How frequent are fuel tanker accidents on Nigerian roads?

Official figures are hard to come by. Research, however, showed that from January 2009 to October 2024, there were 169 fuel tanker accidents which led to 1,613 deaths. For the 16 year review, 2019 had the highest number of accident cases and deaths at 29 and 203 respectively. Accidents were least frequent in 2009, 2012 and 2014, with three in each.

Some of the most recent accidents have included:

• In Niger State, northern Nigeria, an accident on 18 January 2025 killed 86 people and injured dozens.
• In Agbor, Delta State, five people were killed on 5 January 2025 when a tanker exploded after losing control.
• In Jigawa State, northern Nigeria, an explosion in October 2024 killed more than 150 people.

What factors enable these accidents?

A huge amount of hazardous and flammable material is transported by road in Nigeria. It is difficult to quantify: figures are not available publicly. But it raises concerns about safety and about protecting the environment against spills and pollution.

Based on accident reports and my personal research, the main factors contributing to accidents are:

• Incompetent drivers: some drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
• Bad roads: tankers have to avoid potholes and ditches.
• On-street parking: where there are no parking lots for trucks, they often park on both sides of the road, hindering the flow of traffic.
• Overloading: sometimes an oil tanker that was designed to carry a maximum load of 33,000 litres is upgraded to convey a maximum of 45,000 litres – but is found carrying as much as 75,000 litres. The government recently decided to bar tankers carrying 60,000 litres from Nigerian roads, effective 1 March.
• Brake failure: drivers and owners sometimes ignore faults that can lead to brake failure.
• Scooping fuel from fallen tankers: this is dangerous but common among Nigerians. Many people have died as a result, because these tankers usually catch fire.
• Petrol stations are built in residential areas in between houses. This makes people and properties vulnerable to fire incidents, especially when fuel tankers have spilled their contents.

What are the effects of these accidents on the environment?

Fuel tanker accidents result in oil spillage, which causes fire outbreaks and the release of hazardous polluting substances. The gaseous and particulate matter emissions from accidents affect air quality. Studies show that toxic air pollutants are associated with cancer and with cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological diseases. Inhaling carbon monoxide from the fire and fumes is extremely harmful.

The environmental impact of these accidents on soil consists of erosion and contamination. It influences natural vegetation and results in deforestation around the accident site.

The accidents also affect the urban landscape. Houses, farm lands and vehicles burnt as a result of accidents cause environmental degradation. Burnt vehicles are often left on the road for a long time, causing a nuisance. They also create physical barriers, generate odour and look ugly. Accidents damage or destroy urban infrastructure such as high tension wire, as well as trees that provide valuable shade.

How can they be avoided?

Accidents can be prevented by restructuring the built environment, providing dedicated parking spaces for fuel tankers, and constructing good roads. Petrol stations should not be built in residential areas.

Nigeria must also revive the railway system and build more fuel depots. These would reduce heavy dependence on the roads to transport fuel. In the early years after 1960, the Nigerian railway accounted for about one third of freight traffic based on my research findings. Petroleum products were moved as cargo by rail and this contributed to the growth of many towns and cities. The roads then were safer for other vehicles and pedestrians. In 2024 the railway transported 362,327 tons of goods, indicating a surge in freight traffic using rail.

Government must come up with laws that regulate the movement of fuel tankers. There should be a time frame for their movement, preferably between 8pm and 6am, when the roads are relatively free of other kinds of vehicles. This could be a temporary measure until the railways are fully rehabilitated.

There should also be a way of screening fuel tankers before they get on the road, to check their working condition. The tankers are not screened presently.

Regrettably, the fuel companies and the haulage companies bear no consequences for accidents, environmental harm, injuries and deaths. This must change too.

*Gladys Ogochukwu Chukwurah is Lecturer and Researcher, University of Nigeria

Consuming cashews regularly can enhance your cardiovascular health and metabolism, while also helping you manage your weight more effectively.

Healthline reported that cashews, originating from Brazil, come from the tropical cashew tree and are kidney-shaped seeds. Recognized not only for their delightful taste, these nuts are also a nutritional powerhouse.

According to the FoodData Central database of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a single ounce (28 grams) of unroasted, unsalted cashews provides about 157 calories, 5 grams of protein, 12 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbohydrates, and 1 gram of fiber. This nutritional profile means they contain almost as much protein as an equivalent amount of cooked meat.

They are also a rich source of essential minerals like copper, magnesium, manganese, zinc, phosphorus, iron, selenium, thiamine, vitamin K, and vitamin B6.

Eating cashews regularly may have several impacts on your body:

Enhanced disease prevention

Cashews are rich in antioxidants like polyphenols and carotenoids, which help neutralize harmful free radicals, reduce inflammation, and enhance your body’s health and disease resistance. Consuming whole, raw cashews maximizes their antioxidant benefits, as roasting may diminish these properties.

Improved weight management

Studies published by the National Library of Medicine suggest that diets rich in nuts lead to more significant weight loss and lower body weights compared to diets without nuts.

This may be partly because cashews could provide fewer calories than previously believed, with the body potentially digesting and absorbing only about 84% of the calories they offer, likely due to some of the fat remaining trapped within the cashew’s fibrous wall, preventing it from being absorbed during digestion.

Whole raw cashews might offer the most weight loss benefits.

Better cardiovascular health

Research indicates that cashews can enhance heart health, particularly among people with type 2 diabetes. One study found that consuming cashews as 10% of daily caloric intake can lower the ratio of LDL (bad) to HDL (good) cholesterol. Other studies have linked cashew consumption to higher HDL cholesterol levels and reduced blood pressure.

However, results are mixed, and more research is needed to confirm these benefits.

Diabetes management

For individuals with type 2 diabetes, incorporating cashews into their diet could be advantageous. Cashews are high in fiber, which helps control blood sugar spikes and guards against diabetes. In studies, people with type 2 diabetes who included cashews in their diet showed lower insulin levels, suggesting better blood sugar control.

Potential downsides

While cashews are safe for most people, they contain urushiol, a toxic compound also found in poison ivy, which is eliminated during processing. Therefore, cautious consumption is recommended.

To avoid excessive sodium and fats, choosing unsalted, dry-roasted, or truly raw cashews is recommended over commercially roasted or salted options.

The Ọ̀ṣun Òṣogbo festival is the most important annual event in Òṣogbo, south-west Nigeria. It draws thousands of devotees and tourists from across Nigeria and worldwide. The festival is a devotional event and a civic ritual dedicated to Ọ̀ṣun, a principal female deity in the Yorùbá pantheon.

Ọ̀ṣun is the deity of femininity in Yorùbá cosmology and rules over the river named after her in Nigeria – River Ọ̀ṣun. Her spirit is believed to reside in any freshwater. She is associated with the authority of motherhood, purity, fertility and sensuality. She is also the patron deity of Òṣogbo, a Yorùbá town in Nigeria whose origin in the late 16th century is associated with Ọ̀ṣun – the deity and the river.

As a historian and archaeologist, I was drawn to the Ọ̀ṣun festival and the deity’s most sacred site, the Ọ̀ṣun-Òṣogbo Grove, to understand the history of Òṣogbo and the Yorùbá region over the past 500 years. The rituals, performances and landscape of the Ọ̀ṣun festival are important repositories of memory about the past. My research on the ethnography and oral traditions of the festival and the landscape history and archaeology of the Ọ̀ṣun Òṣogbo Grove have given me insights into the festival’s origin and what it means to the Yorùbá people.

Myths of origin

The Yorùbá people are one of the largest cultural groups in Africa. Their ancestral language originated from the Niger-Benue confluence area around 2500 BC. From 300 BCE to 300 CE, the language and its speakers spread to diverse ecological zones between the River Niger and the Atlantic coast. By 1000 CE, the divine kingship and city-state had become their model of governance. Over the next 500 years, their religious institution evolved into a pantheon that mirrors their sociopolitical system. Ọ̀ṣun is one of the deities. Today, the Yorùbá identify south-west Nigeria and parts of Benin and Togo as their ancestral homeland. The Yorùbá Òrìṣà religion is the largest African Indigenous religion in the world.

The Ọ̀ṣun goddess features in many Yorùbá myths. One version claims that Ọ̀ṣun was one of the 17 deities (Òrìṣà) that Olódùmarè (the supreme being in Yorùbá cosmology) sent to create the world. She was the only woman among them. Initially, the 16 male deities ignored her. As a result, they failed to carry out Olódùmarè’s mandate. Olódùmarè commanded them to bring Ọ̀sun into their fold and be attentive to her advice. The 16 male deities complied and apologised to Ọ̀ṣun. She agreed to cooperate with them, but only after they taught her Ifá divination. These Òrìṣà then created the world, and fertility, peace, abundance and wellness prevailed.

Another myth associates the origin of Òṣogbo with Ọ̀ṣun, and this is relevant to the origin of the Ọ̀ṣun Festival as we know it today. In this version, there was a prolonged drought in the 16th century. Many rivers, streams and ponds dried up. The community of Ìpolé Ọ̀mu, about 10km from the present town of Òṣogbo, was severely affected. Two hunters from Ìpolé Ọ̀mu, Láròóyè and Tìmẹ́hìn, were charged to scout for water. They convinced their community to settle on the banks of the river and began clearing the vegetation to make way for houses and farmland.

Unknown to the hunters and the settlers, the area they chose for settlement belonged to all-female ghommids specialising in dyestuff manufacture. Ghommids is an umbrella term for creatures in Yoruba folklore, something like ogres, goblins and elves. While clearing the land, the settlers destroyed many of the ghommids’ dye pots. The ghommids were furious, and their leader and goddess of the river, Ọ̀ṣun, had had enough. She appeared to the settlers, who were enthralled by her beauty and trembled at her fury. Láròóyè, who had become the leader of the settlers, pleaded with the goddess for forgiveness.

The settlers’ humility impressed Ọ̀ṣun and she forgave them. She then made a pact with them: if they treated her abode – the river and surrounding areas – with respect, she would protect them from all troubles. The settlers moved away to Ohùntótó, about 400 metres from the riverside, which became the first Òṣogbo settlement. It is now part of the Ọ̀ṣun Òṣogbo Grove complex. My archaeological excavations in Ohùntótó confirmed that this was where the first Òṣogbo settlement was indeed established during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Festival’s origin

To seal the pact, the founding community reportedly built a temple on the spot where Ọ̀ṣun had appeared to them. Since then, their descendants have been visiting the riverside temple every year to renew the pact and pay homage to the river goddess whose water and land resources sustained them in times of drought. The goddess is also credited for the community’s growth from a handful of families to one of the most successful frontier market towns in the 17th and 18th centuries, and today, a city of nearly a million and the capital of one of 36 Nigerian states.

Significance and observance

The Ọ̀ṣun festival is a week-long event that usually takes place from the end of July to early August. The festival renews the covenant between Ọ̀ṣun and the people of Òṣogbo. The Ọ̀ṣun river, especially near the temple and shrines of the grove, is believed to possess healing powers for social, spiritual, and physical ailments. People gather in the grove to receive the blessings of the king and the chief priestess and tender their requests to the deity.

As a civic festival, it brings the people of Òṣogbo together for community renewal. The festival has also become a time for many members of the Yorùbá religion worldwide to come together and celebrate their faith in Òrìṣà religion (also known as Ìṣẹ̀ṣe).

The grand finale of the festival involves several ritual spectacles in which the Arugbá, a young female virgin from the royal house, leads the procession of thousands of people from the palace to the grove and back. On her head is a calabash covered with colourful fabrics. The calabash contains the sacrifices of the entire community. This entourage of thousands of people includes the priestesses and priests of Ọ̀ṣun, the king and the chieftains of Òṣogbo, political dignitaries, worshippers and tourists. The annual ritual journey is festive and colourful. It involves supplications, songs, drumming and dance in praise of the deity. However, it is a solemn moment for most priests and priestesses. Throughout the journey, the Arugbá must not utter a word.

It is also a major driver of the local economy though there’s no reliable data to estimate the amount of money it attracts to Òṣogbo and environs.

What does it mean to the Yorùbá people?

The festival is an acknowledgement and reaffirmation of female power as the source of life, creativity and community building, an idea central to Yorùbá cosmology and theory of knowledge.

It is also a platform for celebrating the pan-Yorùbá cultural identity because it was in Òṣogbo in 1840 that the Yorùbá defeated the Ilorin army’s efforts to achieve the Sokoto Caliphate’s masterplan to convert the region to Islam. That victory saved the Yorùbá kingdoms from being turned into emirates. The goddess, Ọ̀ṣun, is credited for that victory.

Festival’s future

The Yorùbá Òrìṣà religion is undergoing rejuvenation at home and enjoying expansion globally, especially in the Americas. Ọ̀ṣun is one of the most popular deities in that expansion. The designation of Ọ̀ṣun-Òṣogbo Grove as a world heritage site in 2005 is proudly celebrated in Nigeria.

The efforts made to safeguard Ọ̀ṣun heritage, and the message of gender equity, sustainable environment, abundance and wellness, suggest that the deity will continue to be relevant.

Ọ̀ṣun has a deep history, but she is very much a deity of the present and the future. Ore Yèèyé ò (“Praises to the Mother”).

*Prof Ogundiran is Professor of History, Cardiss Collins Professor of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University

Local players are indeed making an impact in Nigeria’s defence production.

The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) is a key player in this sector, and it has been working to increase its local manufacturing and production capabilities.

In fact, the Nigerian government has set a target for DICON to become 40 per cent self-sufficient in local manufacturing and production of defence equipment by 2027.

DICON, established in 1964, is tasked with producing essential military hardware, including small arms, ammunition, and armoured vehicles.

This is a significant step towards reducing the country’s reliance on foreign defense imports.

Some local companies, such as E-PAIL Nigeria and Proforce Nigeria Limited are already making impressive contributions to Nigeria’s defence production.

For example, E-PAIL has produced Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (M-RAP) vehicles and Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) and made significant milestone in bolstering Nigeria’s fight against insecurity by delivering 20 cutting-edge Light Tactical Armoured Vehicles (LTAVs) to the Defence Headquarters in the cause of the year.

The company officially handed over the LTAVs, equipped with advanced weapons and communication systems, to revolutionise military operations, enabling early detection of adversaries and effective engagement while ensuring seamless coordination.

According to E-PAIL Chairman, Kola Balogun, the presentation demonstrated the growing involvement of indigenous industries in strengthening Nigeria’s defence technology.

Speaking with NAN on the development, Balogun said the nation has a very good footprint with the new DICON law, aimed at creating an enabling environment for the local player to make significant impact in developing capabilities.

He, however, said that the implementation of the law was key to achieving the desired end by making sure that DICON remains an unbiased umpire over issuing of license, standard and compliance.

“In the process, we will now be able to domesticate global standards to domestic standards to address our peculiarity.
“However, as a company, we are already making a serious impact on the defence industry with some of our newly developed equipment like anti-mine vehicle, light armoured vehicles with so much sophistication.

“(This will) address our peculiarity because there are some things that you might put as a capability feature to address some of the inadequacies we have in the previous equipment.

“These efforts can only be complemented if we have sufficient support, sufficient research and sufficient patronage from all the services.

“These are things that will keep boosting our morale as private investors in the defense industry to invest more because there are people who are going to make use of it,” he said.

Balogun, who is the Secretary General, of the Defence Industries Association of Nigeria (DIAN), said the efforts of the local players had aided remarkable victory recorded by the military in the frontline.

He said that domesticating technology was the best way to address the peculiarity of the nation’s security dynamics, adding that building local capability into the enhancement was a way to deal with such local peculiarities.

Balogun called on the Federal Government to draw a pure guideline on incentive that would enhance local capabilities in form of intervention needed for the local players to compete favourably.

He said that Nigeria could also export defence equipment to its neighbouring countries through local players if fully supported.

“We have started well by creating enabling laws, but that is not the first time. We want the government to further strengthen their deployment strategy in such a way that it will give sufficient benefit to the local investment.

“There is also the need for sufficient control so that we can become a formidable defence industry that will be second to none in the world.

“We want to encourage the government to reduce the bureaucratic bottleneck surrounding the revamping of our steel industry because the defence industry generally relies on steel.
“It is steel related right from the ammunition, arms, missiles, vehicles, everything.”

On his part, the Business Development Manager of Proforce, Mr Kayode Nariwo, said that Proforce had produced different military platforms in support of the current onslaught against terrorism and banditry in Nigeria.

Nariwo said that the Nigerian Army had taken delivery of several PF ARA Mines Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAPS) vehicles as well as a few PF VIPERS.

He added that the Defence Headquarters also took delivery of 15 PF Vipers while the Nigerian Air Force commissioned Proforce’s Armoured Buffalos (IACVs) Improvised Armoured Combat Vehicles.

“The PF ARA is a 15 tonnes MRAP which was deployed to the North East at the peak of the war against Boko Haram since 2018 while the PF Vipers is a 9 tonnes MRAP and has been deployed recently in the Northwest part of Nigeria,’’ he said.

On the new DICON Act, Nariwo said the new act was meant to provide local producers with better chances and opportunities, saying their expectations were high with services chiefs’ desire to use home-made solutions.

“This is a lesson from the war between Ukraine and Russia which places more emphasis on local solutions.

“The combination of the new DICON Act and Executive Order 5 will give leverage to Local manufacturers.

“The most important thing is to make sure the platforms meet international standards. Another advantage for the Armed Forces is availability of spare parts and after sales services that local manufacturers provide.

“One major challenge is convincing the military that we have developed capacity to take on their requests. Another challenge is competing with foreign made platforms as well as the issues with typical infrastructure, cost of power and access to forex.”

He added that there were enormous prospects for local players with the current military leadership being Pro-Local producers as well as the willingness of International Organisations to partner with local firms for Technology Transfer (ToT).

The Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle, recently presided over the inaugural board meeting of the DICON, marking a significant step toward revitalising the nation’s defence manufacturing sector.

The meeting, held at the Ministry of Defence in Abuja, followed the enactment of the DICON Act 2023 signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in September 2023.

The legislation aims to modernise and expand DICON’s operations, furthering Nigeria’s ambition to achieve self-sufficiency in defence production.

The board meeting brought together top military officials, service chiefs, and representatives, including those from the Nigeria Police Force, to discuss strategies for enhancing DICON’s role in national security.

In his remarks, Matawalle underscored DICON’s central role in Nigeria’s defence infrastructure, saying that all DICON factories must produce towards achieving the vision of self-sufficiency in defence manufacturing.

He emphasised the importance of partnerships with local industries to foster job creation, employment, and enhance Nigeria’s defence capabilities.

He reaffirmed President Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to supporting DICON as a critical component of Nigeria’s military industrial complex.

DICON’s expanded mandate under the new law aligns with Nigeria’s goals of reducing dependency on foreign arms imports, enhancing national security, and fostering industrial growth.

Recent advancements, such as the production of armoured vehicles and personnel carriers, reflect the corporation’s increasing role in Africa’s defence manufacturing landscape as well underscores the significant role the private sector will play in this milestone. (NANFeatures)

*CJID Board Member, Tunde Akanni, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Journalism at the Lagos State University. Follow him on X via @AkintundeAkanni.

Traffic in Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, is congested and chaotic. About 1.8 million vehicles used Lagos roads in 2022. The city has 226 vehicles per kilometre. The global average is 11 cars per km and the Nigerian national average is 16.

Congestion isn’t the only problem, though. Another is the risk of being a victim of crime in the traffic. Statistics are hard to come by, but the mainstream media regularly report stories about Lagos residents being robbed or even losing their lives in attacks by criminal gangs on the roads.

The population of Lagos is estimated to be nearly 16 million, making it the largest city in Africa. It sits on a small area of land, resulting in unending traffic gridlocks which also create an economic opportunity for trading by hawkers.

Government reports have pointed to street hawking as the cause of pickpocketing and robbery in the traffic. The government claims that hawking creates opportunity for criminals because people are exchanging money and displaying goods. Also, that people are pretending to be hawkers so they can rob people.

I’ve been a hawker in Lagos myself, during the 1990s. And I’ve also been kidnapped and robbed in the traffic, in 2020. As a sociocultural anthropologist and development historian, I wanted to take a closer look at whether hawkers were really the problem. What role do others play – gangs, for example? This was what motivated my research.

I argue that street hawkers are not the real criminals, whatever the police and others say.

The unfair criminalisation of traders has been used to justify curbing street hawking in the traffic in Lagos. Meanwhile street gangs can operate unchecked and the conditions that drive crime – like unemployment – remain in place.

My research

I carried out the research to identify the major actors behind the pickpocketing and traffic robberies on urban highways in Lagos. Studies of street hawking in Nigeria – Lagos in particular – have overlooked certain issues such as pickpocketing and armed robbery by unknown actors who mostly disguise themselves as hawkers in the traffic.

I interviewed people in depth and led focus group discussions between 2021 and 2023. By participating in hawking myself, I captured activities of known and unknown gangs which conducted various criminal activities in the traffic. I also interacted with many hawkers and street gangs who narrated their experience working in the Lagos traffic.

My research found that the majority of the hawkers arrested in connection with pickpocketing and robbery were itinerant traders. They walk around selling their goods in traffic.

Reports on hawkers as perpetrators of crimes in traffic have relied on political narratives and biases from law enforcement authorities and government agencies, which which mostly criminalise a group of hawkers from a particular section of the country.

I interviewed and obtained official reports of street hawking from the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps in 2022.

The immersive approach I took in my research enabled me to interact with dominant street gangs and provided evidence that they were involved in traffic crimes. During the two years I observed them, I adopted multiple identities. Sometimes I pretended to be a hawker and sometimes I clearly presented myself as a researcher, depending on who I was dealing with. I identified as a researcher among the law enforcement authorities but as a “street hustler”, hawker, and potential gang member among the various street gangs I engaged with.

Various gangs use the opportunity provided by traffic situations to rob commuters. I observed that smartphones and laptops were regular targets of these traffic robbers. This might be because of their economic value.

As poverty increases, some youth gangs are getting more aggressive, as I observed, in robbing commuters and motorists for daily survival.

Sometimes, they are disguised as hawkers, alms-beggars, and automobile technicians. They pick pockets, snatch bags or grab phones from commuters in daring ways during the gridlocks. While a few hawkers may have been involved in pickpocketing, what I observed was that the criminal gangs were the perpetrators.

Why the findings matter

The research finding contradicts the usual story that hawkers are the robbers in Lagos traffic. It also shows the inadequacy of the government’s efforts in addressing hawking and criminality on Lagos roads.

While the state continues to combat street hawkers who are legitimately hustling to survive in the city, the domains of street gangs have been left ungoverned.

As long as government’s urban renewal policies don’t improve the social and economic conditions of the large, uneducated and unemployed urban youth gangs, modernisation will coexist with various forms of urban informality, illegality, and violent crime.

Moving forward

Besides identifying and prosecuting members of criminal gangs, it is important for the government to rehabilitate and reorient street gang members.

Investing in vocational education and supporting unemployed, uneducated and rural youths to start small businesses should be intensified by the government.

The government must recognise hawking in the traffic as a livelihood support mechanism in the city.

Tackling the menace of pickpocketing and other crimes on urban highways in Lagos requires a holistic approach without discrimination against particular groups.

• Dr Felix Ajiola is a Development historian and transdisciplinary scholar, University of Lagos

Mpox is a disease caused by the highly infectious monkeypox virus. It’s quite easily passed on from one person to another. But it originally came from infected animals.

The virus was discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of pox-like infection were seen in monkeys shipped from Singapore to Denmark for research. Studies since then, however, has shown that monkeys are not the natural host (reservoir) of the virus. This idea was dropped in the 1970s when cases in humans were seen in west and central Africa. In 1979 a large-scale survey of 43 species of animals revealed further evidence of exposure to the virus.

It’s not yet certain which animals are the natural carriers. But, based on the available evidence, it is thought to be rodents and small mammals mostly found in west and central Africa. Rodents first came into the mix when the 1979 evidence implicated at least one species of terrestrial rodent, and more prominently squirrels. Further data have shown that about 12% of people presumed to have been infected by contact with animals had recent contact with squirrels.

I’m a veterinarian and virologist with research in this field. I keep a close watch on new developments and studies that fill in missing gaps in our knowledge about virus transmission from animals to humans.

In recent research that I was involved in we found evidence of orthopoxvirus infections in a genus of mice (Praomys and Mus) and the black rat. Orthopoxvirus is a genus of viruses that cause smallpox, cowpox, horsepox, camelpox and mpox.

A brief history

The first reported human case of mpox was in 1970 in a nine-year-old boy in Zaire (today the Democratic Republic of Congo or DRC). This was during the drive to vaccinate people against smallpox. Once smallpox had been eradicated in 1980, people were no longer vaccinated – and the number of mpox cases increased. But people vaccinated against smallpox were protected from mpox.

Major outbreaks of mpox occurred between 1996 and 1997 in the DRC and sporadic cases occurred in other African countries in the following decades.

Cases have been reported in Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and South Sudan.

Mpox epicentre

Mpox occurring in nature is mostly confined to the humid forest regions of west and central Africa. Sustained reporting of cases has been confined largely to the DRC in central Africa and recently Nigeria in west Africa.

There are two clades (natural groups) of the mpox virus and a subdivision of clade II (IIa). Clade I, the Congo Basin clade, is more deadly and transmissible than clade II, the west African clade. Both can be found in Cameroon, which is geographically a division between the central and west African countries.

In Cameroon, the Sanaga river appears to form a natural barrier between the two clades.

Tracing the animals involved

Evidence about the virus and the spread of disease indicates animals that may be a reservoir of the mpox virus. In the DRC, 43 species of animals, including primates, have shown positive evidence of exposure to orthopoxvirus. At least one species of terrestrial rodent, and more prominently squirrels, have shown antibodies specific to the virus that causes mpox – in other words they have been exposed to the virus.

In another investigation about 12% of people presumed to have been infected had also had contact with animals, particularly squirrels. Evidence of antibody to orthopoxvirus was also detected in vervet monkeys in Cote d’Ivoire.

Early association of mpox virus with illness in primates like the genus Macaca led to the suspicion it might be a primate pathogen of east or south Asian origin. Later identification of several human infections in remote African villages, however, changed this idea. This ruled out east or south Asia as the origin.

Because many of the first people to be infected with mpox had been exposed to primates, it was initially thought that primates were the main source and were largely responsible for transmitting the infection to humans. But now more kinds of animals seem to be the route for transmission to humans.

It has also been suggested that agriculture creates habitats suitable for squirrels and for African pouched rats, common during harvest times.These rodents likely had contact with humans, leading to virus transmission.

Three genera of African rodent, Graphiurus (African dormice), Cricetomys (giant pouched rat) and Funisciurus (African striped squirrel), have been named as likely reservoirs of the mpox virus.

The first time the virus was found in a wild animal was in 1985 when a squirrel (Funiscirurs anerythrus) with mpox symptoms was captured in then-Zaire.

In a recent study we conducted in Nigeria, we found evidence of orthopox in mice and black rats. This means other rodent species may be reservoirs for the mpox virus.

Transmission

The potential of the mpox virus to spread among household members is lower than the potential of smallpox.

We assume, therefore, that mpox is being sustained in endemic areas through the re-introduction of the virus from animals to humans.

Transmission to humans is mainly associated with rain forest habitat. This supports the idea that it comes from forest dwelling rodents.

One form of contact could be hunting for bushmeat. The suspected reservoir rodents like Cricetomys and Funisciurus are hunted extensively for food by people in rural communities.

People could also become infected if they are bitten or scratched by animals. Or by handling an infected animal or animal products. Eating inadequately cooked meat and other products of infected animals is another possible risk factor.

Protective measures

Mpox prevention requires strict adherence to biosecurity and personal hygiene. Biosecurity means preventing disease-causing agents from entering or leaving any place where they can pose a risk to animals, humans, or the safety and quality of a food product.

Creating awareness of the risk factors such as contact with and handling of wildlife and bushmeat can reduce exposure, especially in forested rural areas.

*

Clement Meseko is a veterinarian & Virologist at the National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Jos

Youth unemployment has been a problem in Nigeria for decades. This is why policymakers are increasingly turning to entrepreneurship education as a solution. It is hoped that entrepreneurship will reduce reliance on formal jobs and create more opportunities for self-employment.

The unemployment rate stood at 5.3% in the first quarter of 2024, representing a third consecutive increase since the second quarter of 2023. This is close to the 2023 global unemployment rate of 5.1%.

Researchers and policymakers globally view entrepreneurship education as a key solution to youth unemployment.

Nigerian universities have been required since 2006 to teach at least one entrepreneurship course to undergraduates before graduation. All university undergraduates, no matter their course of study, receive entrepreneurship education before graduation.

This is clearly motivated by evidence that graduates who start businesses are most likely to start businesses that employ more workers over time. This should reduce unemployment, especially youth unemployment.

Admittedly, not all high-growth businesses are started by university graduates. However, global evidence shows that the most successful entrepreneurs are also highly educated.

18 years of entrepreneurship education

It is now 18 years since Nigerian universities were required to teach entrepreneurship. There have been limited studies evaluating the impact of the programme. Also, many of these evaluations use small samples and cover only one or two years. Their methodologies equally do not allow for definitive conclusions about the policy’s effectiveness.

As experts on innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development, we recognise that rigorous, long-term evaluations can provide deeper insights. We decided to address these limitations employing a more robust research design.Our study sought to determine whether entrepreneurship education has had an impact on students. We used data from a sample of over 12,000 Nigerian undergraduates. The results show that despite a strong positive impact at first, the longer the policy has been in place, the weaker its effect.

Declining impact over time

Our latest analyses were based on a pooled dataset from four waves of surveys collected in 2007, 2011, 2016 and 2020/21.

We found that the entrepreneurship course initially had a strong positive impact on students’ expressed intent to start a business. However, this effect had weakened by 2021. The later sets of students did not express as strong an interest in starting a business as the earlier sets of students did.

We compared 12,000 students from six universities. Three started teaching entrepreneurship in 2007, others after 2011. We used advanced statistical methods to compare the students from the two groups of universities. One method helped us see the changes over time in each group. The other method ensured we compared similar types of students to get a fair result.

In 2007, 89% of the students expressed interest in starting a business, while in 2021, 82% did so.

Initially, more (93.7%) students from the universities that started the course earlier were interested in becoming entrepreneurs compared to (73.1%) students at universities that introduced the course later.

By 2016, the difference between the two groups of universities had disappeared (91.4% v. 93.6%).

By 2021, students from universities that started the course later showed greater (95.7%) interest in entrepreneurship than those (70.1%) from the earlier-starting universities.

The results imply that the longer the policy had been implemented in a university, the less its effect. And this raises the need for continuous monitoring of the policy’s effectiveness.

Our research shows that the entrepreneurship course does not fully meet students’ needs. Further, the quality of teaching fluctuates as lecturers change. More importantly, neither the universities nor the national universities commission consistently monitor the course success.

Policies can have different effects

In our study, we introduced a new way to categorise the different types of effects that a policy or programme can have. This helps us understand the immediate effects and how a policy works over time with different target groups.

For example, if the entrepreneurship education policy improved students’ interest in entrepreneurship last year, will it have the same effect on a new group of students this year, assuming nothing else changes? Answering questions like this will support the design of effective policies.

We identified instantaneous impact as the immediate effects observed shortly (five years) after the policy was implemented. Persistent impact means that the effects of the policy on a group of students last for a long time. This is usually between seven and 10 years after the course.Cumulative impact involves the additional effects that stem from subsequent interventions. Such include business incubation or small grants to start a business. Consistent impact describes the recurring effects observed across different student cohorts over time. This helps in assessing the broader implications of policy initiatives.

This categorisation offers a plausible explanation for our result. While the policy had an immediate positive effect, it did not maintain the same impact on different groups of students over time. This highlights an important issue: the lack of ongoing evaluation and adaptation of how the policy is implemented. Policies, especially those aimed at education and skill development, must respond and adapt to changing circumstances. Without continuous monitoring even the most well-intentioned policies can become ineffective.

Way forward

Evaluations of educational interventions should be carefully designed to capture both immediate and long-term effects.

Then the curriculum and teaching methods can be modified to better align with the diverse needs of students – and the demands of industry.

The results of these evaluations should be openly shared with university administrators, lecturers, students and the public. There should also be clear accountability for making any recommended changes. This approach fosters trust and ensures that the system evolves to meet the demands of the labour market.

This approach is used in Finland, where the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre’s enhancement-led evaluation ensures that institutions consistently improve their educational offerings.

* Egbetokun is a Senior lecturer, Business Management, De Montfort University and Adedayo Olofinyehun is Researcher at the National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM)

Nigeria has a unique elephant population, made up of both forest-dwelling (Loxodonta cyclotis) and savanna-dwelling (Loxodonta africana) elephant species. But the animals are facing unprecedented threats to their survival. In about 30 years, Nigeria’s elephant population has crashed from an estimated 1,200-1,500 to an estimated 300-400 today. About 200-300 are forest elephants and 100 savanna elephants.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently classified the forest elephant as “critically endangered” and the savanna elephant as “endangered”.

The country has never had herds in the multiple thousands, but its elephants have played a vital ecological role, balancing natural ecosystems.

Today they live primarily in protected areas and in small forest fragments where they are increasingly isolated and vulnerable to extinction. They are found in Chad Basin National Park in Borno State and Yankari Game Reserve in Bauchi State. Also in Omo Forests Reserve in Ogun State, Okomu National Park in Edo State and Cross River National Park in Cross River State.

Elephants in Nigeria are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching and illegal ivory trade, human-elephant conflict and climate change. These issues are pushing them to the brink of extinction.

In August 2024 Nigeria launched the country’s first National Elephant Action Plan. The 10-year strategic plan aims to ensure the long-term survival of elephants in Nigeria.

But will it?

As a conservationist with research in elephant conservation, I think this plan is a promising initiative. It could ensure the survival of Nigeria’s elephants. However, the long-term sustainability of the elephant populations in Nigeria depends on how well the plan balances conservation efforts with economic development. The government must also be willing to support the plan. It must commit financial resources to carry out the plan.

Here I set out the threats to elephants in Nigeria and four urgent steps needed to save these animals. Taking these steps will help make the strategic plan a reality.

Threats to elephants in Nigeria

Expansion of agriculture, urbanisation and infrastructure development leads to habitat loss and fragmentation. The destruction of elephant habitats means that populations are isolated. This has made it difficult for the animal to migrate, find food and breed. At about 3.5% a year, the rate of forest loss in Nigeria is among the highest globally.

Poaching of elephants for their ivory and traditional medicinal value is another menace. Despite the ivory trade ban under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Nigeria-linked ivory seizures amounted to 12,211kg in the period 2015-2017. In January 2024, Nigeria destroyed 2.5 tonnes of seized elephant tusks valued at over 9.9 billion naira (US$11.2 million).

Human-elephant conflict is a growing challenge. As elephants lose their habitats, they encroach on farmland, leading to conflicts with people. Elephants damage crops. In retaliation, some communities harm or kill the elephants.

Climate change is another threat to the survival of elephants in the country. Water scarcity and food insecurity affect both humans and elephants. Elephants are forced to venture into human-dominated landscapes, increasing conflicts.

Saving endangered elephants in Nigeria

To save its elephants, Nigeria needs to take the following steps.

Strengthen existing protected areas: It is important to restore and safeguard elephants’ habitats. Existing national parks, forest and game reserves should be strengthened to prevent further destruction and fragmentation. Wildlife corridors to reconnect fragmented populations are also crucial. This should be based on management plans approved by government agencies, conservationists and local communities.

Combat poaching and ivory trafficking: Wildlife laws must be enforced to disrupt the ivory trade networks. The capacity of park rangers, wildlife law enforcers and local authorities to combat poaching must be enhanced. Advanced surveillance tools such as drones and camera traps must be provided. There should also be regular training for law enforcement officers to keep up with modern anti-poaching tactics.

Stricter penalties for wildlife crimes and effective prosecution of offenders will deter poachers too.

Promote human-elephant coexistence: This requires innovative and community-driven solutions.

One approach is the use of early warning systems and deterrent measures, such as beehive fences. They have been effective in deterring elephants from entering farmlands. Training and equipping local communities to monitor elephant movements can also help avoid conflicts. Compensation schemes for farmers who suffer losses from elephant raids can foster positive attitudes towards conservation.

Expanding public awareness and conservation education: Some Nigerians may not fully understand the ecological and cultural importance of elephants. Awareness of their role in maintaining ecosystem health and the consequences of their extinction is key to fostering support for protection.

Expanding public awareness and conservation education: Some Nigerians may not fully understand the ecological and cultural importance of elephants. Awareness of their role in maintaining ecosystem health and the consequences of their extinction is key to fostering support for protection.

Schools, community groups and media should be engaged in conservation education initiatives. This will promote a sense of ownership and responsibility for preserving Nigeria’s wildlife generally.

Expanding public awareness and conservation education:

Some Nigerians may not fully understand the ecological and cultural importance of elephants. Awareness of their role in maintaining ecosystem health and the consequences of their extinction is key to fostering support for protection.

Schools, community groups and media should be engaged in conservation education initiatives. This will promote a sense of ownership and responsibility for preserving Nigeria’s wildlife generally.

Why Nigeria must save its elephants

Saving elephants is not only a matter of preserving biodiversity but also ensuring the health of entire ecosystems.

Elephants are keystone species; they create and maintain habitats that support other species. They shape the landscape, disperse seeds, and create water holes that benefit a wide variety of wildlife. Losing them would have cascading effects on the environment. Nigeria must save its elephants

Saving elephants is not only a matter of preserving biodiversity but also ensuring the health of entire ecosystems.

Elephants are keystone species; they create and maintain habitats that support other species. They shape the landscape, disperse seeds, and create water holes that benefit a wide variety of wildlife. Losing them would have cascading effects on the environment.

Economically, elephants are valuable for ecotourism. They can provide sustainable income to local communities. Protecting elephants could be an alternative to poaching or illegal logging.

Culturally, elephants hold symbolic and spiritual value for many Nigerians. Their presence is linked to heritage and identity of communities.

Protecting elephants in Nigeria is not only about conserving a species. It is about preserving the country’s ecological integrity, supporting sustainable livelihoods, and safeguarding the natural heritage for future generations. The time to act is now.

*Amusa is Professor of Forest Resources Management at the University of Ilorin

*Article first published by TheConversation

The man, the myth, and the reality

Gen. Benjamin Maja Adekunle, who died on September 14, 2014, at the age of 78, was different thing to different people. It has been ten years of silence and lack of proper situation of a man who contributed immensely to what Nigeria is today. We are gathered here today not to wring our arms in helplessness but to celebrate an Akogun, an Akinkanju, if ever there was one.
At his death the social and traditional media were awash with tributes, commendations and condemnations of what he stood for. Don’t be troubled by the condemnations. The Yoruba would say, “Olorun mayo oro mi lenu aiye” meaning may the people never stop talking about you. If people stopped talking about you then you have fizzled into the insignificant. There are many who died and the world was silent because they were irrelevant even while alive! General Adekunle was not. He was relevant alive and even at his death the world media remembered him and would continue to for as long as man can read and write.

These controversies, condemnations and praises were not unexpected. He was a controversial man and was like the carcass of a dead elephant amidst a crowd of the blind. The blind who held its trunk called it the leg of a big mammal while the one that held the leg called it another thing. Each of the perceptions of the fallen elephant to each was informed by at what end he stood. Chinua Achebe, one of Nigeria’s immortal writers said, “You cannot watch a masquerade while standing on a spot.” This is a truism; you will not get the true essence of the dance. So was Gen. Adekunle, both in life and in death.

Some called him a “murderer”. To others, he was a “saviour”. He was like the Roman god Janus. One would not have expected anything less of such a great man. He lived and died in a blaze of controversy. He was a mostly misunderstood man and his place in history remains neglected and ignored. But if the truth is to be told, the complete history of the Nigeria Civil War (1967-70) cannot be written without the name General Benjamin Maja Adekunle being written in gold shinning letters. He was to the Nigeria civil War “What General Westmoreland was to America during the Vietnam war.” (Oyelade, 2024)

The late war hero was a typical Ogbomoso, “Unarguably, the Ogbomosos are the most travelled among the Yoruba stock.” (Oyegbile, 2021, p13). General Adekunle was more known outside Ogbomoso that at home because he was urbane and completely sold to the Nigeria Dream, if ever there was any. This was because, like the typical well-travelled Ogbomoso people, he lived almost all his life outside his ancestral home. He was born in Kaduna and his mother hailed from great Bachama stock, Adamawa State. He joined the army in search of life fulfillment. Did he find that fulfillment? It is actually difficult to say because he left the war front where his command, the 3rd Marine Commando, was a very crucial sector in the prosecution of the Civil War! He was recalled to the Army headquarters in a controversial circumstance, which perhaps left him devastated. He was not allowed to savour the victory of his command. This glory was left for the then Col. Olusegun Obasanjo, who later became not only a General but a two-term President. Gen Adekunle’s misfortune (or something akin to that) could be said to be Gen. Obasanjo’s fortune.

Perhaps because of the manner in which he left the war front he was never the same again until he died. He became a recluse; he withdrew from all public and social engagements and never allowed himself to be drawn into any political comments on the country.

He was the Asipa of Ogbomoso land, a traditional title that well-suited his life pattern as a war hero. Asipa is the War Leader. As a man, who played a prominent role in the country’s civil war, this was not unexpected. However, not many people in Ogbomoso, especially among the young ones ever knew him. He was installed as Asipa by Oba Olayode, who was later rebelled against by the citizens and murdered in the aftermath of the Agbekoya riots. (Falola, 2016). His murder devastated the late General and he never perhaps forgave the people for this act, leading to his long absence from the town of his birth.
The late General Adekunle was perhaps too great a man to be linked with one town. He was a Nigerian first and foremost. During the Second Republic, when most of the people from the Southwest belonged to the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), led by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he rather tried to organise students for the defunct Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) led by the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. This, according to Mr. Dapo Atanda, who was then a student leader at the University of Lagos, showed the kind of world view he held.
Mr. Atanda, who is now a prominent lawyer based in Ogbomoso, said:
“He called me then and said I should mobilise students to form a student wing of the NPP. We tried to do this but he was such a busy man and anytime we go to him, either we never saw him or he was too busy. He was clearly a misunderstood man; he was different things to different people. But one thing that can never be taken away from him is that he loved Nigeria, he fought to keep it one.” (Atanda, 2014)
Another prominent Ogbomoso son who is also a retired military General and a former Governor of both Oyo and Ogun states, Gen. Oladayo Popoola, once told me that the role Gen. Adekunle played in uniting the country cannot be diminished.
According to him:
“Gen. Adekunle was a hero of the civil war. His contributions made the war to end in time. It was because his Command opened the axis towards the coast that the war ended at the time it did. He coordinated the Armed Forces very well.” (Popoola, 2014).

In situating his assessment of the late war hero’s role and people’s criticism of his style during the war, Gen. Popoola said: “Nobody is perfect. There is no way some people will not be against a war General. He did his best for his country.”
The late war hero who in swashbuckling manner and with his hand stick with was popular with him during the war when faced with such caustic criticism during his lifetime, simply said he had a war to win!
The late General was as such a man that aroused different emotions from diverse people. No two people would perhaps agree with each other on his life. That was his life. To some, according to Bernard Odogwu, who was Director of Biafra’s Directorate of Military Intelligence in his book, No Place to Hide – Crises and Conflict Inside Biafra, the late General Adekunle at the announcement of his appointment was “dismissed just as “the officer who spent all his time as Dr. Akanu Ibiam’s Aide-de-Camp and had lost touch with the military.” He concluded: “And yet when the time came, Adekunle had so terrorised them to the extent that only very few dared to oppose him in combat.” (Odogwu, 1985, p160)

Celebrated British author Frederick Forsyth, in his book, The Making of an African Legend: The Biafran Story, called him “Colonel ‘Shoot anything that moves.’ He was really the Black Scorpion, a thorn in the flesh of the rebels. Forsyth despite being a friend to Ojukwu agreed that because of his war efforts Gen Adekunle “Could obviously twist Gowon round his finger when he wanted anything.” (p135)

A saviour and liberator

One man’s hero is another’s villain. Whereas some Igbo according to Forsyth view him as “Shoot anything that moves”, a ruthless and wicked soldier, to some others in the South-South, he was a saviour and a liberator of their people from the pains of war, the cruelties and domination of minorities by Biafra. (Akpan, 2022).
The late frontline environmentalist and Ogoni rights activist, the late Ken Sawo-Wiwa, was one of those who would forever be grateful to the late General Adekunle. If there is ever a meeting of the dead in heaven or wherever dead people go, the General and the environmentalist would today be looking down on us all as we are gathered today, clinking glasses and celebrating with us the life of this great General.
In my mind’s eye, I can clearly see Saro-Wiwa with his ubiquitous smoking pipe balanced delicately between his lips reading from the chapter which he devoted to the heroic exploits of Gen. Adekunle. In the memoir titled On a Darkling Plain, the late environmentalist wrote:
“It seems appropriate here to say a few words about the brilliant officer (Adekunle) who scored such tremendous success in the civil war. Born in 1938 (actually 1936) to a Yoruba father and a Bachama mother (a minority ethnic group), he trained at Sandhurst and came to prominence when he was entrusted with the command of the troops sent to Bonny. The rebel entry into the Mid-West meant that he was diverted for a time from Bonny and the Southeast of the country to the South-west.
“I met him for the first time in November 1967, after my appointment as Administrator, when I was introduced to him by Chief Harold Biriye, to whose sister he was married. Slight of frame, of medium height and by no means handsome, his exploits at Bonny and the Mid-West had already made him famous. I must confess that I had expected a different type of officer.
“At that first meeting, he was gentle, solicitous and cheerful, although he appeared fairly worn out, having just returned from a meeting. It is possible that being introduced by a famous and older brother-in-law, to whom he was just “Benjy”, made a lot of difference. But in my interaction with him over the next year or two, I found him approachable, generous and open, with a great sense of humour. It is true that when he had to deal with his subordinates in the force, he was firm and seemed to terrorise them. But I thought and still think that I detected there a posturing, a mask which he wore because he so perfectly understands the mentality of the Nigerian. For it must be remembered that he was not the Commander of a highly trained disciplined corps. The bulk of his men were illiterate, inexperienced and raw. Most of them had never heard the sound of gunfire. Some believed that charms could save them from bullets. Again, apart from the very top echelon, he could not attest to the quality of training of his officers. In short, it was an unusual corps, in an unusual war. In such a situation, the African mentality fears the masquerade. The man in the masquerade is vulnerable, but the masquerade is beyond reach, a myth. Adekunle tried to be that myth. And it worked.” (Saro-Wiwa, 1989, p203)

During the civil war, so many myths were woven around his personality. Most of this had to do with his ancestry. It was believed and widely circulated that his Bachama mother had “soaked him” in her people’s juju and coupled with his Yoruba (Ogbomoso) origin, he had been “soaked” and well “cooked”. Remember that “Ogun ojaja koko Ogbomoso”. The anthem that Ogbomoso had never been conquered by any force of war. It was the bulwark against the Fulani jihad of Ilorin.

All these perhaps made him more mystical and a folk hero and war leader who reportedly died several times from rebel bullets. In fact, there was a common one that when he was shot and killed, the rebels cut him into pieces and poured a portion of his severed flesh in River Niger and the other in River Benue. According to the myth, when his mother heard, she made “consultations” and his charred flesh which were swept down the two rivers met at the confluence of the River in Lokoja, where they merged again and he walked back to the war front to the admiration of his troops! So much for a man of controversy and the myth narrated here by Saro-Wiwa.

To properly situate him, it is apt to return to the painting of the kind of a man he was. We return to Saro-Wiwa to lead us in this direction. According to the respected author and producer of the immensely popular TV comedy of the eighties and nineties, Basi and Company:
“He drove himself and his men hard. He built a creditable organisation from nothing and the pressures on him as Commander were many, not least the way the men at the rear were often blissfully unaware of the tremendous pressure of the battle front…
“As I have pointed out, he was not lacking in compassion. He took great care of Ibo lives and property, ensuring that “refugees” were well treated and cared for, he decreed harsh punishments for looters. I may be wrong, but I would certainly vote him one of the most Nigerian top military bras that I have met.
“If his career suffered a setback towards the end of the war, it was possibly because he did not know how to handle his great success, his stardom. But this is not unusual. Publicity, which he courted, is normally a double-edged sword. It can be easily turned against those for whom it roots. What Adekunle needed, above all else, was a public relations man.” (p203-204).

However, under his watch and command, the fall of Owerri by the federal troops led to the change of guards and Col. Adekunle, along with Cols Ibrahim Mohammed Haruna and Mohammed Shuwa of first and second divisions, were all replaced. According to Saro-Wiwa:
“The loss of his Command was very painful to Colonel Adekunle. The send-off party given him by his officers was a very emotional affair- on the part of the “Black Scorpion”. He wept openly. He had built the Division from the scratch, had won significant military successes, had become a national hero and had obtained international attention. The reality that he was about to give up all, or most of that, did not sit down well with him. He had had power which he enjoyed exercising and would definitely flow therefrom. That was not to be. There is an Ogoni proverb which says “He who roasts the yam does not eat it.” Colonel Adekunle had roasted the yam, I should say he ate some of it, the honour of eating all of it fell on Colonel Obasanjo.” (p213).

What an apt observation. The then Col. Obasanjo who replaced the then Col. Adekunle as commander of the division and had the honour of receiving the instruments of surrender from the rebel forces was later to write his war memoir, My Command, which was published in a hail of controversy. In that book he had this to say about his predecessor:

“Col Adekunle, at this juncture, saw the war not only in terms of crushing a rebellion, but also as a means of building himself up for any political position or responsibility which he might seek. I knew people of Western State origin who had felt politically victimised and who saw Col Adekunle a saviour and told him so, and he believed them.” (Obasanjo, 1980, p51-52)

Today, it is clear who saw in the war and got from it “a means of building himself up for any political position or responsibility.”
General M. Chris Alli, who had the honour of serving as a Governor of Plateau State (my state of birth), and a highly decorated military chief who at various times held positions both at infantry and brigade levels and was Nigeria’s defence attaché to Zimbabwe, Director of Military Intelligence, General Officer Commanding 1 Mechanised Division also had positive words to say about General Adekunle.
For a man who held the elite post of Chief of Army Staff in his memoir The Federal Republic of Nigerian Army: The Siege of Nation, he had this to say about General Adekunle with whom he had the honour to prosecute the civil war. According to General Alli:
“He remains one of the most indefatigable, physically and mentally versatile warrior the nation and the Army has produced – Nigeria’s Napoleon or Shaka the Zulu without a personal empire. That may account for his misplacement in the nation’s history. At critical times of national anxiety, during the civil war, he repeatedly gave the nation hope and certainty by his predictions and victories on the battlefront. He proved that the art of war is one of superior intellect, continuous and fluid motion, precision, physical and moral courage. Today, the powers that be pretend that the Black Scorpion can be denied his monumental contributions and place in history. However, the history of the civil war will be written, and by whatsoever, Brigadier General Benjamin Maja Adekunle will live in the hearts of all Nigerians as the tiny great soldier who, amongst others, won the war to keep Nigeria one. Generals like him, and they are very few, must be stunned by our lack of professionalism today. He concretely paved the way to Biafran surrender. He falls into the category of Nigerians who gave everything, but, denied their glory, are powerless to command justice and fair play. He remains the most revered and internationally acclaimed warrior-commander of the civil war, nothing can change that” (Alli, 2001, P59)
Note that he was compared to Napoleon Bonaparte, the French military officer and statesman.
Another General who fought along with him in the trenches was Brigadier General Godwin Alabi-Isama who in his massive and definitive memoir, The Tragedy of History, described him as “a very brilliant and fearless soldier.” He deconstructed so many myths about the power and invincibility of some self-declared war heroes. Now the question to ask is: with all these accolades, was General Adekunle a perfect man? No. That is impossible. No human being created by God is infallible. He was a war hero and a brilliant military commander and tactician. However, as human he was not perfect.
On some of his shortcomings, Alabi-Isama wrote:
“Trips to Lagos did many things to this great leader. For example, it was when he came back from Lagos after 51 days of absence, (during which period we captured Port Harcourt), that he threw the bombshell that there were too many Yoruba in his command and with that he destroyed the powerful institution that he had built. He regretted it, and that was the beginning of the end of his military career. As soon as he dispersed his officers, his wings were clipped, he was never able to fly again. His adversaries were pleased. With what he did for Nigeria during the civil war of 1967-1970, he was forgotten. He was never invited to any of the country’s independence celebrations or for the Biafra surrender, or for an award.” (Alabi-Isama, 2013, p474)
So, like all humans, General Adekunle had his own Achilles heels, while describing him as “the best fighting machine of the Nigeria-Biafra war” (p647), Alabi-Isama regretted that, “Adekunle’s fall came about because he broke the institutions, he built himself, because he started to think he was the institution” (p592). He, however, concluded on this ominous note, ”Col. Adekunle, the protagonist, did not reap the reward of his labour. He won many battles, not the war. It was the tragedy of victory. Adekunle missed the grand strategy.” (p485).

Ogbomoso Ilu Akinkanju (The land of valours)
I would like to go back in history. Before Gen Adekunle, Ogbomoso has produced many illustrious personalities who have at one time or the other played very significant roles in the affairs of our nation. However, their roles have either been diminished by the happenstance of history or some political misfortune leading to the neglect of their contributions.
Let me crave your indulgence to list a few of these illustrious Ogbomoso Akinkanjus: They include but are not restricted to the military or uniformed forces. As they were in the military so were they in the academia. We had the head of the Nigerian Navy during the Civil War (1967-70) Rear Admiral Akinwale Wey, he was from Ogbomoso. There was also Colonel Adegboyega Adeniran who first fought as a combatant during the United Nations Peace keeping mission in the Republic of Congo in the early 60s before the civil war in 1967, in which he served as a Sector commander and his conquest immortalized by the Fuji music creator Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister in his record Oke Agba.
How can we forget Col Ibrahim Taiwo, who served as the Military Governor of Kwara State and was killed in the attempted Dimka coup of 1976? I have earlier mentioned Maj. Gen. Oladayo Popoola (a two-term military governor), Brig. Gen. Brimmoh Yussuf, Brig. Gen. Kofo Oke, Brig. Gen. E.A Olawoyin, Col. Daniel Akintonde (former Military Governor of Ogun State), Col. J.A.P Oladipo, Brig. Gen. S.G Oladipo, Maj. Gen. Dapo Oyelade and a host of others.

Ogbomoso is truly the land of valours: Ilu Akinkanju. Remember the town produced the first Chief of Air Staff during the Nigerian civil war in the person of Col. Shittu Alao, who died in a plane crash during the turbulent period. Ogbomoso has also produced other Akinkanjus in the Navy among whom are Air Commodore Layi Atanda, who during the civil war had just arrived from an advanced course in Germany and was immediately deplored to fight in support of his fatherland. Like a typical Ogbomoso son, he excelled.
Also on this list is Air Vice Marshal Jacob Bolaji Adigun, my fellow “Jos Boy” who I am proud to state was my classmate, choirmate in Jos and is today Chief Akinrogun of Ogbomosoland! There is Air Vice Marshal Lasisi Alao (the son of Col. Shittu Alao), Air Commodore Sola Oluokun, Air Commodore Ajani Aileru, Air Commodore Gabriel Oyekale, Air Commodore Iyiola Alao (one of the best pilots NAF ever produced who is still being engaged years after retirement).
Ogbomoso is not left out in the Nigerian Navy too. We have Rear Admiral Jacob Ajani, Rear Admiral David Adeniran, Rear Admiral Sunday Oyegade, Navy Commodore Sunday Olanrewaju Olawuyi, Navy Commodore Gabriel Adebayo, Navy Commodore Oriola Onireti, and Commodore Abiodun Alade.
Of course, our land of Akinkanjus is not left out in the Nigeria Police force. We have produced a former Inspector General of Police Chief Sunday Adewusi, Assistant Inspector General Shehu Babalola, Deputy Inspector General (Mrs) Bisi Ugowe (who hold the record of being the first female DIG in Nigeria). There is also Assistant Inspector General Olasupo Ajani, Commissioner of Police Oladejo Oyelowo, Commissioner of Police Samuel Adekunle, Commissioner of Police Ajala Ayoola, Commissioner of Police Moses Onireti, Commissioner of Police Samson Ogunlowo, (Oyelade, 2024) and of course not to forget Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, who rose to become deputy and later Governor of Oyo State.

Akintola, Adekunle: Two of a kind
At this juncture, before I conclude this lecture, we need to think about Ogbomosoland and refocus our strategy for growth and the record of our valiant efforts. Our town has been at the receiving end of too much ill luck or what Saro-Wiwa calls the fate of “He who roasts the yam and does not eat it.”
We must find a way to redress this anomaly. This is the time for us as sons and daughters of Ogbomoso gathered here today to come together and rouse up the Ogbomoso Parapo spirit of old where our parents came together to promote and protect the ideals of omoluabi and the development of Ogbomoso.
From time immemorial, the lives of great individuals have always been wrapped in healthy and unhealthy doses of controversies. This is the lot of Gen. Benjamin Maja Adekunle, a real war hero. As I said earlier, “Ki Olorun mayo oro mi kuro lenu omo aiye. Eni ti ko wulo ni a o kin so oro e.”
Gen Benjamin Maja Adekunle was a real hero whose valiant efforts would continued to be talked about as long of humans sojourn this world. He was Okunrin Meta, omo Ogbomoso, Ogbo mojugun, Omo Ajisegiri.
Thank you.

REFERENCES
Akpan, Uwem, New York My Village, Parresia Publishers, Lagos, 2022.
Alabi-Isama, Godwin, The Tragedy of Victory: On-the-Spot Account of the Nigeria-Biafra War in the Atlantic Theatre, Spectrum Books Limited, Ibadan, 2013.
Alli, M. Chris, The Federal Republic of Nigerian Army: The Siege of a Nation, Malthouse Press Limited, Ibadan, 2001.
Atanda, Dapo (Lawyer), in an interview with the author in 2014.
Falola, Toyin, Counting the Tiger’s Teeth: An African Teenager’s Story, University of Michigan Press, 2016.
Forsyth, Frederick, The Making of an African Legend: The Biafran Story, Penguin Books, London, 1979
Obasanjo, Olusegun, My Command, Heinemann Educational Books, Ibadan, 1980
Odogwu, Bernard, No Place to Hide (Crises and Conflicts Inside Biafra), Fourth Dimension Publishers, Enugu, 1985
Oyegbile, Olayinka, Home Away from Home…History of Ogbomoso People in Jos, Target Response Associates, Lagos, 2021.
Oyelade, Dotun, Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, speech delivered at the Ogbomoso Sons and Daughters, North America Convention 2024, at Atlanta, USA, July 27, 2024.
Popoola, Dayo (Gen), in an interview with the author in 2014.
Saro-Wiwa, Ken, On a Darkling Plain, Saros International Publishers, Port Harcourt, 1989.

*Being a lecture presented at the inaugural 10th anniversary of Brig- Gen Benjamin Maja Adekunle at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso Oyo State, on September 18, 2024. The lecture was organized by the Family of the late war hero in his honour