The tragedy of the geopolitical dynamics of African politics is how the West (namely the European Union and the United States) consistently adopt the same template in their quest to destabilize and dislodge any semblance of structure, organization and development in Africa.
And they continue to adopt the same time-tested and proven approach of using an our own ‘organic infrastructure’ — institutions, groups and individuals, to demonize and then ultimately destroy their target. First, it was Kwame Nkrumah, then Patrice Lumumba, Muritala Mohammed, Thomas Sankara, and Muammar Gaddafi.
The latest target of these eternal barnacles — is the indefatigable and indomitable Lion of Africa, Captain Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso.
The usual suspects never retreat in their sanguineous quest for control of Africa’s resources. What makes this even more unfortunate is the debilitating dearth of visionary leadership on the African continent as a whole, save for a few like Traore. In addition to the threat posed by the West, an even greater and more potent threat is the one from within and right next door, from the so-called Middle-East, the Gulf states, to be precise. The Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have indeed been accused of fueling sectarian violence and jihadist movements across Africa, often under the guise of religious or developmental aid, with the acquiescence of their western collaborators, namely France and the United States.
Traore’s rejection of Saudi Arabia’s mosque-building offer, a move widely interpreted as a soft-power push (by the Saudis) to expand Wahhabi influence, demonstrates a keen awareness of the ideological and geopolitical traps that have ensnared other African nations.
Africa is indeed at a crossroads and Ibrahim Traore is merely a precursor to the impending wave of African Nationalism. The spirit of Thomas Sankara, Patrice Lumumba and Kwame Nkrumah lives on, but their successors must learn from history, and NOT repeat it!
The rebirth of Africa, while being rooted in pragmatic revolution, one that arms itself with knowledge, economic independence, and unshakable cultural confidence, must also be spiritual. The latter is an unabashed call for cultural decolonization through pan-African unity and a return to pre-colonial value systems. Only then can Africa truly break the chains — both old and new.
The sultan of Sokoto, the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims, has condemned the military crackdown against the Islamist Boko Haram sect.
"We cannot solve violence with violence," Mohamed Sa'ad Abubakar told a meeting of religious leaders.
The Boko Haram, based in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, says it is fighting for Islamic rule.
It has been behind recent assassinations of prominent figures and a wave of bombings.
Two years ago, Nigeria's security forces brutally suppressed an uprising by the sect, destroying its compound in Maiduguri - the capital of Borno state - and then capturing and killing its leader Mohammed Yusuf.
Instead of disappearing, the group, which opposes Western education and is fighting for Islamic rule, re-emerged last September and vowed to avenge its leader's death.
Last month, it said it had carried out an attack on the headquarters of the Nigerian police in Abuja, which killed at least six people.
But the response of the security forces has led to criticism from rights group and the governor of Borno state.
Correspondents say many residents of Maiduguri are now more scared of the army than they are of Boko Haram.
"That problem can never be solved by drafting soldiers into cities where there is [a] problem - and in the process innocent lives were lost," said the sultan, who once served as military officer.
It is the first time the sultan has spoken about the Boko Haram insurgency.
Muslim clerics who have criticised the sect have been among those targeted for assassination in drive-by shootings over the past year.
The sultan also said the five policemen who have just gone on trial this month for the killing of Mr Yusuf should not be given bail.
Boko Haram's official name is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad".
But residents of Maiduguri, where it was formed in 2002, dubbed it Boko Haram.
Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means Western education is forbidden.
Boko Haram sees such education as corrupting Muslims.
Nigeria - Africa's most populous nation - is split between the predominately Muslim north and largely Christian south.
Editor’s Commentary - This piece was published on July 29, 2011 and another Southerner, Goodluck Jonathan was President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Sultan Mohamed Sa'ad Abubakar has always been a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In the piece in question from 2011, he (Sultan Abubakar), the leader of Nigeria’s Northern Muslims, vehemently opposed the military crackdown on the terrorists at the time, particularly because it was being led by a Southern Chief of Army Staff, a South-Easterner (Retired Lieutenant general Azubuike Ihejirika) to be precise, and it was also yielding results in terms of decimating the insurgents in a devastating way.
Sultan Abubakar, Nasir El-Rufai and ex-president, Muhammadu Buhari are religious and ethnic Fulani irredentists, who secretly and overtly (as El-Rufai did as Kaduna State Governor) subscribe to the tenets of Fulani supremacy and dominance by any means necessary. The hypocrisy of the Sultan of Sokoto is not debatable and he lacks (and will always lack) credibility when it comes to the twin issue of ethno-religious intolerance in Nigeria, as it relates to the ethnic cleansing in the Middle-Belt and other parts of Nigeria by the Fulani Herdsmen and Boko Haram.
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have ascribed unto themselves the dubious distinction of being all-knowing, and all-conquering…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because their greed and avarice has overtaken their sense of humanity, fairness and compassion…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have killed their conscience and ultimately succeeded in shutting the window to their soul…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they do not have it in them to see ahead, and as such, they must continually look back…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they are conditioned to forever sell their souls to the devil…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they are devoid of even the slightest ounce of human decency and integrity…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because not only are they bereft of ideas, but more importantly, they are lacking in courage and a sense of devoir…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their penchant for obfuscating diatribes…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their inherent sense of inferiority feigned by a debilitating superiority complex…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because their antecedents tell you they are eternal rogues, liars and marauders…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their disposition to being not only deceitful, but also, exceedingly treacherous…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… but would rather dibble, dabble and dicker…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they would rather destroy than build…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because their very being serves to be, the manifestation of an anathema…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have never known or felt the brunt of their misgivings and past misdeeds…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… but prefer to see themselves as victims, even though the overwhelming evidence, is to the contrary…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… but would rather engage in the art of "Water Power" all in a bid to fulfill their hidden agenda…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they will forever moan about their "plight", but conveniently forget, that you reap what you sow…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they will forever revel in the art of debauchery…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their jaundiced penchant for revisionist history…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their susceptibility to calculated miscalculations…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their disposition to selective encumbrances…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because rather than act as leaders, they see themselves as rulers…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because as Baruch Spinoza once stated, "their self-complacency has become pleasure accompanied by the idea of them as cause…"
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they do not know any better, but refuse to ask how to…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they know better, but prefer not to act accordingly…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have lost their way and insist on remaining in a
State of flux…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because rather than look within, they would much rather look without…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they are as clueless as to the objectivity of sense, as they are to their sense of objectivity…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they spit in our faces and tell us it’s raining…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they tell us good morning although the sun has just set…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them why…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them how…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them when…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them where…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I shed our blood to make them whole…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they underestimate our resolve and determination…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they do all these at their own peril…
a) Racism is an institution not an event, statement or action, as evident by the silence and acquiescence of the Republican members of Congress to the dangerous and highly-charged statements, and actions of former President Donald Trump for 4 years, that ultimately culminated in the violent insurrection by White Supremacist supporters of his, against the Congress of the United States on January 6th, 2021. His rhetoric hasn’t changed since he left office, as despite being convicted by a U.S. Court on 34 counts among other legal hurdles he faces, he remains in pole position to regain office as the 47th President of the United States.
b) Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi actually instigated the singling out (in 2019) of the women of color in the U.S. House by referring to them as "just four people with no following". That was all Donald Trump needed to strike at the time, against those women.
c) Donald Trump "is not a racist". The power structure that enabled him become the POTUS (still incredibly threatens to bring him back in 2024), and continues to facilitate his trampling upon the Constitution with impunity, is racist, and was set up to be that way by the founding fathers, who enslaved the Africans that were brought to America and saw them as less than human.
d) President Barack Obama would not have been elected to office if he had bragged about sexually assaulting women, and he would definitely have been impeached, and removed from office, if he had conducted himself in office as Trump did.
e) Imagine what would have happened if Barack Obama had asked those that criticized his administration to leave the country, if they did not like the way things were being done. Or worse still, if he (Obama) had threatened to unleash the U.S. military on American citizens, protesting in the streets. Lastly, I am confident Barack Obama would have been impeached and convicted within a week (at most) if he had instigated an insurrection against a co-equal branch of government. White privilege, an indulgent by-product of White Supremacy is responsible for Donald Trump’s ability to remain relevant in the American political landscape.
f) Gratitude is not a requirement of citizenship. Furthermore, all U.S. citizens (naturalized or natural born) have equal rights, or do they.......?
g) The old order of the Democratic party is completely out of touch and the treatment of the four women Representatives of color by former Speaker Pelosi four years ago, serves to buttress that point.
h) The Republican party has always had a playbook steeped in identity politics. Anyone remember the Willie Horton ads? Trump and his Harvard educated running mate are not doing anything new, with regard to the demonization of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, they simply took a time-tested and proven page out of the Republican playbook of identity politics.
i) The palpable silence of the so-called religious leaders (especially the white religious leaders) in the United States tells you all you need to know about them.
j) The palpable silence (and obvious acquiescence) of most top American CEOs and business leaders also tells you all you need to know about them and their organizations. The ones that have 'spoken out' are not only late to the game (they are still Trump’s biggest donors and supporters by the way), but are speaking out merely to 'sanitize' their brand, as well as clear whatever is left of their conscience (assuming most of them actually have one).
For some of us who earn our daily bread from programming computers (I have been doing this for over 2 decades), making the connection between Ifá binary notation and programming is a no brainer.
We programmers write codes/instructions (incantations) on the cpu – made from silicon (sand) to carry out our desires.
The parallel between a Babaláwo and a computer programmer is striking. We write on sand (silicon/cpu), a Babalawo writes on Iyerosun (camwood powder). We chant/write binary codes, a Babaláwo recites Odù Ifá!
In essence, a computer code is àfọ̀ṣẹ par excellence! In Yoruba, àfọ̀ṣẹ means “oun tí a fọ̀ tí ó sì ṣẹ” – something commanded to happen.
Our incantations (computer codes) can animate the entities in the cpu (sand) and make them become whatever we want: a game console, a financial trading system, an air traffic controller, facebook, Google, Twitter, Amazon, Bitcoin etc.
How did this come about? Well, the Binary System makes this possible.
The Binary System of Ifá is based on the Yorùbá philosophical duality of Ibi and Ire (Evil and Good); for several millennia, the Yorùbá had been using the binary system before the German mathematician – Gottfried Leibniz formalised in 1679.
These days, the Binary Numeral System (Base 2) is well known in Mathematics and digital electronics and the system underpins how computers work by representing numeric values using just two digits – zero (0) and one (1)
In Computing, a Bit (i.e. BInary digiT) is the smallest unit of storage and can either be 1 or 0
A Nible (also called half Byte or semi-octet) is the grouping of four Bits e.g 0 1 0 1
In Ifá, Odù signatures are marked with “|” and “||”. Where “|” is the binary number “0” and “||” is “1”.
For example Ogbè (0000) has the following signature: | | | |
Ọ̀sá (1000) is represented as: || | | |
Òtúrá (0100) is marked as: | || | |
We can therefore summarise the representation of the first sixteen Odus as follows: Decimal == Nibble == Odù 00 == 0000 == Ogbè 01 == 0001 == Ògúndá 02 == 0010 == Ìrẹtẹ̀ 03 == 0011 == Ìrosùn 04 == 0100 == Òtúra 05 == 0101 == Ọ̀sẹ́ 06 == 0110 == Èdí 07 == 0111 == Ọ̀bàrà 08 == 1000 == Ọ̀sá 09 == 1001 == Ìwòrì 10 == 1010 == Ọ̀̀fún 11 == 1011 == Ìká 12 == 1100 == Ọ̀wọ́nrín 13 == 1101 == Òtúrúpọ̀n 14 == 1110 == Ọ̀kànràn 15 == 1111 == Òyẹ̀kú ́ Since Ifá speaks only in binary (Odu Èjì Ogbè says: “Èjèèji ni mo gbè, n ò gbe ọ̀kan ṣoṣo mọ́” i.e “I will only support two, I will not support one”), each Odu must be paired.
For example, after pairing the main Odu, we get the following (see graphic for the main Odu signature)
This was how programmers used to write computer programs before high level programming languages like Fortran and Lisp were created in 1957 and 1958 respectively.
For programmers, entering these patterns manually was a laborious, tedious and error-prone task. Even for a seasoned programmer, it could get dizzy and nauseating after assembling a couple of these patterns.
However, a competent Ifá priest can commit to memory 256 of these patterns without breaking a sweat and able to recite close to 4,000 Ifá verses by heart!
Effectively, the meaning of the 1s and 0s in the code above is as follows:
Store the number 0 in memory location 0.
Store the number 1 in memory location 1.
Store the value of memory location 1 in memory location 2.
Subtract the number 11 from the value in memory location 2.
If the value in memory location 2 is the number 0 continue with instruction 9.
Add the value of memory location 1 to memory location 0.
Add the number 1 to the value of memory location 1.
Continue with instruction 3.
Output the value of memory location 0.
Using names in place of numbers for memory and instruction locations, we can do the following: Set the value of “total” to 0. Set the value of “count” to 1. [loop] Set the value of “compare” to the “count” value. Subtract 11 from the value of “compare” . If “compare” is zero, continue at [end]. Add “count” to the value of “total”. Add 1 to the value of “count”. Continue at [loop]. [end] Output “total”.
In a modern programming language like Python, we can write the following:
total = 0 count = 1 while count <= 10: total = total + count count = count + 1 print total
In 2017, I wrote series of programming tutorials on this wall using the Python programming language. In the coming series of articles, I will translate the posts into Yoruba so stay tuned.
FIFA has announced that the Women’s World Cup will be expanded from 32 to 48 teams from the 2031 edition.
The FIFA Council on Friday, unanimously agreed to enlarge the competition “given the remarkable recent strides made by women’s football across the world.”
The 48 teams will play a 12-group format and number of matches from 64 to 104, extending the tournament by one week.
FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, explained that the expansion follows the success of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which was won by Spain.
“This is not just about having 16 more teams playing … but taking the next steps in relation to the women’s game in general by ensuring that more FIFA Member Associations have the chance to benefit from the tournament to develop their women’s football structures.
“This decision ensures we are maintaining the momentum in terms of growing women’s football globally,” Infantino said.
"When the healthy people are labeled as sick by the deluded ones, we can't simply sit back and let their chaos erode sanity and decency in our world." - Yahaya Balogun.
"Neo-colonialism is more evil than colonialism. Neo-colonialism has penetrated deeper into the mental palace and consciousness of Africans." - By Yahaya Balogun.
"How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" is a book authored by Walter Rodney. It is a concise book that chronologically exposes the hypocrisy of the brutish British and their co-defilers of Africa. Walter Rodney's timeless book unveils the unsettling truths of today's African world.
Some of the looted and stolen African cultural artifacts were recently discovered in one of the British universities. The newly "born-again" citadel of learning, the University of Aberdeen, was explicitly one of these "fantastically corrupt" imperial universities in Great Britain and the European Union. A panel of experts at the University of Aberdeen unanimously recommended returning the priceless Nigerian artifacts that were looted and stolen (not collections, as embellished by the British media) from Benin City in 1897 by British soldiers. The soon-to-be repatriated Nigerian bronze depicts our grand Oba (King) of Benin. According to BBC News, this Benin antique was acquired by the University of Aberdeen at an auction in 1957. It's sadly bittersweet and heartwarming that moral history is unfolding in this prestigious university.
It's exciting and pertinent to note that the assemblage of plant species nurtures fertile African grounds. The grounds provide the world with nourishing foods in the lands watered by tropical rainfall. Africa was a continent naturally situated in lush green vegetation. The landscapes of Africa provided the much-needed spaces and tranquility the continent of Africa deserved. Africa was the cradle of civilization. But the colonial masters came and bastardized our beautiful cultural inheritance.
Meanwhile, continental Africa was a beautiful regional geopolitical climate with the convergence of ideas brilliantly nestled in our delightful cultural estate sophistication. Africa's cultural renaissance rests on the way forward. We must begin reviving our art and literature under the influence of classical models to reorder our cultural values. Africa is currently under the tutelage of neocolonialism - a distorted and infused cultural identity. Our continent was raped and defiled by the European imperial manipulators, the imperialists we ignorantly presumed brought uncanny and unsettling civilization to Africa—the relish we all glorify today.
European imperialists bequeathed us a neocolonial legacy — a relentless force erasing African cultural identity and heritage. This insidious machine thrives on manipulation, distorting minds through the icy grip of imperialist ideologies. Despite their education, it's startling to witness scholars and professors falling prey to the fallacy of religious miracles over the tenets of medical science.
The ancient times of Africa recorded the best human and natural endowments and development. Still, the brutish British came to Africa through an immoral expedition to defile African well-rounded, rustic, and well-organized cultural representations. The British expeditionists saw the overflow of African resources. They returned to the House of Lords to brief and inform the House members about exploring African natural resources through colonialism. The periods of African usurpation by the British were the dark periods of human history. African cultural heritage was ravished. Our Kings, Queens, and Kingdoms were subjects of tricks, assaults, abuses, and inferiority complexes. The colonial masters made a harmless incursion into the traditional African administration. For their administrative convenience, they indirectly governed Africa through what is now known as "indirect rule." Colonial periods in Africa were the most reprehensible periods in the history of humankind.
The colonial period's institutionalization of gullibility, hypocrisy, bigotry, and religious dogmatism persist. We continue to carry the cross of imperialism to this day through religion, political assemblies, and the denigration and disinformation of African cultures and socio-cultural heritage. The British imperialists promoted their superiority complex in faith, making African cultures and religions sacrilegiously taboo. The British imperialists organized local and assimilated government systems to upend the organized African traditions and their beautiful system of government.
Contentiously, the evil empire and the British axis of imperialism have become subjects of conversation worldwide. After Africa's independence from the colonialists, it attempted to reconstruct its defiled heritage and moral structures. The brutish British empire and imperialists believed that if Africa were entirely independent, liberated, and free from colonialism, it would lead to a socioeconomic disaster for Europe and its Western allies. The British devised a means of recolonizing Africa – this time, it would be through neo-colonialism. As I have said in my recent article, "Neo-colonialism is eviler than colonialism. Neo-colonialism has penetrated deeper into the mental palace and consciousness of Africans." African leaders have perpetuated Africa's neocolonialism and the aftermath of all the evil eras of imperialism.
Furthermore, the lower level of emotion cunningly fostered in Africa provides:
• An enhanced chronic and deliberate ignorance.
• Deliberate indifference.
• Joyful arrogance among our people.
It is important to note that the susceptibility of the African people has absorbed European ways of life, with imperial recipes garnished with ignorance, religious profiteering through "In God's Name PLC," and political opportunism. The African people are currently relishing the above nuances and the cobwebs of neocolonialism.
Charting a new path forward:
Now is the moment to revive and reshape African value systems. We must join forces with the dedicated scholars at the University of Aberdeen to reclaim our looted and stolen artifacts scattered across Europe. As Professor George Boyne, the University’s Principal, remarked, holding onto culturally significant items acquired through unethical means is unjust. The University’s advocacy for the repatriation of the invaluable Benin bronzes marks a pivotal step forward:
• Africans must shed their mental shackles and embrace the richness of their lost cultural identity.
• A deep reflection on the past is needed, empowering ourselves to redefine our values and spark a cultural renaissance.
• It’s essential to dismantle feelings of inferiority and cultivate a sense of confidence within the global community.
• We must hold today's remorseful British leaders accountable for reparations owed for past injustices.
• Collaborative efforts with enlightened British scholars and advocates are crucial for the return of our precious antiquities.
Once regarded as noble custodians, former British imperialists are now seen as glorified thieves, having stripped Africa of its intellectual and cultural treasures while distorting our values and sentencing us to a legacy of confusion and ignorance. Africa deserves to reclaim its status as a cradle of civilization and moral virtue. Before the onset of imperialism, Africa thrived as a beacon of cultural renaissance. To restore her dignity and revive her historical glory, we must rise from the shadows of colonialism.
CC™ Editorial By Oludayo Tade Transactional sex among female undergraduates in Nigeria is a social reality. The practice has been reported on regularly in the mainstream media and explored in various research papers. This cross generational relationship is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, and across the world where sponsors are commonly known as “sugar daddies”. In our study on transactional sex in Nigerian universities, my colleague and I looked at the symbiotic relationship between some female Nigerian undergraduate students and aristos – wealthy, married or unmarried men. The students have transactional sex with the aristos in exchange for financial, social or educational support.
Because a great deal of these relationships happen undercover, there are no solid figures on the number of women involved in them. But there are many reasons that these relationships happen. It’s a practice that’s driven by economic hardship, a desire to network socially, and peer influence.
To understand more about these relationships we conducted 30 interviews with female undergraduates – commonly known as “runs-girls”.
We found that the students engage in transactional sex for pleasure and money. Typically, wealthy students would be with an aristo for pleasure, while those who needed financial support did it for the money. Most of the women we spoke to viewed it as a critical survival life investment strategy and rejected the “prostitution” label.
Although these relationships could offer the students economic, emotional, and political support, their effects can also be negative. The students expose themselves to sexually transmitted infections, physical violence and academic setbacks, because the relationships can distract from their studies.
Those with sexually transmitted infections risk spreading these to their boyfriends, while also suffering economic losses seeking treatment.
Finding clients
Aristos are usually wealthy postgraduate students, lecturers, politicians, business people and military personnel. They are people with wealth and authority.
The students looked for these clients on and off campus, using connections and referrals. They then familiarized themselves with the potential client’s routine, aiming to eventually manufacture an encounter.
There’s usually a generational gap between the “runs-girls” and the aristos. The students often refer to their clients as “uncle”, “daddy” and, more recently, “aristo”. All of these bring connotations of the person’s expected role: to take care of the student.
If the students don’t have much financial support from their families, these relationships provide them with that security. Some started as a one-off “date”, for which they got a sum of money. But longer-term relationships also developed in some instances.
In return for sex, the women were given luxury possessions, like cars and mobile phones; investments for businesses they might start; or work placements when they finish their studies.
As one female student said:
The type of connection I have with politicians, lecturers, and military men cannot be purchased with money. At times, when I have problem, all I do is to make a call, depending on the nature of challenges…
In Nigeria, about 23% of young people are unemployed. These connections, with people of influence, may be a ticket to employment. As one “runs-girl” revealed:
One of my clients who happened to be a commissioner connected my senior sister to get a job at immigration even without any much stress…
Transactional sex isn’t limited to financially strapped students. We spoke to rich female students who engaged in it for sexual fulfillment. One 24 year old student said:
I am from a rich home, my father is even a Major (in the army), and my mother a nurse, but I’m involved in campus runs because of sexual satisfaction, although nothing goes for nothing, because sex is for enjoyment. I have a guy that I help financially, and on the long run he pays me back with sex.
Challenges
In this research we identified a few challenges.
Some “runs-girls” accepted offers of unprotected sex for better pay. This put them at risk of catching sexually transmitted infections and, consequently, the cost of treatment. As one student said:
I am always scared of having naked (unprotected) sex. Most times I use (a) condom because one can never know a man that has HIV/AIDS. Although sometimes some men always want naked sex and in that case, they will have to pay triple than what is earlier bargained. Part of the money realized as a runs-girl are used in revitalizing the body, in which I go to the hospital once in a month to examine myself.
Other risks are that the women could be physically harmed. This is particularly true if the clients choose not to pay an agreed amount.
Their education could also suffer as they may choose to engage in “runs” rather than go to class.
Action needed
Getting the government or even universities to take action will prove difficult because our evidence suggests that policy makers, politicians and the business class are involved, as aristos.
Nevertheless, given the risks associated, something ought to be done.One possible solution might be to establish part-time jobs for vulnerable students, and to institute courses about running businesses so that young women can earn money independently.
In addition, institutions should put together and roll out communications campaigns that teach young people about the implications of transactional sex.
At least 23 persons have been reportedly killed in separate attacks by suspected armed herdsmen in four Local Government Areas, LGAs, of Benue State.
The communities that witnessed the attacks in the last 24 hours were in Guma, Logo, Ukum and Kwande LGAs.
It was gathered that while nine persons were killed in Logo LGA, eight were killed in Ukum, while six were also killed in Guma and Kwande LGAs.
A source in Kwande LGA, Dr. Ray Anumve, disclosed that armed herdsmen and suspected Jukun militants Friday attacked Turan communities in Kwande LGA, killing nine persons.
He said, “The coordinated bloody attacks were carried out by armed herdsmen and suspected Jukun-speaking assailants across multiple locations in Turan, Kwande LGA of the State, resulting in deaths, injuries, and displacement. The assailants spoke Fulfulde and Jukun.”
He said the Mbaav Clan, Mbadura Council Ward, near Tse Yande compound, Gusa crossing, River Katsina-Ala, was besieged when the assailants crossed the river and attacked farmers who were returning from their farms.
He said Mr. Agwei, a farmer, was killed while his brother and son were left with severe injuries, adding that they are both receiving treatment at a clinic in Jato-Aka.
“They also attack Anwase, Mkomon Area, Mbaikyor Council Ward, killing one Mr. Iortsor, while at Waya, Yaav Council Ward, a motorcycle rider was shot in the stomach, resulting in protrusion of his intestines. He is receiving treatment at a clinic in Jato-Aka,” he said.
While lamenting the frequency of attacks in the area, Dr. Anumve also disclosed that multiple fatalities were recorded in an earlier attack at Ikurav-Ya Clan, particularly at Tyuav and Usambe Sha Hua, Liev I Ward, where “the casualty figures and property damaged are still being compiled by locals and community leaders.”
Another source in Ukum LGA said that nine persons were confirmed dead Saturday in Jootar “and more dead bodies are being recovered from the bush as a result of the herdsmen attacks.”
Among those killed in the attack were Jonathan Ordooga, Aondogu Torse, Cheater Torse, Yagba Torse, Tersugh Mbaaiiga, Terhemen Emmanuel, Henenshima Apirgwa and Orfega Atuku.
Meanwhile, in Guma LGA, a source who identified himself as Mr. Paul disclosed that there was mounting tension in Yelewata, Nyiev Council Ward, following the flooding of the community by armed herdsmen from neighbouring Nasarawa State.
He said, “The tension escalated after the armed herders macheted a youth from the community on May 8, 2025. The victim is currently battling for his life at a government hospital in Makurdi.”
A source in the area who spoke on condition of anonymity said the attacks had become a daily occurrence.
He said, “On May 9, Ukpiam in Mababai Council Ward was attacked; they killed three people and today, Saturday, May 10, Umenger in Mbadwem Council Ward was attacked. But for Umenger, we have not received reports yet on the casualties.
“Already, people have fled their homes even though it is farming season. But security agencies who are on the ground are trying their best to ensure that the herders pull out from the communities.”
Confirming the attack in Ukum LGA, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Mathew Abor, said he could not “ascertain those responsible for today’s killing in Ukum because there had been communal clashes there between the Tiv and Jukun groups.”
Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent, CSP, Catherine Anene, were unsuccessful.
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