Gen. Mohammadu Buhari: Immediate past President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
MKO Abiola. Stadium, Abuja Nigeria, was venue of an all-star musical concert called The Renewed Hope Concert for most of the past week. Over forty musicians from diverse backgrounds and generals of the music industry thrilled the audiences every night. At the on-set of the concert, Seyi Tinubu and Ameer Shetima, sons of the President and Vice President-elect respectively, smugly, triumphantly and obviously proudly ushered their fathers unto the fantastically decorated concert podium to declare open the event. It was an event packaged at exorbitant costs, if a piece of information that found its way to the public space through the indignant vituperations of one of the reportedly invited artists who turned down the invitation is anything to go by. The singer, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, was reported to have confessed that he was offered all of N5m to join more than forty others to thrill the audience at the Renewed Hope Concert. In pursuit of Wind-Sound Africa’s Vision and Mission of highlighting the people’s historical highpoints for the purpose of correctly placing them in the annals of time, our reporters were deployed to beam their torchlights around the nooks and crannies of the nation and on the minds of diverse segments of the public.
A few days apart from the moment that can be described as the heart-trob of the jamboree in Abuja stadium, about 220 kilometers away in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, where Governor Simeon Bako Lalong, erstwhile Chairman of President-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council held sway as out-going Governor, a story of horrific mass killings being variously described as an act of genocide or unprovoked massacre allegedly carried out by unidentified Fulani herdsmen against local inhabitants was a major source of sour-mouthedness for most Nigerians. They had begun to nurse new hopes for a new beginning in tandem with the musical lyrics churning out from rehearsing rooms in Abuja and around the nation for the concert. Casualty figures ranging between 150 to 200 lives having been cut shot on each side of the divide amongst the locals and alleged invaders with unabated daily re-occurrences dominated the the air as at the time of filing this report.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
On Wednesday 24th May, what was expected to be a handing over ceremony by the Federal Executive Council of out-going President Mohammadu Buhari’s cabinet to the in-coming administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu turned out not to be exactly so. Most of out-going Ministers gave an overview of their years of service to the nation and the eight years of President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration. They painted their sectorial contributions to national growth through the Ministries and Agencies they supervised over the years in adorable colours and scored the President’s administration high at the economic, security and corruption fighting fronts, the major tripods of Buhari’s campaign promises.
Senator Ali Ndume, Senator, Federal Republic of Nigeria
At the legislative front, combatants jostling for leadership positions on the green and red chambers of the 10th National Assembly were known to be drawing blood on the combat floors. Acrimonies, accusations and counter-accusations emanating from various blocks of the polities whose combatants are on the floor for legislative leadership positions provided an observatory window unto the presumed success of the out-going administration. It also highlighted new expectations for the in-coming All Progressive Congress (APC) administration of Bola Tinubu. On this, Ali Ndume, Distinguished Senator representing Borno North in the red Chamber and one of the combatants had this to say:
Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senator Federal Republic of Nigeria
“I have said it several times that the unfortunate thing that is happening is that the other candidates are talking about money. The only qualification that they are displaying is the amount of money that they tell Senators-elect that they can give them. People are talking about figures, but nobody has approached me. Some are talking about 10, 20, 30, 40,(millions?) and even more than that. Some are even boasting that they will give every Senator up to $200,000. Figures are flying. That is the truth. It is honestly very unfortunate,” the Senator was quoted by a national newspaper to have said within the week leading to the inauguration ceremony.
Barely forty eight hours to the end of President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration, as inauguration fever of the Ahmed Tinubu led in-coming administration creped to its maximum peak, Wind Sound Africa analysts beamed their search lights on the curious turn of events at the Federal Executive Council meeting of Wednesday. While information reached journalists at the end of the Federal Executive meeting that Ministers had not handed over the affairs of their ministries to the Transition Committee but were to continue in office until further notice, hardnosed curiosity took over the air. On Friday, their senses of curiosity paid off. Out-going Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika jubilantly informed the public that Air Nigeria, a National Carrier Airline whose conception and contraption has been mired for quite some time in crisis up to the floors of the courts was due for unveiling . Dispassionate minded observers who spoke to Wind Sound Africa on condition of anonymity believed there must be a link between the decision to keep the out-going Ministers working on their desks after the Federal Executive meeting of Wednesday when a tidy handing over of Ministerial batons should have been the major event of the day, and Air Nigeria’s last hour unveiling. However, all doubts about the seriousness of the Aviation Ministry on the issue were put to rest when news filtered into the air on Friday that a Bowing 737-800 series aircraft belonging to Nigeria Air and proudly carrying its logo had actually landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport for the event which triumphantly took place that day, less than sixty hours to the on-set of a new administration- an administration produced by the same political party, APC.
Hadi Abubakar Sirika, Outgoing Minister of Aviation
Then it happened! The cat sprang out of the bag! Restlessly ferreting noses of the Press let the cat out, that the Nigeria Air unveiling, which only dignifying symbol was the gallantly displayed airline’s logo on the first fleet of its aircraft was all a hoax, “419”, a high class deception project foisted on the public. The air craft belongs to the Ethiopian Airline! It was on duty flights for its true owners until a few hours before it took off from Ethiopia on Friday and landed in Abuja, the Daily Trust reported, “How Buhari Govt Deceived Nigerians” Sahara Reporters headlined its report of the deception, revealing in its report that the air craft that displayed the nation’s airline logo was in deed over ten years old on and had been on duty for its various owners for that long. It was reported that the aircraft’s registration number which it got from Plane Spotters, a platform which takes an inventory of aircrafts is ET-APL with model S Q4005C and serial Number 40965/4075. According to the report, the aircraft had once been bought over by the Malawian airline before being repurchased by the Ethiopian Airline which owned until the date of its landing in Abuja carrying the logo of Nigeria Air.
“Then, on the 26th of May 2023, it has Nigeria Air colours without changing ownership. It was first spotted in South Africa before it flew to Nigeria today”, the Online newspaper reported. Nigerian Local Airline owners had continued to accuse the Federal Ministry of Aviation of under-the-table manipulations on the negotiations and decisions leading to the setting up of the National Airline which saw Ethiopian Airways owning the majority share capital to the detriment of local investors. The issues are before the courts as the events of the past hours in the Aviation industry have anchored in the Renewed Hope administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed.
