I write this from a point of pain and gratitude. Pain because of the death of a hard working and honest man, Rotimi Olaleye, who is both a great father, as attested to by his children who he has been taking care of single handedly since his wife died about five years ago, and an honest and diligent auto mechanic, as confirmed by his clients, including yours truly. We met less than a week before his death, but he left an unforgettable impression on me, even in death.

Gratitude? I was less than 10 seconds away from where Mr. Olaleye was when the fire that took his life occurred with my wife and first child.

Let me start from the beginning. I met Mr. Olaleye on March 8, 2025 following a need to change my mechanic. I was introduced to him by the best car air conditioning technician I had ever met, Mr. Akinola Ayeni. We drove the car together on that day. He spotted some issues, including the fact that the former handler was as careless as not putting the knots that should be holding the connecting ABS wire to the wheel of the driver’s side, by just driving the car. That was quickly fixed. And he told me, very honestly, that other things had to wait until Monday. That he needed to finish some other jobs. I left happily.

On Monday, I took the car to him. He appeared meticulous. Despite the fact that I told him that on completing the work on the Highlander, which my wife uses, I was going to send in my own car for servicing, he was not in a hurry to declare the vehicle fit.

On Tuesday morning, the first accident occurred on Otedola Bridge. My wife had to return home. By the way, we live in one of the most organised estates around OPIC in Ogun State. Before she returned, Mr. Olaleye had told me to stay in coming to meet him as he had already spent three hours from Mowe in Ogun State and was yet to get to Berger in Lagos State, a journey of less than 30 minutes. From that time on, he kept briefing me on developments until 6pm when he told me he was now satisfied with the car.

I immediately asked him if I could head in his direction. The answer was no. He wanted to get the car washed. I told him I would take it to the car wash the following day. He said even if I do, it should still be washed. I gave up arguing.

Then at 7pm, Mr. Olaleye told me the washing had been completed by his apprentices. I called my wife, Mrs. Taiwo Oladipo, that it was time to go home. By the way, we have our offices in the same building. By the time she came downstairs to meet me, I discovered that my first daughter, Ewaoluwa, a 500 Level student of Chemical Engineering, who had requested to follow us home, was yet to leave her friend’s house. So we waited for her. For a few minutes.

When we eventually set out, we discovered we needed to buy drinking water for the house. Mrs. Oladipo and Miss Oladipo said we should buy it close to the office in Ogba area of Lagos State because each bottle was N400 cheaper than what we would get close to the house. That would save us some cool N2,000. I said no, Mr. Olaleye was waiting for us. As I zoomed past the supermarket on the way, my wife said let’s buy the water. I stopped. Reversed. We spent about 10 minutes doing that.

Then we meandered our way through the New Afrika Shrine area onto the Opay building, less than two minutes to where Mr. Olaleye was waiting for us. He said he was already by the gate of the mechanic village, which was to the right of Otedola Bridge, underneath. So I told him emphatically in Yoruba: “E maa ri wa ni iseju kan (You will see us in one minute).”

As we descended the bridge and approached the divider that separated those heading towards the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and those going to CMD Road, just about 10 seconds to where Mr. Olaleye had already parked both his car and my wife’s, Mrs. Oladipo was the first to notice a truck that had obviously lost control.

Instinct immediately set in and I changed course towards CMD Road. And in split seconds, the truck crashed, the seal of the tanker burst open and the sky became blue, an indication that the truck was bearing gas. Between the seconds when we saw the truck and when the seal opened, I had dialled the last number on the dashboard of the car, which was that of Mr. Akin. It was ringing when the explosion occurred. And then followed the massive fire.

I was annoyingly slow for some people behind me. One woman came out of her car and started banging ours: “Move, move.” She did it a second time and I wound down the back glass, addressing her and my wife who had also become agitated: “We have a man down there. Let’s see if there is still something we can do before we go too far.” And then his line stopped ringing.

My head immediately told me to call Mr. Ayeni. As soon as he picked it up, he asked me: “Have you collected your car? Rotimi has parked by the gate and is waiting for you.” He did not even hear me saying there was trouble at the workshop until I shouted at the top of my voice. Mr. Ayeni, who was at Agidingbi, immediately turned back. He, alongside others, discovered the remains of Mr. Olaleye, lying face down. His apprentices who were with him said as the truck crashed, he told them to flee that he needed to “save his customer’s car”. Meanwhile, his own car was just behind mine. He succeeded in turning the car around to face the workshop. But that was as far as he made it. I cried that night. Something I have not done in several years. I wept bitterly.

In the short period I knew Mr. Olaleye, I learnt a lot of lessons. He left an impact I would never forget. But it was a pity he didn’t pick my last call, which was to tell him to abandon the car and flee to safety. His meticulousness on the job was second to none from what I saw in the three days of being with him. He also knew his job. Adieu Mr. Olaleye.

I was informed as I was ending this piece that a staff of Zenith Bank Plc and his wife died in the accident. The husband was said to have just resumed from his annual vacation that day. He had just picked his wife and they were heading home when they were caught in the explosion. May their souls and those of others I do not know involved in the accident rest in peace.

To the Lagos State Government, bravo. The response by the emergency responders was swift. However, it was not enough. Only one fire truck arrived after 15 or 20 minutes of the fire. After it exhausted its water, it took another 15 or 20 minutes for another to arrive. By the time Mr. Ayeni and others reached where Mr. Olaleye was, he was still breathing. But help did not reach him on time. But beyond that, the team did well. Despite the damages and the danger of dealing with a gas explosion, the scene was cleared well under 18 hours.

To the company that owns the truck that lost its brake and ended up ending no fewer than five lives and consuming properties that included cars and buildings, Second Coming Gas Company, I am torn between knocking them and giving them kudos. This was because of their response to the victims who were admitted in the hospital. The following day, the management staff had reached out to those in the hospital and met with the executives of the technicians association affected. They were making plans, like some of us are doing, to reach out to the children of Mr. Olaleye. I was told their mum died about five years ago. And the company is in discussion with the technicians on how to alleviate their losses.

But they could have done better. That truck was faulty as those who passed by it on CMD Road before it crashed noticed. The driver was, obviously, trying to manage it into the station on CMD Road. I imagine if it was into the station, which had drinking bars and other joints around it, the truck crashed.

I also pity Lagosians who have to pay N15,000 for third party insurance but get no benefit when the accident involves fire as a representative of Nicon Insurance Limited said. It amounts to gifting the company money for rendering limited services.

To the Federal Road Safety Corps and Lagos State Traffic Emergency Management Agency, you still have a long way to go. It appears the traffic laws in Lagos are meant more for private vehicle owners. Whereas we know that most infractions are committed by commercial vehicle owners, including the trucks that bear inflammable and heavy materials. When these agencies exercise their mandates fully, it is then those with warped minds will come to the realisation it is drivers who have no regard for lives and properties that are the cause of accidents on the Otedola and Kara bridges.

End Police Atrocities on the Owerri-Port Harcourt Road Now!

By Destiny Ugorji

Traveling between Owerri and Port Harcourt has become a harrowing experience, not due to natural disasters or entirely because of poor road conditions—though the roads are in dire need of repair—but because of a deeply entrenched and well-coordinated extortion racket operated by officers of the Nigerian Police Force.

Instead of safeguarding travelers, these officers have transformed the highway into a lucrative criminal enterprise, harassing, intimidating, and robbing innocent road users with impunity.

From Igwuruta Roundabout in Rivers State to Avu Junction in Owerri, Imo State—a stretch of approximately 60 kilometers—motorists are compelled to navigate over 35 illegal police checkpoints. Each of these checkpoints serves as a tollgate where officers demand bribes under various pretenses. What should be a straightforward 1-hour-15-minute journey now takes over 2 hours and 15 minutes due to these unlawful roadblocks.

The situation is particularly egregious from Elele Roundabout to the Omerelu/Umuapu boundary—a mere 13-kilometer stretch that should take 15–20 minutes but now requires an excruciating 50 minutes due to the high concentration of these illegal checkpoints. The modus operandi is uniform: commercial drivers are coerced into paying between 100 and 200 naira per stop. Those who comply receive swift passage, while those who resist face undue scrutiny, document seizures, and threats of arrest.

Private vehicle owners are not spared. Officers, under the guise of “stop and search,” demand driver’s licenses and vehicle documents, often inventing infractions to justify bribe requests. It is as if these officers have been specially trained in the art of extortion rather than law enforcement.

The consequences of this unchecked police extortion extend beyond individual frustration. The economic ramifications are devastating. The transport sector is directly impacted, as drivers, burdened with multiple bribes at every checkpoint, transfer the cost to passengers. With food supplies heavily dependent on road transport, the ripple effect has been a sharp and consistent rise in food prices. Traders and farmers who transport perishable goods suffer heavy financial losses due to prolonged travel times, leading to increased spoilage and higher costs passed down to consumers.

The Owerri-Port Harcourt corridor is a major commercial artery. When transport costs rise due to police extortion, the cost of doing business skyrockets. Ordinary Nigerians bear the brunt of this criminality, paying more for food and services in an already fragile economy. This systemic corruption is worsening inflation and deepening the economic hardship faced by millions.

On Saturday, March 1, 2025, I personally witnessed this extortion racket in full operation. At the Omerelu-Umuapu boundary, my commercial vehicle was stopped by yet another group of rogue policemen. Having already paid 200 naira at over 15 previous checkpoints, we insisted that the driver refuse any further payments. What followed was an unnecessary delay, intimidation, and threats.

In a separate but equally distressing incident, a highly respected media scholar and communication expert, Associate Professor Walter Duru, was subjected to harassment at the same checkpoint. Despite presenting all required documents, the rogue officers desperately searched for any excuse to justify an extortion attempt. The senior officer on duty—an ASP with no visible name badge—eventually demanded 3,000 naira as a “settlement fee.” When Professor Duru refused, the ASP shamelessly said, “find us something and go.” Only after a phone call by Professor Duru to a superior officer did the ASP back down.

If a senior academic could be so brazenly harassed, one can only imagine the fate of ordinary Nigerians without connections or influence.

The extortion racket along Owerri-Port Harcourt Road is not a secret. The police hierarchy is fully aware, yet they have chosen to turn a blind eye. This inaction emboldens these rogue officers, further entrenching corruption and lawlessness on our roads.

Enough is enough. The Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioners of Police in Imo and Rivers States, and the Federal Government must take immediate, decisive action.

There is need for immediate disbandment of all Illegal Checkpoints along the Owerri-Port Harcourt highway. Only legitimate, corruption-free highway patrol units should remain.

Officers found guilty of extortion should not only be dismissed but also prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.

Undercover security personnel should be strategically deployed to monitor police conduct on highways and ensure compliance with anti-corruption directives.

Citizens should have a dedicated platform to report police misconduct, with guaranteed follow-up action and protection for whistleblowers.

A zero-tolerance policy for bribery and extortion must be strictly enforced through regular oversight and audits.

The Nigerian Police Force must purge itself of these criminals in uniform. If over 80% of officers are unfit for service due to corruption and incompetence, then a radical reform of the entire force is necessary. We need a recruitment system that prioritizes integrity and professionalism over political patronage.

To the Federal Government, the Inspector-General of Police, the governments of Rivers and Imo States, and all well-meaning Nigerians: the blood of innocent travelers harassed and extorted daily cries out for justice. The economic devastation caused by police corruption must no longer be ignored.

Act now before this lawlessness spirals further out of control. We demand justice. We demand security. And we demand an end to this daylight robbery on Owerri-Port Harcourt Road.

Chess, that bomb in your hands, and masters of the game, Hassan Gimba

In 1984 there was a universal review of the dystopian novel Nineteen Eight- Four, sometimes written and published as 1984, written by George Orwell. More known for his satirical book Animal Farm, George Orwell is a pen name adopted by Eric Arthur Blair, an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist and critic. According to Wikipedia, “his work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to all totalitarianism, and support of democratic socialism.”

Published in 1949, after the Second World War, Nineteen Eighty-Four, as earlier observed, is a dystopian novel that warns against totalitarian governments that control every aspect of citizens’ lives. With terms such as “Big Brother”, “doublethink”, and “newspeak”, Orwell wrote the book as a cautionary tale after seeing what happened to people in Nazi Germany and fearing that totalitarianism could easily take over the US and Britain, enriching the English lexicon with the adjectival term “Orwellian,” for a political system in which the government tries to control every part of people’s lives.

It’s a sobering reality that in all the reviews, there was a convergence of opinions that governments, especially those of Western nations and the ones in the then Eastern Bloc, exemplified by that of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), have become pervasive, with eyes and ears everywhere, watching and listening to everyone as done to Winston Smith in the 1984 satire.

While the West’s “eye on us” may not be as overt as Orwell depicted, we are nonetheless an open book to them. We hide nothing from them because we cannot. This is true for using smartphones, smart televisions, tablets, laptops, desktops, Google, social media, and the internet.

Have you ever seen your movements captured by Google? As long as your phone is with you, google records and stores all your movements. It is the same with your phone calls. You may begin to see adverts on issues you discuss. If women discuss abortion, they would start seeing adverts on drugs and ways for it. Discuss money, and start seeing adverts from loan sharks.

Your phones can easily be used to trace you. And now, after seeing what the Israelites did to Hamas with pagers, you better know that your phone might not only be a spying device on you but an improvised explosive device (IED). A rigged bomb you are carrying about in your pocket. 

In Gideon’s Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad, first published in 1999, Gordon Thomas, resulting from closed-door interviews with Mossad agents, informants, and spymasters as well as drawing from classified documents and top-secret sources, revealed previously untold truths about Mossad.

Mossad is the national intelligence agency of Israel, responsible for intelligence collection and covert operations, including the assassination of perceived enemies.

In the highly compelling and acclaimed book, he revealed that computers have spying chips embedded in them that Mossad accesses. Desktop computers, Laptops, printers, and similar devices are irreplaceable components in all workplaces. These office necessities are everywhere, including in homes.

From the highest office in the land to all sensitive departments, down to all security offices and those of all leaders across the executive, legislative, and judicial arms, you must find computers, laptops, smart TVs, and all those devices that we do not produce here but import from Western nations or Israel.

The Mossad used personal pagers to target members of Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, in a series of operations. This demonstrates the potential for technology to be used for surveillance and control.

Smart televisions, like the social media sites we visit through our phones, monitor and save our preferences and keep bringing up topics related to them to us.

Why do you think countries like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and those fiercely independent do not allow Western internet providers or other satellites like Starlink to operate in their spheres? They do all they can to develop theirs. This is not just a local issue but a global one that affects us all. This could explain why America under Donald Trump never wants Huawei phones. Apart from the fact that it beats the American iPhone in terms of popularity, affordability and effectiveness, Trump knew what relegating the iPhone worldwide would do to his country’s ability to see many things.

This is not limited to the iPhone as all Android phones are in the same category and do the same function of monitoring their owner, just as all social media sites. Anything you write on Facebook is stored even if you delete it without sending it out.

These powerful entities use a cunning strategy to control their perceived enemies. They tie them to their apron strings, present them with the faces of “lovers,” and wrap them up economically and security-wise. An instance can be seen in how the Arab defence systems are systematically tied to the US. The Israeli security firm Kochav has provided billions of dollars worth of services in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, including surveillance systems.

Until we start indigenising our technology, we will remain open books to be accessed anytime through Google and satellites. The need for technological independence is not just a suggestion; it’s a call to action. It’s a path to reclaiming our power and control over our lives. Can you see the wisdom in educating our children in our languages as the Chinese, Turkish, Russians, North Koreans, and Iranians do? Can you see why these nations are racing ahead, developing and industrialising their nations with local materials and technology, using their people? The time to act is before we lose even more control over our privacy and independence.

We must develop the power to change this, build our technology, and protect our privacy.

Any country that will remain the recipient of foreign technology can never be independent, and neither can its leaders because the country and its leaders, nay, citizens, remain stark naked in front of those that do not desire to see them become united, strong, politically and economically independent. The consequences of inaction are dire, but the potential benefits of taking action, such as reclaiming our privacy and independence, are immense and within our reach.

However, the fight to emancipate the world would be not only interesting and full of chess-like manoeuvres but also hazardous, and it promises to be a fight to the death.

It is a consolation that the Russians, Chinese, and Persians are chess masters, but what of us in Africa?