Vice President Kashim Shettima has fingered political forces in the ongoing high rising cost of living and protests it has generated in some parts of the country.
“There are (political) forces that are hell-bent on undermining our nation, but this is the time for us to coalesce into a singular entity.”
Shettima who spoke at a conference on Public Wealth Management in Abuja today, February 20, said: “sadly, some of our countrymen are still in political mode. They are the practitioners of violence, advocating that Nigeria should go the Lebanon way.
“But Nigeria is greater than anyone of us here. Nigeria will weather the storm. Forces are hell-bent on plunging this country into a state of anarchy.
“Those who could not get to power through the ballot box, instead of them to wait till 2027, are so desperate.”
Vice President Shettima, acknowledged that Nigeria is passing through turbulent times, assured the people that the pain will not last forever.
“We have to make this country work. We have to move beyond politics. We are now in the face of governance.”

He gave as an example, the moves by some Nigerian political forces to sabotage the efforts of the Tinubu’s Government, saying that just in the midnight of Sunday, February 18, about 45 trucks loaded with maize were intercepted while making their way to neighbouring countries.
“Just three nights ago, 45 trucks of maize were caught being transported to neighbouring countries. Just in that Ilela axis, there are 32 illegal smuggling routes. “And the moment those food stuff were intercepted, the price of maize came down by N10,000. It came down from N60,000 to N50,000.”

President Bola Tinubu has intimidated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that Nigeria is currently witnessing a leap forward in all the economic sectors.
At a meeting between the two leaders today, February 18, President Tinubu emphasized the strength of Nigeria’s economic potentials and influence.
According to Tinubu, Nigeria “is witnessing a leap forward, despite some short-term reform pains.”

He said that his administration is removing all encumbrances to business and investing in critical sectors of the economy like healthcare, education and agriculture to ensure the welfare of all Nigerian citizens and to create sustainable economic prosperity for future generations.
“We have a very vibrant population of young Nigerians who are trainable, dependable and should be empowered. The economic potential of Nigeria is enormous. We are ready to break all the walls standing in our way to progress.
“We are ready to fight corruption from top to bottom. We are ready to invest in critical sectors like healthcare, agriculture, education, infrastructure, and others. I have one of the most dedicated teams on agriculture.”
President Tinubu said that Nigeria is ready to deepen ties with Brazil, saying that it is a “legacy of what can be done together to change the future for countless millions of our citizens.
“We are stopping at nothing to remove all encumbrances to business. Red tape is being shredded around us. There is nothing we will not do to manifest the great potential of our nation. We are fighting corruption from the bottom to the top. We will prevent it, and we will remediate.
“We are very aware of your progressive legacies of social security provision, infrastructure, and reforms in Petrobras. We are in the process of implementing similar reforms in the NNPCL. We are focusing on investment in new production and new energy sources. We are investing in research, and we are removing obstacles to further partnerships in all areas of operation. There is opportunity for both companies in partnership.”
the President identified solid mineral exploration, agriculture, education, and healthcare as areas of immediate concern, even as he said that the will of the two leaders to collaborate is firmly established.
“I agree that our countries must now have direct air links. I will form a committee of cabinet members who will work directly with your cabinet ministers, and they will urgently form a joint plan of action for the benefit of our two great countries. We may have missed opportunities in the past, but we now look ahead.
“Brazil and Nigeria share similarities. Let us forget old mistakes. The phenomenal growth achieved by Brazil in agriculture is exemplary. We will work with you to mechanize our food production systems to enhance quality and quantity of output. I will work with you to re-energize Nigeria’s relations with Brazil across the board.”
This was even as President Lula da Silva described Nigeria and Brazil as the Africa’s largest economy and South America’s largest economies respectively, which have a long and interesting history together.
The Brazilian leader said that Nigeria and Brazil once had a trade volume of more than $10 billion in the past, which has now plummeted to $1.6 billion, emphasizing that he is determined to strengthen bilateral relations.
“I am back to try to restore; to reclaim our good relations with Nigeria. I can not imagine that a country of 216 million people and another of 213 million people do not have strong relations.
“Mr. President, I am 78 years old. You are 71. What keeps me energetic is that I fight for a cause. The cause of my nation and people. A great cause is the elixir of sustained vitality for experienced leaders.
“Nigeria and Brazil need stronger relations from the academic viewpoint; from the cultural viewpoint; from the commercial viewpoint; from the agricultural viewpoint; from the industrial relations viewpoint, and from trade relations viewpoint.
“It is meaningless that there are no direct flights from Lagos to Sao Paulo and vice versa. I can not understand that. We have to sit at a table and find a solution for that. In aviation, there are many areas of potential collaboration with our manufacturers who seek to have a greater presence in Africa.
“I only have three more years left of my term, Your Excellency, to do everything I have not done yet. The time is very short. I am in a hurry to make my contributions to improve these relations with Nigeria. To make this happen, we have to put our ministers to work.”
The leaders of the largest democracies in Africa and South America, respectively, agreed to work out the modalities for a state visit to Brazil by President Tinubu after President Lula da Silva extended an invitation, which the Nigerian leader accepted.

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has described military intervention in government and unconstitutional tenure elongation by some leaders as the development cancers which Africa has brought onto itself.
“As a continent and as individual nations, we face strong headwinds and difficult hurdles threatening to complicate our mission to bring qualitative democratic governance and economic development to our people. Many of these obstacles, such as climate change and unfair patterns of global trade, are largely not of our making.
“However, some of the pitfalls, including coup-birthed autocracies and the deleterious tinkering with constitutional tenure provisions, are developmental cancers we as Africans are giving to ourselves.”
President Tinubu made these observations today, February 17, at the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Referring specifically to the military takeovers in the Republics of Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, and the exit of three of these nations from ECOWAS, President Tinubu said that disagreements over the unconstitutional changes of government should not mean a permanent rupture of the abiding lines of regional affinity and cooperation.
“The drive for a peaceful, strong, and united West Africa is bigger than any one person or group of people. The bonds of history, culture, commerce, geography, and brotherhood hold deep meaning for our people.
“Thus, out of the dust and fog of misunderstanding and acrimony, we must seize the chance to create a new people-centric era of trust and accord.
“To all who care to listen, I declare that if you come to the table to discuss important matters in good faith, you will find Nigeria and ECOWAS already sitting there waiting to greet you as the brother that you are.”
Tinubu gave strong assurance that Nigeria is ready to host the African Central Bank (ACB) in line with the vision of the previous Abuja Treaty.
He said that his government will engage the African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with member states to ensure that the bank takes off, as scheduled, in 2028.
He believes that Africa’s success in addressing its challenges hinges on the firmness of its resolution, built on a foundation of deep-rooted solidarity, if it is to avoid perpetuating existing problems and creating new ones.
Speaking on education, which is the theme of this year’s summit, the Nigerian leader said that education is the core ingredient in the process of evolving creative solutions to the unique challenges long confronting the continent.
“In helping to achieve the Agenda 2063 objective of a peaceful, united and prosperous Africa, I consider African education, not only in the narrow context of the benign use of science and technology to improve the material standards of our people, but also in the nuanced appreciation of the fact that Africa must also become better educated in the humane art of democratic practice, diplomacy, and conflict resolution without violence.
“This year’s theme encourages us to remodel our educational systems to fit these goals. In Nigeria, my administration is devoting ample resources to education at all levels. From redesigning our school feeding programmes and academic curricula to making ourselves an Information and Communication Technology hub, through which we shall bring more youths into the classroom and furnish them with the tools required to flourish in the global economy of the 21st century.”
President Tinubu extended invitation to the Africa Counter-Terrorism Summit scheduled in April 2024, in Abuja, saying that the summit will aim at expanding discussions beyond military and law enforcement remedies.
He said that it will comprehensively tackle the root causes of violent extremism, such as poverty, inadequate political access and the propagation of hateful ideologies.

A middle aged woman collapsed in a Lagos market today, February 16, with a baby strewn to her back, after three days with no food to eat.

A video clip that is trending this evening in social media showed the woman sitting helplessly on the bare ground as good samaritans gathered around her, pouring water on her to revive her. They quickly gave her garri (granulated cassava flour), soaked in water, for her to drink.

While the baby girl she was carrying on her back was busy drinking the soaked garri, the mother was still struggling to regain her strength.

The good samaritans were seen dropping naira notes in the bowl that she uses to hawk satchet water before her fall.

Her eldest daughter, who stood by her side confirmed that their father was dead, leaving three of them: two girls and one boy, for their mother.