Sunday, December 31, 2023
Tinubu, Ariwoola, Peter Obi, and El-Rufai
As we transition from 2023 to 2024, we bring some of the biggest stories that earned widespread readership and commentary on our website and social media pages over the past 12 months. The inexhaustive list highlights some of the top stories we broke to our audience.
Botched London liaison
One of the first stories of 2023 that piqued the interest of our readers was the exposé on a planned secret meeting between then-President-elect Bola Tinubu and Chief Justice Kayode Ariwoola in London.
The chief justice hurriedly returned to Nigeria following our story, and the meeting failed to hold. Still, the story highlights how precarious the independence of the Nigerian judiciary has become in contemporary politics.
Abuja cash stockpile
In June, we reported how federal law enforcement discovered a stockpile of over $76 million cash in an Abuja apartment. The money was linked to a retired civil servant, Mohammed Kyari Dikwa, and his female ally, Aisha Odariko, a serving official at the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC.
Disgraced chief of staff
We informed readers that Femi Gbajabiamila, after years of hustling his clients, was terminated as a licenced lawyer in the United States. He faced similar charges of corruption in Nigeria, but he has faced no consequences as a top power player in Abuja.
‘Yes Daddy’
We published an audio recording of a telephone conversation between opposition leader Peter Obi and David Oyedepo, the pentecostal preacher, that offered an insight into the role of religion in Nigerian political activities.
Presidential phone call
The State Security Service arrested a top northern politician and former governor of Zamfara, Abdulaziz Yari, for rebuffing attempts by the president to reach him for discussion around the leadership crisis at the National Assembly. Mr Yari was elected senator during the February 25 general elections.
Surviving Ganduje
The president dropped Umar Ganduje from ministerial consideration after we reported a brewing rancour among State House officials, who were pushing against having a man of such disrepute on the cabinet. As compensation, and for the president to keep a major northern ally against his reelection prospects, Mr Ganduje was later offered the post of ruling party chairmanship, which he still keeps.
Defenestration of El-Rufai
As Nigerians were expecting him to emerge as the most powerful cabinet minister under President Tinubu, we broke the news that Mr El-Rufai had removed himself from consideration, citing a fallout with the national security adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
Mr El-Rufai also lamented the president’s reluctance to vigorously defend him against the NSA’s attempt to cast him as a national security risk before the Nigerian people.
The former Kaduna governor has been largely quiet ever since, but political analysts said he may soon emerge as the biggest adversary to the president ahead of general elections in 2027.
Green hydrogen impact
In May, this story explored the potential impact of green hydrogen in addressing Nigeria’s perennial energy crisis. Previously, large resource-extractive projects in Nigeria have not invested back into the community as hoped.
Bagudu’s cut
This month, we reported the moves by Atiku Bagudu, the national planning minister, to take a $30 million cut from France before allowing the repatriation of $150 million in Sani Abacha loot to Nigeria.
For years, Mr Bagudu has sought to thwart Nigeria’s efforts to recover the loot traced to him as an ally of the late Nigerian dictator, but his latest action could undermine the administration that employs him.
Irreparable harm
Finally, a lagniappe. In September, we reported that the president made a desperate plea before a U.S. judge to the effect that he would suffer irreparable harm should his academic records be turned over to his main political rival, Atiku Abubakar.
For weeks, the story drove exchanges among Nigerians worldwide, and many took it as sufficient enough to conclude that the president had sinister records to hide, even though he would later be confirmed by the Supreme Court, which sidestepped the evidence obtained from the U.S. as part of the Chicago State University controversy.
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