Hi @SuellaBraverman ,
48 hours ago I asked you to substantiate or withdraw your claim that “250,000 foreign students took £4bn in UK loans.” That time has now passed. You have provided no evidence, no clarification, and no correction.
I have taken the time to examine the data myself.
I have reviewed materials from the Student Loans Company, the Department for Education, the House of Commons Library, the UK Statistics Authority, and reporting from Times Higher Education. Across these sources, one thing is clear. Your statement is presented in a way that gives the public a deeply misleading impression.
Let’s deal with this carefully.
The £4bn figure you reference relates to the total value of student loans issued to non UK nationals. It is not a direct cost to the taxpayer. These are loans. They are repaid over time based on income. Presenting that figure as if it were money handed out or lost is not an accurate reflection of how the system works.
Then there is your use of the phrase “foreign students.”
This is where the distortion becomes more serious.
The fact (which you know quite well) is those eligible for UK student finance are not newly arrived international students. They are people with settled status, indefinite leave to remain, refugee status, or long term lawful residence in the UK. They live here. They work here. They pay into the system. And under the law, they are entitled to access student finance.
Standard international students on student visas are generally not eligible for these loans.
By leaving out that distinction, you create a very different picture in the minds of the public. One where large numbers of people are arriving from abroad and immediately accessing public funds. That is not what the data shows.
You also cited a figure of 250,000 without pointing to a clearly published dataset or transparent methodology. Numbers like this carry weight. They should be used with care, not as loose estimates in politically charged statements.
I am not interested in party politics. But I am concerned about what this kind of messaging is doing to the country.
When lending is presented as spending, and long term residents are presented as outsiders, it fuels resentment. It deepens division. It creates tension where clarity is needed. And ordinary people end up carrying the consequences of that confusion. Like I was being racially attacked and profiled in my initial response to you in X by supporters of your party who were obviously misled and triggered by your misinformation.
I did consider legal action. But the reality is that the law is not designed to deal easily with this kind of broad public misrepresentation. You know that, which is why ignoring a challenge like mine carries little immediate consequence.
That does not make it acceptable.
I will be submitting a formal complaint to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards regarding your use of misleading statistical claims in public communication.
The public deserves accuracy. Not selective framing. Not distortion. And certainly not narratives that risk turning people against each other on the basis of incomplete facts.
Stephen Dada.
@BwalaDaniel, This isn't a "press statement"; it’s a confession of moral bankruptcy.
By saying your past attacks on Tinubu were "just politics," you admit you were either a liar then or you are a hired gun now. Which is it? Principles aren't a jacket you change because the weather in the State House is nicer.
You’re upset Mehdi Hassan didn’t "warn" you he’d bring up your own words Bro! An intellectual doesn't need a script to defend his character -unless that character is a fiction.
We already know your 2027 script. When this administration ends, you’ll be back on TV saying, "I was just doing my job," while pivoting to the next bidder. You aren't defending the government; you are defending your paycheck.
You didn’t go to "Head to Head" to represent Nigeria; you went there to audition for a man who values loyalty over truth. You claim to have brave defense, but all we saw was a man drowning in his own archives.
"Ga fili, ga doki" indeed, but the horse has no rider, and the rider has no shame. Nigeria deserves better than a spokesperson whose only consistency is his desperation to remain relevant.
TOTAL BS 🤡
A Young Nurse Encounters Nigeria
Sunday, January 4th, was an unusually demanding day for me. I had an event in Ughelli, Delta State, and had to drive from Onitsha to the city. From there, I proceeded to another event in Mgbidi, Imo State, and thereafter traveled from Owerri to Lagos.
On the Air Peace flight, I sat in 5A, beside me in 5B was a young woman of about 24 years, Chidera Ugwokeba, whose parents are from the South East, but who was born and raised in the USA. She had just graduated from nursing school and was visiting Nigeria with her parents for the first time. She had exchanged her seat with her sibling to enable her talk to me having been told who I am.
During the flight, she began to share her sadness and confusion about Nigeria. Her first question was simple but piercing: Why do basic things not work in Nigeria? She then recounted a painful experience. Her sister, also visiting Nigeria for the first time, had a domestic accident and was rushed to what they were told was the best government-owned hospital in the area.
On arrival, even though her sister’s hand was bleeding, the hospital staff insisted that payment must be made before any treatment could begin. Shocked, they asked the hospital attendant whether he truly did not see the urgency of the situation. In response, they were shown other patients with even worse conditions who were also being left unattended because they had not paid.
They eventually paid, and it was time for the blood test. Traumatised, they realised the hospital had only one blood-testing machine for all patients, and it was not being sterilised between uses. When she raised concerns that the equipment had not been properly sterilised, they were bluntly told to stop asking questions if they wanted her sister to be treated. Despite their payment, they had to buy all the items needed for her treatment.
She found it hard to believe because, according to her training and every hospital she had visited, treatment comes first - payment comes later. She told me they had considered organizing a GoFundMe to support healthcare back home, but relatives warned them that any money raised would likely be embezzled.
Then she said something that struck me deeply: “I now understand what happened to Boxer Joshua. This is why there was no ambulance to rush him to a nearby hospital.” She wondered aloud whether it was simply because the country is poor. Yet she added that she would willingly offer her skills and service for free and help raise money to make things better.
Listening to the lament of a young, patriotic Nigerian who is prepared to offer free service and raise money to help her country and its citizens, I painfully replied by encouraging her not to lose hope. The country is not poor, but it is poorly governed. Nigeria can afford basic necessities, especially critical and necessary ones, but they are often not considered priorities due to incompetent leadership.
A standard ambulance costs about ₦150 million ($100,000). Nigeria spent ₦39 billion refurbishing the National Conference Centre in Abuja and ₦21 billion rebuilding the Vice President’s residence. Those two projects alone- ₦60 billion -could have provided about 400 brand-new ambulances, roughly 11 per state, including the FCT. Had 11 functional ambulances existed in Ogun State, one might have been available for Joshua.
Building a primary healthcare centre in a community costs about ₦75 million. Yet we spent about ₦300 billion ($200 million) on an additional presidential jet - money that could have built over 4,000 primary healthcare centres, about 110 per state. The only visible value the jet adds is the ability of the President to occasionally disappear without the public knowing where he is, as is the case now.
Prosperity cannot come by taxing Poverty
As I travel the world and meet leaders who have transformed their nations, one lesson is clear: lasting economic and social progress begins with national consensus. Transformative leaders—those who successfully unite their people around a shared vision—share a defining quality: honesty. Government must be transparent and truthful because citizens deserve nothing less from those who lead them. True leaders do not exploit their people to enrich themselves and a few cronies; they build trust, unity, and shared purpose - the foundation of sustainable progress.
It is against this standard of honest leadership that Nigeria’s current approach to taxation must be measured. If taxation is to function as a genuine social contract, it must be rooted in sincerity, fairness, and concern for the welfare of the people. Every tax policy should be clearly explained, including its impact on incomes and its expected contribution to national development. Without this transparency, taxation becomes a tool of confusion and burden rather than a mechanism for growth and development.
Nigeria must rethink taxation if it is serious about economic growth, national unity, and shared prosperity. The purpose of sound fiscal policy is not merely to raise revenue; it is to make the people wealthier so that the nation itself becomes stronger. Yet today, Nigerians are asked to pay taxes without clarity, explanation, or visible benefit.
The solution begins with empowering small and medium-sized enterprises in every community. When small businesses thrive, jobs are created, incomes rise, and the tax base expands naturally. You cannot tax your way out of poverty - you must produce your way out of it.
This makes the ongoing tax fraud saga particularly alarming. For the first time in Nigeria’s history, a tax law has reportedly been forged. The National Assembly itself has admitted that the version gazetted is not what was passed into law. Yet citizens are being asked to pay higher taxes under this manipulated framework—without transparency, without explanation, and without corresponding benefits.
There is no virtue in celebrating increased government revenue while the people grow poorer. Taxing poverty does not create wealth; it deepens hardship. Any tax system that makes citizens poorer violates the fundamental principles of good governance and sound fiscal policy.
Nigeria needs a fair, lawful, and people-centred tax system—one that supports production, rewards enterprise, protects the vulnerable, and restores trust between government and citizens. Only then can taxation become a true tool for unity, growth, and shared prosperity. -PO
🚨Christians in Nigeria refuse to renounce the Faith after Islamist’s burned their Church Down 🙏🏽
Let’s continue to pray and intercede for our brothers and sisters all around the world 🙏🏽
The daughter of our Father Apostle Ayodele Babalola, Mama Ogini has responded to mammon-inspired Biodun Fatoyinbo of COZA.
In his demeaning message, where he denigrated the work of the Apostle because of money, he asked, "Where are his children?"
One of his daughters has responded to the mammon-worshipping Biodun, who should still be a Sunday school student but is heading a church.
The Poor Must Not Be Punished While the Powerful Walk Free
Yesterday, I sincerely apologised to Ibom Air and its crew for the unacceptable conduct of one of their passengers.
This morning, I woke up to learn that the passenger, the young Ms. Comfort Emmanson in her twenties, has been banned from flying for life—once again showing how our system works, proving the truth of Anacharsis’ words that “the law is like a spider’s web: it catches the weak, while the powerful break through with ease.”
There is everything systemically
Wrong and unjust about this authoritarian decision. What due process was followed over night leading to this sanction? Have we exhausted the avenues of justice and compassionate resolution on this matter?
It is a tragic irony that a young lady in her twenties can be banned for life, while we—her parents —commit worse crimes against humanity and are celebrated; those in positions of authority perpetrate far greater offences that harm the nation deeply, yet move freely in comfort, shielded from consequences, and in Ms. Emmanson’s case, the authorities acted with lightning speed, but the same urgency is absent when dealing with the influential and politically connected.
If this young woman, who indeed acted wrongly, now seeks to apologise, who will hear her cry in a country where the pain of the poor is invisible and the dignity of the less privileged is often disregarded? Justice must be consistent, or it becomes oppression in disguise.
This must change. Justice must be equal for all. There must be room for compassion, for rehabilitation, and for understanding when misconduct stems from frustration or displaced aggression. Power must never determine who is punished and who is pardoned.
May God heal our land.
A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO
The unfortunate and dishonourable drama witnessed in Ibom Air has again brought to the fore the double standards in our lives and the inadequacies of our various security operatives in acting decently and in a civilised manner.
I want to start by sincerely apologising to the Ibom Air crew who were assaulted by Miss Comfort Emmanson. We must, as a society, learn and uphold good conduct, as it is a true measure of success and decent living.
However, I must equally strongly condemn the dehumanising treatment meted out to this young woman. Stripping her publicly was not only unnecessary but also represents the height of rascality and abuse by our agencies. It is unacceptable that she was hurriedly taken to court and remanded, while someone who visibly held a plane from taking off and put hundreds of lives at risk is still at large, with government agencies and some state officials speaking up for him to be forgiven.
This case is not just about one young woman, it is about the double standards that poison our justice system. Justice in Nigeria must never be about who is poor or powerless versus who has influence or access to government officials.
While Ms. Comfort Emmanson is in jail, the other offender who committed a more severe offence has not been held to the same standard. He has neither been arrested nor arraigned in any court.
We must build a country where justice is fair, equal, and not selective, especially against women who are seen to be weaker. This young lady’s offence does not compare to the crimes committed daily by those parading themselves as “excellencies” while looting public funds without consequence, and yet they have not been stripped or dehumanised in the name of justice.
We must end this selective treatment of the poor or less privileged. If justice must be served, it should be served to all, and it must be served fairly. The Minister of Aviation and other relevant authorities owe the public an explanation for these double standards in their adjudication.
Justice must be just, or it is nothing at all.
The rule of law based on justice for all must remain the guidepost of our democracy.
A new Nigeria is POssible. -PO
It was refreshing news on Monday to a bewildered nation learning that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally decided to visit the scene of the brutal killings in Benue State. For this I thank him even as I make further request that similar gesture should be extended to Niger state that lost more number of human lives in a natural disaster, flood recently.
Given the emergency nature of these incidents, a prompt visits would have delivered the urgency needed, instead of giving future dates that makes it look like a state visit.
The presence of the President in these devastated and grieving communities will be very reassuring and uplifting.
Both Benue and Niger States have lost over 200 lives each due to recent tragedies. In Mokwa alone, more than 200 people were confirmed dead, and over 1,000 are still missing following the floods. These are not just statistics; they are the lives of Nigerian families torn apart and their communities destroyed.
The distance from Abuja to these affected areas is not far. Abuja to Makurdi is about 282 km and Abuja to Mokwa is about 287 km
Combined, that’s roughly 1,134 km for a round trip to both locations, still significantly less than the 1,870 km round trip President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa recently made some days ago from Pretoria to Mthatha to personally visit flood victims in his country.
Less than 100 persons died in Mthatha, and more than 200 died in Mokwa, with over 1000 still missing.
If the South African President could do it, we trust that you, as our own President, can do the same for your people.
Let your visit to Mokwa send a strong message, that all Nigerian lives matter, and that no community, no matter how rural, is forgotten. Please also consider stepping up security across the country, especially in disaster-prone areas.
We look forward to seeing not leadership by remote control but proactive leadership that responds not just with words, but with compassion and action.
A new Nigeria is POssible. -PO
The Joy and Sadness of Sports
Today, after my engagements at the London Business School, I had the honour of watching the Unity Cup match between Nigeria and Jamaica at the Brentford Stadium in the UK.
The match ended 2-2 and was eventually decided by a penalty shootout, with the Super Eagles emerging victorious. It was not just a game—it was a moving celebration of our unity, culture, and the indomitable spirit of Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora.
Sitting among fellow Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, I witnessed once again how sports cement our unity, uplift us, and remind us of our shared hopes for a better, stronger nation. I commend the organizers for reviving this important event and for using it as a platform to showcase our heritage and the incredible talent of our young people. Congratulations, our Super Eagles, for making us proud.
However, our celebration was cut short just at the train station going by the heartbreaking news of the ugly incident involving 22 members of the Kano sports delegation returning from the just concluded national sports festival in Ogun state who were feared dead in a tragic road accident.
As we continue to support initiatives that promote unity and national pride, let us also spare a moment to reflect on the lives lost and the families who now mourn.
My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, the National Sports Commission and the Kano state Government during this difficult time.
May the souls of the departed rest in peace.
-PO
Today, I had the privilege of speaking at the London Business School, hosted by the Africa Business Club, on the theme “From Promise to Prosperity: Charting Africa’s Development with Political Will and Vision.”
During the engagement and Q&A session, I stated that Africa is not poor, but its natural wealth is just being poorly managed.
Africa is a continent blessed with everything you can think of. We have about 30% of the world's known mineral reserves and over 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land. 60% of global solar energy potential is in Africa, yet we are still talking about energy poverty.
We have the youngest population on earth, over 60% of our 1.4 billion people are young and productive. By 2050, 40% of the world’s youth will be African. That’s potential waiting to be unlocked.
But the reality is different. Despite all this, we are still home to extreme poverty, insecurity, and rising unemployment. Our problem is simple, failure of leadership.
While Asia now contributes over 35% of global GDP, Africa contributes less than 3%. This is largely because Asian leadership focuses on education, healthcare, production and poverty reduction, whereas in Africa, the opposite tends to be the case.
We must invest in education, health, productivity and poverty reduction. We must feed our people. We must secure our lands and lives. We must cut wasteful spending and invest in our people.
Africa doesn’t lack potential. What we lack is purposeful, accountable, and competent leadership.
To move from promise to prosperity, Africa must prioritize competence, character, capacity, compassion, and integrity in leadership.
A new Nigeria and Africa are POssible.
-PO
Legacy of Light: What Pope Francis Taught the World
Today, I joined Francis Cardinal Arinze, global dignitaries, and thousands of mourners at St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, to pay my final respects to His Holiness, Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21. The solemn lying-in-state ceremony was a moment of deep reflection, as the world bids farewell to a man who embodied humility, simplicity, and selfless service.
Pope Francis was more than a Pontiff; he was a moral light in a world darkened by inequality and indifference. His life was a testament to leadership as a sacred duty, one rooted in compassion, truth, and service to the poor and marginalised. He lived for others, spoke for the voiceless, and reminded us all that leadership must be about lifting others, not self-exaltation.
I came to truly appreciate what he stood for after my appointment as a member of Scholars Occultantes - an international circle of thinkers he founded during his time as Archbishop. The organisation, dedicated to truth, ethical leadership, and social transformation, gave me a deeper insight into the intellectual and moral force behind his teachings.
I was blessed to meet Pope Francis on three occasions. Each encounter left a lasting impression. He radiated peace and inspired faith, and his presence was a quiet yet powerful reminder of the divine responsibility that leadership entails. His humility was infectious, his vision deeply human.
As we mourn this great soul, I urge political, religious, and community leaders, especially across Africa, to reflect on his life and commit to the values he upheld: justice, peace, and human dignity. Let this moment not just be one of mourning, but a call to lead with conscience, walk with the people, and govern with love.
May Pope Francis’ soul rest in perfect peace, and may his legacy live on in all who seek to serve humanity selflessly. -PO
Scoundrels will always be Scoundrels.
Hooligans will always be Hooligans.
Our Politics has more Scoundrels and Hooligans than human beings.
The war to rid this country’s politics of Scoundrels and Hooligans is the real and imminent War that Nigerians will either decide to fight and win or forever be ruled by a criminal enterprise gang.
We are all in the Valley of Decision.
The Choice is up to each of us as Citizens.
✍🏾✍🏾✍🏾