This is why Iya Elewa, Baba Teacher, Iya Alakara, Iya Oni Rogbo, Baba Olobi, Iya Eleko, Baba Carpenter etc work hard doing micro businesses of N250K or N300K monthly.
This is why market women and men labour, to give their children a better life. They might have missed out on education. Life might have happened to them.
Please if you have spare N100K, N200K, N300K, help petty traders and folks from humble backgrounds 💙.
Dear @SenRemiTinubu, I have started roasted agbado business as instructed by you. I used my certificates to lit up the fire.
Do well to ensure bandits do not attack me on my way to farm, do well to ensure price of transportation doesn’t run me out of business. Lastly, while you and governor’s wives cruise in the exotic cars you shared, please stop by and buy my corn.
Being in your early 40s is weird, man. People around your age are in every stage of life. You have people who are grandparents. You have people who have newborns. You have people dating 25-year-olds. You have people celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. Some of them look 60, and some of them look 30. All the bases are covered when you are in your early 40s.
My father never came to a single thing I invited him to.
Not my primary school graduation. Not my secondary school prize giving where I collected 3 awards and kept looking at the gate. Not my university matriculation. Not the ceremony when I got called to bar in 2012. I'd send him the date weeks in advance and he'd say I'll try and that was always the full sentence. I'll try. No follow up. No explanation after.
My mother would sit in his place and clap loud enough for 2 people.
I stopped inviting him after the bar call. Not from anger. Some people love you completely and still cannot show up and after a while you stop making them feel guilty about it.
He was not a bad man. I want to be clear about that.
He was a mechanic in Mushin for 35 years. Worked 6 days a week. Sent every one of us to school. Never raised his hand. Never left. The lights stayed on and the rent was paid and there was always food and he did all of it quietly without asking to be celebrated.
He just could not sit in a plastic chair and watch something.
I accepted that and moved on.
Last year I bought my first property. A flat in Ojodu. Took 9 years of saving and 2 years of paperwork and a lawyer who nearly finished me. When the keys finally came I sat in the empty flat on the floor for an hour just breathing.
I called my mother first. She screamed. My sister cried.
I didn't call my father.
3 days later he called me.
Said he heard about the flat from my mother. Said he wanted to come and see it.
I didn't know what to do with that so I just said okay. Gave him the address. Figured he'd say I'll try and we'd never speak of it again.
He showed up on Saturday at 9am.
Stood at the door in his good agbada. The one he only wears for serious things. Holding a small nylon bag.
I let him in and he walked through every room without speaking. Not quickly. Slowly. Like he was counting something. He checked the pipes under the kitchen sink. Knocked on the walls. Opened and closed the windows twice each. Looked at the ceiling in every room the way only a man who has fixed things his whole life looks at ceilings.
Then he came and stood in the sitting room and looked at me.
Said the pipework is good. Said the windows seal properly. Said whoever built this knew what they were doing.
I nodded.
Long silence.
Then he opened the nylon bag.
Inside was a small framed photo. Me at maybe 7 years old sitting on the bonnet of an old car in his workshop. Grinning. Both legs swinging. He's standing beside me with his hand on my shoulder looking at something outside the frame. I remember that day. I had gone to the workshop after school and he let me sit there while he worked and gave me a Fanta and put a Michael Jackson cassette on the small radio.
I didn't know anyone had taken a photo.
He said he kept it on his workshop table for 22 years. Said he wanted me to have something for the new place.
I held that frame and stood very still.
He said he knew he missed things. Said he was not good at the sitting and watching. That crowds made something in him go wrong in a way he never knew how to explain.
Then he said the flat was good and he was proud and he asked if there was anything in the kitchen because he hadn't eaten.
I laughed.
Made him eggs and bread while he sat at my kitchen table in his good agbada like he owned the place.
We ate and he told me about a car he was working on. I told him about a case that was giving me trouble. Normal conversation. The kind we should have been having for years.
He left at 1pm. At the door he gripped my shoulder the same way he did in that photo.
Didn't say anything.
Didn't need to.
The photo is on my sitting room wall now. First thing I hung in the whole flat.
Some fathers cannot sit in the plastic chair.
But mine drove to Ojodu in his good agbada on a Saturday morning with a 22 year old photograph in a nylon bag.
That was his standing ovation.
I just didn't know to look for it in that shape.
I remember back in 2006 when my older brother was a 5th year medical student at Korle Bu and he caused a big family quarrel during a brief holiday in Lagos where he mentioned casually that he regularly administered blood transfusions to his patients.
My dad believed that as a Jehovah Witness, my brother should decline to take part in any medical procedure involving blood transfusion on religious grounds. He didn't even want to know whether such a refusal was even possible under the terms of medical practise (it isn't) - all he knew was that 12 white men in Brooklyn who regularly spoke to "Jehovah" had decreed it so, and how dare us children from a JW family not prioritise those instructions over everything else.
And because he convinced himself that his placenta was tied to these stupid Jehovah's Witnesses, he went on to lose his whole family that he spent decades building an empire for, and he died rich, miserable and alone. His first child got married and didn't even inform him because she knew he wouldn't approve. His 2nd child (my brother) invited him to his wedding and he declined because the bride was Catholic. His 4th child (me) got married and he was also absent, and he never met any of the 2 grandchildren he had before he died confused and heartbroken.
And after thoroughly fucking up his life, the cult just wakes up one day and changes the entire fundamental doctrine that made him go to war with his own children. There is no way to quantify the damage that has been caused here, and even if there were, oyibo man is definitely never going to pay.
As in my dad's case and in the case of every other brainwashed, spiritually lost black person, African wey no gree get sense, na oyibo go kill am.
All we can do is cry over spilled milk now.
What happens to DIG Frank Mbah?
Mr President, while you have discretion under the Police Act 2020 to appoint based on merit, experience, and national interest, several factors position DIG Mba as arguably the most qualified and senior eligible officer at this juncture.
1. Seniority and Hierarchical Position
DIG Frank Mba is widely recognized as the Most senior serving officer in the Nigeria Police Force among those eligible for the IGP role. Force records and public commentary indicate he tops the hierarchy of Deputy Inspectors-General (DIGs) currently in service. The appointment of AIG Tunji Disu—an Assistant Inspector-General—skips over him and other DIGs, marking what some describe as a repeated pattern of overlooking the top-ranked DIG. Seniority in policing is a key principle for continuity, institutional respect, and morale within the ranks. Elevating a junior officer (AIG to acting IGP) while bypassing the most senior DIG risks perceptions of favoritism or regional balancing over merit.
2. Impressive Career Trajectory and Rapid Rise
DIG Mba enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force in 1992and has accumulated over 32–34 years of service (depending on exact tracking). His promotions have been exceptionally swift in recent years:
- Commissioner of Police (around 2020)
- Assistant Inspector-General (March 2023)
- Deputy Inspector-General (June 2023)
This rapid ascent—from CP to DIG in under three years—is described as unprecedented and places him in prime position for top leadership. At approximately 52–53 years old, he has ample years left before the mandatory retirement age of 60 (or 35+ years of service), allowing for a stable, longer-term tenure compared to officers closer to retirement.
3. Distinguished Professional Background and Expertise
DIG Mba brings a well-rounded profile:
- He is a trained lawyer(graduate of the University of Lagos) with legal acumen that enhances oversight of policing, accountability, and rule of law.
- He is an alumnus of the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quantico, USA, and holds certificates in national and international security matters—providing exposure to global best practices in intelligence, investigations, and counter-terrorism.
- He served multiple times as Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), demonstrating strong communication skills, public engagement, and the ability to manage the police's image during challenging periods.
- He has held key operational and administrative roles, including postings in the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID) and training/development departments, showing depth in investigations, intelligence, and personnel development.
His professionalism, discipline, intelligence, and commitment to a united Nigeria are frequently highlighted by observers and former colleagues.
4. Broader National Considerations: Equity and Regional Representation
The repeated bypassing of DIG Mba has raised concerns about the South-East region's exclusion from top police leadership. Despite producing one of the most senior eligible officers, the region lacks representation at the apex of the NPF. Appointing a qualified DIG from this zone could promote national balance, inclusivity, and unity—core principles in addressing security challenges across diverse regions. This is not merely zonal advocacy but aligns with equitable distribution of leadership to foster trust in federal institutions.
5. Alignment with Administration Goals
President Tinubu's statement emphasizes strengthening national security, professionalism, accountability, and equipping the Force. DIG Mba's track record in training, development, public relations, and operational roles directly supports these priorities. His integrity, rapid promotions under recent administrations, and ability to rise meritocratically position him to provide steady, experienced direction at this critical time potentially more seamlessly than elevating a junior officer.
Yesterday, in the quiet zone section of the train, I shared a very brief word. First time ever sharing on a train. It was short, but I’m glad I obeyed.
DSS arrested a food vendor in Enugu for selling food to IPOB members,
but they haven’t arrested the government officials who strike peace deals with terrorist in the North.