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Tales My Patients Told Me: Death took the wrong Frank!

It was around 11 pm on a hot Summer night. I was barely a few minutes into my sleep, hardly started my circle of low snoring, and was not yet dreaming, when I was jarred awake by my cell phone. “Hello, this is Dr Fashakin”. “Good evening, Doc, this is Detective John speaking from the house of your patient, Frank James. I am sorry to tell you that Mr James just passed away this evening”.

Mr Frank James! So sorry to hear, but sadly, his death was not unexpected. He had Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension for many years, which he had not taken good care of. Both diseases have damaged his kidneys. He was on dialysis due to chronic end-stage kidney. He had severe congestive heart failure, which made him an extremely poor risk for a kidney transplant. We knew that he did not have too long to live, but Frank was a terrific guy. Always very pleasant; never gave us problems despite all his medical problems.

Frank’s wife, twenty-four years his junior in age, his son Frank Jr., 25 years old, and daughter, Martha, 21 years old, were also enrolled in our practice. The children were in perfect health.

“Officer”, I began, after clearing my head of the fog of sleep, “Frank had a lot of medical problems. His death was sort of expected. You can inform the Medical Examiner that I would be happy to complete this certificate. The ME does not need to be involved in this case”.

“Doc, you don’t understand. Frank was 25 years old and did not seem to have any known medical conditions”, the Officer calmly explained. I felt the oxygen sucked away from my breath. When I recovered from the shock, I exclaimed, “Frank Jr.? That does not make any sense”! “I know,” the Officer agreed, “we are calling the Medical Examiner right now”. We ended the call.

Frank Jr! That was completely messed up. I shuddered at the effect it would have on the older Frank, the mom and the little sister. I never had the opportunity to see the older Frank again. I am sure the extreme grief sent him on his way. He died barely two weeks after his son.

Now things took a little bit of a bizarre turn. Frank’s mom, Adelle, came to see me a few weeks after the funerals of both the son and husband. I was heartbroken for her, but her demeanour shocked me. She was casual, rather nonchalant, and I thought that I could see a smile or two. This did not make sense, for a woman who had all the men in her life wiped out within two weeks of each other, only a few weeks earlier. Odd, very odd.

As for Martha, Frank’s sister, it was a different story entirely. She took it so hard. We tried some counselling and very soon had to give her medications for anxiety. She was in bad shape. Her weight ballooned overnight.

Adelle had no such worries. I learned through one of my staff that Adelle had hooked up with another man. On a subsequent visit, she confirmed it to me. Yes, she was with someone else. She looked very happy. Martha was in bad shape, but Adelle had no worries at all when death came and took the wrong Frank!

Emmanuel O. Fashakin, M.D., FMCS(Nig), FWACS, FRCS(Ed), FAAFP, Esq.
Attorney at Law & Medical Director,
Abbydek Family Medical Practice, P.C.
Web address: http://www.abbydek.com
Cell phone: +1-347-217-6175
“Primum non nocere”

United Kingdom releases updated list of persons designated as terrorism funders as of 2026

The UK government continued to update its consolidated list of financial sanctions targets, naming several individuals linked to terrorism financing and extremist activity. The measures included asset freezes, travel bans and direct disqualification sanctions.

Find the list of individuals below:

Nazem Ahmad
Nazem Ahmad, born January 5, 1965, in Sierra Leone, was listed on April 18, 2023. Authorities stated that he had ties to Hizballah and was suspected of financing terrorism. His sanctions included an asset freeze, a travel ban imposed on August 29, 2024, and a director disqualification sanction on April 9, 2025.

Officials reported that Ahmad controlled entities such as White Star DMCC, Bexley Way General Trading LLC, Best Diamond House DMCC, Sierra Gem Diamonds Company NV, Park Ventures SAL and The Artual Gallery.
Mustafa Ayash

Mustafa Ayash, born September 18, 1992, in Gaza, Palestine, was designated on March 27, 2024. The UK government said he had promoted Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad through the organisation Gaza Now.

His sanctions included an asset freeze, a travel ban imposed on August 29, 2024, and a director disqualification sanction on April 9, 2025. Officials noted that Ayash controlled crypto wallets and the Gaza Now organisation.
Kieran Gallagher

Kieran James Gallagher, born April 26, 1977, in Londonderry, United Kingdom, was listed on November 6, 2025.

The UK Treasury stated that Gallagher had been involved in providing financial services for terrorism and facilitating extremist activity. He was subjected to an asset freeze and a director disqualification sanction on November 6, 2025.
Mohammed Fawaz Khaled

Mohammed Fawaz Khaled, born either June 6, 1969 or June 6, 1967, in Homs, Syria, was first listed on May 9, 2013. His designation was updated on December 31, 2020 and again on April 9, 2025.

Officials assessed that Khaled had travelled to Syria to engage in extremist activities on behalf of ISIL. He was subjected to an asset freeze and a director disqualification sanction.
Gurpreet Singh Rehal

Gurpreet Singh Rehal, born November 12, 1991, in the United Kingdom, was listed on December 4, 2025. Authorities reported that he had been involved with Babbar Khalsa and Babbar Akali Lehar, organisations linked to terrorism.

His sanctions included an asset freeze and a director disqualification sanction. Officials stated that Rehal controlled Saving Punjab CIC, WhiteHawk Consultations Ltd and Loha Designs.

The UK government maintained that these sanctions were necessary to disrupt financial support for terrorism and prevent individuals from using economic resources to promote extremist activity.

Fear, Kidnappings and Infrastructure Crisis: N38bn highway turns death trap three years after commissioning

Barely three years after its high-profile commissioning by former President Muhammadu Buhari, the N38 billion Nasarawa–Oweto–Otukpo Federal Road has suffered extensive structural failure, morphing from a strategic transport corridor into what many motorists now describe as a death trap.

The highway—linking communities across Nasarawa State and Benue State while serving as a gateway to eastern Nigeria—was envisioned as a catalyst for trade, faster travel and rural economic growth. Today, large portions have collapsed, leaving the once-promising artery largely abandoned.

A visit by reporters revealed multiple failed sections where asphalt has peeled away, road shoulders have sunk, and aggressive erosion has gouged deep channels across the carriageway. In several areas, motorists are forced off the road and into surrounding bushes to bypass destroyed segments; elsewhere, passage is impossible.

Damaged and exposed culverts have further heightened fears about flawed drainage design—an issue infrastructure experts often cite as a recurring weakness in Nigerian road construction.

A Familiar Pattern on Nigeria’s Highways

The rapid deterioration underscores a broader national problem: highways across Africa’s largest economy have increasingly become hazardous corridors marked by potholes, collapses, criminal attacks and chronic neglect.

For millions of Nigerians who rely almost exclusively on road transport, such failures are more than an inconvenience—they carry economic and human costs, from fatal crashes to delayed emergency care.

Despite its strategic importance, the Nasarawa–Oweto–Otukpo corridor now sits eerily quiet, particularly along the Agatu–Otukpo stretch. Investigations suggest that worsening insecurity has compounded the road’s structural problems, accelerating its abandonment.

Most commuters have rerouted to longer alternatives, choosing safety over efficiency.

Heavy Trucks, Weak Enforcement

Findings indicate that an early surge of articulated trucks significantly hastened the highway’s decline.

After completion, long-haul trailers heading east reportedly deserted older routes in favor of the shorter corridor, concentrating immense axle pressure on infrastructure residents believe was never engineered for such sustained loads.

“After the road was opened, trailers and tankers took over the place. It didn’t take long before the surface started breaking,” said commercial driver Enoch Adagboyi.

Experts point to the absence of functional weighbridges and poor axle-load enforcement, systemic regulatory gaps that have historically undermined road durability nationwide.

Ironically, as the road worsened and insecurity escalated, those same heavy vehicles abandoned the route.

Kidnappings Turn Corridor Into No-Go Zone

Structural failure is only part of the story.

Frequent kidnappings and armed attacks along adjoining roads have transformed the corridor into a high-risk zone. In November 2025, gunmen reportedly abducted six passengers along the Ogobia–Adoka axis, while security sources have repeatedly flagged criminal hideouts in nearby forests.

The climate of fear now deters not just motorists but also transport unions and even maintenance crews—making routine repairs increasingly unlikely.

“It’s a Death Trap”

Commercial drivers voiced anger over what many see as a costly waste of public funds.

“The road started failing too early. Even before the collapse became serious, people stopped using it because of kidnappers. Today, it’s not safe and not motorable,” said driver Joseph Onche.

Another motorist was more blunt: “We were happy when it was commissioned. Now it looks like the money was wasted.”

For traders and farmers in Agatu, the consequences have been immediate. Once-busy roadside markets have emptied, choking off income streams and isolating rural producers from urban buyers.

“Before, vehicles passed here every day. We sold food, fish and farm produce. Now the road is empty,” said resident Margaret Ichalefu.

Residents also report growing difficulty accessing hospitals, schools and emergency services, an often overlooked ripple effect of infrastructure collapse.

Quality, Oversight—and the Corruption Question

Infrastructure specialists say the early failure raises troubling questions.

“A road of that cost should last far beyond three years, even without major maintenance,” civil engineer Simon Adakole noted, pointing to possible design flaws, substandard materials, inadequate drainage or weak supervision.

Such concerns echo long-standing allegations that corruption, contract irregularities and poor oversight frequently erode the value of Nigeria’s public works—leaving taxpayers to shoulder the burden of repeated reconstruction.

The Loko-Oweto Bridge and the associated road network were primarily constructed by Reynolds Construction Company Nigeria Limited after the project was awarded in 2011. Efforts to obtain comments from the contractor were unsuccessful.

Similarly, attempts to reach leadership at the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency yielded no response, fueling perceptions of institutional silence around a rapidly deteriorating national asset.

Maintenance Failures and Security Constraints

Analysts argue that delayed intervention may have allowed minor defects to spiral into catastrophic damage. Security threats, they say, often discourage inspection teams from conducting routine assessments, creating a cycle in which abandonment accelerates decay.

“Once a highway is neglected, erosion, vandalism and structural fatigue set in quickly,” one security expert warned.

A Costly Symbol of Broken Infrastructure

For residents of Benue South and surrounding communities, the ruined highway has become more than a failed project—it is a stark emblem of fragile infrastructure planning and limited accountability.

As Nigeria confronts mounting transport challenges amid economic strain, the collapse of a multibillion-naira road so soon after commissioning is likely to intensify scrutiny over how public funds are spent—and whether the country can build roads that last longer than political cycles.

Offline on Election Day? Ex-INEC chief’s viral video fuels firestorm as senate loophole sparks fresh fears over Nigeria’s elections

The controversy revives unresolved tensions from the 2023 presidential election won by Bola Tinubu, whose victory was challenged up to the Supreme Court by rivals Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

A resurfaced video featuring former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, is reigniting a fierce national debate over the reliability of election technology—just as lawmakers push controversial changes to Nigeria’s electoral framework.

In the widely circulated clip, Yakubu explains that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), introduced to strengthen credibility at the polls, operates without internet connectivity during voting.

“The machine on election day does not require internet for upload; it works offline,” he said.

According to him, network access only becomes necessary when scanned polling unit results are transmitted.

“When it comes to transmission of results, that’s where it needs network. But if there is no connectivity in the immediate vicinity, the image will be transmitted once officials move to an area with coverage,” Yakubu added, noting that the commission has worked with telecommunications providers to address coverage blind spots.

Timing That Raises Questions

The video’s renewed circulation comes at a politically sensitive moment, with the Nigerian Senate recently amending the Electoral Act to mandate electronic transmission of results—while simultaneously allowing manual result sheets to prevail whenever technology fails.

The revision was adopted during a plenary presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, triggering backlash from civic groups and opposition figures who argue that the clause risks reopening pathways for manipulation.

Under the amended provision, presiding officers must transmit results electronically to the INEC Result Viewing Portal. However, if transmission proves impossible due to technical or communication failures, the manual Form EC8A becomes the primary basis for collation and declaration.

Critics say that a single caveat could determine the credibility of future elections.

Street Protests and Elite Pushback

Public anger has already spilled into the streets. Activists under the #OccupyNASS banner gathered at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, joined by former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore.

Sowore accused the political establishment of engineering electoral rules that favour manipulation.

“These people cannot win in free and fair elections,” he warned. “But the people have a duty to demand processes that guarantee transparent polls.”

Civil Society Warns of “Dangerous Ambiguity”

A coalition including the Centre for Media and Society, International Press Centre and Yiaga Africa welcomed the Senate’s partial reversal on e-transmission but cautioned that vague language could weaken reforms first introduced in the 2022 Electoral Act.

The groups described the phrase “provided if it fails and it becomes impossible to transmit” as dangerously undefined.

“In the absence of clear safeguards, this clause risks creating a loophole that could undermine the very purpose of electronic transmission,” the coalition said.

They further warned that granting greater legal weight to manual results could dilute the audit trail meant to deter fraud.

“Electronic transmission is not symbolic reform—it is a structural safeguard,” the statement stressed.

Echoes of the 2023 Election Battle

The controversy revives unresolved tensions from the 2023 presidential election won by Bola Tinubu, whose victory was challenged up to the Supreme Court by rivals Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

In a unanimous ruling led by Justice Inyang Okoro, the court held that electronic transmission was not mandatory under the Electoral Act and dismissed the appeals.

Yet the justices acknowledged that failure to upload results in real time could erode voter confidence.

“The truth must be told that the non-transmission of results… may reduce the confidence of the voting population,” the court observed.

More than two years later, that warning appears increasingly prescient.

Kukah’s Stark Warning: “Africa Will Not Wait”

Adding moral weight to the debate, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, issued a blunt appeal for credible elections.

“By God, by whatever means, give us clean and credible elections,” he declared at a major policy conference in Abuja.

Kukah cautioned that Nigeria risks geopolitical irrelevance if democratic credibility continues to wobble while other African nations advance.

“A roadmap to make Africa great again cannot proceed without Nigeria—but the rest of Africa will not wait for us,” he said.

In a thinly veiled reference to past controversies, he warned against allowing technical debates over transmission methods to overshadow the core obligation of transparency.

“We must not surrender to confusion. We must get it right.”

Reform or Regression?

The Senate’s refusal to make electronic transmission fully mandatory has once again placed a spotlight on INEC’s discretionary powers—long a fault line in Nigeria’s electoral politics.

For reform advocates, real-time transmission represents more than technological progress; it is seen as a psychological contract with voters increasingly sceptical of official results.

Expectations had been high that the latest reform cycle would hardwire transparency into law. Instead, critics fear the compromise risks preserving the very uncertainties the reforms sought to eliminate.

Still, civil society leaders say the Senate’s partial reversal demonstrates that sustained public pressure can shape legislation—while warning that vigilance remains essential.

“The details matter,” the coalition said. “The credibility of future elections depends on getting this right.”

As Nigeria edges toward another electoral cycle, the collision between technology, law and political trust suggests one reality: in a democracy where perception can be as powerful as outcome, even the mechanics of result transmission may ultimately decide whether voters believe the system works at all.

Trump sets monthly quotas for U.S. citizenship revocation

The Trump administration has directed U.S. immigration authorities to begin identifying between 100 and 200 potential denaturalisation cases each month,

As reported by the Economic Times on Friday, according to an NBC News report, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has reassigned staff and sent experts to field offices across the country to review past naturalisation approvals. The aim is to supply the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation with a steady flow of cases.

USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said the agency acts when there is evidence of fraud or misrepresentation in the naturalisation process.

“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards fraud in the naturalisation process and will pursue denaturalisation proceedings for any individual who lied or misrepresented themselves,” NBC quoted him as saying.

“We will continue to relentlessly pursue those undermining the integrity of America’s immigration system and work alongside the Department of Justice to ensure that only those who meet citizenship standards retain the privilege of US citizenship,” he said.

The Justice Department has instructed attorneys to prioritize denaturalisation. It has cited cases involving individuals who pose national security risks, committed war crimes, or engaged in Medicaid or Medicare fraud.

A broader clause allows action in “any other cases … that the division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue,” the Justice Department added.

Trump has repeatedly focused on citizenship policy. He is also seeking authority to end birthright citizenship for children born in the US to foreign nationals, an issue currently before the Supreme Court.

In a Thanksgiving message last year, Trump wrote that he would remove anyone who was not a “net asset” to the US and would “denaturalise migrants who undermine domestic tranquillity.”

The business of not ageing: Why people are spending $1,300 on longevity treatments

The growing longevity industry is selling a big aspiration – the ability to slow your biological clock. But as clinics multiply and prices continue to increase, the gap between what science supports and what consumers are actually paying for also raises questions about who has the opportunity to slow ageing and at what cost.

At Biograph, a longevity clinic with locations in New York City and San Francisco, an assessment day can last up to six hours and include the collection of more than 1,000 data points from more than 30 advanced diagnostics. This includes proprietary MRI and CT scans, a body composition analysis, VO2 max testing and comprehensive bloodwork. Members are welcomed into their own private suite for the day where they can decompress between assessments, review the information and shower afterward. Weeks after the visit, clients receive a personalised health risk profile that synthesises every data point.

Click here to continue reading.

Nigeria Army University Professor dies in Boko Haram captivity

Professor Abubakar Mohammed El-Jummah, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology at the Nigerian Army University, Biu, Borno State, has died while in the custody of Boko Haram militants, nearly a year after his abduction.

Professor El-Jummah was kidnapped on March 3, 2025, along the troubled Damaturu–Buni Yadi–Biu road. He reportedly remained in captivity until falling ill and succumbing to his condition.

The news of his death was communicated to his family in Maiduguri on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. In response, a Salatul Ga’ib (funeral prayer in absentia) was held on Thursday, February 12, at the Ngomari Old Airport Juma’at Mosque, near his residence in Maiduguri.

A family relative, who requested anonymity, told Vanguard that Professor El-Jummah had been in Boko Haram custody from March 2, 2025, until his death, adding, “May Allah forgive him and grant him mercy.”

The relative declined to comment on whether the terrorists had demanded a ransom during the period of captivity.

The funeral prayer attracted numerous sympathizers, colleagues from academia, and friends of the late professor, reflecting the profound impact he had on his community.

Vanguard

Remembering Biodun Jeyifo and my NYSC days

 By Max Amuchie

When news filtered in on Wednesday, February 11, about the passing of Professor Biodun Jeyifo, I found myself journeying back 35 years, to my National Youth Service days at Teachers’ College, Kagoro, in the southern part of Kaduna State.

It was 1991. We were young, idealistic, and argumentative in the best sense of that word. We believed ideas mattered. We believed debates could shape society. Kagoro, quiet and reflective, became for us a space of intellectual exchange.

It was there that I first heard the name Biodun Jeyifo. I was speaking with my fellow corps member, Adekola Adebayo, who had studied English at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. As corps members often do, we compared our campuses and the intellectual giants who shaped them.

I told him about the University of Calabar, about Eskor Toyo, the formidable Marxist economist whose lectures drew students from every faculty, and about Dr. Innocent Ukeje, the political scientist, whose ideological position differed sharply from Toyo’s. On that campus – whether you’re a Malabite or Malabress (as Unical students are called) – your intellectual leaning often aligned you with one or the other. I told Kola that my sympathies leaned toward Eskor Toyo’s Marxist clarity and structural critique.

Years later, Ukeje would rise to become a professor at the University of Abuja. Eskor Toyo would retire as a respected professor of economics before his passing on Monday, December 7, 2015 at 86. But 1991, their debates still animated our conversations.

Kola then smiled and said, “Let me tell you about BJ.” That was my first introduction to Biodun Jeyifo. At Ile-Ife, he said, students and lecturers affectionately called him “BJ.” He described him as a brilliant literary scholar and a committed Marxist intellectual. He also mentioned Ropo Sekoni, another respected literary scholar and close associate of BJ. Years later, I would come to appreciate how deep and enduring that friendship was.

What I did not know at the time, and what I only came to understand much later, was the depth of the connection between BJ and the Madunagus. As a student in Calabar, I encountered Professor (then Dr) Bene Madunagu a few times. I knew her as a lecturer in the Botany Department and as a passionate promoter of the Girl Power Movement. She was visible, energetic, and deeply committed to social advocacy. Yet I did not then grasp the broader ideological network of which she was part.

It was only years later that I learned that Biodun Jeyifo, Edwin Madunagu, and Bene Madunagu were bound together not merely by friendship but by shared ideological commitment, as the trio that formed the Nigerian Socialist Movement, the nucleus of what became widely known as the Nigerian Left.

That knowledge reframed my memories.

The intellectual currents I experienced in Calabar and the ones Kola described in Ile-Ife were not isolated phenomena. They were interconnected streams flowing from a larger river of radical thought and organised socialist engagement in Nigeria. BJ stood alongside Dr. Edwin Madunagu and Professor Bene Madunagu in shaping socialist thought and activism in the country. They were not armchair theorists. They were organisers, teachers, writers, and public intellectuals committed to building a socialist consciousness rooted in justice, equality, and human dignity.

Today, of that historic trio, only Dr. Edwin Madunagu remains. Professor Bene Madunagu, a formidable intellectual and activist in her own right, passed away on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at the age of 77. (Interestingly, her death was jointly announced by Dr Edwin Madunagu and BJ). With the death of Biodun Jeyifo, another pillar of that generation has fallen.

Yet even in BJ’s final years, the bonds of friendship and shared struggle endured and were publicly celebrated. This the world saw on Monday, January 5, just last month, when an international symposium was held in Lagos to mark his 80th birthday. The event took place at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, and was organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ). Aptly titled ‘Who Is Afraid of Decolonisation? Pedagogy, Curriculum and Decolonisation: Then and Now,’ the gathering reflected the lifelong concerns of BJ’s scholarship namely decolonisation, pedagogy, intellectual responsibility, and the politics of knowledge production.

The symposium was moderated by no other person than Ropo Sekoni, a powerful testament to a life-long friendship forged in scholarship and ideological conviction. That moment, Sekoni anchoring a global intellectual celebration in honour of BJ, symbolised not only enduring comradeship but also the magnitude of BJ’s influence. Scholars, activists, students, and admirers gathered across generations and geographies to honour a man whose ideas travelled far beyond Nigeria’s shores.

Looking back now, I realise that the ideological conversations in Kagoro in 1991 were part of something much larger, a coordinated intellectual and political project aimed at transforming Nigerian society. BJ was central to that story.

He was a bridge – between literature and politics, between Nigeria and the diaspora, between the classroom and the public square. His scholarship travelled across continents, yet remained rooted in Africa’s realities and struggles.

His passing signals more than the loss of a distinguished professor. It marks the gradual closing of a chapter in Nigeria’s radical intellectual history, a generation that believed scholarship must confront injustice; that intellectual labour is a form of public service; that socialism was not a slogan but an ethical commitment.

For me, the news of his death reawakens memories of Kagoro, of long evenings of debate, of believing that arguments about Marxism, class, and culture were urgent and transformative.

We may not all have sat in his classroom. Some of us encountered him through students he inspired, through movements he helped shape, through ideas that travelled beyond campus walls. Yet even at a distance, he influenced us.

Professor Biodun Jeyifo has taken his final bow. But like all true teachers, he leaves behind not silence — but echoes.

And somewhere in those echoes is a young corps member in Kagoro, in 1991, hearing the name “BJ” for the first time, unaware that he was listening to the story of one of the architects of Nigeria’s socialist movement.

May his legacy endure.

•Dr Max Amuchie, a member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, is CEO, Sundiata Post Media Ltd.

A Leadership Failure of Epic Proportions: When excuses become indictments

By Kachi Okezie, Esq.

When a sitting senator argues against the electronic transmission of election results because his own village lacks network coverage, he is not merely making a policy point. He is delivering an indictment—of himself.

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s recent statement opposing electronic transmission on the grounds that there is no network in his village, Igbere, is more than a curious argument. It is a stunning confession. Here is a man who governed Abia State for eight years and has spent six more in the Senate, publicly acknowledging that in all that time, he could not—or did not—ensure something as basic as telecommunications access for his own community.

Leadership is not tested by rhetoric but by results. And when a leader cites infrastructural decay as justification for resisting progress, he reveals more than he intends.

In today’s world, network connectivity is not a luxury. It is infrastructure as essential as roads, electricity, and clean water. Former US President Joe Biden made that clear to the whole world when he presented his first budget to the US Congress. He argued that broadband infrastructure powers commerce, education, healthcare, civic participation, and democratic transparency. To then argue that elections should not be modernised because connectivity is lacking is to normalise failure. Worse, it is to weaponise that failure as an excuse to stall reform.

The deeper question is this: how can a leader preside over years of public office and then point to the absence of basic infrastructure as though it were an act of God?

The outrage that followed the senator’s remarks is not merely about electronic voting. It reflects a broader frustration with a political class that often seems insulated from the everyday realities of its citizens. If a village lacks network coverage after more than a decade of representation at the highest levels, what does that say about priorities? About performance? About accountability?

There is something profoundly troubling about the casualness of the admission. It suggests a political culture in which underdevelopment is so routine that it no longer shocks those responsible for addressing it. Instead of embarrassment, there is deflection. Instead of urgency, there is justification.

This is how stagnation becomes institutionalised.

Electronic transmission of results is not a silver bullet for Nigeria’s electoral challenges. But it represents an effort to strengthen transparency and restore public confidence in a system that has long been plagued by suspicion. To resist such reform on the basis of infrastructural inadequacy is to concede that governance has failed—and then to accept that failure as permanent.

Leaders are elected to solve problems, not to cite them as reasons for inaction.

The senator’s argument inadvertently reinforces a perception that many Nigerians already hold: that too often, those in power are more invested in preserving political advantage than in expanding public good. When reform threatens established interests, deficiencies suddenly become insurmountable obstacles. When elections are at stake, the conversation shifts from development to delay.

But development and democracy are intertwined. A country that cannot ensure basic connectivity for its communities will struggle to build credible institutions. Conversely, a country that resists modernising its democratic processes because of infrastructural gaps (which it created or sustained) risks perpetuating those very gaps.

The irony is sharp. Electronic transmission requires network coverage. Network coverage requires investment and political will. Political will is what elected officials are meant to provide. When the absence of progress is cited as justification for resisting change, the circle of dysfunction closes.

The issue at hand is larger than one village or one senator. It is about a standard of leadership. Public office is not an entitlement; it is a trust. That trust demands measurable improvement in the lives of citizens. Roads built. Schools funded. Hospitals equipped. Networks expanded. When those basics remain elusive after years in office, explanations ring hollow.

What Nigerians deserve is not eloquent defence of inadequacy but determined correction of it.

The most troubling aspect of this episode is not that a village lacks network coverage. It is that such a reality can be invoked without visible urgency or accountability. In thriving democracies, leaders scramble to fix deficiencies before they become public embarrassments. Here, deficiency becomes an argument.

History is unkind to leaders who mistake excuses for governance.

Senator Kalu’s statement may fade from headlines, but the questions it raises will linger. How do we measure leadership? By tenure or transformation? By title or tangible change? And at what point do citizens demand that those who cannot deliver step aside for those who can?

Nigeria stands at a crossroads where credibility in public institutions is fragile. Strengthening democracy requires more than laws; it requires leaders who understand that progress is non-negotiable. Infrastructure gaps are challenges to overcome, not shields against reform.

If a community lacks network coverage in 2026, the response should be immediate mobilisation—not legislative retreat.

Nigerians crave (and deserve) leaders who see problems as mandates, not alibis. They deserve representation that translates into development, not declarations of helplessness. They deserve officials who understand that every public admission of failure carries a moral obligation to correct it.

Anything less is not merely disappointing. It is a betrayal of trust.

And trust, once squandered, is far harder to rebuild than a network tower.

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

Young mum discovers she is pregnant weeks after giving birth to first child – her sons now set to be ‘Irish twins’

A 21-year-old mother discovered she was pregnant just 12 weeks after she gave birth to her son. 

Paulina Gammon welcomed her son Jakub in April last year with her husband Stanley, also 21, and the Derby-based couple soon relaxed into life in their newborn bubble.

However, just 12 weeks after young Jakub was born, Paulina unexpectedly discovered she was pregnant again while ring shopping for her wedding.

Recalling the moment that took her by complete surprise, Paulina said: ‘I felt very nauseous and sick so I did a pregnancy test in the shopping centre.

‘We were so shocked and nervous that it had happened so soon. We’d just begun adjusting to being parents and knew we would have to get into a whole new routine.’

Her second son is due next month, just 11 months after his older brother, with the pair set to be ‘Irish twins’ – siblings born less than 12 months apart. 

The teenage sweethearts met aged just 16 and Stanley popped the question to Paulina on a beach in Rhodes, Greece, in 2024. They wed in August last year. 

She added that her husband Stanley was ‘surprised but so happy’ by the news of her second pregnancy and that ‘his reaction was much happier and more confident than mine’.

‘He’s so supportive and already a great dad,’ she added. 

The young couple conceived Jakub, now 10 months old, shortly after their engagement, which came as a particular surprise to them, given that Paulina was on contraception at the time.

Adding that the news of Paulina’s first pregnancy left the pair ‘really confused’, she added: ‘I wouldn’t change it for the world. They’ve both been amazing surprises.’

Paulina, who works as cabin crew, added that initially the ‘thought of doing it all again so soon was scary’. 

However, she has now come to terms with the news and is ‘so happy and excited’ at the prospect of having two sons so close in age.

Recalling how her friends and family reacted to the news of another baby in the family, the 21-year-old said: ‘Everyone was so shocked when they found out I was pregnant again.

‘But they were also really excited and happy for us. I think the boys will be best friends.’

Paulina (pictured with Jakub) said that initially the 'thought of doing it all again so soon was scary'. However, she has now come to terms with the news and is 'so happy and excited'

Paulina (pictured with Jakub) said that initially, the ‘thought of doing it all again so soon was scary’. However, she has now come to terms with the news and is ‘so happy and excited’ 

Her second son is due next month, just 11 months after his older brother, with the pair set to be 'Irish twins' - siblings born less than 12 months apart

Her second son is due next month, just 11 months after his older brother, with the pair set to be ‘Irish twins’ – siblings born less than 12 months apart.

Paulina said: ‘I love being a mum and we have everything prepared because of having Jakub. I know it will be difficult but I can’t wait to watch them grow up together’

While Paulina is prepared for the ‘challenge’ of two young sons, she felt reassured that they will ‘always have each other to play with and share similar interests’. 

The young mother also felt confident that things will become easier to handle once the pair have established a routine, adding: ‘Now I’ll know what to expect with the second thanks to Jakub.’

Unexpected pros for the soon-to-be parents of two are not needing to ‘stock up on any boy’s clothes’, and already having the necessary kit required for a newborn baby. 

‘It will be lovely to see Jakub’s little brother wearing things I dressed Jakub in,’ said Paulina.  

‘I love being a mum and we have everything prepared because of having Jakub. I know it will be difficult but I can’t wait to watch them grow up together.’

Daily Mail

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