Inyali Peter

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My USD card stopped working in April, despite the fact that it was not due to expire until March 2027. I was therefore surprised when @myaccessbank subsequently sent me a message informing me that my card had been upgraded at no cost. Last week, I called the Bank through the number provided in the message and was asked to select a branch where I could collect the replacement card. The agent I spoke with, after collecting details of the card reaffirmed that the upgraded card will be issued for free. I chose the Gana Street, Maitama, Abuja branch. However, on getting there, I was told that although a new card would be issued, I had to pay for it. I questioned this because my existing card was still valid until March 2027, I had not requested a replacement and I had written evidence from the Bank stating clearly that the upgrade would come at no cost. The explanation I received was that the new card would be valid for four years, hence the need for payment. I asked them who takes responsibility for deactivating my existing card months before its expiry and what happens to the value of the service I had already paid for up to March 2027? Rather than address these concerns, one of the staff hissed and ignored me. Unfortunately, because I told them I urgently needed the card for a transaction, I had little choice but to accept (was actually coerced) the Bank’s exploitative terms. I eventually collected the new card, only to discover that it was valid for three years, not the four years cited as justification for the charge. I cannot help wondering how many other customers may have encountered this without questioning them. If this is how customers are treated over a card replacement, what happens when the issues involve larger sums or more complicated transactions? Seriously, the level of corruption and exploitation in the banking sector is unimaginable.

2027: There’s A Coalition in Cross River There has been considerable debate about the rainbow coalition being promoted by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. While several states have been quick to declare that no such coalition exists within their political enclaves, perhaps Cross River should take a closer look at its own political reality. We may not have a rainbow coalition here, but we certainly have our own coalition which is maybe a ‘bowrain coalition’. The colours may be different, but the political arrangement is seemingly the same. A coalition, in its simplest political sense, is an alignment of interests and forces, often across party lines, in pursuit of common electoral objectives. In Cross River, the evidence is visible to the blind and audible to the deaf. Here, we’ve not given our own official name but we’ve seen some members of the APC campaign council are not even members of the party, while others, despite occupying positions within the council, are openly campaigning for candidates of opposition parties. These are people nominated into the APC campaign council with the responsibility of mobilizing support for the party’s candidates, from the highest office to the lowest electoral position. But some are actively promoting candidates outside the party. Some of these people are even heads of some directorates within the campaign council, established to advance the APC’s electoral interests. It is difficult to reconcile such conduct with the basic obligations of party membership, let alone the responsibility of leading a campaign structure. More unfortunate is that this contradiction is not limited to members of the campaign council. Even some serving political appointees of government are engaging in similar conduct. For instance, there’s a Special Adviser who has consistently used his Facebook platform not only to vilify the President and some APC candidates but also to undermine and demonize the APC as a party. He has been actively mobilizing support against some APC candidates, including the President, openly. Conduct like this speaks to the growing concern about the value attached to loyalty within the party. What message does this send to those who have remained committed, defended the party through thick and thin and consistently invested their time and resources in its political fortunes? When commitment is met with indifference, while conduct that undermines the party attracts no consequences and may even be rewarded, the party risks eroding the very values that sustain loyalty and collective purpose. Political parties cannot build sustainable structures on convenient loyalty. A campaign council or political appointment should not become a comfortable shelter for people whose electoral interests lie elsewhere. Those appointed into the party’s campaign council who do not believe in its ideals or support its candidates should have the decency to decline or resign from their appointments, particularly if the party leadership is not ready to address the situation. The same principle should apply to political appointees serving under the government. No one should insist on enjoying the benefits and privileges of a political appointment while actively working against the party and the candidates whose success the government and its political structure are expected to advance. So, perhaps the party should either act or stop pretending that Cross River is insulated from the coalition conversation. It may not be Wike’s rainbow coalition and it may not even carry an official name but the political reality is there for everyone to see. A coalition by any other name remains a coalition. And in Cross River, the colours may be different, but the game is much the same.

CR7, Ego and the Burden of Messi’s Shadow Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego and what obviously appears to be his obsession with Messi’s shadow have robbed what should have been a defining moment in his career of much of its emotional weight. Ronaldo is a great footballer, no doubt. But there is something to be said about knowing when to let the ovation speak for itself. Retirement, especially for someone who has given so much to the game, should be a moment of reflection, gratitude and celebration. It should not become another opportunity to compete for attention. When the football world was focused on Messi’s retirement conversation and his final appearance in Argentina’s colours, Ronaldo chose that moment to stir controversy with his rather childish statement which he ranked himself in the level of Pele and Maradona, indirectly declaring himself to be greater than Messi. He did this deliberately to redirect the conversation around Messi’s retirement to himself. It did little to achieve that purpose, anyways. After declaring his readiness to continue playing and his willingness to accept whatever punishment might come from the Portuguese Football Federation for walking out of the national team, he has now returned to announce his retirement. But the moment has lost much of the attention and emotional significance it might otherwise have commanded. This is why people must understand that greatness is not only about how loudly the world applauds you but also about knowing when to take a bow. Sometimes, the inability to share the spotlight reduces the very legacy one is trying so hard to protect.

Politicians are the same everywhere!

50K Grant and the Politics of Finding Fault With Everything I find it rather surprising that some people are attacking the N50,000 grant being provided by the government to vulnerable Nigerians to help cushion the effects of rising fuel prices. More surprising is that many of those criticizing the initiative are the same people who have always pointed to similar social welfare programmes in other countries as examples of what governments should be doing. But now that it’s happening in Nigeria, there’ll tell you, they’re no longer advocates of giving people free money and those who accept the money are not interested in development. I dare to ask, who said this welfare scheme is an alternative to other developmental projects? Why are we presenting it as a choice between supporting vulnerable citizens and investing in infrastructure? Are these two not different responsibilities of government that one does not have to come at the expense of the other? The grant is a social welfare intervention designed to help a selected number of Nigerians cope with the current economic realities. Several countries operate similar programmes to provide temporary relief to citizens facing economic difficulties. Instead of attacking, why not we commend the transparency of the process, which allows eligible Nigerians to access the support without knowing a politician, having connections or belonging to any political party? It is so unfortunate that some people seem more interested in discrediting this initiative. I honestly struggle to understand the argument being made. How exactly has this grant stopped the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project? How has it affected the Bakassi Deep Seaport, which the President is expected to visit on November 13 for its groundbreaking ceremony? How has it stopped the numerous road projects across the country and state, or the infrastructure upgrades taking place at several airports? Even the Calabar Airport is preparing to commence night flight operations. The truth is that providing social support to vulnerable citizens and delivering infrastructure are not mutually exclusive. Government can and should do both. We cannot demand that government adopts social welfare programmes like other countries and then turn around to condemn the same approach when it is introduced here. Perhaps the bigger problem is that, in our eagerness to criticize, we sometimes lose sight of the very things we have been asking government to do.

BREAKING: Court Sacks Mark-Led ADC Exco, Voids Atiku’s Candidacy

Trump’s Waning Political Clout The world is beginning to send a message to President Donal Trump, one that is becoming increasingly audible even to the deaf and visible even to the blind; political influence, no matter how powerful, has its limits, and ultimately, the will of the people will prevail. In Brazil, the presidential candidate backed by Trump, Flavio Bolsonaro, lost to incumbent President Lula da Silva. In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led political bloc failed to secure the parliamentary majority needed to retain power, despite Trump’s support. And now, in the United States itself, American voters have delivered a stunning rebuke to Trump and his Republican Party, handing Democrats overwhelming control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. The lesson in this is that no individual, no matter how powerful, is bigger than the collective will of the people. Political influence is not permanent and those who mistake access to power for ownership of it always discover the difference when the political tide turns. Those in Nigeria who are banking on Trump’s influence or hiring Ikemefuna to lobby and sway him to their side, had better read the signs carefully. International politics is changing and alliances built around personalities rather than principles can become liabilities overnight. Nigeria cannot afford to mistake yesterday’s political leverage for tomorrow’s reality. The world is moving, the political winds are shifting and sooner or later, our own political calculations will have to reckon with that reality.

The Democrats have reclaimed control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the United States. God has used this midterm election to spare the world from further disaster.

This is organic! Cross Riverians have said it loud and clear; it’s either President Tinubu or President Tinubu.

Congratulations and happy birthday to my dear friend, @woye1, a true progressive-minded gentleman. Wishing you many more rewarding years filled with good health, greater accomplishments and continued success. Cheers to a fulfilling year ahead!