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Nasir El Rufai, Ayodele and Nigeria blames the Igbo because the truth terrifies them
THERE is a rhythm in the Nigerian public space that never changes. Whenever the nation begins to collapse under the weight of its own failures, someone emerges from a pulpit or a podium searching for a convenient scapegoat. Today it is the rumour around Primate Ayodele. Tomorrow it is a commentator in Beijing. The day after, it is a presidential adviser performing linguistic acrobatics on television. And now, even Nasir El Rufai has joined the procession. The names shift like shadows on a cracked wall, yet the target remains unchanged. The Igbo.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
This is not analysis. It is Nigeria’s oldest political reflex. A habit older than our democracy. A familiar escape hatch for those who cannot bear to face the truth of this country’s decay.
Before we allow this recycled blame to replace thinking, we must invite history into the room. Not the gentle, edited history that drips from politicians. The real one. The one carved in wounds.
Few peoples on this continent have walked through condensed suffering the way the Igbo did. They survived the pogroms of 1966 when thousands were butchered for the crime of existing. They survived a civil war that buried their children in hunger and grief. They survived the decree that reduced every bank account to twenty pounds, an erasure disguised as economic policy. They survived the silence of a federal government that told them to rebuild a civilisation from rubble without compensation or acknowledgment.
And rebuild they did. Not because Nigeria helped them but because they refused to kneel before despair. Markets rose again from ashes. Industries revived from dust. Towns scarred by war glowed with commerce and invention. Their resilience became so bright it unsettled those who relied on privilege instead of effort.
And there is another truth Nigeria fears to say aloud because it exposes too much. The Igbo stand among the most educated communities in the federation, rivalled only by the Yoruba in the breadth of their learning and achievement. They are also among the most enterprising and industrious populations in West Africa, shaped by a culture where apprenticeship is an institution, where innovation is instinct and where commerce is almost a second language.
Yet in one of the greatest acts of national self harm, this same population is kept far from the Wuthering Heights of Nigerian policy making. The Igbo build the markets that keep the country alive but are denied entry into the chambers where the country decides its destiny. They drive the private economy with their sweat but are locked out of the public institutions that steer the national future. It is Nigeria turning its back on the very people who refuse to let the nation collapse under its own lethargy.
This is not a wound inflicted on the Igbo. They have rebuilt themselves before from nothing but grief and dust. The wound is on Nigeria. A country cannot sideline one of its most educated and most industrious populations without crippling its own chances of rising. If Nigeria ever hopes to escape mediocrity, it is Nigeria that needs the Igbo, not the other way around. The Igbo do not need Nigeria to dream. Nigeria needs the Igbo to finally wake up.
And now, as if on cue, Nasir El Rufai has entered the arena with a fresh coat of old blame. Yesterday, he took to Twitter and published a long essay dressed in the garments of geopolitical wisdom. He invoked Iraq, Libya and Syria. He spoke of Washington’s shadows and congressional narratives. But beneath the global metaphors sits the same old strategy. Turn the nation’s failures into an Igbo conspiracy.
In his telling, Nigeria’s problem is not the mass graves in Plateau. It is not the villages swallowed in Benue. It is not the forests in Kaduna ruled by terror. It is not the kidnapping factories in Zamfara. It is not the unending funerals across the Middle Belt. The problem, he claims, is that IPOB once hired lobbyists in Washington. The problem is that Nnamdi Kanu was convicted. The problem is that American lawmakers see persecution where the Nigerian state insists on denial.
This is not insight. It is rhetorical sleight of hand. A polished deflection crafted to lead the reader away from the blood on Nigerian soil and toward the same scapegoat Nigeria has leaned on for generations.
Rather than confront the truth, he reaches for the same escape route. The Igbo did it.
This is exactly the reflex we saw from Daniel Bwala, who blamed the Igbo for the United States naming Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern. Faced with undeniable massacres, faced with reports too detailed to deny, he chose the familiar shortcut. The Igbo. And he is not alone. A northern commentator in China echoed the same logic, blaming the Igbo instead of addressing the forces that spill blood across the nation.
So how does a people with so little power suddenly become the problem of Nigeria. The accusation collapses the moment you examine the geography of power. Where are the Igbo in the command structure. Not in the office of the National Security Adviser. Not among the Chiefs of Defence Staff. Not among the Inspectors General of Police. For more than fifty years they have been the least represented major ethnic group in Nigeria’s highest security architecture. A people locked out of the control room cannot be blamed for the direction of the ship.
Where are they in the presidency since nineteen ninety nine. Every region has tasted executive power except the South East. They do not command the armed forces. They do not supervise defence spending. They do not control the ministries that direct the nation’s fate. How then can a people who hold so little in the engine room of the federation be blamed for the malfunction of the machine.
Even in the economy the accusation fails. Yes, they excel in trade. Yes, their entrepreneurs turn empty land into markets. But the national economy revolves around oil, ports, customs, foreign exchange and federal contracts. None are in Igbo hands. Their success is a triumph of effort, not privilege.
Nigeria does not lack problems. Nigeria lacks honesty. The Igbo are not the obstacle blocking the country from greatness. They are the evidence of what Nigerians can achieve when discipline replaces entitlement and when work replaces inherited arrogance. To accuse such a people of being the nation’s problem is not only dishonest. It is a confession of fear. It is the cry of a leadership terrified of its own reflection.
Blame the Igbo if you must. It will not change a single thing. Not the graves. Not the hunger. Not the fear on the highways. Blame is the opium of a dying republic. But truth is stubborn. Nigeria will rise only when it stops fearing its best minds and starts confronting its worst leaders.
Josephine Akioyamen writes from Edo State.
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Art & Commercial students don’t fail JAMB because they’re dull. They fail because they’re taught like Science students. Science students calculate — JAMB rewards that. Art students explain — JAMB doesn’t. So you read hard, attend lessons, yet your score disappoints you. This online class fixes that. No theory overload. No confusion. Just real JAMB questions, clear breakdowns, and winning strategies. 📌 JAMB is not hard — you were just taught the wrong way.Click The Link To Reach Us Now 👉 https://wa.me/2349063958940
The Oyo State Police Command has announced an operational success recorded following an intelligence-led operation.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
Acting on credible intelligence, operatives of the Command intercepted a truck conveying materials suspected to be explosive devices during a stop-and-search operation in Saki, Oyo State. The truck and the suspected materials were promptly secured and are currently in police custody.
Upon receiving a briefing on the development, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, CP Femi Haruna, immediately ordered a comprehensive investigation into the matter.
Consequently, specialised personnel of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit and the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Unit were deployed to safely secure the items for safekeeping and forensic examination. Detailed forensic analysis has since commenced, alongside a thorough and robust investigation to determine the exact nature of the items and their intended use.
The truck driver has been taken into custody and is cooperating fully with investigators as efforts continue to unravel all the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Commissioner of Police commended the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, for his unwavering support, strategic leadership, and continued provision of operational guidance that enhance proactive, intelligence-driven policing across the country.
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Art & Commercial students don’t fail JAMB because they’re dull. They fail because they’re taught like Science students. Science students calculate — JAMB rewards that. Art students explain — JAMB doesn’t. So you read hard, attend lessons, yet your score disappoints you. This online class fixes that. No theory overload. No confusion. Just real JAMB questions, clear breakdowns, and winning strategies. 📌 JAMB is not hard — you were just taught the wrong way.Click The Link To Reach Us Now 👉 https://wa.me/2349063958940
One person has died and another sustained injuries following an assault by suspected armed bandits in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
According to sources, the attack took place on January 24 around 4:00 p.m. along the Amoke–Odugbo road in Ukpogo Village, Edikwu Ward.
The victims, identified as Mr Joseph Okoh and Miss Aneh Sunday, both from Ogodumo, Adoka in Otukpo LGA, were reportedly riding a motorcycle when the assailants struck.
“They were rushed to the Comprehensive Health Centre, Ugbokpo, where Mr Okoh was confirmed dead while receiving treatment. Miss Sunday is currently admitted and responding to treatment,” the source stated.
Nigerian troops were quickly deployed to the area, and a search operation in the surrounding bushes is ongoing to apprehend the attackers.
“The Criminal Investigation Department has commenced an investigation into the incident,” the source added.
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Art & Commercial students don’t fail JAMB because they’re dull. They fail because they’re taught like Science students. Science students calculate — JAMB rewards that. Art students explain — JAMB doesn’t. So you read hard, attend lessons, yet your score disappoints you. This online class fixes that. No theory overload. No confusion. Just real JAMB questions, clear breakdowns, and winning strategies. 📌 JAMB is not hard — you were just taught the wrong way.Click The Link To Reach Us Now 👉 https://wa.me/2349063958940
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has scrapped special concessions and registration procedures previously granted to candidates with albinism for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, citing abuse of the privilege to perpetrate examination malpractice.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
The Board also warned faith-based tertiary institutions to clearly declare their religious status at the point of admission, saying it is deceptive to present as secular and later impose religious rules on students.
As reported by Vanguard, these decisions were taken on Saturday at a meeting between JAMB management, led by its Registrar, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, and Commissioners for Education from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, held in Ikeja, Lagos.
Oloyede said the meeting was convened to review and assess previous admission exercises.
He noted that despite safeguards introduced by the Board, some individuals remained determined to circumvent the system.
“We have stopped some concessions we gave albino candidates. This is because some are using artificial intelligence to manipulate the registration process to look like they are albinos because of the consideration we gave them.
“Last year alone, over 7,000 claimed to be albinos. We have stopped special registration procedures for albinos,” he said.
Addressing complaints from candidates admitted into some private institutions over compulsory religious instruction, Oloyede urged faith-based schools to be transparent.
“Faith-based institutions should declare from the onset what they are, so that whoever applies there will know what he is going to meet there. But some don’t do that. They will pretend to be secular, but once students are admitted, trouble will begin over religious instruction and injunctions.
“If you are a faith-based institution, say so. The law allows you to set up faith-based schools,” he said.
On last year’s UTME, where the highest-scoring candidate was later found to be a 300-level university student, the JAMB registrar said investigations showed that some undergraduates sit for the examination to change courses or assist others to secure admission.
“Students who are already in school but want to change courses and are applying again must declare and disclose their status.
“We have found that some candidates already in school are writing the examination for other candidates. Last year, the candidate who scored the highest was found to be a 300-level student in the university.
“Henceforth, any candidate found engaging in such an act, and who fails to disclose that he is already in school but wants to change course, will be disqualified and will also lose his current admission,” he said.
On admission criteria, Oloyede explained that federal government-owned institutions allocate 45 per cent on merit, 20 per cent on catchment area, 20 per cent to educationally disadvantaged states, while the remaining slots are allocated to other considerations.
“Each owner or state has the right to decide what its admission criteria will be. But for states, we encourage them to allocate at least 10 per cent to merit, regardless of where the candidates come from.
“This is to diversify the student population and admit eggheads from different communities,” he said.
He criticised some states for establishing new universities despite not fully utilising their admission quotas in existing federal institutions.
On underage candidates, Oloyede said 16 years remained the minimum admission age, noting that an attestation process was in place for exceptional cases.
“Last year, about 42,000 claimed to be underage. After evaluation, only 78 met the criteria and were admitted. We are not saying there are no talented candidates, but the figure looks outlandish,” he said.
The issue of how to engage underage candidates during a gap year divided opinions at the meeting, but a majority voted for JAMB to continue its special assessment process.
The meeting also observed that parental pressure on children to complete their education too quickly was a major contributor to the problem.
On efforts to curb examination malpractice, Oloyede said JAMB had stopped the movement of computers between Computer-Based Test centres.
“A computer registered in a particular centre will remain there and is not transferable to another centre. Some people borrow computers to get accredited and later move them around,” he said.
He dismissed claims that candidates were posted to towns they did not choose, saying personal data used for registration were drawn directly from the National Identification Number submitted by candidates.
Providing an update on the 2025 UTME, Oloyede said 974,855 candidates had so far been admitted out of about 1.95 million who sat for the examination.
He added that over N2.4 billion had been disbursed to institutions that consistently complied with JAMB’s rules over the past 10 years, and that the meeting agreed that schools producing the best candidates should be compensated.
On accreditation of CBT centres, Oloyede said the process involved teams comprising university vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts in each state.
He warned state governments against agreements with private promoters who might use centres to facilitate malpractice.
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Art & Commercial students don’t fail JAMB because they’re dull. They fail because they’re taught like Science students. Science students calculate — JAMB rewards that. Art students explain — JAMB doesn’t. So you read hard, attend lessons, yet your score disappoints you. This online class fixes that. No theory overload. No confusion. Just real JAMB questions, clear breakdowns, and winning strategies. 📌 JAMB is not hard — you were just taught the wrong way.Click The Link To Reach Us Now 👉 https://wa.me/2349063958940
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