TOP 10 SONGS & TOP 3 ALBUMS OF LAST QUARTER 2020

1.20.10.20-BURNA BOY

2.FAVORITE B**CH-EMINEM FEAT TY DOLLA $IGN

3.4O DOLLAZZZ-B.O.B

4.MOVE-STEFFLON DON

5.PUTTIN-TEKNO / I WANNA LIVE-KODAK BLACK

6.DOUBTING THOMAS-LARRY GAAGA FEAT UMU IBILIGBO & DAVIDO

7.WHERE I BELONG-BUSTA RHYMES FEAT MARIAH CAREY / IN THE MORNING-JENNIFER LOPEZ 

8.LEGEND-JOYNER LUCAS FEAT RICK ROSS

9.DOINGS-FLAVOUR FEAT PHYNO / AFTER HOURZZZ-B.O.B

10.STAND UP REMIX-JADAKISS × FABOLOUS / REMEMBER THE TIMES-KODAK BLACK

TOP 3 ALBUMS

1.PLUTO x BABY PLUTO-FUTURE & LIL UZI VERT

2.BILL ISRAEL-KODAK BLACK

3.SO HELP ME GOD-2CHAINZ / COLOURS & SOUNDS-NINIOLA

SHAMELESS HOUSE OF BUHARI

When the House of Representatives summoned President Buhari over the recent killing of over 100 farmers in Zabarmari,Borno state by boko haram,no one fully aware of what is happening in this country expected him to appear.The President's handlers will not allow him take unscripted questions except it is absolutely necessary.Asides the fact that this administration's inability to protect nigerians is irrefutable and that the President's ability to intelligently weave through questions is doubtful,Buhari has displayed a high propensity whether as a result of mental infirmity or not,to digress from questions he is being asked to matters totally unrelated to them.

There is the UN General Assembly question on nigerian youths where he pulled out a written speech to speak about climate change and the DW interview where he was asked about his proposed fight on corruption and he responded with some talk about oil companies in an unrelated context.There is also the NTA special interview where he was asked 'Who Is Muhammadu Buhari' and he started blabbing about teachers.Nigerians deserve answers as to why the President would admit his service chiefs were not doing enough after 5 years and still retain those very same men despite the killing of innocent nigerians at an unprecedented rate.

For emphasis,nigerians don't expect Buhari to subject himself to questions because he has failed indefensibly.That they have sat down and tolerated the worst government in the history of this country doesn't however mean that they should be made fools.It was with utter disgust they had to watch the Speaker of the House of Representatives,Femi Gbajabiamila go to the villa to 'water the ground' for Buhari's appearance before the House and emerge to tell press men that Buhari will address the house.Since when does the House of Representatives summon people to 'address' it?.

The legislature as an arm supposed to act as a check on the executive and safeguard a democracy,doesn't invite whomsoever they are dissatisfied with to come and read from a piece of paper or reel out some rehearsed words,their appearance is demanded (the failure to comply which necessitates an arrest warrant) to come and clarify as to a certain situation.They are asked questions and they respond.No one summoned has ever appeared before the House to 'address' it.

While it is no secret the leaders of the National Assembly were picked to enable the executive have its way,the manner in which Gbajabiamila in particular has conducted himself is disgraceful.Under him,a petition was sent to Buhari over the refusal of the CBN Governor,Godwin Emefiele,the MD of the NPA,Hadiza Bala Usman,the GMD of the NNPC, Mele Kyari and the DG of the Bureau for Public Enterprises,Alex Okoh to appear and defend allegations of financial irregularities.The constitution clearly states in Section 89 (1) (d) that any arm of the national assembly whose summons to appear is disobeyed without that person adducing a reasonable excuse as to why he couldn't come,should be compelled to do so via an arrest warrant with that same person covering all expenses incurred in effecting that arrest.

The above-named persons ignored the house and instead of their arrest as stipulated by law,a letter to Buhari was what was deemed appropriate.And now that Buhari himself has been summoned,with no shame at all,Gbajabiamila went to beg him to appear.We have learnt to live with a lot and even though no one expects the nigerian police to arrest the President as the constitution provides (note that his immunity extends only to prosecution),it is appalling to have to plead with him and come out all smiles to tell the world he has agreed to 'address' the house.

The shameful antics of Gbajabiamila's house shouldn't suprise anyone but this is a very sensitive matter we are talking about-the loss of innocent nigerian lives to terrorists our troops are actively fighting and which the President has released over 2000 of with none charged to court.People are dying every day.If they aren't dying in Borno,they are dying in Katsina,Zamfara or Kaduna.Any politician with a little class even if he shares the same bed room with the President,would worry about the possible implications of licking his boots in public when a matter this sensitive comes up.

You can't disagree with anyone as the #EndSARS protests have proven,who says if these killings were going on in the South,they would have stood up to government by now.Buhari who annointed him speaker will leave in about 2 years and if he places him above anything else,he will go back to Lagos and never return to Abuja.

Nigerians have had to endure the very shameless cessation of all probes till after their vacation and the fact that no mention has been made of them after over 2 months of resumption.There is honour even among thieves and a consensus has been reached to desist from embarrassing fellow 'comrades' in government.The South South is a quite bullish lot and once the NNDC probe started to create the impression the region was the only one looting this nation,you knew they would want the picture to depict the true state of affairs and in no time,the House minority leader,Hon.Ndudi Elumelu raised the issue of N100bn embezzlement at the North East Development Commission.

The majority leader of the House,Hon.Alhassan Doguwa from Kano subsequently issued a statement saying all probes will be suspended till they were back from break.Whatever financial irregularities Emefiele,Hadiza Usman,Mele Kyari et al need to come and clarify can be waved aside,the House of Representatives has 'offed the mic' and has pretended not to even notice so while wishing it all out of the consciousness of nigerians.

They at least owe us all the decency to treat issues relating to the loss of lives without insulting our collective intelligence.

FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME, WHO REALLY KILLED ALEX BADEH & WHY ARE HIS ALLEGED KILLERS NOT IN COURT?.

From as 'early' as 6 months after the death of immediate past Chief of Defense Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh it was obvious something wasn't right and this is the 3rd time in 2 years i am writing to ask this question-'WHO REALLY KILLED ALEX BADEH & WHY ARE HIS ALLEGED KILLERS NOT IN COURT?.Whether or not Badeh was murdered to prevent him from disclosing the alleged shady dealings of Current Chief of Army Staff, Gen.Tukur Buratai who before becoming COAS had already bought 2 houses in Dubai while Jonathan was President or whether or not he was fed to President Buhari's alleged fulani militia,one thing is clear-Badeh died in highly suspicious circumstances.

The Police on the 27th of December 2018 said it had arrested persons in connection to the killing it didn't want to parade because it could alert the other members of the gang.Later that very same day,a video confession of one of the 5 suspects in custody surfaced.He said they waylaid Badeh on the highway,shot him and took money they had already been told he was going to purchase a new farmland with in Nassarawa.The Badeh family instantly dismissed it as a charade.They said Badeh's bank accounts had all been frozen and that his entitlements had also been stopped.His house in Abuja was littered with trash because he didn't even have money to pay the refuse company.

They went further to say someone asked him for money at his farm to buy drugs and he told the person to take some maize and sell because he was broke.That was 2 years ago.The Buhari administration has blatantly refused to prosecute those it arrested for his murder.What are they hiding?.A day after my first article asking questions was published,another new 14 persons were paraded by the Military as having being arrested in a joint operation with the DSS.They had placed an 'ongoing investigations' sign on the case to buy time but what is really complicated about a case where a suspect voluntarily confessed to killing the victim with a blow by blow account of the roles other named accomplices played?.Except of course they want the matter forgotten over time.

The noise made a while ago about prosecuting his security details and how obtaining their statements wasn't easy was a shabby attempt at evading the real issue; the self-confessed killers in custody.We were told when Badeh was killed that a friend riding with him was taken away by the killers and that he was released only after a ransom was paid.The suspect that spoke never admitted to doing that with his gang and till date,that friend hasn't been identified by anyone.

The Buhari administration has a history of protecting allies it has sacrificed.Notably Lawal Daura, the President's townsman and former DSS boss who was made the scapegoat for the invasion of the National Assembly by the DSS after foreign countries besieged  the villa with calls and visits by their ambassadors to enquire if all was well.Daura had blocked the entrance to the houses of Former Senate President,Bukola Saraki and his deputy,Sen.Ike Ekweremadu just weeks earlier so the Presidency couldn't claim to be unaware of his excesses.Daura was not prosecuted and is rumoured as at this time to have moved overseas.

Then there is also the case of the first lady,Aisha Buhari's former Aide-De-Camp,ASP Sani Baba-Inna who was arrested for fraudulently obtaining N2.5bn from undisclosed persons in her name.Most people said the money was hers and that he may have been punished for getting too greedy.That much was corroborated by Baba-Inna's family members when they met with frontline activist,Deji Adeyanju.They said Baba-Inna's greed got him into trouble and that they know he even bought a house for one of her daughters in Abuja.Its been over 2 years now and nobody from the presidency or the police has told us why Baba-Inna wasn't charged to court.There he will state his version of events and they don't want that.

The fact that a bunch of miscreants are being shielded from prosecution despite having confessed to killing an immediate past Chief of Defense Staff all but says the very powers that be are involved.As a former military man himself,Buhari ordinarily wouldn't risk the stigma amongst the military community (past and present) refusing to prosecute confessed killers of a former Chief of Defense Staff could occasion.Except of course,he knows more about the Badeh killing than his people have been made to tell us.For the third time in 2 years,WHO REALLY KILLED ALEX BADEH AND WHY ARE HIS ALLEGED KILLERS NOT IN COURT?.

LIKE YUSUF,LIKE GANA: THE LESSON WE HAVEN'T LEARNT

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it"-George Santayana

The killing of notorious Benue bandit, Terwase Akwaza alias Gana hasn't drawn much sympathy.No one expected it to.However an article in last Saturday's Vanguard Newspaper which quoted sources as saying he told his foot soldiers to stay in the forest and avenge him if he is killed further justifies the one fear most people had when details of how he died became public; the fear of having to deal with another boko haram situation.The military is saying it won't expantiate on its position that he was killed in a shoot-out with soldiers because it doesn't want to join issues with its 'political masters'.

The 'political masters' themselves have not ordered a probe and seem content with just saying he was being brought to the government house to surrender as part of an amnesty programme when the army intercepted the convoy and took him away.This is the boko haram saga replaying itself from the very beginning.

Boko haram started off as a small sect no one knew outside Borno.According to early reports,its members had an altercation with the police that led to the killing of some of them.

They mobilized and started attacking police installations in Bauchi until the authorities launched a full blown offensive that led to the capture of its founder,Mohammed Yusuf who was caught hiding in his in-law's house.The military say they arrested and handed him over to the police who summarily executed him.The sect was in bed with just a few Borno politicians then, the most prominent of them,Governor Ali Modu Sheriff's former commissioner of religious affairs,Alhaji Baba Fui who was also killed.Those politicians were their first source of funding till others keyed into their quest for vengeance and a subsequent islamization agenda for their selfish interests.

Like Yusuf, Gana was also in bed with politicians from his state.Reports have him as saying the only reason he agreed to any amnesty deal is because former Benue governor and serving senator,Gabriel Suswam was part of the arrangement.He is widely believed to be a classic case of what happens after politicians arm thugs to help them win elections.Particularly noteworthy is the fact that in addition to an existing structure with experience in perpetrating mayhem,they have a base in a forest along the Sankera axis of Benue state.It won't require as much effort as boko haram had to devote in its early days to constitute a grave threat.

It is very important that Governor Ortom not only reaches out and wins over Gana's associates in the best interest of his people,he also needs to set up a panel of enquiry.He has to do more than just saying 'I am shocked' and 'all i know is the army took him'.Even if just for the optics because if God forbid a crisis erupts,he will be an easy scapegoat.A proactive President would have long ordered a probe but by now,i don't think there is anyone who expects Buhari to be that reasonable no matter the gravity of implications in play.

Benue lives are at stake and it is important Ortom acts like a leader.He of all people should know we have a President who isn't at all bothered about trying to please nigerians.People in his home state had to protest on the streets before a joint security task force was constituted countless human lives after.A word is enough for the wise.

GHANA: NIGERIA'S FOREIGN POLICY IS NOT WEAK, IT IS NON-EXISTENT

Famed journalist, Dele Momodu told The Punch in an interview published in Sunday's edition of the paper, that Nigeria's foreign policy was at its weakest ever and that President Buhari needs to practice diplomacy of reciprocity otherwise countries will exploit that weakness.Foreign policy in a few words is the sum total of measures put in place by a nation to promote and safeguard its interests in interactions with other nations.

To put it very simply,Nigeria has no foreign policy under Buhari.It just lives every day as it comes.Urging Buhari to employ a diplomacy of reciprocity against nations like Ghana as Mr Momodu did is with all due respect to him, most laughable.Ghanaians are locking down nigerian shops and asking for $1 million levies,how many Ghanaian businesses are here for Buhari to reciprocate that?.

To make demands and ensure compliance,one has to have leverage.Nations that weren't gaining much from us respected the fact that we had superior clout with the big nations overseas but we have to face the reality on ground today which is that we have been a global laughing stock since Buhari came on board.He was in South Africa saying he was proud of Nigerians making positive and NEGATIVE impact across the globe just weeks after being sworn in and a while later,he was in the UK saying our reputation for crime has made us unwelcome in the country.

There were a lot of nigerian criminals abroad under previous governments but those Presidents chose not to amplify that because they understood the weight portrayal carried.They had only encouraging things to say because they had focus on foreign aid and investment.The issue of foreign investment was a potent tool for the Jonathan administration.

When the South African government deported 125 nigerians for not having yellow fever certificates,he reciprocated by sending 85 South African nationals back to their country.An apology came within a week with a firm promise to adjust their immigration policies.Nigeria was the biggest market for some prominent South African corporations and Jonathan had leverage because he did not impose hefty fines for infractions by MTN et al neither did he try to drown them in taxes.They took us very seriously and responded appropriately when xenophobic killings became global knowledge.

What measure of reciprocity can Buhari effectively use against a country like Ghana?.The FG itself said they deported 825 Nigerians from 2018-2019 alone and it was in the news months ago that they had to intercede to save 39 arrested for entering the country illegally.Are there any Ghanaians trying to move to Nigeria?.That is a country that paid electricity bills for the entire period of their lockdown and has now extended the gesture to 2021.They also paid the water bills for everyone during the lockdown and for an extra 3 months after.There are so many nigerian businesses in Ghana,they can't stop thinking about what Ghanaians will gain when they are shut down.There is just no way we can hit back as hard as they have hit us.

Our economy is in a free fall and bilateral agreements are not as common a sight as they used to be despite Buhari's record-setting foreign trips.The famed number one military in Africa were shit on by Chad when they shot a video of troops led by their President waiting for our soldiers to come and reclaim our territories.The Chadians have every reason to not disclose their mission to us based on very obvious suspicions.Our President releases the terrorists they are fighting and even sends a military aircraft to bring them back from other countries.

The whole world was watching and applauding their offensive and instead of Big Brother Nigeria to save face by calling to make enquires as to how we can co-ordinate to ensure boko haram has no hiding place,we sat and acted like nothing was happening.The closest thing to an acknowledgment was a denial by our military that the Chadians were waiting for us to reclaim our territories.The Chadian President was so annoyed,he vowed never to let any of his soldiers fight outside Chad; a very hot slap on our face.We have condescended to being ridiculed by a country like Chad.

Foreign policy under Buhari (if at all you can call it that) is in tatters.The question on the role of youths he messed up at the 74th United Nations General Assembly was perhaps necessitated by his 'some lazy youths' comment.Reading out a prepared speech on weather climate in response to that question may just have been what saved him from embarrassing us further.

As far as international relations go,we are in a deep mess.What reciprocity and against who?.The same ECOWAS countries that now borrow us grains to feed?.

TOP 10 SONGS AND 3 ALBUMS OF 2ND QUARTER 2020

TOP 10 SONGS

1. WETTIN DEY SUP-BURNA BOY 

2. ENJOY YOURSELF REMIX-POP SMOKE FEAT BURNA BOY

3. BALANCIO-NIFTY BOI

4. 1 SCALE-YOUNG DOLPH FEAT G HERBO / IMPERFECTIONS-POP SMOKE

5. YEA YEA-BLUEFACE FEAT COYOTE

6. BROKE OR NOT-DAVE EAST

7. GOD ONLY KNOWS-FIREBOY DML

8. BARAWO-AJEBO HUSTLERS / LAGBAJA-PERUZZI

9. DAMN-OMAH LAY / LO LO-OMAH LAY / PARANOIA-POP SMOKE FEAT GUNNA & YOUNG THUG

10. MAKE IT RAIN-POP SMOKE FEAT ROWDY REBEL / TUNNEL VISION-POP SMOKE

TOP 3 ALBUMS/EPs

1.SHOOT FOR THE STARS AIM FOR THE MOON-POP SMOKE

2.THREE-PATORANKING / KARMA 3-DAVE EAST

3.KING'S DISEASE-NAS / APOLLO-FIREBOY

CELIA ALBUM REVIEW: CONSERVATIVE TIWA MAY HAVE SHED SOME WIDTH BUT SHE STILL HAS CLASS

There are pop divas that get left behind for no other reason than they stay true to themselves.The older they get,the more matured and less commercially appealing their music gets.The ones that dare to be inorganically adventurous usually have to deal with the problem that you can't be anyone better than you.

Creative flexibility has always been one of Tiwa's main attributes so that certainly isn't the problem considering she recorded the out-of-the-box 49-99 less than a year ago.Miss Savage perhaps just wanted to sing and not worry about anything else on Celia and its a really good thing that she can sing.The album-opening Save My Life is the highlight of plain and simple Tiwa; a classy mid-tempo track you can vibe to on your seat or on the dance floor.Temptationand Dangerous Love were pre-album singles that already prepared us for a Tiwa more inclined to slow things down and lean towards her sonorous side.Though Pakalamisi with London singer,Hamzaa and Attention are unmoving and raise reasonable doubts as to the sustainability of this version of her, Park Well featuring Davido reiterates why no version of her should be written off.Its effortlessly classy and easy on the ears.

Fans of the jumpy and sassy Tiwa might say Celia is a mid life crisis for the most part they hope she will overcome in no time but 2 personal and to quite a degree,introspective songs therein suggest this Tiwa is here to stay.Rather than a mid life crisis,it may very well be a 40 year old lady no longer keen on stretching as far she used to.Us is an emotional lady looking back at the experience with her former husband and accepting that perhaps they just weren't meant to be without blaming anyone for it.Celia's Song is a song thanking God for her mother and all she has been through.(Celia is her mother's name incase you haven't heard already).

Koroba may not be razz Tiwa at 100 but she hits the bullseye on Ole featuring Naira Marley.A soft yet cheeky and absorbing song rendered on an inch-perfect Rexxie beat.She also comes correct on Bombay where she solicits Burna boy's beau, Stefflon Don and Otedola crooner, Dice Ailes.Tiwa lives up to her African Bad Gyal moniker here.She talks the talk and has Stefflon Don spitting pidgin for the very first time ever.

Tiwa's range has always stood her out from the rest and though we see a more conservative version on Celia, she goes for the extraordinary in Glory and to great effect i must say.

She may lack the intensity she had in 2015 when she released the R.E.D album with guests like D'Prince,Dr Sid,Iceberg Slimm,Busy Signal and Olamide to help produce a rich and commercially correct album but she still gets the job done.

$6.1BN FOR POWER SUPPLY: OF 'PARTNERS' AND 'FUNDING'..

It was disheartening to read the Minister of Power Resources' carefully spun narrative on securing a $6.1bn 'funding' to improve power supply with the World Bank,the AFDB and JICA named as 'partners'.They very carefully ommitted the word 'loan' because of the backlash it would attract and i must say that was a deft touch considering that just a day before,the President's Special Assistant on New Media,Bashir Ahmad was passing off our polio-free status as a Buhari achievement when infact the whole of Africa was polio-free for almost a year before Buhari became President.It was under him polio returned to Nigeria in 2016.

More and more nigerians are asking what exactly the huge amounts we borrow are being sunk into that no one sees and as such,the Buhari administration has learnt to describe lending entities as 'partners' and the loans they provide, 'funding' in evasive press releases.Our debt profile contrary to what many believe was not N12trn as at the time Buhari assumed office in 2015.His transition committee chairman,Ahmed Joda said himself that the Jonathan administration left a liability of N7trn.

Subsequent loans by Buhari after the Debt Management Office's last official figure of N28trn has taken us way past the N30trn mark.That is more than 3 times what Buhari met.We know electricity tariff will increase on September 1st and not next year as we had been earlier told because according to reports,it is a condition given to us by the World Bank before we can access any loan for power.

What has Buhari done with all he has been borrowing?.$6.1bn adds up to N2.3trn.For the umpteenth time,What has Buhari done with all he has been borrowing?.How many of our hospitals have been upgraded to world class?.How many roads have been completed?.How many schools have been built?.How many young nigerians have benefitted from skill acquisition schemes since jobs are not available?.How many of our refineries are at optimum capacity?.

As far as the issue of power is concerned,we have had to sit and watch him and his cronies reel out some very outrageous sums.Vice-President Osinbajo said the government spent N1.5trn on that from 2017-2019.El Rufai was reeling out another figure of N1.7trn just months later.What significant improvement has Nigeria seen as regards power supply to justify all that spent money?.Just days ago,an investigation by a reputable news outlet revealed that the power sector lost N468.4bn from January-August 21 and also that 33,122MWs wasn't utilized in that period.

Last year Buhari promised to chase and catch a 'previous administration' that claimed to have spent $16bn (N3trn) on power (the Obasanjo administration did).Nothing has come out of that probe.As a matter of fact,they have stayed mute and wished it out of our consciousness.If Buhari really probes that expenditure,it would also draw attention to how much he has spent on power since 2015 and he doesn't want that.He and his people have grown scared of being straight with Nigerians and have started referring to our lenders as 'partners' and their loans as 'funding' because it has become simply impossible to explain how all that is being borrowed is used to improve nigerian lives.

An extra N2.3trn is going to be spent on power in addition to a figure that is already more than what Buhari wants to probe another administration for frittering away.The scariest part of it all is that this man has 3 more years to do as he pleases.God help us.

ALBUM REVIEW: BURNA BOY'S TWICE AS TALL IS A DISAPPOINTMENT

Burna boy had cracked the international market and the Grammys no longer seemed a tall order.What better way to move than have Diddy co-produce this album.This project promised to be a taller Burna boy going all out for the kill but what quite sadly,what we see on Twice As Tall is an artiste that wipes the smirk off our faces.At perhaps the most crucial point in his career,Burna boy simply didn't turn up.

You know OluwaBurna being out of sorts is an understatement when his most vital attribute is glaringly missing-structured composition.His ability to make every detail come together so well is what has always stood him out from the rest and that quality is largely missing here as quite a number of songs that could have been great turned out stop-start experiences.

The opening and album title track with Senegalese legend,Youssou N'dour best exemplifies Burna's creative waywardness.There was a total lack of synergy between the dour instrumental,Burna boy's lifeless vocals and N'dour's soulful rendition.Alarm Clock badly needed some dexterity in vocal display to spread the sauce to parts other than the 'This Early Morning' chorus and ensure a balance with the heavy instrumentation.

Alarm Clock and 23 were two attempts at re-enacting the Ye global magic and while Alarm Clock has a repetitive catchiness amidst regressing factors, 23 is a pleasant vibe with no real cutting edge.

Different off the African Giant album featuring Angelique Kidjo and Damien  Marley was a fabulous socio-conscious effort i believe deserves special praise and Burna goes that route again on Monsters You Made with perhaps a more thought-provoking content.Monsters You Made is quite easily one of the good songs of this album that had the potential to be much more.Coldplay's Chris Martin sets you on a high with a mesmerizing chorus and then Burna jumps at it with a great delivery but then by the time he steps in for the second verse with the very same delivery,the monotonic feel ensures you don't get higher than you already are.

Without an Angelique Kidjo and Damien Marley to fuse width,Burna ought to have utilized Chris Martin a bit more; at the very least get a verse in between.The stop-start factor also robs Time flies featuring Sauti Sol of the ideal effect.Burna does some breath-taking singing and has the swahili chorus sitting pretty on the track but in as much as the Kenyans put up a nice display themselves,they fail to complement each other and leave the listener to revel in a little too much of everything.

As far as combining with his guests go,no song on this album measures up to his collaboration with another duo,legendary American hip hop group Naughty By Nature on a song with that title.The Don Guorgon's vocal ingenuity comes to the fore and is perfectly matched by some effortless golden era rap to give a flawless ride all through.Real Life with Stormzy has to be the worst of his international collaborations as all there is to like is Stormzy on the chorus.

On the Afro front,Comma and Onyeka exemplify the ordinary levels Burna boy's artistry has sunk to.Bebo is a quite presentable effort but ladies and gentlemen, Wettin Dey Sup illustrates class is permanent and that even on the worst days,there is always a hint of that.Burna thumps through his in a way only he can to remind us he is capable of just about anything and why he is so enigmatic we allowed him pick a genre for himself.

Bank On It is made on the same template as Calm Down,the most underrated song of his 2018 classic Outside album which opens with a slow introspection that transits smoothly into an exquisite ballad.Burna's quality is not in doubt,he just has to deploy it to better use.A product's quality ultimately sells it but the way this album was brought forth points to just how less co-ordinated Burna boy has gotten.

When he slayed the Jerusalema remix and got massive props for it,he put out Wonderful on the dance/electronic format to appeal to the international audience.It was left to stand as the sole single even when the reception wasn't encouraging.No Fit Vex, a sublime effort which cryptically references the beef with Davido and preaches harmony is a publicity gold mine that could have been best exploited by making it a second pre-album single.Anticipation would have translated to more pre-orders globally if he had teased the Chris Martin chorus on Monsters You Madewith a part of his verse on social media.

To put it frankly,4 great songs out of 15 and disjointed flashes of brilliance mean Burna Boy's Twice As Tall is not a good album.

REPS SHOULD ORDER THE ARREST OF EMEFIELE,KYARI & BALA USMAN NOT PETITION BUHARI

All the 'Acting' MD of the NDDC,Prof.Kemebradikumo Pondei had to do was appear before the House of Representatives' probe committee and 'faint'.Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila was waiting in the wings to announce that he will no longer appear before the committee while the public was busy reacting to what happened.

Its a lot like when the Buhari administration ignored several calls to place travel restrictions when coronavirus was forcing far more advanced countries to shut down and he refused.When they were to embarrased to announce 5 new cases at the same time from the UK and the US, they announced restrictions and then the new cases about an hour later.Nigerians were too pre-occupied with the news of the ban to notice and blame Buhari for his inaction.The 'Acting' NDDC boss,Pondei will be the butt of jokes for a while but more importantly,he will get off thanks to Gbajabiamila; the lawyer accused in the United States of stealing a client's $25,000.It was very cleanly executed.

Gbaja and his fellow rubber stamp senior colleague at the Senate,Ahmed Lawan are being said to have been issued a N37bn allocation for renovation of the NASS complex to help keep as many of their boys happy.Little wonder why even a PDP lawmaker like Wole Oke, who was accused by his former colleague,Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin of receiving from Dasuki's arms loot, would order the clerk of the house committee investigating financial irregularities linked to them to write the President over the refusal of top government officials to appear before them instead of issuing an arrest warrant as stipulated by law.

These officials include Godwin Emefiele-Governor of the Central Bank,Mele Kyari-the Group Managing Director of NNPC,Hadiza Bala Usman-the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority and Alex Okoh-the Director of the Bureau for Public Enterprises.The CBN,NPA and NNPC particularly have featured greatly in public discussions after the NDDC show of shame with many Nigerians wondering what would be discovered in these agencies that deal with way more money than the NDDC.

As should be expected,the heads of these agencies are scared of any probe and have refused to respond to valid summons issued by the House of Representatives.The thing is no one gets to do that.Section 89 (1)(d) of the Nigerian constitution mandates the House (operative word 'shall') to not only issue a warrant of arrest against anyone who disobeys a summons to appear before it but to also have them cover the costs incurred in executing that arrest.That section also bequeaths a power to impose a fine if prescribed in a secondary legislation.No where in the Constitution or Legislative Houses Act (which also stipulates arrest for defiance of a summon),is it stated that a letter should be written to the President if his appointees refuse to honour an invitation by the House of Representatives.

The legislature exists primarily to make laws and act as a check on the executive,it does not exist to service its whims.So what will happen if Buhari doesn't order the invitees to attend?.The probe will be put to bed?.The President is known to fiercely protect his corrupt cronies till he no longer can.He stuck to Ibrahim Magu as EFCC boss and didn't toss him to the side till he had fallen out with his Attorney General and refused to reach out to him despite knowing fully well that Magu had been indicted for living in a N20M per annum residence paid for by highly suspicious persons and also that he was found guilty of tampering with EFCC files by the Police Service Commission in 2010.

Former SGF,Babachir Lawal was absolved of any wrong-doing after a sham of a probe by his Attorney General and only got penalized when public outcry became unbearable.The House of Reps should under no circumstance, ever subject what is right to the discretion of a man like Buhari who not only oversees the most corrupt nigerian government in recent times but relies on a man like Abubakar Malami to handle legal affairs.Malami was saying just days ago that the clause waiving sovereignty to China in a loan agreement COULD mean waiving our 'sovereignty to a contractual obligation'.

Malami,who is Chief Law officer and is supposed to study all agreements entered into by this country, isn't himself sure what we have gotten ourselves into.He is guessing.To clarifiy,that clause specifically allows us retain military and diplomatic assets over what is ceded to the Chinese.How he came about the nonsense on 'sovereign contractual obligation',only he knows.The same constitution which confers on the House of Reps power to compel attendance is what the man honestly believed gave him the power to disobey valid court orders; what even a first year law student would find preposterous.

Following the NDDC drama, corrupt government officials will try as much as possible to evade public hearings,the truth is they have no choice but to attend and it is imperative that the National Assembly orders the arrest of anyone who doesn't.

DAVIDO MUSIC WORLDWIDE: THE GIFT AND THE CURSE

A DMW contract automatically means you get to be among the richest artistes in Nigeria.You are guaranteed a posh Lekki residence,designer drip,overseas trips with the gang on a private jet and new Benz cars thrown your way because Davido is in a good mood.You can only imagine how much cash an OBO trademarked for N1M gifts to even the most random of persons makes available to them.No one is thinking of leaving DMW-not super star Mayorkun whose peers of similar clout have long gone solo and definitely not Ichaba who hasn't as much as dropped an EP since he joined the team in 2016.

But career-wise, DMW is the last place a musician would want to be right now especially one in the mould of recently signed singer,May D who has a pre-existing reputation in the music industry.It is basic knowledge that the more the artistes,the harder it is to cater for the careers of everyone as each will have to wait their turn for promotion and releases no matter what they have in mind.A May D eager to get back his career on track only needs to look at someone like Sanboribobo rapper, Sinzu (formerly known as Sauce Kid) who signed with that as an objective after he was released from prison in the US.The label boss is himself an artiste.A very busy one at that who is set to release his second album in 2 years.

His artistes are contented with the occasional singles,videos and seasonal albums because they are very well pampered.With the exception of Mayorkun who guarantees a strong chance of making every song count, other DMW artistes have to their names a high miss rate and it is not because they are not talented,it is because it takes more than that to succeed in music these days.Having an artiste in our faces for a while before sending them to the back seat doesn't always work.Some need to keep pushing even without a hit to help their brands with the publicity being here and there generates.An artiste like Idowest could use that.

The most elaborate DMW roll out is a single or 2,an album and a video shortly afterwards.Nothing extraordinary.

Peruzzi's HeartWork EP was a much better work than his Huncho Vibez album.The only song with a video off Heartwork is the song i rate lowest-Majesty.That EP had breath-taking songs like Did You,the radio friendly Champion Lover featuring Burna boy & Ola with Mayorkun, perhaps Nigeria's very first pop medley.Peruzzi was still milking off his feature on 2baba's Amaka and badly needed some buzz of his own.

Dropping 3 catchy videos instantly in one fell swoop would have not only given the work the publicity it deserved,it would have ensured Peruzzi took over the airwaves and maybe got to score a first hit of his own.

The artistes need to be better promoted and not made to bank on the premise that being on DMW or having Davido on their single wins them everything.

Dremo dropped 2 great songs-Faaji and Wahala Dey before he dropped an album that resonated with fans in Codename Vol.2.He shouldn't just have another video or two shot,he could build on that buzz by recording a joint mixtape or album with Sinzu.That way both rappers on the label get to max off a period where there is a dearth in quality rap music.

Idowest's Shamaya with Patoranking may not be the biggest song around right now but maybe a song or 2 back to back will earn him some valuable presence even if he doesn't drop an album.

Well,at least no one is complaining.None of the artistes have felt a need to have their careers in their grasp and manage it how they see fit.They are living it up and that is enough.The case of upcoming street rapper Lil Frosh is a sad one.He needed a label that would make him a priority and devote much time and resources to promotion and establishing a pattern of consistency in trying to make him an industry mainstay.

I was saying he was likely to have Davido on his first DMW single and that having Davido on a song wasn't enough promotion till i got told he had already released a single titled Fame with Davido.Newest signing May D will definitely hope to hit previous heights but it would be very difficult to do so by not only having to share his label's attention with 8 other artistes but by also being at a place where promotion and strategy isn't quite top notch.But who cares?.A DMW deal entails cash and an exotic lifestyle.Justifiably or not,at the expense of career.

BABA-INNA,DAURA & WHY IT APPEARS MAGU WILL ONLY GET THE BOOT IF INDICTED

Let the facts speak for themselves-Was President Buhari aware of a DSS report indicting embattled EFCC boss,Ibrahim Magu of hobnobbing with criminals and even living in a N20M per annum house they paid 2 years for?.Yes,he was.Was he also aware that the Police Service Commission found Magu guilty in 2010 of offences including withholding and unlawful removal of EFCC files?.Yes,he was.

The DSS at that time was headed by a kinsman he brought out of retirement,Lawal Daura and their findings were made known to the senate when Magu's name was brought for confirmation as Chairman of the EFCC.Magu was not a known associate of Buhari's prior to 2015 like Lawal Daura was and the million dollar question is why did Buhari insist so much on having such a man as head of the EFCC and even go to war with the senate over it?.

Only one answer appears plausible-Buhari needed a man like Magu for what he had in mind.There would be no courtship stage to be sure of what he would or would not do,a man with such 'proven' antecedents will hit the ground running.Magu's nemesis from what some sources say, stems from an altercation he had with the Attorney General of the Federation,Abubakar Malami SAN and his subsequent refusal to go and lobby Buhari to ensure Malami doesn't get him to act solely on his version.

Malami was able to convince Buhari that Magu had grown too much wings and even when he wrote a recommendation that he be fired for corruption,Magu didn't try to meet Buhari then or after.As a matter of fact his first response was to leak a letter from the Ministry of Justice (Malami's office) requesting the ICPC,EFCC,DSS and the Police to stop investigating the Managing Director of Nigeria Incentive-based Risk-Sharing System For Agricultural Lending,Aliyu Abdulhameed for a N1bn fraud.Abdulhameed is also being accused of fraudulently awarding a N2bn ICT contract to his son.

Make no mistake about it,Buhari and Malami knew perfectly well who Magu was maybe with the exception of his stubborness.He fitted into Buhari's plans till he felt he shouldn't be bossed around by the AGF and didn't care what the President thought about that.

Now Magu has been held way past the constitutionally stipulated 48 hours without any court order granting the authorities any power to hold him past that; only being ferried to face the Presidential panel and back to police custody.He is hesitant about approaching a court of law to demand his release because it would appear confrontational and disrupt his chances of getting a soft landing.He has also not had any of his cronies leak anything to the press and all that may in the end prove a very wise call.

The Buhari administration has a reputation for threading cautiously with friends it decides to turn its back on.There is the case of Sani Baba-Inna, Aisha Buhari's former ADC who was accused of defrauding people of N2.5bn in her name.His family confirmed what many suspected to be the case when they told popular activist,Deji Adeyanju that they knew he stole her money and that he had been a front for her,even buying a house in Abuja for one of her daughters.Baba-Inna was handed over to the police about 2 years ago and till date,has not been prosecuted in court.

As a matter of fact,no one has heard anything since and that is likely due to either the man having a story they don't want told or them having a troublesome conscience.There is also the case of former DSS Chief,Lawal Daura,the man under whom the damning report on Magu was prepared en route his rejection by the senate.Questions started being asked of Daura when proof that he was listed as an APC committee member prior to Buhari being President became public.

There were also the suspicions that he was helping Buhari carry out a fulani supremacist agenda when his DSS announced that 5 fulani corpses had been found in a forest in the east and that they were kidnapped and killed by IPOB members.It is really saying nothing out of the ordinary to say that no security agency talk more the secret police would make such remarks publicly without having apprehended the culprits.Why were they looking to start trouble?.

First,how did they know the buried corpses they unearthed were fulanis?.Secondly,how did they they know the IPOB was responsible?.Weeks later, heavily armed herdsmen attacked Nimbo town in Enugu and killed 46 people.Daura was Buhari's right hand man and when he shut down the national assembly which was locked in a bitter feud with the presidency,it was obvious on whose orders he was acting.That lock down had foreign countries scared and Buhari who was in the UK at that time for treatment was feeling the heat like his Vice and then Acting President,Yomi Osinbajo who was being beseiged with calls and visits by envoys of countries who were scared a coup was taking place.

Daura was made to take the fall and despite being handed over to the police 2 years ago,he has still not been prosecuted.Like Baba-Inna, nothing has been heard ever since though there have been a few rumours of him now living overseas with some members of his family.Buhari's handlers ridiculously tried to insinuate that he was working with then Senate President,Bukola Saraki to give the Buhari administration a bad name.

The thing is just weeks before the invasion,the entrance of Saraki's house and that of his deputy were blocked by the DSS and police.Buhari couldn't claim to have suddenly woken up to Daura's excesses just like he can't claim not to know what Magu was capable of.He saw his record and decided, infact insisted that he needed a man like Magu to work with.

Judging from the treatment those that have helped do their dirty job have gotten,Magu may end up with just a sack if indicted or worst case,be remanded in police custody till he is secretly let out when everyone has forgotten.

Under Buhari shame has left us.

FROM 'NIGERIANS THE FRAUDSTERS' TO 'NIGERIA THE HOME OF FRAUD': THE CASES BEFORE OUR AUTHORITIES & THEIR CULTURE OF SILENCE

Most people seem to under-estimate how profound the yahoo yahoo problem actually is.Two serving members of the House Of Representatives and a Court Ordained governor of the Federal Republic are said to have quite a reputation in the world of fraud.We already know that one Chika Odionyenma who was on Former Imo state Governor, Emeka Ihedioha's inauguration committee appeared on FBI's list of 77 Wanted Nigerian fraudsters and despite Ihedioha's denial of Odionyenma sponsoring his election,most people think he did along with a host of other wire wire exponents.

Internet fraud is not just a crime for Benz-hungry and Champagne-loving youths,it is also one for the very 'righteous' in our midst.These fraudsters are not only sponsoring elections,they are running themselves and winning elections into government.Gradually they will bamboozle their way to the very highest levels and not only protect themselves but also do as they please with the full cover of the state apparatus.A lot of them already have a reputation for philanthropy.

With more than enough money to dole out to the less privileged and enormous political power in their kitty, we may have a similar situation with Mexico and its drug cartels.The yahoo problem is much more serious than it appears.When the North Georgia District Attorney's office indicted the owner of Air Peace Airlines, Allen Onyeama for fraud and money laundering, the EFCC said it wanted to investigate the 'nigerian aspect' of the offence.The anti-corruption body outrageously stated that an application for extradition can only be entertained after the suspect has been arraigned before a court.

The Chairman of the Coalition of Arewa Youth Groups, Shettima Yerima who 2 years earlier issued a quit notice to all ibos living in the north started talking about northern youths going to demonstrate at the US embassy.The US was investigating Onyeama as at the time he sent his planes to bring back nigerians in South Africa and while that appears likely now to have been a move to launder his image before an indictment,the volte face by a man like Shettima was probably brought about by a hefty 'donation' to him and his groups.No other reason can support such a man turning round to sing Onyeama's praises and planning a protest on his behalf.

It has been 7 months since the EFCC assumed jurisdiction over that case.Obtaining financial records of his accounts with Nigerian banks and perusing them shouldn't take more than 2 weeks at most.The EFCC has stayed silent and hasn't given the public even the slightest hint that it is still on the case.Based solely on its own understanding of our mutual treaty agreement,it can't hand over Onyeama if he hasn't been arraigned in court.Barring any drastic change, that case is as good as dead.

The killing of a multi-millionaire ex-policeman and kidnapper sharing the same nickname with flamboyant and generous socialite, Emmanuel Okonkwo alias E-Money made news some time ago and most of the blogs in assembling click baits, had nothing to suggest it was another 'E-Money' in their headlines.The word is persons close to the Presidency complained bitterly about these individuals with crazy names moving around with police escorts and flaunting suspicious wealth.Emmanuel Okonkwo was invited by the police on the orders of the Inspector General to explain his source of wealth and then set free hours later.The police till date has not told us what its findings were.

Weeks later it was the turn of self-styled Celebrity Barman, Cubana Chief Priest whose notable business interests are the Cubana Night clubs and a hotel.The popular stories round Cubana have always been that he was a 'G-Boy' and that he introduced an afro-pop music star from a rich family who he is good friends with to it as well.No one has any proof to back up their claims of course until he is investigated or caught.While E-Money may try to justify his stupendous wealth on his shipping business,Cubana will have a much harder task doing that on the back of his known sources of income.The police invited him on the same grounds as E-Money- undesirable use of police escorts and a probe on source of wealth.He spent hours with the police and left.No word from them.

There is a culture of silence by our authorities.There is a very shameless protection of rich and highly connected criminal suspects and this is very worrying.We already have a global reputation for internet fraud and it would hurt us severely if we earn another for condoning it.The Allen Onyeama case is a ready reference point for how corrupt and useless Buhari and his anti-corruption foot soldiers are.Why invite people in the first place if you aren't going to thoroughly investigate them?.Is it a means of making money off them?.Because i see no other reason why they would invite people they had no real intention of looking into.

This has also happened in a few recent cases unrelated to highly suspicious billionaires.The Kogi state commissioner of water resources was accused of raping a girl in Lokoja named Elizabeth prompting a massive outcry on social media and also by women activists.Much after the incident reportedly happened and a complaint filed,he was finally invited to the Force Head quarters Abuja again on the orders of the Inspector General only to be set free hours later.How many persons accused of rape in Nigeria enjoy the privilege of strolling into the police head quarters to be asked questions and then leave that same day?.

Judging from what we have all seen so far,there is a strange pattern of loud screaming by the EFCC and the police when they move in on these persons with questionable wealth and then a deafening silence ensues.Do they really think nigerians are stupid enough to laud them for a good job based on the publicized invitations and then ignore the fact that these individuals are released moments later without any statement whatsoever?.

International experts will tell you there is an 'unofficial' reason why the US issued a visa ban to Nigeria and other countries on that list.We must bear in mind always that the whole world is watching.Its one thing to claim ignorance of these stupendously rich individuals flaunting businesses that don't support their spending and another entirely to actually invite these people with a view to investigating their sources of income only to send them back home hours later while keeping mute and wishing it all out of everyone's consciousness.We will no longer just be 'Nigerians,the fraudsters',we would also be 'Nigeria, the home of fraud'.

'TRADITIONAL RULERS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO HELP BANDITS KILL THEIR OWN PEOPLE BUT DISREGARD THAT, NASTURA SHARIFF IS THE REAL ENEMY'

About a week ago, a video and several photos of armed bandits riding into a town in Katsina surfaced on social media.They not only arrived to a very frightened people who resorted to cheers to escape their wrath,the bandits mingled freely; individually in some cases on their motor cycles without any sign of discomposure.What that video and photos prove more than anything else is the extent to which those in rural communities have been abandoned to their fate.

There were no reports of any police station being sacked or of any law enforcement agents on patrol running for cover,the bandits moved there unchallenged, 'hung out' with the people and calmly went away without having to worry about the police or the military responding to an SOS call or one for back up.The state governor, Rt.Hon Aminu Masari has decided to come clean and apologize for being unable to secure the lives of the people but ultimately the blame for security challenges of this magnitude falls on the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari.He has only just established a task force after all these years and that was only in response to the protests by Katsina people who poured out to the streets en masse to say they had had enough.

One thing is not in dispute,at least prior to then,the Buhari administration wasn't really serious about stopping the killings and nothing has reiterated this more than anything of recent than Presidential spokesperson,Garba Shehu's utterances on the Monday 15th June 2020 edition of Channels TV's Sunrise Daily programme.To use Shehu's exact words-"SOME TRADITIONAL RULERS HAVE BEEN FOUND COMPLICIT IN COLLABORATION WITH THE BANDITS TO HARM THEIR OWN PEOPLE".These traditional rulers are not being suspected of doing such,they 'have been found complicit'.The man didn't bother telling us why they have not been arrested and made to provide the authorities with more information.Attribute the killings to whatever reason you may but the very obvious thing is that this administration doesn't or at the very least, didn't want the killings to stop.It took Katsina people protesting on the streets for them to set up a task force countless human lives later.Those in the rural areas had all this while been at the mercy of bandits who could stroll in at any time to wreck havoc and leave.The Condemner-In-Chief,President Buhari would then issue the usual statement 'condemning' the killings meanwhile they had been sitting on the names of traditional rulers that work with these bandits to kill their own people.

Save yourself the embarrassment of arguing otherwise, the Buhari administration never really wanted to stop the killings in Katsina and indeed other parts of the north.The real enemy is the one man that mobilized the people of Katsina to protest the killings,Nastura Ashir Shariff.They have arrested him and taken him to Abuja.The protests have forced them to set up a task force to save face and they don't like that somebody is getting the people to demand that they act.

What would anyone make of the fact that those whose complicity in the killings has been established as relayed to us by none other than the President's spokesman are free and don't have to worry about a thing while the man that got his people to try and push government into safeguarding their lives is the one they have arrested?.Simple.Government doesn't want to stop the killings and is willing to punish anyone who asks it to.

LETTER TO THE SENATE PRESIDENT: INTERNATIONAL POLITICS IS NOT WHY INSECURITY PERSISTS

Dear Senate President,

I hope this meets you well.Over the last few days,the legislative arm which you lead has come under criticism for not refusing the N27bn ear marked by President Buhari for renovation of the National Assembly Complex.As i am sure you must have heard or seen several people say on social media,that sum is enough to upgrade government hospitals to appreciable standards and ensure none of you panic when countries abroad lockdown.

In the heat of the outrage by nigerians,you perhaps in a bid to reciprocate President Buhari's generousity by taking some pressure off him, told the media that 'International Politics' was responsible for our security agencies' inability to contain insecurity in the country.You said it was hard to buy what we needed from countries abroad and that while it takes others just 2 months,ours lasts 6-9 months.Let me start off with this question; did Buhari come into power 6-9 months ago?.

Going by the duration you have put forth,we should at the very least have gotten a consignment of arms and other equipment once every year for the 5 years Buhari has been President.There are countries plagued with just as much security issues that haven't bought anything for their military in 3 years.It is simply not possible to justify the dreadful handling of security with that explanation.If anything,it is an indictment on this government's incompetence.In a nutshell,boko haram,bandits and killer herdsmen have operated unhindered over the years because the Buhari administration cannot equip the security agencies every 2 months.What sort of rubbish is that?.The least you all can do is refrain from insulting our collective intelligence.

The reason why we are losing to terror and crime is simple-Government simply doesn't want to tackle the problem head on.President Buhari unlawfully withdrew $496M from the Excess Crude Account without Senate approval to pay for 12 Super Tucano planes in the US because according to him, he wanted to beat a deadline.He notified the Senate of this in April 2018 but the contract for those planes wasn't even awarded by the US Pentagon till November 2018 and it turned out the contract sum was $329M with an unequivocally clear not-too-exceed sum of $344M.Till date the man hasn't told us where over $150M of our money is.

Those planes were originally scheduled to arrive this year but subsequent reports suggest the date has been pushed back.$496M is half of the $1bn he had the governors approve for him to tackle insecurity; a move many attributed to the need to have a financial war chest ready for the 2019 elections.Do you honestly think it was wise to spend that much on military hardware that won't be available for use till 2,3 or 4 years from the date of purchase?.Will the animals killing nigerians seize their dastardly acts till our security operatives are formidable enough to give them a good fight?.Say it as it is,Buhari's incompetent and corrupt government lack the will to tackle insecurity.

Some of your peers in the APC were very vocal about the theory that President Jonathan was sponsoring boko haram and didn't want the war to end.It is very sad that they are now silent under a President that has provided justifiable reasons to be labelled a terrorist.Do you know what it does to the morale of the average soldier to know that government is setting free terrorists they are still in a war with in the name of 'repentance'?.Or that a Major General who made a video on how him & his troops were led into an ambush by bad intelligence ended up being punished for it?.

There is also the issue of how the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces sat and looked the other way instead of liasing with Chad as the leader of the Joint task force set up by President Jonathan when they embarked on an onslaught against the sect to ensure they are no hiding places on our side of the border.Nigeria sat back and resorted to arguing whether Chad crossed our borders or not.The whole world; the US especially see all this and know our leaders are not committed to tackling insecurity.France moved down to Africa months ago to help their former colonies fight terrorism and as i write this,they are all celebrating the killing of the African leader of Al-Qaeda, Abdelmalek Droukdel in Mali.Countries don't consider our arms purchase requests a priority because they know it really isn't so.The least our colonial masters; the UK would do is help us fast track purchases but i doubt anyone has even asked them to talk more sending troops down here.'International Politics' is not the problem,President Buhari's lack of commitment to the cause is.

The Chadian President has promised never to allow any Chadian soldier fight outside their territory again.Maybe that is what Buhari wants.With a man like Idris Derby around to make a lot of noise,it is impossible to imagine Buhari being named 'ECOWAS Covid-19 Champion' without some sort of secret donation to member countries ahead of places like Senegal that not only have thrice as fewer cases despite testing more than twice as much but have also been profiled in the foreign media for producing $1 test kits & improvised ventilators.

Let me ask this Sir-How many boko haram members are being prosecuted in our courts today?.How many killer herdsmen are being made to face the law as a deterrent to those out there?.None we know of.Under Buhari,we assume they are all treated as 'repentant' souls.Please let us lick our wound in peace and stop rubbing salt on it by attributing our problems to 'International Politics' when we all have eyes and ears.Get Buhari to tackle insecurity.Thank you.

                                      Concerned Nigerian

THINK CAREFULLY, YOU HAVEN'T CAUGHT CYNTHIA MORGAN IN A LIE

Usually when a label owner laments a breach to a contract entered into with an artiste, you hear things like "After all we did for him/her..We gave a brand new car,an apartment in Lekki and millions to upgrade".The contract Jude Okoye of Northside Inc had with his artiste doesn't stipulate any of these.Anyone who isn't hopping on the 'So Cynthia Morgan Lied' social media trend becaue everyone else is would immediately sense a need to scrutinize the available facts before reaching a new conclusion.It is common practice among label owners to provide these things later either in a bid to make the artiste a slave to gratitude or perpetually indebted by a huge sum of money they unilaterally determine and deduct after a percentage that is rightfully theirs.

It is disgusting to see even seasoned industry stakeholders rush to the conclusion that 'Cynthia Morgan Lied' just because her contract papers were made public.How do they prove that she was paid everything due to her or that the label fulfilled every obligation on its end?.Jude Okoye, a man whose blood brother says he had to break free from, claims Cynthia Morgan collected money from him to build a house for her mother among other things and that he seized her Vevo channel in a bid to recoup N40M she was owing him.Bear in mind the common practice i earlier stated of label owners creating endless debts with expenses not stated any where in their contract with artistes.

Going by that contract,Cynthia Morgan can only owe Jude Okoye his 50% share of earnings or production,video and promotion costs.Nothing else.It is not in dispute that she was paying her rent because her court case over unpaid rent was very well publicized.How exactly did Cynthia Morgan rack up a N40M debt?.

Her contract says the label is entitled to 50% of the artiste's earnings and that the artiste would cover 50% of video,branding,promotion and all other major costs but that it would initially foot 100% as a debt to be deducted from Cynthia Morgan's gross earnings without any stipulation as to the extent it would reach footing the bills.

In saying that shooting videos was all he really did, she rightly complained that they weren't properly promoted.We were all alive from 2013-2017 and the biggest promotion Cynthia Morgan got in that period,she earned for herself in 2015 when holding a baby with one hand and smoking with the other in the photo for her single; Baby Mama led to a squabble with Nollywood actress Caroline Danjuma.From where i'm standing,Jude Okoye has done nothing to squash Cynthia's claim that she wasn't fairly treated.It is shocking that people suddenly jumped to the conclusion that she was lying because he produced contract papers.In her live session with Sandra of MsVanila7,she was asked questions based on copies of that same contract which her interviewer had.How does the mere production of that contract now mean she was lying?.Did the Cynthia Morgan ever say she didn't sign any contract?.

If you claim she lied about her social media platforms being seized by Jude,the man has openly admitted to having commandeered her Vevo channel to recoup a N40M debt.An unlawful act if i may add considering that the contract is clear on all disputes being arbitrated upon.She made it clear that she didn't want to raise dust then because she felt it was unnecessary.To put it another way, she probably was too broke to start a legal battle and may have allowed every threat stand-'Don't use that name (We saw it with Kiss Daniel not too long ago if you recall) and hand over your social media to us'.

If 'Olowo', 'Lead Me On' or 'German Juice' gets played in any movie today,Jude will hold onto her 50% of whatever the pay is in the name of clearing a debt he has all by himself pegged at N40M.Northside Inc owns the masters of all the songs made for the 4 years she was signed to them.You may not like to hear it because of reasons you can't explain but nothing has changed,Cynthia Morgan deserves our sympathy.She is still another sad case of a talented artiste whose desperation to move up in their music career was exploited.

CORRUPTION IN THE EAGLES: WHY YOU SHOULDN'T TAKE OBASI & TAIWO TOO SERIOUSLY

Over the last 5 days, the football world has been rattled by the allegations of 2 former Eagles' players,Chinedu Obasi and Taye Taiwo.Both claim there was corruption going on in the national team during the era of late Stephen Okechukwu Keshi as head coach.Former team media officer, Ben Alaiya has come out to strongly deny Obasi's claim of being asked to pay to be in the 2014 World Cup team while former assistant coach,Ike Shorunmu's disavowal included that of Taye Taiwo who said he left the team because Keshi was involved in 'dirty dealings'.

The denial hardly ever gets as much attention as a mind-blowing allegation so as such,these players' accounts of what transpired in their time is still buzzing.Frankly,you wouldn't blame anyone for paying little or no attention to the denials.The mind of the average nigerian has been moulded by the numerous stories of corruption in nigerian football over at least the last 2 decades to absorb these allegations as definitely true.

We have heard of FA officials arranging fake friendlies that eventually get cancelled so that they can pocket the funds allocated and also of players buying rolex watches for coaches after the era of the Eagles mafia; a group of players that determined who played and who didn't.The current NFF President,Amaju Pinnick and other members of the glass house are currently being accused by the EFCC of diverting a total sum of $8.4M in FIFA grants.

In an open letter i wrote to the sports minister,Mr Sunday Aare after Pinnick discussed terms of a contract Rohr was yet to receive on TV,i cited unconfirmed stories suggesting Pinnick was angry at head coach,Genort Rohr for refusing to allow his players give 'gifts' and didn't discuss or notify Rohr of the appointment of Joseph Yobo (who is his preferred choice of head coach) as Rohr's assistant because he was hoping Rohr would quit due to the disrespectful manner in which he was being treated.

However if one chooses to set aside the notoriety of the major stakeholders in football as a parameter for judging the allegations by Taiwo and Obasi and analyzes the matter wholistically, the conclusion would have to be that it is not safe to attach too much weight to what they are claiming.At least until strong corroborative evidence surfaces.

To start with,Chinedu Obasi and Taye Taiwo were never an integral part of Stephen Keshi's plans when he became coach.As Keshi's policy of unearthing young talents home and abroad started to take shape,most members of their era started to make way for younger and 'poorer' players.

Prior to the provisional list for the 2014 World Cup being released,Nigeria had played and won the Afcon in South Africa a year before.Obasi and Taiwo were not in that team.More notably,the 2014 World cup team which Obasi claimed to have refused to pay a bribe to be part of had players like Azubuike Egwueke of Warri Wolves,Kunle Odunlami of Sunshine stars,Ejike Uzoenyi of Rangers and Godfrey Oboabona, the former captain of Sunshine stars who had just left the team months earlier to go overseas.

There were a plethora of foreign stars at that time lwho could afford to pay to be in the team ahead of these players and others like Juwon Oshaniwa of Ashdod in Israel who was the left back of the team; the position Taye Taiwo plays.While Obasi didn't mention names as he was urged to by the former Eagles media officer, Taiwo it would be recalled was more explicit and cited the 'dirty dealings' of Keshi as his reason for leaving the Eagles.

Taiwo never told anyone then he had left the Eagles and wouldn't honour any more invitations.He played only one game under Keshi and that was an Afcon qualifier against Rwanda.That nigerians never bothered asking back then why he wasn't being invited speaks to the fact that he wasn't the player he once was.As a matter of fact, Taiwo told Goal.com's Shina Oludare afterwards that he would play for the Eagles if he was ever invited and that Keshi hadn't been answering his calls.It is shameful for Taiwo to say now that he 'packed his things and left' the Eagles.

In November 2012,Obasi was telling the press that he would be happy to return to the Eagles if Keshi gave him a chance to fight for a place in the Afcon team after returning from injury.Keshi went on to win the Afcon and at about that same time a year later,Obasi was left out of the provisional team for the 2014 World Cup because he was injured again.Shorunmu has said this so has Ben Alaiya.Obasi is not disputing these claims now like he also didn't in 2014.

Without outrightly dismissing what they allege,the evidence available points to both players being victims of Keshi's revolution than of the players being pushed out for refusing to pay bribes.The closest thing to a corroboration both have gotten from anyone was Keshi's assistant Daniel Amokachi telling KweseESPN that striker, Brown Ideye deserved to be in the World cup team.However,he didn't say Keshi received bribe,he only said he was helpless because he wasn't the coach.Amokachi impeached his own credibility when he said 'players he didn't even know' made the team when every member of the final 23 was part of a provisional team of 30 that he camped with.

More intriguing is the fact that he was suggesting Ideye's dropping had something to do with him (Amokachi) fighting a lot of people.If anything, his interview points more to him being the corrupt one since 'his boy' would be dropped by people he was fighting with to annoy him.

Anyone who watched that team would attest to the fact that Ideye was not a stand out performer.His goals ratio tell the whole story.The young and hungry template had worked for Keshi at Afcon 2013 and had come to be accepted as his trademark in 2014.

From where i am standing these players were more victim of that than anything else.

TOP 10 SONGS & 3 ALBUMS OF 1ST QUARTER 2020

1.SHI GEGE-JHYBO

2.AMAZING GRACE-DA BABY

3.GUGUDEMAP-DREMO FT LIL FROSH,SINZU,KNUCKLEZ & IDOWEST

4.BOP DADDY-FALZ

5.BLAME IT ON BABY-DA BABY

6.WE OUTSIDE-UNCLE MURDA FT QUE BANZ / STFU-DREMO

7.SUZANNA-SAUTI SOL

8.IN TOO DEEP-EMINEM / SOMETHING LIKE THIS-SOUND SULTAN

9.ODESHII-SOFT FEAT ZLATAN / FAAJI-DREMO FT SINZU & YCEE

10.CONDO-AFRO-B FEAT T.PAIN / PONGILAH-SLIMCASE FT ZLATAN

TOP 3 ALBUMS/EPs

1.BLAME IT ON BABY-DA BABY

2.CODENAME VOL.2-DREMO

3.DON'T COME OUTSIDE-UNCLE MURDA

4 KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESIDENT BUHARI'S UNINSPIRING ADDRESS

Amidst the revelation that Nigeria had conducted a dismal 11,426 Covid-19 tests and recorded 1,337 confirmed cases,250 recoveries and 40 deaths, President Buhari's address to the nation formed the main talking point of Monday 27th April.The Buhari administration's response to the Coronavirus pandemic has been very disappointing and asides the pronouncement of 50% of health care workers' basic salaries as hazard allowance, nothing else was inspiring about his speech.Below are some of the highlights.

EXPERTS PROJECTED 2,000 CASES IN FIRST MONTH AFTER INDEX CASE

This may have been a plan hatched by President Buhari's handlers to absolve him of blame for leaving it too late to shut our borders and portray his handling of the crisis as efficient.When the Minister of Health, Prof.Osagie Enahire said on March 13 precisely that the second Covid-19 case; an off-shoot of the index case who flew in from Italy was testing negative,there were no other confirmed cases and both were scheduled to be released in the following days.We were coronavirus-free.

The 3rd case did not contract it from any of the 2 cases or their contacts,she flew into the country from the UK on the very day the Minister was making that announcement and was confirmed positive after she developed symptoms days later in self-isolation.If Buhari had restricted travels from the Covid-19 hot spots or banned entry totally after the index case,Nigeria wouldn't be in this mess.No jankara 'model' told Buhari we were looking at 2,000 cases after the first month.I don't think anyone fully aware of the facts on ground would believe that.

If he had shut down entry after the very first case like some of us were calling on him to do considering the quality of health care available,level of enlightenment and the drastic effects locking down the country like we were seeing abroad would have on the average nigerian, we would have been coronavirus free and going about our normal businesses.

BUHARI IS TAKING KANO FOR GRANTED

When some scary numbers started emanating from Kano after its index case,the Presidential task force said it was sending a team to the state but so far,the 2 week lockdown is the only thing indicating the Federal Government appreciates the special treatment Kano should get.The most populous state in the country has been tipped by some to become the epicentre of the Covid 19 global pandemic.It not only has just one test centre,that too was shut down for days because it got contaminated.

The Presidential Task Force stayed mute during that period while Kano's next door neighbours,Kaduna whose population is less than half its size was opening its second test centre.

The Kano state government had  requested N15bn from the Federal Government to help tackle the crisis before Buhari's speech and his promise to assist with 'human,material and technical resources' instead still depicts him as not fully grasping the sensitivity of the situation on ground.First,the state needs at least 2 more test centres.Secondly, being very familiar with the state, he of all people should know how volatile it can get.There will be utter chaos if people are asked to stay home for 2 weeks (possibly more after that) and fed half tier of rice and 2 cups of beans.The state government's handling of the crisis may have been poor but the FG as the overriding authority needs to take decisive measures with due regard to the peculiarity of Kano.

STILL NO MENTION OF NIGERIANS STRANDED ABROAD

Shortly before Buhari's previous speech,the foreign minister announced that nigerians eager to return home from abroad would be evacuated and that they had to pay for it.At that time,China was not only seizing the international passports of nigerians there,it was kicking them out of their places of residence to sleep on the streets.How can you look such people in the eye and ask them to pay for rescuing them especially considering how much you have amassed in donations alone?.No one will get on that plane and pay later when they are in Nigeria,they all have to be able to afford a trip back or die there.

Buhari owes it to Nigerians to not only address the sad treatment of our country men abroad,he also needs to shed light on when government will start sending those planes.Its been weeks already.

A LOCKDOWN IS NECESSARY

President Buhari eased the lockdown in Lagos,Ogun and the FCT with an 8am-6pm curfew effective from May 4th (Monday).One of the most common means of contracting the virus is through the handling of cash.There is also the danger of contaminated surfaces-bus seats,door handles,tables,chairs et al.The plain truth is that the lock down is very much needed to curtail the spread of the virus but it is really sad that the government despite being allocated and receiving tons of money,has not been able to adequately cater for the needs of the masses it has asked to sit at home.

Families are being handed palliatives as ridiculous as a pack of indomie and 2 cups of beans.On social media,most nigerians were calling for an end to the lockdown before Buhari's speech and as soon as it ended they were saying coronavirus won't take a break from 8am-6pm daily.What this says in essence is that in as much as everyone understands the problem we are dealing with, most would rather go out and work than receive the disgraceful food rations their governments are giving them.

Buhari succumbed to the wishes of the people by letting them out but one thing he didn't take into consideration however, was the need to balance on one hand, having to call off a lockdown because it was no longer practicable and on the other, the caution the issue of public health requires.

An initial 8am-6pm curfew for 3 or 4 days a week would have allowed government enough room to monitor and appraise the situation critically; the ease of contact tracing, escalation of cases et al.People that have gotten too used to going out daily would deem reverting back to a lock down drastic and above all, an indictment of his handling of the crisis.

ROBBERIES,BOKO HARAM & CHINA: PRESIDENT BUHARI'S SINFUL SILENCE

You can't be silent and create silence in being silent.So you have to create silence or rather the effect of silence through words"-Peter Handke

The virtues of silence practically cease to apply the moment one starts to hold a public office.There is always a need to set the facts straight,keep the people abreast of developments and reassure them their trust is in safe hands.

This country has never been this precarious in recent memory and any sane government would understand it has to thread with caution.People are already coming out of lock down to waylay vehicles conveying food.When the frustration heightens,a full fledged onslaught against the authorities is what to expect and for a government scared at the mere mention of the word 'revolution', the Buhari administration doesn't seem to understand the consequences of its comfort.

Last week there were several reports of hoodlums robbing and maiming families in Ogun and Lagos.By Friday, countless residents in vulnerable neighbourhoods had started staying up at night to protect themselves.That all but negates the police's theory of most of the robberies being fake.President Buhari didn't make a single mention of the security situation in both states in his address to the nation.As a matter of fact,he hasn't till now.Why are there no police vehicles patrolling vulnerable areas?.Do the police need reinforcements from other states considering that the security challenges are peculiar to only a handful of places in Ogun and Lagos?.In the first place, if the police were moving around enforcing the lock down,would criminals have had this much room to operate?.As at this moment,no one knows if he has as much as spoken to the Inspector General of Police.

People staying up to light bonfires and weild machetes to protect their vicinities amidst a lock down in 2 of the 3 states he has declared shut really should worry him.He is not worried they will reason with those that have been pushed by hunger to attack food vehicles and wage an 'Enough is Enough' war on government.

The second of Buhari's sinful muteness is regarding Idris Derby.The Chadian President over the weekend claimed that Chad was shouldering the boko haram fight alone.Two spokespersons have spoken in the military's defence with none tackling the issue head on.While one addressed the deadline issued by Derby for our troops to move into the Nigerian territories his men have seized from boko haram by April 22 or they would leave,the other said Nigeria wasn't 'slowing the war down'.The issue was whether the Chadians were fighting the war alone.

With the foreign media singing the praises of Derby; the strong man of Chad as they have fondly dubbed him,only a statement from Buhari himself would gain as much attention.No one would blame Derby if he didn't call him before embarking on the 9-day Operation Bohoma Wrath because trust issues would understandably not be misplaced.Our President released 1,400 boko haram terrorists for being 'repentant' without any single case in court anyone can point to.The town where Chadian soldiers were killed, Boma; is very close to the border with Nigeria and Niger.It is practically impossible for a thorough boko haram clean up to go on without taking them into our territory.Did Buhari and our soldiers just act like nothing was happening despite encroachment into territories they were supposed to be protecting?.

Derby was outraged to the point of saying no Chadian soldier would ever go out of Chad to fight again.The fact that the Chief of Army staff relocated to Borno right afterwards more than anything indicated Nigeria was not taking the war seriously as Derby has alleged and was about doing so.It could also be interpreted to mean something was being done for the optics.As they say,only the guilty are afraid.If we were really doing what we should,there would no need for panic measures.Press releases by 2 military spokespersons will hardly make any headline outside these shores.What has however, is the Chadian President saying he was shouldering the boko haram burden alone.A Buhari counter is not forthcoming.

Two days ago,publisher of Opinion Nigeria.com,Jeff Okoroafor did a twitter thread highlighting the plight of nigerians in China after speaking to a friend over there.The Chinese were not only seizing the international passports of nigerians,they were kicking them out of their homes and hotel rooms including women and children to sleep on the streets.The closest thing to a reaction from Nigeria has been the Speaker of the House of Representatives meeting with the Chinese ambassador.President Buhari has not deemed it appropriate to talk to the nation about the inhuman treatment fellow nigerians were being subjected to abroad.

Before President Buhari's address on Sunday,the Foreign Affairs minister had told journalists nigerians overseas would pay for the planes being sent to evacuate them.How ridiculous can this government get?.A lot of people in China haven't worked for a while and whatever they might have saved up,is likely to have been spent feeding and sourcing safe accomodation.

I have heard people say even the UK and the US charge for evacuation.They always seem to forget that these countries are working fine and their citizens only leave there for jobs that pay really well.Furthermore these countries have made provision for those who can't pay to return nonetheless and pay afterwards.Our minister never said we had such an arrangement.Our country men outside these shores are facing dire times,dire enough to make them want to return to Nigeria.They are eating out of trash cans and sleeping on the streets.Their President doesn't deem that serious enough to draw a reaction.

There are times silence is golden and there are times it is villainous.