Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (rtd), says his new book, Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, is not an indictment but a call for national soul-searching.
“Scars, the Journey, and Boko Haram Conundrum is not an indictment, it is a national soul-searching presentation. It is an awakening reality to either act dutifully for progress, or do nothing and turn towards extinction”.
Speaking at the public unveiling of the book in Abuja on Friday, Gen. Irabor described the work as an “awakening reality” that seeks to stimulate a national conversation on credible solutions to Nigeria’s security challenges.
“The account in this book is the painful truth as I see it. It is my hope that it will elicit a national conversation aimed at focusing attention on credible solutions to the challenges. As we unveil this book, I invite you to join me on a journey of reflection, empathy, and hope”, he said.
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Irabor emphasized that the book should be seen as an opportunity for Nigerians to reflect on past experiences and recommit to justice, equity, and peace.
While recalling the atrocities committed by Boko Haram, he urged the nation to remember the victims and take lessons from Nigeria’s collective struggle against insurgency.
“I have always believed that man exists to solve problems. If you are not solving problems, then your existence is worthless”, he stated.
Quoting Nelson Mandela, Irabor said Nigeria’s national experiences must be regarded as “wins and lessons”, stressing the need for hope and optimism in charting the country’s future.
The retired general further announced that proceeds from the book would be dedicated to supporting schools and hospitals, which he and his family have continued to sustain over the years.
President Bola Tinubu and Bayo Ogunlesi, the most renowned businessman and CEO of Global Infrastructure Partners, have met.
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Additionally, Tinubu had a meeting with Hakeem Belo-Osagie, the company’s chairman, at Metis Capital Partners.
According to reports, the meeting, which took place in Lagos and was on a working visit, focused on significant infrastructure investments and upstream oil and gas.
They also considered ways to encourage foreign investments in Nigeria to stimulate growth, according to Ogunlesi.
The state’s police command has begun enforcing tinted glass laws.
The Minna metropolis’s permit enforcement was closely monitored and overseen by the police commissioner, CP Adamu Elleman.
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Police officers stopped cars with tinted glasses during the exercise, which was held strategically in the state capital, to check compliance with the law.
During the Thursday incident, CP Elleman spoke with divisional police officers (DPOs) and their staff members who were stationed throughout the city.
He urged them to remain courteous, professional, and firm while ensuring that all traffic laws apply to tinted glasses.
The commissioner applauded the speed at which motorists cooperated on the first day of the operation and expressed satisfaction with the enforcement process.
He urged car owners who hadn’t yet processed and obtained their tinted glass permits to do so quickly to avoid penalties, arguing that ignorance of the law won’t be an excuse.
According to him, the enforcement is not harsh but a national security policy meant to stop criminals from using tinted glasses in their vehicles without warning while carrying out heinous crimes.
Lawmaker lauds police
According to him, any vehicle found without the required permit and without the necessary permit would be impounded and prosecuted in accordance with the 2004 Motor Vehicle (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act.
In another development, Abu Adamu Gomna, a member of the Niger State House of Assembly who represents the Bosso Constituency, was among the drivers who were stopped while preparing for the tinted glass permit.
The lawmaker praised the police commissioner for leading by example during the enforcement exercise in a statement to journalists following the incident.
“The Commissioner of Police, Niger State, has impressed me greatly. Numerous people have used tinted glasses inappropriately.
I made sure to have my permit from the Force Headquarters, and I can display it here in my car, said Gomna, a lawmaker who might normally feel entitled.
He continued, noting that CP Elleman was not only enforcing the law but also was demonstrating exemplary leadership as a result of his confidence in the Nigerian Police’s ability to perform the same checks as regular citizens.
This demonstrates fairness. Criminality will decrease once people follow the law. To commit crimes, many criminals conceal themselves in tinted glasses.
I’m impressed by his comments as a Nigerlite, a lawmaker, and a security activist.
In the Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State, gunmen kidnapped a policeman.
Ezra John, a member of the Lade Division, reportedly passed away on Thursday morning.
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When the incident occurred, he was reportedly returning from his official duties at Patigi General Hospital to his Lade base.
Residents have been expressing concern over the incident, which occurred along the Patigi–Lade road, a notorious site for frequent criminal attacks.
The victim’s motorcycle was discovered on the side of the road, according to SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, the spokesperson for the Kwara State Police Command.
However, Ejire-Adeyemi claimed that the police had launched a manhunt for the officer’s captors.
“We’ve activated tactical teams to search for him,” he said. She said, “We are not letting any stone fall, to make sure he is safely rescued and the perpetrators are punished.”
Ejire-Adeyemi urged people to report suspicious activity to security agencies, as well as to support the search.
Residents are advised to be watchful and report any strange activity or individual to security forces.
Stakeholders calling for a stronger security presence to protect lives and property, she continued, adding that the abduction has “more raised concerns about growing insecurity in Patigi and its adjacent communities.”
Gov’s assurance
AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the governor of Kwara State, announced that “nowhere” in the state would be safe for criminal elements, including kidnappers.
The security forces have promised to “smoke out” and get rid of criminals from their hideouts, I said. Every resource we have available will help us combat insecurity.
The governor said at a security council meeting on Tuesday night that “Kwara will not be a hiding place for criminals,” according to a statement released by his chief press secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, on Wednesday.
In some of the poorest nations in the world, drug trafficking is causing more addiction and putting strain on public resources, which are used to transport contraband to Europe.
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The Sahel, a semi-arid region below the Sahara where poverty and armed groups are prevalent, was the subject of a UN report last year, which warned of a rise in large-scale cocaine seizures.
However, according to government officials, doctors, and researchers, trafficking in low-income nations, where treatment options are limited, in addition to providing money to criminal organizations.
Some will find themselves within the nation once it enters the system, according to Alexander Twum Barimah, deputy director general of the Ghanaian Narcotics Control Commission.
A 2024 report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) noted that West Africa has long been “a natural stopover” for drugs , mostly cocaine from Latin America, that travel to North Africa and Europe, mostly via maritime routes but increasingly overland.
According to the UN, heroin and meth from Asia travel through the area on their way from east to southern Africa to Europe.
Read more about the French Navy’s seizure of nearly 10 tons of cocaine off West Africa.
While drug sales are higher in Europe, some contraband is diverted, especially when low-level traffickers receive in-kind payment, according to experts.
As routes from South America are under pressure from law enforcement and the demand for drugs in Europe rises, up to 30% of the country’s cocaine may be transiting through West Africa, according to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).
West Africa’s problem of drug abuse is not new; some local drug producers, including meth and cannabis, are.
However, the countries in the area are unable to handle the trafficking influx.
In the past year, 14.4% of Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64 used drugs, more than twice the global average of 5.6%, according to 2019 UN data.
Due to trafficking, the proliferation of conflict, and a booming youth population facing a lack of economic opportunities, Akanidomo Ibanga, the UNODC’s country project officer for Nigeria, said that figure is expected to continue rising.
Rehab facilities are “lackluster.”
According to a 2022 count, nine states in Nigeria do not have a single drug treatment facility, while nine do.
Ibanga claimed that the country’s total, which is made up of more than 200 million people, has only 2,500 beds, which would leave about 10,000 of the estimated three million Nigerians who require assistance in a year.
In an effort to give those staying in a quiet street on the edge of Abuja, Vanguard Against Drug Abuse’s offices are located behind an unmarked gate that is unrecognizable from the nearby homes.
There are meeting rooms for group therapy, ping pong tables, and chess tables inside. Although founder Abraham Hope Omeiza claims that his 600, 000 naira ($400) per month rate for in-patient therapy is heavily discounted, it is still nearly nine times the minimum wage.
The 500 or so people Vanguard treats annually in both in-patient and outpatient therapy “is not enough,” Omeiza told AFP.
shifting local markets
According to researchers, moving drugs through West Africa also strengthens regional corruption.
Investigative journalists have connected the local political elite, including the president’s family, to Dutch national Jos Leijdekkers, who is on Europol’s most wanted list for cocaine trafficking.
The nation, which only has one psychiatric hospital, is currently experiencing an epidemic of people using both crack and cocaine, both of which are made from synthetic marijuana.
Sierra Leone is “promising to become a trafficking corridor,” according to Ibrahim Kargbo, a senior director at the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency.
In the greater Accra region, a survey conducted in Ghana found that cocaine was the most frequently abused drug, followed by heroin and crack.
Additionally, there is a rise in the use of tramadol, an imported opioid that has been bolstered in part by the success of heroin dealers.
Ghanaian authorities have launched education campaigns in recent months to combat “red,” a high-strength variant of tramadol.
According to Maria-Goretti Ane Loglo, who has studied drug use in Ghana, “if you are in that space where you can’t afford heroin, you rely on red.”
Farmers Nana Twum and the Western Region of Ghana, who both work for the government, shared their strength with AFP earlier this year.
He said, “But I’ve realized it’s having an impact on me because I get weak when the drug stops,” adding that he hoped to wean himself off.
He was receiving care at the Nkwanta Regional Hospital a few weeks later.
Agun Gbenga, the governor of the state capital, was found slumped at an event in Benin City, killing the commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).
Gbenga allegedly collapsed after giving his good-will address at a Bishop Kelly Pastoral Centre event organized by the International Association of World Peace Advocates.
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He looked fine when he arrived at the event on Thursday, which was said to have shocked many attendees.
Efosa Ogbebor, the state’s liaison for public relations, released a statement on Friday confirming the incident.
Gbenga was taken to the Military Hospital, where he was later declared dead, according to the statement.
Commandant Agun Gbenga worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of the lives and property of the citizens as an astute operations officer.
He was admired and praised for his humility, friendliness, and intelligence. He will be greatly missed for his devotion to duty and pursuit of excellence.
