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The last four months of the year are generally known as “Ember months”. They are September, October, November and December. Some people believe that these months have certain spiritual, political, economic and security connotations.Some spiritual persons also believe that the months are full of mainly negative occurrences. Generally speaking, ember months signify many things to many people. For instance in the security circle and among security stakeholders, yours sincerely inclusive, the months are periods when security agencies go the extra mile to nib crimes in the bud. It is also periods when anti-graft agencies and intelligence arms of security agencies do all within their power to foil last-minute corruption and criminal practices.
In the corporate world, many companies and corporate institutions start preparations to end the year successfully by listing out members of staff that merit promotion, reward or sack; Corporate Social Responsibility, (CRS) to be carried out or new products to be launched etc.
Now, talking about the security implications of ember months, I invite you to note that the ember months are also periods robbers map out places and people to attack so that they can make big hauls and achieve their financial motive before the end of the year. Terrorists and kidnappers also increase the tempo of their nefarious activities during the ember months with the aim of making more money through ransom payments, though the primary objective of terrorists operating in Nigeria is first, to instill fear in the minds of their victims and citizens, create an easy avenue for the indoctrination of their captives with their toxic religious beliefs and forceful conversion of their captives to their religion.A repentant terrorist who spoke exclusively to me sometime ago in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital under the condition of strict confidentiality disclosed that many of them became terrorists against their will. According to him, “they believe they are fighting for their “God”, noting that “they don’t gain much from their actions”. He said: “When a ransom is paid, it is our leaders that collect it and they use part of it to purchase arm and armunitions”.
During ember months, virtually everybody wants to make money in preparation for the end of the year: The businessman/woman increases his/ her prices of goods. Importers of the goods do the same too. And so are transporters: They astronomically increase transport fares.The unemployed youth targets who to defraud and via internet scam popular as “Yahoo Yahoo”. Young girls look for money by all means, including through dirty and unedifying means- prostitution, hook up, shop lifting etc, just to buy new clothes, latest artificial hair, latest bag, shoe and latest mobile phone just to make herself presentable for the end of year festivities where they hope to attract new men, especially those of them returning to Nigeria from abroad. Even religious leaders plan religious programs within this period with the sole aim of raking in money from their gullible followers and members of the public.
My advice to the members of the public is, “shine your eyes” these ember months. Do not make yourself a prey for marauding fraudulent individuals, criminals, kidnappers, terrorists and robbers out there seeking how to make quick and illegal money these ember months. Be wise!
Still on Osun
It is heartwarming to note that the re-elected governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke has established a panel of inquiry to investigate the killings and violence in Ikire area of the state in the run up to the August 15th, 2026 governorship election in the state. Recall that over 30 people were reportedly killed prior to the election, what you get when hunger is wepornize by politicians for political purposes! My fear is that the Osun state scinerio will play out on a national scale ahead next year’s election, especially the presidential elections. The signs are already there. Incendiary campaign rhetorics currently emanating from supporters of one of the presidential candidates and his party members, supporters are blood- chilling!
Hunger in the land
Presently, according to Global Hunger Index (GHI), Nigeria faces a serious hunger crisis, with an estimated 35 million people projected to face acute food insecurity. The stark reality is that roughly 35 million Nigerians are at risk of severe hunger, driven by inflation and conflict. According to GHI, Nigeria ranks 115th out of 123 countries, placing it in the “serious” hunger category.
The above statistics do not speak well of Nigeria despite several assurances from the government. Recently, President Bola Tinubu assured Nigerians that the country’s economy is successfully turning a corner and moving toward sustainable stability through tough structural reforms.The President maintains that his administration’s difficult fiscal and tax reforms—such as removing the fuel subsidy—have prevented a fiscal collapse and laid the groundwork for long-term growth.
But the bottom line remains: Nigerians are hungry, there is acute hunger in the land!
Mr.President, please, take note, sir.
Last line
Minister Wike, please show us the book (2)
Revenue increased
The FCT gained greater control over its internally generated revenue.
The territory received more than N432 billion in FAAC allocations during the period.
And yet, within the same period, domestic debt moved from N88.51 billion to N389.88 billion.
This is where Nigerians must stop arguing about whether Wike is a good politician or a bad politician.
Ask the financial questions:
Where did the money go?
What exactly was financed with the additional N301.37 billion in domestic debt?
Which projects were funded from internally generated revenue?
Which were funded from FAAC receipts?
Which were financed through borrowing?
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How much was borrowed under each facility? From whom? At what interest rate? For what tenure?
And what is the total repayment obligation?
These are not hostile questions.
They are the most basic questions any serious government should be prepared to answer.
Nobody is saying borrowing is inherently wrong. A government can borrow responsibly to build infrastructure that expands economic activity and creates value.
But debt must be judged against three things: the purpose of the borrowing, the cost of the borrowing and the government’s capacity to repay it.
And in the case of Abuja, there is another issue that cannot be ignored: Transparency.
News reports says that it could not find successive FCT budget documents, budget performance reports and audited financial statements covering the Wike period on the FCT Administration’s website. A newspaper report says that this makes it difficult to independently establish the precise purposes of the additional borrowing, the terms of the loans and how the funds were deployed.
That is a serious problem.
Because you cannot ask citizens to celebrate infrastructure while denying them the financial information required to understand what those projects actually cost.
A road is not free because it has been commissioned.
A flyover is not free because there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
A new district is not free because it looks impressive at night.
Someone pays.
And when government borrows, the people pay eventually through future revenues.
This is why the argument that “but Wike has built roads” cannot be the end of the conversation.
Yes, he has built projects.
Let the government publish the books.
Show Nigerians the total cost of those projects. Show the original contracts, variations, financing arrangements and payment schedules. Show what came from revenue and what came from borrowing.
Then Nigerians can make an informed judgment.
What worries me is not that Abuja borrowed money.
What worries me is that Abuja’s debt exploded at precisely the time its revenue-generating capacity was also expanding, while the public has limited access to the financial records needed to connect the revenue, expenditure and borrowing dots.
That is the real issue!
By a concerned citizen (to be continued).
