I’ve always believed that many Nigerian scriptwriters aren’t aware they are sitting on a plot goldmine enough for a dozen seasons of TV.
This month, we’ve seen people tear their Nigerian passports and politicians electing themselves into power using voter intimidation and violence— we also learnt that people born in inter-tribal marriages are considered to have ‘tainted blood’. But, the icing on the cake is that some Nigerians are taking sides with a racist against fellow citizens.
On March 22, 2023, in a Sapele community in Delta state, a group of youths came out to protest the removal of the Board of Directors of the oil and gas company Seplat Energy PLC.
The gist here’s that on March 3, 2023, the Federal Government (FG) and the Ministry of Interior withdrew the work and resident permit of Seplat’s CEO, Roger Brown. This was due to a petition filed against him by the workers over allegations of racism, bullying, discrimination, sacking and retiring of Nigerian workers without due process and favouring foreign workers. An instance was when he refused to promote a qualified Nigerian, Emeka Onwuka, to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) position. Instead, he hired a fellow Irishman, Mr Alaisdair Mackenzie.
Before FG revoked his resident and work permits, Brown received several invitations to address these allegations, but he snubbed them.
The Board of Directors, led by Basil Omiyi, has refused to remove Brown from his position as CEO. They, instead, have passed a vote of confidence and accused the media of trying to spread false information.
Sadly, it’s 2023, and Nigerians don’t have to japa to experience racism.
What else happened this week?
Women Go Topless to Protest Election Results
So far, there have been mixed reactions to the results of the gubernatorial elections held on March 18, 2023. In Abia state, there have been celebrations over the victory of the Labour Party candidate, Alex Otti, but the same cannot be said for Nasarawa.
Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won his re-election bid as governor of Nasarawa. But the women in the state are rejecting this result, accusing him of rigging himself for a second term. On March 23, 2023, they took to the streets topless to express their anger with songs and placards telling INEC to let their votes count as they don’t want Governor Sule, but instead the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate David Ombugadu.
In all this, it’s almost funny how despite having four years to prepare for elections, INEC still somehow manages to lose even more credibility every election season.
Video of the week
Question of the Week
Do you know when your state will hold Local Government elections?
Ehen one more thing…
Former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweramadu and his wife, Beatrice, have been found guilty of organ trafficking charges. Here’s everything that led up to this case.