By Solomon Adebayo

The problem of Nigerians is forgetfulness, where a bad leader is rated higher above another bad leader.

OBJ instituted the culture of impunity and recklessness as well as corruption in governance and history would not be kind to him no matter how twisted the narrative about him is.

As President, OBJ elevated an illiterate thug over an elected governor of a state and turned Anambra state into a jungle.

OBJ gave Chris Uba the federal might to run over an elected governor. Chris Uba moved about in a convoy of military, DSS and armed policemen and most times pushed the convoy of then governor Nigige off the roads.

As Environment Correspondent then, I visited Anambra with the Minister and Ngige took us to village, Ngige then had no Police, DSS escort. As governor, he was using private security men because OBJ withdrew them because of Chris and Andy Uba, his boys.

When Ngige as governor was kidnapped by Chris Uba, FRCN broke the news at 4pm. The news saved Ngige. That singular heroic act by FRCN made our DG, Edie Iroh, the enemy of Aro Rock under OBJ and they never forgave him and eventually removed Eddie Iroh.

On Corruption, OBJ till date could not account for $16 billion he squandered for power supply and today, Nigeria still lives in darkness.

OBJ openly bribed national assembly members with bags of money for his idiotic third term bid while telling lies that he knew nothing about it, but all his ministers were campaigning for him. The then 5th Senate under Ken Nnamani saved Nigeria from his dictatorship and 3rd term bid.

As President, OBJ launched a library fund raising project- something Presidents do after leaving office and harassed government agencies and government contractors to donate billions of naira to his private library.

OBJ left the prison a poor person to be corralled into 1999 presidential contest but left after 8 years a multi billionaire with private university, strings of businesses and state of the art farm.

He must be plucking money from a tree.

OBJ instituted corruption, recklessness and impunity, the likes of Buhari and Tinubu copied. Jonathan though ran a corrupt government was not as reckless as them.

To now start praising OBJ as a model of a good president shows that Nigerians don’t really remember their past and that’s why it has been very difficult for us to move into the future.

OBJ was never a good president. He had all the opportunity and goodwill to change Nigeria but blew it for selfish reasons.

By Felix Umande

The Benue State House of Assembly may have meant well when it passed the “Law to Provide for the Establishment of Benue State Forestry, Mines and Solid Minerals Management Commission.” But good intentions do not cure constitutional defects. On mines and solid minerals, the law is a direct affront to the 1999 Constitution and it can not stand.

The Constitution Is Unambiguous Mining Is Federal.
Item 39 of the Exclusive Legislative List, Second Schedule, Part I of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) reserves “Mines and minerals, including oil fields, oil mining, geological surveys and natural gas” exclusively to the National Assembly. Section 4(2) and 4(3) make it plain: no State House of Assembly has the power to legislate on it.

The Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 already “covers the field.” Section 1 of that Act vests the entire property in and control of all mineral resources in the Government of the Federation. The Mining Cadastre Office issues licences. The Mines Inspectorate Department regulates operations. Royalties go to the Federation Account.

In other words, when Benue creates a “Management Commission” for solid minerals, it is attempting to do what Abuja alone is empowered to do. Under Section 4(5) of the Constitution, where state law is inconsistent with federal law, the state law is void to the extent of the inconsistency. This law, therefore, arrives dead on arrival.

Precedent Is Against Benue.
This is not the first time a state has tested the waters. Lagos, Zamfara, and Ebonyi have all, at various points, set up agencies to regulate mining. But the Federal Government has consistently resisted them, and the courts have consistently sided with the Constitution. In AG Federation v. AG Lagos State, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that states cannot legislate on exclusive items. Benue is walking a path the judiciary has already closed.

Forestry Is Legal; Mining Is Not, You Can’t Bundle Them .
Constitutionally, the State Assembly has full powers to legislate on forestry because it is a residual matter under Section 4(7). The state can protect its forests, regulate logging, and manage reserves. However, the problem lies in the Assembly’s decision to bundle forestry with “Mines and Solid Minerals.”

By tying a valid power to an invalid one, the entire law risks being tainted. Once taken or contested in court, the mining portion would likely be struck down, leaving only the forestry provisions — if the drafting allows for severance at all.

The Real Danger: Legal Chaos and Investor Flight.
Beyond the legal theory lies practical harm due to the fact that Mining investors need, apart from social safety, the legal certainty to operate. If Benue begins issuing its own “Permits,” collecting “State royalties,” or sending its commission to mining sites, operators will face double regulation and double taxation. The result is fairly predictable: capital flight, litigations, and the growth of illegal mining in the confusion would ensue.

Consequently, the very revenue Benue hopes to get will vanish leaving in it’s trail, anarchy and chaos.

Worse still, if the mining commission sets up confrontations between state officials and federal regulators, who seals illegal sites? Who prosecutes? The law invites turf wars that only benefit criminal miners.

What Benue Can Do Instead
Benue is not powerless. It can incorporate a state-owned mining company and apply for licences from the Mining Cadastre Office like any other firm. It can tax surface rent, tenement rates, and business premises under the Fourth Schedule.

It can also use its environmental and land-use powers to ensure miners comply with state laws on land reclamation and community development. It can even partner with the Federal Government to police illegal mining.

What it cannot do is creating a parallel regulator that is the job of Abuja.

The Path Forward
The Governor should withhold assent and return the Bill for redrafting. The Assembly should strip out all references to “Mines and Solid Minerals” and pass a clean “Benue State Forestry Commission Law.” If the law is already assented to, the Attorney-General of the Federation should test it at the Supreme Court immediately.

Federalism is not about every state doing everything. It is about each tier respecting its lane. On solid minerals, the Constitution has given that lane to the Federal Government. Benue’s lawmakers swore to uphold the Constitution and should adhere to its provisions.

Middle East expert Yoni Ben Menachem warns that behind Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statements lies a structured plan to build a new Sunni axis that could replace Iran’s regional role.

Ben Menachem, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, cautions that Turkey is emerging, in his view, as an increasing strategic threat to Israel. He argues that the policies led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan go far beyond public rhetoric. According to him, “Turkey is the new Iran.”

He claims that Ankara is quietly working to establish a new Sunni bloc in the Middle East, based on the assumption that the Iranian regime will weaken or even collapse. Such a development, he says, would create a regional vacuum following the decline of the Shi’ite axis. Turkey, he adds, aims to fill this vacuum alongside Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan, in a move intended to reshape the regional balance of power.

Ben Menachem’s assessment corresponds to steps taken by Ankara in recent years to position itself as a regional leader, partly by taking an active role in defending the Palestinian cause and opposing Israeli interests in the region.

On Sunday, Erdogan accused Israel of carrying out atrocities against Palestine and Lebanon and threatened potential military action against the Jewish state, similar to its past interventions in Karabakh and Libya.

Ankara has so far been cautious about approaching southern Syria, due to concerns over a direct confrontation with Israel
These latest comments, along with the already strained relations between Ankara and Jerusalem, could lead the two regional powers to sever ties completely, as MK Amichai Eliyahu suggested in his response to Erdogan on Sunday.

Is Turkey positioning to replace Iran in the region?

Alongside the diplomatic front, Turkey is also strengthening its military presence in Syria, in coordination with Ahmed al-Sharaa. However, Ben Menachem notes that Ankara has so far been cautious about approaching southern Syria, due to concerns over a direct confrontation with Israel.

Ben Menachem believes these steps reflect far broader regional ambitions that extend beyond Syria or Iran alone. According to him, Turkey seeks to expand its influence across the Middle East, including around the issue of Jerusalem and in the international arena, developments that Israel must take into account already now.

Regarding Turkey’s leadership, Ben Menachem described Erdogan as the most dangerous figure from Israel’s perspective and also identified Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as another key power player in Ankara. He noted reports of tensions between the two, linked to Fidan’s alleged ambitions to eventually succeed Erdogan, though he added it remains unclear whether such a scenario will materialize.

Culled: The Jerusalem Post