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Afenifere Calls for Cancellation of Lagos State Governorship, House of Assembly Election

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The pan-Yoruba cultural group, Afenifere, has called for the cancellation of Saturday’s governorship and State House of Assembly election, saying the results are unreliable.

According to the results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday, Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) polled 762,134 votes to defeat his closest rival, Gbadebo Rhodes-vivour of the Labour Party, who scored  312, 329 votes.

The election was evidently characterized by voter suppression, intimidation and violence targeted at supporters of the Labour Party. It disclosed that in 13,325 polling units across the state, the acts were carried out by thugs and the ruling party in connivance with security agents and INEC.

In a statement signed on Saturday, before the final result was announced, by Otunba Tunde Onakoya, Chairman, Afenifere, Lagos, the group said the election does not reflect the wishes of the people and therefore should be cancelled.

Read the statement below:

Afenifere has been inundated with reports from its members, Agents and Observers who were present and/or on duty for the processes of the Election held [on] Saturday 18th of March.

In 13,325 polling units in Lagos State, various acts were observed and widely reported that impinge on the integrity of the elections and render the results grossly unreliable; these results cannot be described as a reflection of the will of the people of Lagos. The only option open to the Independent National Election Commission is to reschedule elections at those polling units where the process was so blatantly subverted by an unholy alliance of subversives, including INEC staff, security agents and hoodlums.

Videos of intimidation of voters, either by direct threats or actual violence, and the suppression of votes are rife and viral. With the active connivance of some traditional rulers, arbitrary relocation of polling units far away from designated polling areas and the snatching of ballot boxes were also rampant. These acts of thuggery were pervasive in at least 11 local government areas. After voting, election materials were snatched at many polling units, and many instances of this were captured on video.

INEC officials blatantly refused to capture and upload results at polling units on INEC i-Rev portal. Refusal to capture and offload the results to the iRev portal at the polling units immediately after announcement of the results was an invitation to political hoodlums, to buy time to observe, disrupt or snatch ballot boxes and destroy the votes at polling units. These were at polling units where the ruling party lost or in areas where the Labour Party Presidential candidate had substantial majority votes at the elections conducted on the 25th of February.

Many of these incidents were captured live on television stations in live broadcasts. A few days before the elections, videos of identifiable individuals and traditional rulers threatening anyone intending not to support APC were trending. The intended objective of these acts was to suppress voter turnout. Had the security agencies intervened to halt these unseemly manifestations by demonstrating to the electorate that individuals inciting violence would be held accountable, the voting public would have been reassured of their ability to freely exercise their franchise, but the security agencies kept mute.

In effect, this gross dereliction of duty suppressed voting. There was therefore a very low turnout in Lagos. This election was even more shambolic in Lagos than the Presidential elections held on the 25th of February. All the mischief of electoral malpractices that the amended Electoral Act had sought to cure was therefore rendered nugatory. The massive public funds allotted to INEC to improve the integrity of the processes was money down the drain.

As at 11.30pm, no results had reached the State collation centre from the various local government collation centres. Even local government areas contiguous to the Mainland Local Government State Office of INEC had not arrived at the State collation center to submit the Wards collated units results.

With all these botched processes, it is difficult to sustain the illusion of a free and fair election; they must be a rescheduled election.

We therefore call on the Resident Commissioner of INEC in Lagos, to consult with INEC headquarters, to cancel the processes in all the affected polling units in Ibeju-Lekki, Eti- Osa, Surulere, Shomolu, Ikeja, Ifako-Ijaiye, Oshodi- Isolo, Ojo, Amuwo- Odofin, Agege and Alimosho, and to enable rescheduled elections in these polling units at the earliest possible time.

Chief Supo Shonibare,

Afenifere Leader, Lagos State

Otunba Tunde Onakoya,

Chairman, Afenifere, Lagos.

Tekedia Mini-MBA is “unmatched” in Quality – US Army Veteran, Adebayo Adeleke

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Mr. Adebayo Adeleke served the U.S. Army for more than 20 years. He rose to the positions of the Director of Contracting Operations and Chief of Contracting. Bayo, a seasoned combat veteran of the United States Army, CEO of Adebayo Adeleke LLC and a Tekedia Institute Faculty, sent this unsolicited video testimonial, drawing from dozens of feedbacks from those he has funded to our programs.

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The Empires of Nations and Economic Redesign – First to $10 trillion Market Cap

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The United States Steel was dominant for decades. In 1901, it was the largest company in America. In 1917 when it was worth $46.4 billion, the second company, AT&T, was worth $14.6 billion; Rockefeller’s Standard Oil was 3rd at $10.7 billion.

Fifty years later, in 1967, US Steel was displaced by IBM. As IBM ruled, after overtaking GM, which ruled the mid-1950s, Kodak, Sears (big supermarkets), and Polaroid were top of the leading 10.

But modern American capitalism was changed when Jack Welch took over in GE, as he built arguably one of the finest industrialized conglomerates.  The GE of that age was everything, including financial services, power, aerospace, and healthcare.  In 1995, GE became the first US company to hit a $100 billion market cap.

Then, the internet was scaled. And the age of mobile internet came. Another company, named Apple, took advantage and touched the face of the financial alpha, hitting $1 trillion, in 2018. Knowledge economy is souped! A new age and transformation born, ushering new species of companies which now dominate the top of US largest public companies, including Microsoft and Alphabet (Google).

Which company will get to $10 trillion first? Microsoft, because AI will drive the next redesign and in this race, Microsoft with ChatGPT, has an edge. Which company will get to $10 trillion first? Microsoft, because AI will drive the next redesign, and in this race, Microsoft with ChatGPT, has an edge. But where Microsoft fails, the winner may not have been born. An orthogonal path with a new basis of competition is possible, to compound leverageable factors at scale, and an entirely new company can do that.

Empires come, empires go – creative destruction in market systems.

US Steel $1 billion   1901

GM $10 billion 1955

GE     $100 billion 1995

Apple $1 trillion  2018

An Igbo has the right to live and vote in Lagos, the Politicians’ Pettiness

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The whole ethnicity slurs and tribal discriminations are so unnecessary; these verbal and physical attacks by some Yorubas against the Igbos residing in Lagos state are totally uncalled for. 

An Igbo man residing in Lagos should not be disenfranchised or discriminated against simply because of his tribe. A Nigerian has the right to reside and live peacefully in any part of Nigeria of his choice; this is a constitutionally guaranteed right and anybody or organizations whatsoever that try to take away that right has committed a constitutional crime.

Section 41 of the Constitution aptly provided for this right; “Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and To Reside In Any Part Thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom”. 

Subsequently, S.42 provides that no Nigerian from any part should ever be discriminated against on the ground of his place of origin, tribe, ethnicity or religion. 

A Fulani man, a Kanuri woman, or a Gwari lady has the same and an equal right to move and reside anywhere of his choice in any part of Nnewi in Anambra state just like a Nnewi indigene and such right should never be taken away. A Fulani man who can afford to buy or rent a property in Umuahia in Abia state and live peacefully with his family and conduct his legal business has the same right as a Mbasise man.

A man from Abakaliki, Ebonyi state has the right to live and enjoy peaceful cohabitation in Lekki, Festac, Ikeja, or Ikoyi and has every right to rent a shop and trade his business in Computer village, Idumota or carry out his motor spare parts dealership in Ladipo International market just like a Yoruba man from Ile Ife does. 

An indigene of Kano who resides in Onueke in Ebonyi state can contest for any elective post in the state and if he is loved by the people and elected he has been given the mandate to rule over the people of Ebonyi state despite the fact that he is not originally an indigene of Ezza, Izzi, Ezzamgbo, Ezeilo or any other clan or tribe in Ebonyi state. 

Not until there is a division or legal splitting of the country, every Nigerian despite their origin, tribe or religion can reside in any state and participate in the electoral process of their state of residence. This is not a privilege but a constitutionally provided right.

The new campaign that Igbos in Lagos should go back to the east and that they are not allowed to vote in Lagos state simply because they are not indigenous to Lagos state is unknown to our constitution, hence in breach of our constitutionally provided fundamental human rights and the people championing such campaign should be arrested and prosecuted for the crime of incitement. 

Every well-meaning Nigerian must rise to the occasion and condemn these ethnic slurs and tribal discriminations that we witnessed in Lagos state over the past few days by the reason of the election. Nigeria is a very sensitive nation and things like this if not immediately called out can lead to chaos. Other states may decide to retaliate against what has been happening in Lagos state and it will definitely not end well. 

I want you to imagine thugs and even national figures in Imo state, asking non-indigenes of Imo state not to vote because they are not indigenes of the state and if they dare to vote thugs will be sent after them. Imagine Sabon Garri residents specifically told not to come out and vote on Election Day in Kano state because a chunk population of the residents there are not indigenes of Kano state. Imagine Gwari indigenes asking Abuja residents who are not indigenous to Gwari not to vote. 

Just imagine this scenario that happened in Lagos in the past days happening in the rest of the states of the federation, what will be the fate of the country, I can tell you that it will lead to another civil war and nobody wants that.

The Politicians’ Pettiness

The 2023 general election has to be the most interesting election in the history of the political scene in Nigeria. 

The Sanwo Olu (the incumbent governor of Lagos state) recent campaigns have been the ones that captured my attention the most and kept me glued to it. That man is going all out, throwing everything at his re-election ambition; the level of his desperation is quite amusing. 

It’s now a popular joke amongst netizens that if you currently reside in Lagos state,  there is a high chance that before you would get back home today, Sanwo Olu has prepared you dinner and hot water for you to take your bath. The man has been everywhere and does not fail to take pictures of himself doing those activities and post them. 

Last Sunday, Sanwo Olu was seen acting as an usher and greeter in Harvesters church, Lekki. He waited till after Sunday service and stood by the church exit door where he shook everyone’s hands and thanked them for coming to church and also reminded them that he is one of the aspirants of the Lagos state 2023 gubernatorial election.

The next day Mr Sanwo Olu was in Computer Village, Ikeja repairing people’s phones. The day that follows, the incumbent governor of Lagos State was seen in a car mechanic workshop fixing cars; all these for photo props of course and to endear himself to the mind of the gullible electorate. 

Sanwo Olu was as well seen in a hairdressing Salon dressing a lady’s hair, he was subsequently seen on a football field displaying his innate balling skills. If you do not believe me google things like Sanwo Olu in computer village or Sanwo Olu the car mechanic or Sanwo Olu the hairdresser etc and you will be amazed. He even does share some of the pictures taken from his tomfoolery activities proudly on his personal social media handles. 

The disadvantage of this is that it has exposed how desperate he is to get re-elected back to power; his desperation for power but If and when he gets re-elected he will disappear and become inaccessible again.

This is the modus operandi of an average Nigerian politician. They get to act nice and accessible during campaigns to get elected or re-elected, once they succeed they disappear only to reappear again in four years.

Politicians should know that the surest path to getting yourself back into office is to perform aggressively the first time you were elected. If you do, your work will speak for you and you will save yourself from the pettiness and embarrassment Mr Sanwo Olu is currently displaying now just to secure his second-term ticket. His recent activities only show that he did nothing in his first four years in which he could have stood on top and campaigned and boldly tell the electorates, “elect me so I can do more”. 

It is no longer the game as it used to be in the Nigerian political scene and politicians should sit up and stop the tomfoolery that they are used to playing if not they will be sieved out of the game. 

Omi titun 2.0 Passes as INEC Declares Governor Makinde Winner of 2023 Governorship Poll in Oyo State

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Oyo seating Governor and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s governorship candidate, Engineer Seyi Makinde, has been declared winner of Saturday’s gubernatorial and state House of Assembly poll in Oyo state.

Makinde seeking reelection as Oyo state’s Governor with his campaign tagged Omi titun 2.0 got a total of 563,756 votes and won 31 out of 33 Local Government councils in the state.

Governor Seyi’s major rivals, Teslim Folarin of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Adebayo Adelabu of Accord Party came second and third with 256,685 votes and 38,357 votes respectively.

Professor Bamire, the vice-chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University who announced the PDP governorship candidate as the winner of the election said a total of 889,592 votes were cast out of which 14,920 votes were rejected.

The results:

A 38,357
AA 387
AAC 524
ADC 2407
ADP 2514
APC 256,685
APGA 627
APM 303
APP 1513
BP 101
LP 1500
NNPP 964
NRM 1709
PDP 563,756
SDP 2834
YPP 493

Also below is distribution of votes among the three leading parties, PDP, APC and Accord party across the 33 LGAs in Oyo state.