Stabilising Nigerian Universities: A Political Strategy for Economic Revolution. July 04, 2025

Preamble.

What if fixing the university academic calendar could help fix the economy? It’s not just possible; it’s already happening, albeit unnoticeably.

In Nigeria, discussions about economic growth often focus on oil, foreign investment, or monetary policy. But there’s another force at play — quiet, steady, and often overlooked: the stabilisation of our university academic calendar. I've consistently focused on this topic in the past year.

It might seem like a minor administrative achievement, but ensuring Nigerian universities remain open, predictable, and on schedule could be one of the most impactful economic policies of the decade. Each time I am asked what President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has recently done for us, my immediate citation-one among many-has always been the stabilisation of our academic calendar and university education in Nigeria. And we are only beginning to see the results.

When Degrees Take Seven Years

Until recently, a four-year university programme in Nigeria could take as long as seven years to complete. Endless ASUU strikes and funding disputes pushed thousands of students and their frustrated parents to seek alternatives abroad, regardless of the cost.

The result is obvious. Capital flight. Parents sold Naira, bought dollars or pounds, and sent the money out of the country to pay school fees overseas. Few realise the strain this has placed on the Naira.

When thousands of families rush to exchange Naira for foreign currency each year, not for investment or import purposes, but simply to escape our broken education system, they create unnecessary pressure on the currency. The result: a steady, avoidable depreciation of the Naira.

Black Market Demand and Unforced Depreciation

Here’s the key point: most of this demand for foreign exchange isn’t generated by businesses seeking to grow the economy. It’s from individuals trying to secure education abroad. And because they are desperate, they’re willing to buy foreign currency at any rate. Maybe you want to read the paragraph above again, because it is at the heart of this essay.

This behaviour distorts the foreign exchange market. It’s not driven by trade or investment; it’s emotional, reactive, and harmful. The Naira gets battered unnecessarily. But that has changed.

In recent months, there has been an unprecedented calm in the university system. No strikes. No mass disruptions. Just steady and uninterrupted academic activity. Slowly, pressure on the Naira has begun to ease.

Savings and Liquidity

When students can graduate on time at home, parents stop sending their children abroad out of desperation. This reduces demand for dollars and pounds, allowing more Naira to stay in the country. Savings increase.

That money, now retained domestically, doesn’t just sit idle. It gets used to start businesses, build homes, pay for local services, or fund other children’s education within Nigeria. In other words, it starts working for the Nigerian economy instead of elsewhere.

The impact is profound. Within the country, we now see more liquidity, more investment, and more employment opportunities.

Reversing the Brain Drain

In the past, families from neighbouring countries like Cameroon sent their children to Nigeria for higher education. In the United States, I have met many graduates from UNN and OAU who came from across the border. This trend has reversed in the past 20 years. We are now the ones sending students abroad to Ghana, Uganda, Togo, South Africa, and even offshore campuses of Western universities in Africa.

Stability in the academic calendar can change that. With a reliable academic calendar and improved quality, we can restore Nigeria’s reputation as an educational hub, attracting students (and their tuition fees) back into the country.

Training for Export the Right Way!

Nigeria already exports one of its most valuable resources: skilled professionals, particularly in healthcare. Our nurses and doctors are in high demand globally, and their remittances support families and businesses back home.

However, to sustain this pipeline, students must graduate on time. Delays disrupt career paths, migration plans, and family expectations. Academic stability ensures a steady flow of qualified professionals who can work here or abroad, sending money back home to fuel the local economy.

Let’s be clear: we’re not glorifying the “Japa” trend. We’re advocating for structured, intentional investment in education so Nigeria can become a respected exporter of human capital, much like India has with its tech professionals.

One Policy, Many Benefits

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration may not receive much recognition for this, but stabilising the academic calendar addresses more problems than it appears to. It (1) reduces capital flight, (2) eases pressure on the Naira, (3) boosts domestic investment, and (4) ensures a steady supply of graduates for both local and international employment.

This isn’t about politics. I am not writing to promote a campaign agenda. My analysis stems from my background in management and public administration, based on observable facts and economic reasoning.

Conclusion

In economics, we often say: If A leads to B, and B leads to C, then maintaining A will eventually produce C. In this case, stabilising university education in Nigeria by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (A) results in less capital flight (B) and ultimately a stronger economy and currency (C).

We are only at the beginning of this journey; however, the signs are promising. If this trend continues, Nigeria could emerge with a stronger Naira, more jobs, and a better reputation, not just for its oil or entertainment, but for its people and its education. And that is a future worth investing in.

In closing, I want to reiterate: Leadership should be assessed not only on past grievances, but also on current intentions and future outcomes. Let us give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his team a fair chance to deliver on their promises while remaining vigilant and committed to constructive engagement.

They are not merely governing within the limits of available human and material resources; they are pushing boundaries, reinventing resilience, and optimising the process.

The often reviled, but tolerated, culture of low expectations does not define them. That's become history. What is evolving is more than conventional governance. This is a complete reset, heralding not just the remaking of a broken system, but a total replacement.

May God bless you, and may God bless Nigeria. 🇳🇬

July 04, 2025

Undaunted, He Wrote.

Dr. Bukola Saraki's ascent to Senate President during the 8th National Assembly (2015–2019) was, essentially, a carefully planned civilian coup executed within the National Assembly against Chief Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Central to this plot was a deliberate attempt to weaken Chief Asiwaju and diminish his influence and relevance in the new administration he nurtured and helped bring to fruition.

A vital question remains: Where did the instruction originate that directed certain lawmakers to proceed to the National Assembly for the decisive vote? All evidence suggests it came from Aso Villa.

However, to this day, the identity of the person who issued or authorised that call remains unknown. Significantly, the senators excluded from this process or phone call were all members of the APC loyal to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who were prepared to vote for his preferred candidate as the Senate President, instead of Dr. Saraki for the role.

This manoeuvre was part of a broader strategy to politically sideline Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu within the very government he helped install — President Buhari's administration.

One might have thought that, considering his enormous sacrifices that propelled Gen Buhari into the Presidency, President Buhari and his close-knit inner circle would have handed the APC Presidential ticket to him effortlessly. But no, they wanted him out, humiliated. Unfazed, he fought back. To this day, only God knows how he did it - defeating the presidential machinery with a single strike.

A similar crude scheming pattern re-emerged during the last PDP presidential primaries, leading to the controversial defeat of Governor Nyesom Wike. The Sokoto man he trusted the most pulled the rug from under him, resulting in a crash. Even though he rose from the fall, he seems not to have forgotten how he fell and those responsible.

These two fighters didn't resolve to nurse their wounds in seclusion, defeated; rather, they are actively disrupting the status quo, undeterred. They feel no moral lapses in taking the fight to their tormentors' comfort zones, simultaneously pulling all strings to reinvent the federal government for the good of our future generations.

And what could be worse than changing the national currency on the eve of presidential campaigning and election, then failing to make the currency available months after the change? As a result, many vulnerable Nigerians died in the process, while the targeted victim, overcoming all the odds, soldiered on to victory undaunted.

Today, for the first time in Nigeria’s political history, a pro-people administration occupies the centre stage. Yet, ironically, many seem reluctant to grant them even three full years in office. It prompts the question: When was the last time Nigerian universities completed two consecutive academic years without disruption?

Leadership should be assessed not only on past grievances but also on current intentions and future outcomes. Let us give Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his team a fair chance to deliver on their promises while remaining vigilant and committed to constructive engagement.

They are not merely governing within the limits of available human and material resources; they are pushing boundaries, reinventing resilience, and optimising the process.

A culture of low expectations does not define them. This is more than conventional governance. This is a complete reset, heralding not just the remaking of a broken system, but a total replacement.

Consequently, tough times can only be alleviated, but hardly eradicated, during a sudden disruption. Thus, being patient becomes unavoidable.

Barr Alex Ehi Aidaghese

July 03, 2025

Integrity: Standing for Nigeria When No One Is Watching

On May 17, 2013, I published an essay on my blog titled “Nigeria is at War: We Must Stand Up and Support Our President.” It came on the heels of President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration of a State of Emergency in Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno States, a necessary but highly controversial decision at the time.

The backlash from certain corners of the country was swift and predictable. Northern political elites, the Arewa Consultative Forum, and the Northern Elders Forum all raised objections. Yet in that moment of national tension, silence wasn’t an option for me.

I believed the moment called for courage, clarity, and patriotic resolve. So, I sent the essay to several national newspapers and platforms, including Sahara Reporters. None of them published it.

Unwilling to be silenced or frustrated, I took an unconventional step: I submitted an abridged version as a comment under a Punch Newspaper story titled "North Kicks Against Ban on Boko Haram, Ansaru", signing it as Nonaligned Progressive. Basement Blogger: North kicks against ban on B’Haram, Ansaru

That comment, unbelievably, struck a nerve.

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A Voice That Resonated

The Punch comment section, usually a cauldron of divergent, often polarised opinions, came alive in an unprecedented manner. My submission received about 100 thumbs-up and more than 400 supportive comments. Not a single dissenting view was recorded. For two consecutive days, my comment sat atop the news feed, drawing attention from Nigerians across divides, at home and abroad.

Since the advent of social media in Nigeria’s public discourse, I have never seen such a unanimous endorsement of a piece, especially by Nigerians known for their fierce opinions, deep scepticism, and intellectual independence. Spiritually, I felt abundantly blessed. The prayers and goodwill messages I received during those two days remain unforgettable.

Something unexpected followed.

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Silence from the Critics

After my piece was published, the usual stream of open criticism against President Jonathan’s counter-insurgency policies seemed to dry up. Some suggested the administration had placed a mole in the press. But there was no mole. I was simply a citizen standing up for the President when it was least fashionable. At the time, those around him failed to craft a compelling public defence of his actions.

In the essay, I concluded with this call to conscience:

“As Professor Wole Soyinka would say, ‘The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.’ If the Borno occupation by the sect is not a tyranny, I wonder what is. Therefore, all of us must stand with the President and support our military in their collective commitment to liberate the supposedly free people of Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States from the siege of the Boko Haram sect.”

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The Response from the Ivory Tower

Given the reaction to my comment on Punch Newspaper, I anticipated some form of rebuttal, perhaps from academics or political thinkers in Northern Nigeria. That response came on June 10, 2013, in the form of a powerful speech delivered before the Student Council at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, not by an academic, but by a well-known public figure, whom I’ll refer to here as Mr. X.

The speech quickly made headlines nationwide. In it, Mr. X lamented the state of Nigerian democracy:

“The tragedy of our democracy is that it is one in which the yearnings of the youth are stamped down to perpetuate a tyranny of interests. Tyranny it is when a certain slim range of people impose their private interests on the majority; tyranny it is when the agents of change are left on the cliffs of unemployment, poverty, insecurity, substandard education and, worse still, policies destroyed by our heritage of corruption.” 

“To democratize Nigeria, we must understand the powers we refuse to explore. The tyrants in a democracy are actually individuals from amongst the people, but when they become agents of electoral malpractices and political dishonesty, the dice turns up against the people from which they have come.” – Mr. X.

Reading Mr. X’s speech filled me with satisfaction. It affirmed my interpretation of the political currents in the country at that time. But someone missed the context completely—Dr. Reuben Abati, President Jonathan’s then Press Secretary.

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A Misguided Rebuttal

Dr. Abati accused Mr. X of hypocrisy, labelling his critique as a betrayal and branding his comments as an attack on the President’s integrity. In his words:

“It is certainly the height of hypocrisy for Mr. X, who built his reputation as an anti-corruption crusader by trampling on the rule of law, to now accuse an administration that has upheld human rights and due process of being tyrannical.”

But here’s the problem: Mr. X never used the word “tyrannical” about the Jonathan administration. His speech critiqued the broader structure of Nigerian politics, not the President personally.

Seeing the growing misinterpretation, I responded with a commentary titled “X v. Abati: Fighting the Wrong War Over Deceptive Headlines”, which was published in the Punch Newspaper that carries the Abati story. In that piece, I clarified and defended Mr. X:

“Let it be on record that Mr X was the first, and, if I am not mistaken, the only prominent member of the opposition parties who came out to support the President and the Presidency following the declaration of a State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States. From all indications, it seems we have forgotten all that patriotic performance by Mr X., when standing with the President or supporting him then, especially by members of the opposition, was considered an aberration. Concerning the instant feud between Mr. X and Dr. Abati, I read the X's address before the Student Council at ABU several times, but I couldn't find the term "tyrannical leadership."

To reinforce my point, I reproduced all the references to “tyranny” in Mr. X’s speech, none of which accused the President or his administration.

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A Commentary on Integrity and Public Dialogue

I concluded my piece with a message to Dr. Abati:

"... expecting Mr. X to be blindly subservient or steadfastly deferential to the Presidency on every issue is, to say the least, indefensible, conceited, and unreasonable. Finally, there are numerous ways to put a lie or to rebut treatises, without actually sounding antagonistic or condescending. If the ship is not sinking, then provide charts, facts, and figures to support your position that indeed, the ship is not sinking. Not a diatribe. I beg to move." Signed: Mr. Alex Aidaghese - Punch Newspaper, 6/10/2013

What I did not disclose to Nigerians at the time was that Mr. X’s speech at ABU was a response to my widely read Punch comment. It was a dialogue, an intellectual back-and-forth between two patriotic voices, trying to give meaning to a confusing and dangerous time in Nigeria’s history.

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A Legacy in Print

I’ve never let grammatical missteps or editorial rejection discourage me. What matters is that I have a platform to present my thoughts to the world with accuracy and sincerity. My blog, hamiltonatlarge.blogspot.com, remains the most daring venture of my life, one that allows me to tell my truth, without waiting for an editor’s nod.

When I am gone, the world will have access to the thoughts of a man they often misunderstood, sometimes feared, but who always spoke from a place of conviction and vision. I’ve been criticised behind my back, rarely applauded in my absence, yet I remain undeterred.

My Motivation Was, and Still Is, Nigeria

What I did for President Jonathan during the Boko Haram crisis, I did not do out of political loyalty. I did it for Nigeria—for its unity, its peace, and its future.

Though politically progressive, I always saw Jonathan’s government as a continuation of the NPN playbook. Yet in that moment, he needed defence—not because he was perfect, but because he was right.

Between Mr. X and Dr. Abati, I leaned toward Mr. X. Not because I agreed with him on everything, but because he was honest, credible, and meant no harm.

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A Final Word

If I am feared, it is not because I sow hatred, deceit, or antagonism. It is because I embody visionary, truth, and a standard of integrity that many find intimidating. I have lived a life of thought, conviction, and quiet influence. And when I leave this world, my words will remain —  clear, unbending, and purposeful.

— Alex Aidaghese

June/10/2013