Before the All Progressives Congress (APC) of Nigeria would be drenched in the foreseen downpour, I thought it wise as a concerned onlooker and citizen to set the record straight for the ruling party.

I was not unhappy when the APC graciously emerged in 2013. The said mood was not unconnected with the notion that its existence in Nigeria’s political terrain would tremendously help to usher in a wholesome opposition, thereby balancing the pedestal on which the country’s polity stands.

The above candid belief was actually what angered my temperament when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – then led by Prof. Attahiru Jega – was ostensibly denying the APC the right to officially register as a political party, citing incoherent merging. The unfortunate response of the electoral umpire, which resulted in a delayed registration, seriously instigated my venom.

Anyone who was keenly observing my reaction as at then might insinuate I was one of the individuals that collapsed into the merger party. But my reaction, on the contrary, was solely as a result of my long nurtured quest to witness a Nigeria where the opposition would be reliable, viable, indefatigable and formidable.

Consequently, the APC’s proposed registration eventually received a nod from the INEC. After its registration, it was obviously seen by all concerned that, truly, the long-awaited rival to the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had surfaced to the delight of patriotic Nigerians.

Owing to its unparalleled popularity coupled with overwhelming change mantra, the APC conspicuously ousted the PDP from Nigeria’s seat of power via keenly contested polls.

Though since the APC came on board as a ruling party, there has been a series of ups and downs towards ushering in the exact governance it promised the electorate prior to its emergence, the people had apparently chosen to remain patient and optimistic pending when their overall desire would be duly attended to.

The APC had thus far refused to be marred by the unending criticisms and condemnations from the opposition occasioned by perceived bad governance. It is, however, shocking to note that internal politics is a factor that’s likely to mar the ruling party.

Within the past few weeks, the members of the APC in various quarters have publicly showcased that if apt measure isn’t taken, the party might soon be headed for extinction. Emergence of this eyesore smacks of danger for not just the party but anyone who genuinely means well for the Nigerian State.

The downpour foreseen with the aid of my panoramic view, which is liable to set in due to the apparent lack of internal democracy that recently ensued in the APC, may end up consuming the party if its leadership refused to put its acts together for the overall good of the organization.

It seriously beats my psyche when I see or hear the party’s leaders, who are supposed to be concerned about the way forward, indulge themselves in self-deceit.

It’s quite appalling when one realizes that one at the helm of affairs isn’t worried about the misdoings in his territory. It’s indeed a shame to see a group of persons, who were entrusted with certain responsibilities, participate in frivolities.

It’s mind-boggling to observe that when we are required to tell ourselves that all isn’t well, we’re rather busy communicating to the world that nothing actually went wrong.

The last ward, LG and state congresses of the APC were reportedly characterized by irregularities. Afterwards, some of the stalwarts in the party, who were meant to be deeply troubled by the anomaly, were instead seen in different quarters telling the press that the party members had proven to be united, hence ready to retain power at the last general elections held in 2019.

Now, the APC is preparing for yet another national convention despite having experienced various degrees of irregularities in its congresses at the Ward, LG and state levels. A lot has since been said by the party members and concerned observers regarding the awaited convention.

It’s pertinent that, if the needful isn’t done prior to the convention, the national gathering might mark the beginning of the end of the APC. It’s noteworthy that, politically speaking, all isn’t well with the ruling APC as a political party.

It’s not anymore news that the APC already has different factions among the party members. For the anomaly to be critically resolved, the party leadership must be willing to address the issues rather than attacking the personalities that make up the party membership.

Notwithstanding, the party still has chances of putting its house in order. Before it is drenched in the avoidable downpour, I must seize this medium to notify its leaders at various levels that self-deceit has killed millions of individuals than diseases and accidents did, hence the compelling need to squarely face the reality headlong.

As the APC witnesses her elective national convention soonest, it’s therefore inconsequential to reiterate that if the needful isn’t done before the outing, it will still be an exercise in futility.

It would have been splendid and acceptable to ensure that the numerous injuries incurred during the congresses are addressed prior to the conduct of the awaited convention. It would be preposterous to hold a convention while some states are currently recognizing a parallel executive council in various levels.

For the APC to regain its strength, political wise, it’s harmful for its various members to come up with ideas that are in furtherance of their personal interests rather than that of the party. 

Mr Obinna Iyegbu, alias Obi Cubana, the Chairman, Cubana group is again in the web of the Nigerian law enforcement agency. He was again invited by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and questioned for hours for his name in the mouths of those accused and convicted of drug related offenses; they claimed he’s their boss and that the entertainment boss is also a drug kingpin they work for.

It all started right after his mother’s funeral which took place in the month of July 2021. The gist of the funeral trended across the world, it was the talk of the town. The media tagged the funeral  “the money funeral party”. Money rained from the sky, affluence was in full display and was rubbed on peoples faces, monies were literally kicked like football, stepped on as carpet, used as firewood to light fire to keep guests warm. It was insane.

Who is who in the Nigerian entertainment industry graced the occasion. Private jets were rolling over each other at the Asaba international airport tarmac. The airport was so congested with private jets that some jets had no space to land and they had to float around the airpeace for hours. It was a red show of affluence.

This funeral was what really exposed Mr Obi Cubana to the public eyes and made everyone start paying attention to him including the government and law enforcement agencies. His social media followership skyrocketed from few thousands of followers to millions of followers in days and to crown it all, he won the 2021 man of the year award defeating big wigs like Seyi Makinde; the Governor of Oyo state, Tony Elumelu, the Chairman of UBA, Alhaji Abdul Rabiu, the Chairman of BUA group etc to win the award.

After the funeral, people started questioning his source of wealth; at first, he was linked to the Hushpuppi fraud syndicate due to his friendship with DCP Abba Kyari, the suspended super cop who was also linked to having gotten fraud money from Hushpuppi.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Crimes Commission (EFCC) first opened an investigation on him. They invited him and detained him for 3 days in the month of November, 2021 for the offence of money laundering, tax evasion and other related financial crimes.

While he is yet to clear his name in the coven of the EFCC, he was again invited and quizzed by the NDLEA on Thursdays, 13th January, 2022 for him been named as a drug kingpin and his bank accounts receiving money inflows  and wire transfers from those accused and convicted for drug related offences in Malaysia, India and Nigeria.

Some people have accused the 46 years old award winning hospitality mogul of ill gotten wealth and asked him to share the truth about the real source of his wealth that there’s more to it than meets the eye.

The whirlwind of antitrust misfortune continues to hunt Meta with more lawsuits hitting the social media conglomerate in both the U.S. and Europe.

Facebook has been caught in many antitrust allegations involving anticompetition and misuse of private data, prompting investigations and lawsuits by watchdogs and consumers.

In the latest episodes, Meta is facing a £2.3bn ($3.1 billion) class action lawsuit that claims 44 million Facebook users in the UK had their data exploited after signing up to the social network.

The lawsuit was brought by legal expert Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, on the argument that Meta has broken the 1998 Competition Act, which provides a framework for identifying and dealing with restrictive business practices and abuse of a dominant market position.

According to the argument, Meta set an “unfair price” for Facebook’s UK users when they are given access to the service. Lovdahl Gormsen argues that although Facebook doesn’t charge users to sign up, they pay for using the platform with the personal data they generate during use, which the company uses for profit.

“They are exploiting users by taking their personal data without properly compensating them for taking that data,” said Lovdahl Gormsen, who added that Facebook had a “completely disproportionate” relationship with its users. “I don’t think the users are entirely clear when they click on the terms and conditions how unfair that deal is.”

Meta generates 98% of its revenue selling targeted ads. To reach the right demographics and consumers, the company harvest users’ data by monitoring their online activity. This means, Meta has enough of every of its users private information and uses it for income.

The misuse of private data by tech companies has become a global concern and Facebook has been at the center of it. In early 2018, Facebook and political data analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica, were implicated in a massive data breach. Personal data of more than 87 million Facebook users was improperly obtained by Cambridge Analytica, drawing one of the biggest antitrust fines in history. The FTC slapped Facebook with a $5 billion fine for misuse of private data.

Since then, both regulator and class action lawsuits against Meta over misuse of private data have accelerated.

On Tuesday, a U.S. federal judge ruled that the FTC, who has been seeking a legal backing to break up Meta, should proceed with its lawsuit against the social media giant. The US competition watchdog had filed a lawsuit seeking to force Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, arguing that the company has been on an “anticompetitive shopping spree”, buying rival companies to “maintain its monopoly.”

Per The Guardian, Lovdahl Gormsen, a competition law specialist at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, is bringing the class action at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London as an opt-out case. This means Facebook users covered by it do not need to actively join the case to receive damages and will be part of the claim unless they decide to opt out from it.

The period under question is from October 1 2015 to December 31 2019. The Guardian reports that the £2.3bn compensation number cited by the cases’ backers represents an estimate of the damage caused to users, and the judge will determine how Facebook users involved will be settled, if the plaintiffs win.

The lawsuit is being funded by Innsworth, a firm that pays for litigation in exchange for a share of any damages, and Lovdahl Gormsen is being represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan law firm, the report said.

Meta has been notified of the claim, which will be heard by a judge at the tribunal, by Lovdhal Gormsen’s lawyers. The judge will then decide whether the case should go ahead. The case is expected to take between 6 and 12 months if the judge rules that it should proceed.

Responding to the lawsuit, a Meta spokesperson said: “People access our service for free. They choose our services because we deliver value for them and they have meaningful control of what information they share on Meta’s platforms and with. We have invested heavily to create tools that allow them to do so.”