Below The Headlines - 95
Operation Jagabanise the South has kicked off and Opeyemi's future is looking Bright
This week we published our first podcast under the rebranded Frontier Matters. Tobi and I really enjoyed speaking with Judd Devermont on US Africa relations, past and present. Please encourage us by listening so we continue to do more.
Tobi wrote another piece on agriculture in Nigeria and the misguided policy belief that stopping imports will somehow raise local productivity.
Enjoy the usual selection below!
Inside Nigeria
I hate cassava anyway and the sooner Nigeria is rid of the crop the better. Sorry, not sorry:
The Nigerian cassava industry faces a bleak future due to what stakeholders described as ‘massive import’ of starch by corporations that formerly purchased locally.
The situation is said to have angered industrial cassava processors who spent billions to set up factories to produce starch and high-quality food-grade flour, forcing some of them to shut down operations, Weekend Trust gathered.
Farmers are now left to rely solely on garri processors, who give reduced rates that are less than the cost of production, since industrial processors no longer purchase cassava from farmers.
In December, a ton of cassava was sold for N120,000 and above, depending on location. However, the current price crash point is at N80, 000 to N90, 000 per ton, with one processor suggesting ‘it will get worse to between N50, 000 and N70, 000.’
Things are happening in Delta state:
There is palpable tension as the people of Issele-Uku community in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State have gone spiritual, laying curses on kidnappers and other criminal elements terrorising the community.
There have been reports of kidnapping and killings in Issele-Uku and its environs in the first quarter of 2025.
At the inner chamber of the palace after a brief meeting with the chiefs, Omu, Eze-Dibie (spiritual head) and titled elders of the community, on Thursday, the traditional ruler of Issele-Uku kingdom, HRM Obi Nduka, who emerged at the front view of the palace (Ishu Uge) expressed disenchantment with the recent happenings that had turned the peaceful community into a fearful one.
He said, “This Ine Ubi ceremony has become necessary and almost the last resort in helping the community to ward off evil on the land. This is a form of spiritual cleansing on the land, which was a method adopted by our forefathers to curtail evil in the community whenever it becomes unbearable.
“You all know Issele-Uku to be a visitors’ delight, loving and accommodating. We have never been used to this kind of criminal rampage where residents are now being abducted by kidnappers almost regularly.
Is it not amazing that the current government is not even yet at the halfway mark and political activity for the 2027 election is already in full gear? Anyway, please familiarise yourselves with ‘Operation Jagabanise the South’:
Ahead of the 2027 general election, indications have emerged that there is a conscious effort by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s supporters and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that the president emerges victorious at the polls across the southern states with good margins. As a result, the party, which had seven states in the region under its control at the end of the 2023 elections – Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Imo, Ebonyi, Cross River – now has nine; with victory at the September 21, 2024Edo State governorship election and the recent defection of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State to the APC, with all federal and state lawmakers and other key stakeholders, including the vice presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election, Ifeanyi Okowa, boosting its camp.
While major defections to the party in the magnitude of what transpired in Delta have not been recorded lately, developments in the polity point to an ‘Operation Jagabanise the South’ well ahead of the 2027 election.
While Tinubu would be marking his two years anniversary in office in five days time, underground works by different political parties towards outwitting each other at the 2027 polls had long started.
Short profiles of 5 young women who have built up millions of followers online from making skits or influencing. And they are making a real living from their efforts:
This 26-year-old has a networth in high six figures. One of the most talented young Nigerian entertainers, Taooma is the master of self reinvention who brings to bear her high intelligence into everything she does.
She easily morphs into her various characters: Tao, Mama Tao, Baba Tao, Teni, Tayo, Alhaja, Quadri, Alfa and others.
Her consistency over the years and ability to work well with other entertainers has helped her steady growth to the top and she has partnered with Adebayo Salami, Don Jazzy, Iya Saje and dozens of others.
I did not expect to see warlord and Ebonyi used in the same sentence. And I certainly did not expect them to express their displeasure in this particular way:
Suspected warlords have set ablaze a government boundary demarcation excavator in Abaomege/Ishinkwor communities in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi.
The incident occurred despite ongoing efforts by the state government to resolve a long-standing boundary dispute between the two communities.
According to eyewitnesses, the excavator was working on demarcating the boundary between the two communities when it was attacked and set on fire.
The Chairman of the Local Government, Hon. Ikechukwu Ogboffia, described the incident as unfortunate and sabotage.
Ogboffia vowed that the incident would not weaken the demarcation exercise, but rather strengthen it.
“There is no amount of threat, there is no amount of sabotage that will stop the ongoing demarcation of the communities because to us as a government, that will bring permanent solutions to that age-old war,” he said.
The boundary dispute between Abaomege and Ishinkwor communities has been ongoing since 1902, with many lives lost and properties worth billions of naira destroyed.
The state government has set up a committee to resolve the crisis, and the demarcation exercise is part of the efforts to bring permanent peace to the area.
One of my favourite things about Nigeria is sponsored protests. Once you see one you know it has been sponsored although it is often difficult to work out who has sponsored them. There is not much evidence that they work or achieve whatever the stated purpose is but the market for them continues to be vibrant. Someone is always aggrieved about something and there are always enough idle hands available to help them express it:
Some concerned Nigerians under the umbrella of the “Young Professionals Forum of Nigeria” on Friday staged a protest at the United States Embassy in Abuja, urging that the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, be denied a visa or any form of entry into the United States.
The group’s request was conveyed in a letter addressed to the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard M. Mills Jr.
In a letter dated May 23, 2025, and signed by the Convener, Barr. Sambari Benjamin, the forum stated that “Kyari is a person of interest in ongoing investigations into grand corruption, abuse of office, misappropriation of funds, and terrorism financing in Nigeria.”
The forum outlined allegations against the former NNPCL executive, particularly concerning over $4 billion allocated for the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna. It noted that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had traced N80 billion to the bank account of one of Kyari’s key associates, who is also the Managing Director of a subsidiary under his oversight.
Additionally, the group stated that the EFCC has declared Kyari, along with 13 others, wanted in connection with its investigation into abuse of office and misappropriation of funds during his tenure.
The dignity of the Naira is non-negotiable, regardless of whatever the exchange rate is:
A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced a man, Okoli Frank Emeka, to six months imprisonment for tampering with and trampling on Nigerian currency during a social function.
The conviction followed Emeka’s guilty plea to a one-count charge of Naira mutilation brought against him by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The sentence was handed down on Friday, May 23, 2025.
According to a statement issued by the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the charge stemmed from an incident that occurred on August 18, 2024, at Al-moruf Garden in the Isheri Olofin area of Alimosho Local Government Area, Lagos.
The charge read: “That you, Okoli Frank Emeka, on the 18th day of August, 2024, at Al-moruf Garden, Isheri Olofin, Alimosho Local area of Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst matching on the Naira notes during a social occasion, tampered with the sum of N2,000,000.00 (Two Million Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, by matching on the same at the said occasion and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”
An incredible story:
Adeola Omotoso, daughter of ace actress Jumoke George, has opened up about her ordeal in Mali.
Last week, in an interview with fellow actress Biola Bayo, George revealed that Adeola, 41, had been missing for four years.
On Monday, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), confirmed that Adeola had been found and returned to Nigeria.
Dabiri disclosed that the actress’ daughter was “trafficked” to Mali under the guise of seeking greener pastures.
Recounting her ordeal in an interview with Biola, Adeola explained that her journey began when she met someone who offered to help her travel to Mali for work.
She said when she got to the country’s capital, she was told she had been “bought” and would have to work as a prostitute to repay 1.5 million CFA francs.
“I met someone who introduced traveling to Mali to me. She said she knows someone who owns a pharmacy and asked if I could travel there to handle the business,” she said.
“I agreed but didn’t inform anyone at home. We travelled by road for four days through Cotonou, Togo, Ghana, and other countries.
“When I got to Bamako in Mali, I called the contact I was given. When I got to the person’s house, she said she is my madam and that she bought me from my sister. She said I’ll work to pay her 1.5 million CFA francs.
“I was very confused and tried to confirm if I was at the right address. She said I was there for prostitution. I told her I can’t do it and would rather die. She threatened me and I told she’s free to do whatever she wants.”
Adeola said for refusing to comply, she was stripped of her phone and travel documents, leaving her stranded.
She said she was later taken to a brothel but managed to escape after meeting a sympathetic man who helped her secure a job with a food vendor.
“We later went to where we would stay. When we got there I knew I wouldn’t be able to survive. I told her I can’t work as a prostitute but I can do other jobs to pay her. She took my phone and travel documents,” she added.
Outside Nigeria
A review of My Father’s Shadow, Nigeria’s first ever entry at Cannes. This review is one of several positive reviews the movie has garnered:
Akinola Davies Jr.'s gorgeous debut My Father's Shadow takes place during a consequential day in Nigerian politics. It's June 12, 1993, and the country is holding its first election since a coup in the early 80s. One president represents a new hope for the postcolonial nation, while the other would maintain the incumbent military rule. While the frenzied, anxious energy of history in the making permeates the air, two young boys attempt to stave off boredom.
For Akin (Godwin Chimerie Egbo) and Remi (Chibuike Marvellous Egbo), brothers living on the outskirts of Lagos, this day, at first, feels like any other. When we meet the brothers, they are lounging in front of their home, bickering about sharing toys and trying to keep cool in the punishing heat.
There is a familiar lyricism to the way that Davies Jr., working with cinematographer Jermaine Edwards, opens his film. The shots are intimate and lean into the poetry of a child's perspective, in the vein of Raven Jackson's All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt and the early part of RaMell Ross' Nickel Boys. Like these directors, Davies Jr. tailors the impressionistic style of older Black filmmakers (think Julie Dash, Arthur Jafa, Charles Burnett) to his own sensibilities. The persistent buzz of flies, the faint sound of wind through leaves and the coos of animals in the distance also help set the stage for this delicate story.
It's not until the boys go inside the house, where they happen upon their father Folarian, an emotionally distant and imposing figure played finely by Sopé Dirisu (Slow Horses), that their day takes a dramatic turn. He interrogates the boys about a missing watch. They are frozen by his presence, as if they have just seen a ghost.
Our man Shaboozey talks about his Nigerian heritage:
Shaboozey cracked the code to country music stardom with two very important people by his side: his parents.
The “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” singer, 30, has mom and dad to thank not only for his taste for country music, but also for his tireless work ethic, he tells PEOPLE in this week’s joint print and digital cover.
Shaboozey (né Collins Obinna Chibueze) grew up in Woodbridge, Va., and was raised alongside his three siblings by Nigerian parents. His father, who attended college in Texas after immigrating to the United States, always felt “somehow connected” to country artists.
“My dad very much loves the Old West and America. Even just spending time with him recently, it’s interesting to see how much he just loves American culture,” the singer says. “He can’t explain, but Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Don Williams were some of his favorites. He’d mention these people that I feel like he somehow connected to their music.”
More on Nigerian films:
BRS Studios, a Lagos-based production outfit launched by three West African industry veterans, has revealed a slate of new features following on the heels of their Netflix hit "Tokunbo," which cracked the streamer's top 10 in more than 50 countries last year.
The company's current slate includes "Stitches," a Lagos-set film directed by Ghanaian box-office sensation Shirley Frimpong-Manso that follows a fashion designer from a working-class background whose rise into elite social circles is complicated by love and her past. Comedy-drama "Iwa Akwa," from Nollywood veteran Ernest Obi, tells the story of an unassuming professor who gets a surprise when he's called back to his hometown after the sudden death of a crown prince. Finally, acting legend and BRS Studios co-founder Ramsey Nouah directs "Dambe," a historical epic and coming-of-age tale set in the 11th century.
"These films are not just projects. They are a statement to the world that African cinema is limitless in scale, impact and influence," said Nigerian producer and BRS Studios co-founder Chris Odeh.
BRS Studios was established in 2024 by Blue Pictures, Ramsey Films and Sozo Films. Behind the partnership are Odeh; Joy Efe Odiete, a leading distributor and exhibitor; and acclaimed actor-director Ramsey Nouah. The trio combined bring decades of experience across distribution, filmmaking and production in West Africa, with a shared goal to "tell African stories with clarity, authenticity and reach," according to a company statement.
A really really cruel thing:
A Nigerian national who duped elderly victims - including an 80-year-old - into smuggling class A drugs has been jailed, following a National Crime Agency investigation.
“Callous” Tonny Iheoma Ezeh, 51, convinced innocent drugs mules they were entitled to huge, legitimate windfalls and they had to travel abroad to get paid.
Ezeh, who holds Nigerian, Canadian, and Jamaican passports, fooled two German men aged 80 and 67 into carrying methamphetamine hidden in sweets into the UK for onward flights to Hong Kong.
The 67-year-old was stopped on 18 October last year and three days later the 80-year-old was stopped. Both had flown into Heathrow Airport and were each unwittingly carrying around 3kg of methamphetamine.
Both men were charged with smuggling class A drugs but the charges were dropped once investigators established that Ezeh had scammed the pair.
On 13 May Ezeh pleaded guilty to smuggling class A drugs when he appeared at Isleworth Crown Court. He was jailed for nine years and three months yesterday (Weds) afternoon.
Ezeh was based in Mexico where he organised drug shipments with other Nigerian contacts based internationally.
His mobile phones revealed that he was part of a West African crime group responsible for transporting Class A drugs internationally via air passenger courier and fast parcels.
Elderly and vulnerable couriers were singled out and recruited via email finance scams.
Ezeh’s crime group told the victims they were the beneficiaries of large sums of money. To obtain the money – millions of Euros or dollars - they travelled to Mexico and signed fake paperwork and were given gifts of ‘Elvan Chocolate Truffles’. These were to be given to hosts in Hong Kong where the money would be paid to them.
British boarding schools have suffered a fall in the number of international students mostly as a result of the government’s VAT policy:
There has been a 2.6 per cent drop in the year to January alone, amounting to almost £29 million in lost fees. Ninety-three per cent of foreign pupils whose parents stay in their home country choose to board; 54 per cent are at an independent school sixth-form.
The head of the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA) blamed VAT being added to fees from January for the decline.
[…]
The largest decrease in applications has come from Spain, Nigeria, Russia, Thailand and Hong Kong. The decline since last year equates to nearly £29 million in fees.
Siddharta Mitter does a profile piece on the artist Toyin Ojih Odutola. The piece has lots of great photos:
On the eve of opening “Ilé Oriaku,” her magisterial new exhibition of large-scale drawings — some more than six feet high, executed with equal bravura and precision in charcoal, pastel, graphite and colored pencil — Toyin Ojih Odutola was touring the show, in Jack Shainman Gallery’s downtown space, calling in spirits.
“A point in Nigerian culture that I learned is that there’s always ancestors with you,” said Ojih Odutola, who was born in Ilé-Ifè, Nigeria, and raised largely in Alabama. She had paused before a diptych that occupied its own little island on the gallery floor. Titled “Lẹhin Mgbede (Before + After the Evening’s Performance),” it shows characters in varying states of preparation or repose. In the backdrop — ochers and oranges in one panel, arresting pinks in the other — hover spectral faces, like witnesses from beyond.
“There’s a saying that whenever you enter a room, it’s not just you,” she said. “It’s all of the people who made you, entering with you. And so that’s kind of what you see in the background.”
Ojih Odutola, 39, is known for both her prodigious technique — her drawings often look like paintings from afar — and for her distinctive subject matter. She devises characters that are loosely based on Nigerian history and society and stages them in speculative, often gender-blurring fictional scenarios.
Imagine, for example, two noble families, one Yoruba and one Igbo, united by the same-sex marriage of their scions — an elegant transgression that she developed in her breakout Whitney Museum exhibition in 2017. Or there was the conceit for her series “Satellite,” at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2022: A technologist in a future Lagos joins a service to remedy “self-forgetfulness” and finds themselves in introspective dialogue with a ghostly spirit.
News from Caleb University:
The trio has developed an AI-powered app that can instantly assess whether a mango is ripe, underripe, or rotten, a breakthrough that could drastically cut post-harvest losses and transform fruit quality assessment in Africa.
Their app, which uses a combination of computer vision and machine learning, works by analyzing images of mangoes to detect subtle visual cues; color gradients, texture patterns, and skin defects, that indicate ripeness levels. In seconds, the software classifies each mango with striking accuracy, providing farmers, traders, and consumers with a digital tool to make smarter decisions.
‘This isn’t just about mangoes,’ said Harmony Abayomi, one of the developers during a hackathon at Bell University. ‘It’s about empowering local farmers with technology that’s simple, accessible, and rooted in their everyday challenges.’
Africa loses nearly 30 to 50% of its agricultural produce before it even reaches the market, according to the FAO. For perishable fruits like mangoes, this is even more acute. The lack of standardized, affordable, and fast tools to assess fruit quality means entire harvests can go to waste, a heartbreaking reality for smallholder farmers who depend on seasonal yields.
The students’ solution bridges that gap. By training the AI model on hundreds of annotated mango images across different stages of ripeness, the app becomes smarter with every scan. The result is a robust system that could one day be expanded to other fruits like bananas, avocados, and tomatoes, all of which suffer similar post-harvest challenges in Africa and beyond.
Opeyemi Bright has made history:
A Nigerian-British woman has made history after she was elected the youngest mayor in the UK. Princess Opeyemi Bright now holds the esteemed position of First Citizen of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham .
The 29-year-old was officially inaugurated in a ceremony on Friday, May 16. It marks a new chapter for British politics and helps shine a light on and celebrate Nigeria and its history.
In her inaugural address, Councillor Bright shared her vision of a civic leadership grounded in inclusivity, pride and community service. She said: "I believe in the power of community, the importance of tradition, and the need to inspire pride in the place we all call home."
An interesting turn of events:
The mother jailed over a tweet posted in the wake of the Southport murders sponsored a Nigerian family to help them get British citizenship, The Telegraph can reveal.
Lucy Connolly, a childminder who is married to a Conservative councillor, received a 31-month prison sentence last October after pleading guilty to inciting racial hatred.
Hours after Axel Rudakubana went on a knife rampage at a Taylor Swift themed holiday club in Southport, murdering three girls, and having mistakenly believed false information about his background, she posted: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f---ing hotels full of the b------s for all I care, while you’re at it take the treacherous government politicians with them.”
She was widely condemned as a “racist thug” and earlier this week the Court of Appeal refused to reduce the sentence saying the tweet represented “an incitement to serious violence”.
However, a Nigerian GP whose daughter was looked after by Mrs Connolly has dismissed the suggestion that she is racist, describing her as the “kindest British person I know”.
Dr Hene Enyi said the childminder had gone out of her way to help with her family’s application for British citizenship, even providing character references.
She told The Telegraph: “Lucy is simply the loveliest, kindest British person I know. My mum and dad in Nigeria know all about her because I speak about her all the time.
“She was so good to us when we arrived here from Nigeria. She loved my daughter like her own child.
“We used to joke ‘how do you make any money as a child minder’, because she was always buying gifts for the children.
“As well as my daughter she looked after children from Bangladesh and Pakistan. This is not a racist person who has anything against people from different races.
A sad story. Uche went to ISI in Nigeria:
Uche Ojeh, the husband of Today co-host Sheinelle Jones, has died, the show announced on Friday.
The cause was a form of brain cancer, glioblastoma, Today host Savannah Guthrie told viewers. He was 45.
“There are no words for the pain that we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children,” Guthrie said. “Uche was an incredible person. We all loved him.”
Jones has been with the network since 2014. She became co-host of the third hour of the show in 2019.
News from Boston:
A Taunton man, formerly of Brockton, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for orchestrating a scheme to defraud various health insurance companies of over $1 million in false reimbursement claims for bogus medical expenses purportedly incurred during international travel.
Henry Ezeonyido, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three of supervised release. Ezeonyido was also ordered to pay $655,313 in restitution and to forfeit $396,998 in criminal proceeds. In February 2025, Ezeonyido pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six counts of health care fraud.
Ezeonyido was arrested and charged in July 2024 along with co-conspirators Brendon Ashe, Aqiyla Atherton, Darline Cobbler and Ariel Lambert. Ezeonyido was later indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2024. All four of Ezeonyido’s co-defendants pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme and were subsequently sentenced to probation.
From approximately October 2019 to February 2022, Ezeonyido submitted fraudulent health insurance claims – on his own behalf and on behalf of at least seven other individuals, including Ashe, Atherton, Cobbler and Lambert – to five different health insurance companies for expensive medical treatment that they purportedly received and paid for out-of-pocket while traveling overseas. Many of the claims included fake traumatic injuries such as stabbings, gunshot wounds and hit and run car accidents that the defendants and others purportedly suffered requiring their hospitalization abroad. In nearly all instances, the individuals were actually in the United States at the time of the purported international medical events. Some of the individuals on whose behalf Ezeonyido submitted claims were knowing and willful participants in the scheme, while others either had no knowledge of the claims submitted on their behalf or were manipulated into providing their health insurance information, which Ezeonyido then used to submit fraudulent claims, later demanding a cut of the proceeds.