Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has recounted how he rejected an offer of political asylum from the United States, returned to Nigeria and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned under the regime of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha.

Obasanjo said the American government offered him asylum after receiving information that he would be arrested if he returned to Nigeria.

However, he turned down the offer, insisting that he had committed no offence to warrant seeking refuge outside the country.

The former president made the revelation while narrating his experience under Abacha’s military government in a video published by BBC News Pidgin on Tuesday.

Obasanjo, who became military Head of State on February 13, 1976, following the assassination of General Murtala Muhammed, handed over power to civilian President Shehu Shagari on October 1, 1979.

Explaining why he went into farming after leaving office, the 89-year-old said he had attained the highest positions possible in the military and government by the age of 42, leaving him with little reason to remain in the Army.

He said, “When I was leaving government as military head of state, there was — I was leaving too early. I didn’t join the army to retire at the age of 42.

“Now I had to retire at the age of 42. At the age of 42, I had become a four-star general. There’s nothing else I can do in the army. I’ve become the military head of state. That’s the highest political office I could rise.

“So what can I do? I decided I would go into farming. It really was going well, and it went well until I was arrested.

“Abacha had decided that I must be liquidated; otherwise he would not be able to have his way. I didn’t know that.

“I was travelling and coming back, and the American ambassador in Nigeria called me and said his country had offered me political asylum because they knew that I would be arrested if I returned home.

“This was difficult for me. I don’t— I haven’t done anything. What do they want to arrest me for? Um, I don’t want political asylum.”

Obasanjo said his passport was seized when he returned to Nigeria, after which he headed for his farm.

However, one of his security aides warned him that government security operatives had surrounded the property.

He said a police officer dressed in mufti later approached him and claimed that an Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) wanted him to come in for questioning. Obasanjo rejected the invitation, insisting that the AIG should come to the farm if he wanted to see him.

He eventually drove himself to the police station, where the AIG informed him that he had been instructed to arrest him.

Obasanjo also recalled how former United States President Jimmy Carter intervened on his behalf by appealing to Abacha. Following Carter’s intervention, he was moved from confinement to house arrest.

He said security operatives later arrived at about 1am while he was playing squash and took him away to prison.

He said, “I didn’t know that it was a decision of Abacha that some of us must not be kept free; otherwise, he would feel unsafe. I was put in a place.

“Then President Jimmy Carter came. He pleaded, and then they put me under house arrest. Then they came one day; I was playing squash at about 1 am.

“They came and said they were taking me away. And they took me away, and from there, I went to prison.”

Abacha ruled Nigeria from November 17, 1993, until his death on June 8, 1998. Obasanjo was released following the former military ruler’s death and went on to win the 1999 presidential election, becoming the first elected president of the Fourth Republic.

He served two terms in office, leaving power on May 29, 2007. The Sun

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has approved a 10-year plan, spanning 2026 to 2036, to establish a leadership academy as a flagship directorate within its secretariat, offering training, research and advisory services to improve governance and policy delivery across the 36 states.

NGF, in a statement on Monday, signed by its Director-General, Abdullateef Shittu, explained that the initiative was designed to provide executive capacity development, applied research, governance advisory services, digital innovation and peer-learning opportunities for state-level political and administrative leaders.

It stated, “The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has approved the establishment of the NGF Academy & Leadership Centre as a flagship Directorate within its secretariat, delivering executive capacity development, applied research, governance advisory services, digital innovation and structured peer learning within a unified, non-partisan institutional framework tailored to the governance realities of all 36 states.

“According to the concept note prepared by the NGF Secretariat, the NGF Academy is designed to build competent, reform-minded and future-ready leaders able to address emerging governance and development challenges at the subnational level.

“It approaches leadership capability as the route to institutional performance, rather than as a stand-alone activity, and is positioned as the subnational capacity development centre of excellence of the forum, and as a think-tank and global interface for leadership and innovation.

“The NGF Academy serves three tiers of state leadership. Executive and Strategic Leadership covers governors and their deputies, who are addressed together across a single leadership pathway; cabinet leadership covers Secretaries to the State Government, chiefs of staff, commissioners, special advisers and senior special assistants, local government chairmen and holders of specialised offices; and institutional leadership covers heads of service, permanent secretaries, directors-general, heads of agencies and departments, board chairs and senior technical officers, including those serving in acting capacities.”

NGF said the academy would introduce specialised leadership programmes for serving, incoming and outgoing governors and their deputies, featuring executive training, policy retreats and structured induction to strengthen governance, ensure smooth transitions and promote sustainable institutional legacies.

It continued, “The cabinet leadership programme strengthens the state executive council as the engine of policy design and delivery.

“The institutional governance and sustainability programme supports heads of service, permanent secretaries and senior officials in sustaining institutional continuity, integrity and administrative excellence, and in strengthening the ability of ministries, departments and agencies to translate government policies into measurable development outcomes.

“The NGF Academy’s provision covers strategic leadership, public-sector ethics, negotiation strategy, adaptive management, change implementation and sector-specific governance challenges, delivered across twelve sector hubs that range from public finance, health and agriculture to infrastructure, trade and investment, security, digital and climate.

“Its faculty and resource persons are drawn from across Nigeria and around the world, bringing practical, lived and comparative governance experience into every programme.

“Each programme rests on a shared competency framework, with progress measured through a personal action plan reviewed under the Academy’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, Learning and Feedback (MEAL-F) framework.

“The NGF Academy establishes innovation and foresight labs to co-create practical governance solutions through applied research, data analysis, case studies, policy briefs and design thinking, positioning it as a subnational think-tank.”

NGF Director-General said the academy would support state governments in institutional reforms, fiscal sustainability, investment promotion and performance management, while providing platforms for sharing governance innovations.

He added that its programmes would combine online courses with physical training sessions, incorporating gender inclusion, digital innovation and sustainability.

The NGF stated, “The Secretariat deploys the eLMS to provide virtual classrooms, mobile and offline access, artificial-intelligence-enabled learning tools, data analytics, role-based programmes, performance-tracking dashboards and digital certification across the 36 states, and it integrates with the NGF Repository, the NGF e-Library and the NGF website.

“The NGF Academy operates under a two-tier governance arrangement comprising a Governing Council and the NGF Academy and Leadership Directorate.

“The governing council, drawn from NGF Secretariat leadership, development partners and sectoral experts, oversees programme quality, approves work plans and budgets, and provides institutional accountability. The directorate coordinates programme implementation, stakeholder engagement, and monitoring and evaluation.

“The implementation framework covers 2026 to 2036 across four phases. The first phase, from April 2026 to September 2026, establishes strategic planning, institutional arrangements, curriculum development, pilot programmes, and collaborations and partnerships.

“The second phase, from October 2026 to June 2027, strengthens operational structures, develops the digital learning platform, engages faculty and technical personnel, and formalises strategic partnerships.”

Shittu said the academy would expand its leadership training, research and governance advisory programmes between 2027 and 2030, before extending nationwide operations and establishing regional learning hubs and an endowment fund by 2036.

He added that the initiative would partner with national, continental and international institutions, including NIPSS, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the World Bank Institute, UNDP and UNICEF, to strengthen research, training and governance capacity.

The statement read in part, “Over the long term, the NGF Academy aspires to extend its reach beyond Nigeria, across West Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and the wider continent, with the ambition to serve as a flagship institution for subnational governance in Africa, open to any subnational government that shares this governance structure.

“This aspiration is aligned with the vision of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. In the immediate term, the NGF Academy operates through the Forum’s existing institutional structures, with a view to becoming a full-fledged subsidiary of the Forum over the long term.

“This initiative is expected to provide a common institutional platform for strengthening public-sector leadership, improving policy implementation and promoting more effective governance across Nigeria’s subnational governments.” Punch

The National Youth Service Corps has come under fire following the emergence of a viral video showing prospective corps members sleeping in overcrowded conditions at its orientation camp in Sagamu, Ogun State, amid growing concerns over their welfare.

The footage, which surfaced online on Monday, showed graduates packed into a multipurpose hall, with mattresses placed closely together on the floor, leaving little room for movement.

The hall, ordinarily used for events, was reportedly converted into a sleeping area to accommodate the increasing number of prospective corps members.

The development sparked outrage on social media, with Nigerians condemning the living conditions and demanding improved welfare arrangements for corps members.

Nigerians also raised questions about the preparedness of the scheme to provide adequate accommodation for participants.

The NYSC came under further fire after the Ogun State Government blamed the overcrowding on the scheme’s decision to mobilise more than twice the facility’s normal capacity.

The government said the camp, popularly known as the Five-Star Camp, which typically accommodates slightly over 2,000 corps members per batch, received more than 4,300 prospective corps members in the current batch.

Reacting to the controversy, the Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to Governor Dapo Abiodun, Kayode Akinmade, said in a statement on Monday that the video captured a temporary arrangement during the registration exercise, which continued into the night.

He explained that the registration, screening, credential verification and hostel allocation of corps members were exclusively handled by NYSC officials and did not fall under the direct responsibility of the state government.

Akinmade said prospective corps members had to undergo credential verification and screening by NYSC officials before being allocated hostels, adding that those whose registration extended into the night were temporarily accommodated in the multipurpose hall, where mattresses were provided.

He said, “The state received more than 4,300 prospective corps members for the current batch, compared with slightly over 2,000 in previous batches, increasing the pressure on available camp facilities.”

The government said it had intervened to ease the situation by providing 500 mattresses during the current exercise, while the Akarigbo of Remo donated 100 mattresses, followed by an additional donation of 200.

Akinmade emphasised that although the NYSC was responsible for managing the registration process and camp accommodation, the state government consistently supported the agency through interventions aimed at improving the welfare of corps members.

He also recalled that Governor Abiodun had recently approved ₦50,000 each for the 3,050 corps members in the previous 2026 Batch C, Stream I, to assist with their transportation.

He added that Ogun State had been adjudged the best in the country in NYSC administration, describing the recognition as evidence of the state’s sustained commitment to supporting the scheme.

The governor’s aide urged members of the public to understand the distinction between the operational responsibilities of the NYSC and the supportive role of the state government, assuring them that the administration would continue to provide assistance to corps members.

The controversy also drew social media attention to conditions at other orientation camps in the South-West, with users alleging that similar situations existed in other states.

A video purportedly showing female corps members at the permanent orientation camp in Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State, sleeping in an incomplete building without toilets or bathrooms also circulated online.

The footage was said to have been recorded during the November 2026 Batch C, Stream II exercise.

However, the NYSC has yet to provide a substantive public explanation of the reported conditions.

When contacted for comments, the NYSC Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, Tejumade Awoleye, declined to comment, saying only the state coordinator and the Director-General of the scheme could address the matter.

Similarly, the NYSC’s national spokesperson had yet to respond to calls or text messages requesting the scheme’s position on the outrage as of the time of filing this report.

While awaiting the NYSC’s explanation, Nigerians continued to condemn the reported conditions at the camp.

An X user, Ayohid01 (@ayohid01), who appeared to be among those affected, expressed frustration over the situation, writing, “Bro, I can’t believe I am experiencing this right now at Ogun State camp. Unna no try at all.”

Another user, Chude (@Chude_ND1), compared the conditions to those in displacement camps, writing, “Imagine NYSC Orientation Camp Shagamu, Ogun State in 2026. Even people in IDP camps in Gaza are not living like this. We have serious problems in this country.”

Similarly, CandyLove (@DazylingQueen) described the living conditions as unacceptable, saying it was heartbreaking that Nigerian graduates were subjected to such conditions.

A civic technology and accountability organisation, MonITNG (@monitng), also condemned the reported conditions, describing them as “a national disgrace that demands immediate intervention.”

In a lengthy post, the organisation alleged that some prospective corps members had been asked to return home because the camp lacked sufficient accommodation, while others struggled to find sleeping spaces.

It questioned the preparedness of the NYSC authorities, asking, “How can a national programme responsible for receiving thousands of graduates fail to make adequate preparations for their arrival? Was the number of prospective corps members not known beforehand? Why were sufficient accommodation, sanitation and other essential facilities not provided?”

MonITNG called on the NYSC Director-General, the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and other relevant authorities to investigate the situation and improve accommodation, healthcare, sanitation, feeding and security at orientation camps across the country.

Economist Pat Utomi also condemned the situation, questioning why Nigerians continued to normalise deplorable conditions in public institutions.

In a post on his X handle, he wrote, “Why do we keep normalising abnormal conditions in Nigeria? This is the NYSC camp in Sagamu, Ogun State. You could show this video to a foreigner, and they would probably mistake the place for a prison hall. Our young corps members should never be subjected to such deplorable conditions. They deserve dignity, better facilities and a much better camping experience.”

Meanwhile, some social media users argued that the overcrowding should not be blamed on the Ogun State Government, noting that the NYSC is a Federal Government scheme responsible for posting corps members to states.

An X user, nba (@nba101i), alleged that some male corps members had been moved out of their hostel to accommodate female corps members.

The user wrote, “This is currently live at NYSC camp in Sagamu. The boys were sent out from their hostel for no reason, just to bring other females to the only boys’ hostel in this camp. This is unfair. You guys can do better; honestly, I’m currently pissed.” Punch

Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have apologised to Nigerians over persistent electricity shortages across the country, acknowledging the hardship caused by weeks of prolonged blackouts.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, tendered the apology on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

“I’d like to first of all start by apologising to Nigerians. Apology is needed; it is essential because Nigerians have been taken through this problem over the past few weeks,” he said.

Oduntan also criticised what he described as a return to the blame game among operators in the electricity sector, recalling that similar disagreements between stakeholders had characterised the industry between 2016 and 2019.

He said distribution companies, transmission operators, generation companies and gas suppliers had previously blamed one another for poor electricity supply instead of addressing the underlying problems.

“Our major problem is that we have started that very wrong route that we went through between 2016 and 2019. What is that? Blame game.

“Part of what happened at that time is that people will blame the DisCos, DisCos will blame TCN, TCN will blame GenCos, GenCos will blame the gas suppliers, and gas suppliers will blame payment issues. We have returned to that, and I think there is a need to arrest that,”  he said.

Oduntan Questions Conflicting Explanations

The ANED spokesperson also expressed concern over statements issued by the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) regarding the factors responsible for the electricity shortages.

He said NISO had attributed the supply challenges partly to low water levels and inadequate gas supply, while the NNPC subsequently issued a statement indicating that gas was available.

Oduntan, however, questioned the information provided by the national oil company, insisting that it should clarify whether outstanding payments were affecting gas supply to power generation companies.

“From the NNPC statement, it is very clear that they came to tell us half-truths. What I would have expected NNPC to do is to go ahead and talk to us whether there are payment issues. We need to know whether gas was paid for and delivered, who did, who didn’t,” he said.

The ANED CEO urged the Minister of Power to intervene by bringing the relevant stakeholders together to establish the actual causes of the shortages.

“This back and forth blame game between gas suppliers, NNPC and, of course, TCN or NISO, I think the Minister of Power needs to take charge. There is a need for this leadership because, at the end of the day, they need to call them together,” he said.

Prolonged Blackouts

The apology comes amid growing frustration over inadequate electricity supply, with households and businesses struggling to cope with prolonged outages in recent weeks.

The shortages have raised questions about the effectiveness of the Band A, B and C electricity tariff classification, which links the amount customers pay to the level of electricity supply they are expected to receive.

Customers, including those on Band A, who are entitled to a minimum of 20 hours of electricity daily, have continued to complain about inadequate supply.

The situation has been compounded by intense dry-season heat and the El Niño climate change, leaving many residents struggling to cope without electricity to operate fans and air conditioners.

Residents have protested the outages, heat and the impact. The crisis has also attracted criticism from public figures.

Veteran actress Kate Henshaw questioned why Nigerians continued to struggle with reliable electricity, lamenting that households had effectively become “mini-factories” because they had to generate their own power.

Content creator Cute Abiola also appealed to President Bola Tinubu in a video, expressing frustration over the unbearable heat and the difficulties Nigerians face in accessing alternative electricity sources.

Meanwhile, the rising cost of petrol and diesel has made running generators increasingly expensive, while installing solar panels, batteries and inverters remains unaffordable for many households and small businesses.

Tinubu’s Electricity Promise

The power crisis has renewed attention to President Tinubu’s campaign promise to address Nigeria’s electricity challenges.

During his 2023 presidential campaign, Tinubu pledged to improve electricity supply and end estimated billing, telling members of the Organised Private Sector in Lagos that Nigerians should hold him accountable if he failed to deliver.

“Whichever way, by all means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated bills anymore. A promise made will be a promise kept. If I don’t keep the promise and I come for a second term, don’t vote for me, unless I give you adequate reasons why I couldn’t deliver,” he said. Channels