mr David Laditi - Youth Development 

16. Ms Anjola Adebowale - Technology 

PLATINUM AWARD 

17. AIG Ibrahim Mustafa Magu - Anti-Corruption 

18. Senator Aminu W Tambuwal (CFR) - Law Making


GAB Awards 

18 Africans honoured at GAB 

Awards London 


The 25th GAB Awards Recipients 

Ben Ofoedu, Femi Okutubo, Ronnie Ajoku, Kule T and Steve Mulindwa 

Mayor of Southwark - Cllr Michael Situ and the Mayoress - Mrs Ajeigbe 

The GAB Awards was fun-packed 

AIG Ibrahim Magu giving his Acceptance Speech at 

the 25th GAB Awards in London 

Nigeria's Acting High Commissioner to UK - 

Ambassador Dr Cyprian Heen at the 25th Annual GAB 

Awards 

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 614 (January 10 - 23 2024)

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