General News
NY Times Article Blasts Jonathan, PDP over Graft, Terrorism
A damning article published in The New York Times has painted a not too pleasant picture of Nigerian current government which it said is “widely seen as the most corrupt since independence from Britain in 1960”
The article written by one Adewale Maja-Pearce, a writer and author of the memoir “The House My Father Built” also returned indictment on the government for failure to rescue the school girls seized by Boko Haram.
A version of the op-ed appears in print on November 17, in The International New York Times said that though corruption is a huge problem for President Goodluck Jonathan and his People’s Democratic Party, which has been continuously in power since the end of military rule in 1999.
But things are unlikely to change. To many Nigerians, it sometimes seems as if we merely swapped military dictatorship for a one-party state.
Mr. Jonathan’s name will be on the ballot this February, when Nigerians, many of them fed up with government corruption and incompetence, go to the polls.
Yet events percolating across the country that could come to a boil within the next three months might actually work to the president’s advantage.
Two grave problems — the Boko Haram insurgency and tensions in the oil-rich Niger Delta — hang over the land. A third, West Africa’s Ebola crisis, seems to have been contained so far, and though this has little to do with Mr. Jonathan’s leadership, the people responsible for it are unlikely to gain any political capital at his expense.
The incompetence of Mr. Jonathan’s government is most clearly seen in its inability to rescue the 276 schoolgirls, most of them believed to be Christians, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents in the largely Islamic north last April.
Even at the time, the president, himself a Christian from the largely Christian south, didn’t seem much concerned about their fate.
It took him almost three weeks to officially acknowledge what had happened, whereupon he belatedly invited their relatives to lunch at the presidential villa in Abuja, an event which one journalist likened to “a wedding reception,” complete with bunting and a band.
What Mr. Jonathan didn’t count upon was the international furor over the kidnappings or the powerful worldwide publicity, negative in his case, of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. Seven months later, most of the girls are still missing (though dozens have managed to escape).
A report by Human Rights Watch catalogued the “physical and psychological abuse they were subjected to: forced labor, forced participation in military operations, including carrying ammunition or luring men into ambush; forced marriage to their captors; and sexual abuse, including rape.”
Meanwhile, sporadic violence continues. Last week, a suicide bomber killed at least 48 students at a boys’ high school in the northeast. Rescuing the girls — or putting an end to the insurgency altogether — would certainly help Mr. Jonathan’s ambitions, but his government’s ability to do so seems most unlikely. Corruption and low morale have hobbled the military.
Even so, the government announced last month that the extremists had agreed to a cease-fire, though Boko Haram has denied it.
Although the extremists have been widely condemned by leading Muslim clerics and politicians, the insurgency contributes to Christian suspicions of their Muslim compatriots, and this may well play into Mr. Jonathan’s hands come election time.
But in an effort to bridge sectarian divisions and garner votes across the religious divide, the country’s leading opposition parties, one from the largely Muslim northeast, the other from the mostly Christian southwest, have joined forces with other groups to form the All Progressives Congress. In theory, this gives the opposition a fighting chance of wresting control of the Senate and House of Representatives from the People’s Democratic Party.
Unfortunately, efforts to make common cause in Nigeria are invariably sacrificed upon the altars of religion and ethnicity.
The alliance’s likely presidential candidate is a Muslim northerner, Muhammadu Buhari. He also happens to be a former dictator, who ruled Nigeria for 20 months in the mid-1980s.
His administration came to an abrupt end in August 1985, when members of his cabinet, alienated by his efforts to root out corruption, forced him out.
Though widely unpopular, many Nigerians feel he has the credentials to tackle corruption. Moreover, one potential running mate is Babatunde Raji Fashola, the two-term governor of Lagos State who has distinguished himself by successfully tackling the incipient Ebola crisis with the same energy and efficiency that he brought to modernizing the infrastructure of Lagos, the biggest port in West Africa. But there are also doubts about his commitment to clean government, fueled by the fact that he is a protègé of Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a former governor of the same state and a founding member of the All Progressives Congress whose reputation has been tarnished by corruption scandals, even though he has never been convicted of corruption.
Though Mr. Fashola is a Muslim with a Catholic wife, few Christians (or for that matter even the generally more-liberally minded Muslims of the south) would be inclined to vote for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Religious differences are a key factor in voting, but perhaps patronage plays a greater role, a lesson Mr. Jonathan learned in the Niger Delta, where he taught school and gained political prominence.
Like any savvy politician, he knows that patronage is a two-way street, and he has been careful to keep the money flowing in a region plagued by resentment over oil rights, piracy and periodic unrest.
Oil is Nigeria’s greatest source of wealth, providing about 90 percent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings, but many people among the delta’s diverse ethnic groups feel that the central government has seized control of their oil without adequate compensation. The government says it loses about $3 billion a year due to piracy, widely seen as aided and abetted by the military. Local gangs also take what they can by tapping pipelines. In the past, anger over corruption and the unfair redistribution of wealth has fueled a dangerous political militancy. Everyone knows that if the militants want to, they can easily stop oil production, which would bankrupt the country.
Thus Mr. Jonathan takes care to ensure that the region is well looked after, and this contributes to his enormous popularity there. Indeed, he is widely seen as crucial to keeping the lid on potential unrest. In the words of Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, a former leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force who is now a key supporter, if Mr. Jonathan is not re-elected next year, there will be “blood in the streets.”
United States has introduced further restrictions on potential asylum seekers by requiring US visa applicants to confirm they do not fear persecution in their home countries.
Donald Trump administration’s goal is to prevent individuals from using non-immigrant visas as a means to claim asylum once they reach US soil.
According to a diplomatic notice sent to all embassies and consulates this week, applicants for non-immigrant visas, including tourists, students, and temporary workers, must now affirm their safety at home to be eligible for entry.
This move is part of a broader shift in policies designed to tighten US immigration controls.
New screening procedures
Consular officers have been instructed to ask two specific questions during the application process:
“Have you experienced harm or mistreatment in your country of nationality or last habitual residence?”
“Do you fear harm or mistreatment in returning to your country of nationality or permanent residence?”
“Visa applicants must respond verbally with a ‘no’ to both questions for the consular officer to continue with visa issuance.”
The statement notes, “Consular officers must prevent abuse of the immigration system by visa applicants who misrepresent their purpose of travel, including those who attempt to obtain nonimmigrant visas for the purpose of claiming asylum upon arrival in the United States.”
A State Department spokesperson defended the measure, stating: “Consular officers are the first line of defence for US national security.
The department uses all available tools and resources to determine whether each visa applicant qualifies under US law”.
To qualify for asylum under current law, an individual must be physically present in the US and be fleeing persecution based on race, religion, or political affiliation.
However, immigration experts warn that these new requirements may force vulnerable individuals into dangerous situations.
Camille Mackler, an immigration policy consultant, told CNN that the directive “is going to put people in really bad, terrible positions of having to make choices that ultimately affect their and their family’s safety.”
She added: “I also think this pushes people to unsafer pathways and unsafer routes, because if you need to leave, you leave, and you do whatever you need to do to do that.”
The rule follows other recent measures, including increased vetting for student visas and a temporary suspension of immigrant visa processing for 75 countries earlier this year.
General News
Fiona Ahimie, MD First Securities Brokers Elected First Female President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers
The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) has elected Fiona Ahmed Ahimie, Managing Director, First Securities Brokers Limited, a subsidiary of FirstHoldCo Plc., as its 14th President, making her the first woman to be elected President and Chairman of Council in the Institute’s history.
Her emergence is more than a leadership change it is a defining milestone that signals the rising influence of women at the highest levels of Nigeria’s financial services industry and underscores the evolving face of capital market leadership.
With close to two decades of distinguished experience spanning stockbroking, investment banking, private equity, real estate, wealth management and business development, Fiona brings deep market insight, global exposure and a proven track record of delivering growth and market impact.
She began her career at one of Nigeria’s prominent Stockbroking firms, where she built a solid foundation in capital market operations and foreign investor deal flows. She later joined FBN Capital (now FirstCap) as Head of Sales Trading, playing a pivotal role in managing both international and domestic institutional deal flows.
In 2015, she was appointed Managing Director of African Alliance Securities Nigeria, where she drove significant expansion in market share, client base, and cross-border transactions.
Since joining First Securities Brokers Limited in 2016, she has led a remarkable transformational growth, positioning the firm among Nigeria’s top-tier brokerage houses by 2018 through enhanced execution capabilities and increased global investor participation.
Beyond executive management, Fiona has held several board and board committee roles and currently serves on the boards of First Funds (the private equity arm of FirstHoldCo Group), NGX Real Estate Limited (a subsidiary of NGX Group), Japtini Logistics, and Awabaah (a micro- pensions business). She is also a member of the Statutory Audit Committee of the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS).
An advocate of continuous learning and thought leadership, Fiona has received executive education from MIT Sloan School of Management (USA), IESE Business School (Spain), and INSEAD (France). She is a Doctorate candidate at Afe Babalola University Business School.
Her professional affiliations include being a Chartered Stockbroker, Chartered Accountant, and Chartered Director, she is also an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, she also serves on the Curriculum Review Committee of Lagos Business School and has been a mentor on the WIMBIZ Women on Boards Programme for four consecutive years.
Beyond corporate leadership, Fiona is deeply committed to philanthropy, supporting multiple institutions and sponsoring the education of young people reflecting her passion for inclusive growth and generational impact.
Her leadership philosophy is guided by enduring principles, excellence in execution, a refusal to settle for mediocrity, and an unwavering commitment to integrity and fairness.
Fiona’s presidency comes at a pivotal time for Nigeria’s capital market, as it navigates increased global integration, regulatory evolution, and rapid digital innovation. As President, she is poised to advance strategic priorities including deepening the market, strengthening professional standards, enhancing investor confidence, and nurturing the next generation of capital market professionals.
Fiona will assume office on April 30, 2026, with her formal investiture scheduled for June 25, 2026, where key stakeholders across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem are expected to gather to mark this historic leadership transition.
National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has revealed that it recorded over 1,500 cyberattack attempts within a short period, exposing critical gaps in Nigeria’s data protection ecosystem.
The National Commissioner of NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of a data protection training programme in Lagos.
Olatunji said the surge in cyberattacks forced the commission to temporarily shut down its network as a security measure to prevent hackers from breaching its systems.
“This temporary shutdown was a preventive move to stop the attackers from succeeding; it underscores how serious the threats have become,” he said.
Olatunji said cyber threats had become persistent and increasingly sophisticated, requiring organisations to adopt proactive and continuous security measures.
“Cyberattacks are no longer occasional; they are constant. Organisations must monitor their systems round the clock and remain up to date with security protocols,” Olatunji said.
He stressed that entities handling personal and sensitive data must implement robust cybersecurity frameworks, regular audits and incident‑response plans to reduce exposure.
The NDPC commissioner highlighted the acute shortage of qualified Data Protection Officers (DPOs) as a major challenge in Nigeria’s data protection landscape.
He said the Nigeria Data Protection Act mandates organisations to appoint DPOs, creating a surge in demand for certified professionals that the current workforce cannot meet.
“There is a significant gap between demand and supply of skilled personnel. This training is designed to prepare participants not just for certification, but to fill that gap effectively,” he said.
Olatunji said Nigeria’s data protection ecosystem had recorded notable growth under a Public‑Private Partnership (PPP) model, generating over 10 million dollars in value.
He also revealed that the framework had generated more than seven billion naira in government revenue through registration fees and fines.
“Beyond revenue, it has strengthened Nigeria’s global reputation and boosted investor confidence in how data is managed and protected,” he said.
On ransomware attacks, Olatunji warned organisations against paying ransoms, stressing that payment emboldened cybercriminals and encouraged further targeting.
“Once you pay, you empower attackers. The focus should be on strengthening systems to prevent breaches, having backup plans, and responding swiftly when incidents occur,” he said.
He urged both public and private institutions to prioritise resilience over quick fixes when dealing with cyber extortion.
Facilitator Dr. Taiwo Oyeleye said the ongoing training programme was designed to equip participants with both theoretical and practical knowledge of data protection and privacy.
“They will gain a clear understanding of data protection principles, organisational frameworks and technical safeguards required to secure sensitive information,” he said.
Oyeleye expressed confidence that participants would help bridge existing awareness and capacity gaps across sectors such as finance, health, telecommunications and government services.
Another facilitator, Mr. Wole Jacobs, advocated for stronger collaboration between the NDPC and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to confront emerging cyber threats.
Jacobs said the training would enhance participants’ capacity to protect data, promote awareness and contribute to Nigeria’s digital‑transformation agenda.
He emphasised the need for continuous learning and adherence to global best practices in cybersecurity and data‑privacy standards.
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