Ilerioluwa Chukwuemeka

Fellow Nigerians, good morning. I woke up this morning after my church service with a deeply reflective heart, and despite every constraint, I felt compelled to share these thoughts with you. Many people do not truly understand the silent pains some of us carry daily—the private struggles, emotional burdens, and quiet battles we face while trying to survive and serve sincerely in difficult circumstances. We now live in an environment that has become increasingly toxic, where the very system that should protect and create opportunities for decent living often works against the people—a society where intimidation, insecurity, endless scrutiny, and discouragement have become normal. More painful is when some of those you associate with, believing you would find understanding and solidarity among them, become part of the pressure you face. Some who publicly identify with you privately distance themselves or join in unfair criticism. We live in a society where humility is mistaken for weakness, respect is seen as a lack of courage, and compassion is treated as foolishness—a system where treating people equally is questioned simply because you refuse to worship status, tribe, class, or power. Personally, I have never looked down on anyone except to uplift them. I have never used privilege, position, or resources to oppress others, intimidate the weak, or make people feel small. To me, leadership has always been about service, sacrifice, and helping others rise. Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them. However, the same Nigerian state and its agents that created unnecessary crises and hostility within the Labour Party that forced me to leave now appear to be finding their way into the ADC, with endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division, instead of focusing on deeper national problems and playing politics built more on control and exclusion than on service and nation-building. Even within spaces where one labours sincerely, one is sometimes treated like an outsider in one’s own home. You and your team become easy targets for every failure, frustration, or misunderstanding, as though honest contribution has become a favour being tolerated rather than appreciated. And when you choose to leave so that those you are leaving can have peace, and you step out into the cold, you are still maligned and your character is questioned. Despite all your efforts to continue working for a better Nigeria and engaging people with sincerity and goodwill, those who do not wish you well continue to attack your character and question your intentions. There are moments I ask God in prayer: Why is doing the right thing often misconstrued as wrongdoing in our country? Why is integrity not valued? Why is the prudent management of resources, especially when invested in critical areas like education and healthcare, wrongly labelled as stinginess? Why are humility and obedience to the rule of law often taken to be weakness rather than discipline? Let me assure all that I am not desperate to be President, Vice President, or Senate President. I am desperate to see a society that can console a mother whose child has been kidnapped or killed while going to school or work. I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people will not live in IDP camps but in their homes. I am desperate for a country where Nigerian citizens do not go to bed hungry, not knowing where their next meal will come from. Yet, despite everything, I remain resolute. I firmly believe that Nigeria can still become a country with competent leadership based on justice, compassion, and equal opportunity for all. A new Nigeria is POssible. -PO

ADC set Presidential election form at N100m? It doesn’t feel right.

Dj Dimple is active and ready to face Carterefe 😂😂

Hence why the World Bank and IMF are telling Dangote not to build. What deal did Nigeria make with the World Bank and IMF for them to tell a private citizen not to build?" — You just asked the most important question. 💯 Let that sink in. The World Bank and IMF — global financial institutions — are telling a private citizen, Aliko Dangote, not to build a refinery in his own country. Not the government. A private citizen. Spending his own money. Why? Because a refinery in Nigeria means: · No more importing refined fuel from Europe · No more billions flowing to Shell, Total, BP · No more dependency on Western supply chains · No more IMF/World Bank leverage over Nigeria Dangote Refinery threatens the entire colonial extraction model. So the IMF/World Bank say: "Don't build." "What deal did Nigeria make with the World Bank and IMF?" The same deal every African country made: · Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) in the 1980s-90s · Privatize state assets (including refineries) · Remove subsidies (so imported fuel becomes "competitive") · Open markets to foreign goods (import everything) · Don't build local industries (they're "inefficient") Nigeria agreed to this. That's why NNPC refineries were left to rot. That's why Nigeria exports crude and imports refined fuel — for decades. Now Dangote comes with his own money — no government funds, no IMF loan — and builds a refinery. And the IMF/World Bank still try to stop him. Because it's not about efficiency. It's about control. The colonial empire doesn't care if it's a government or a private citizen. They don't want local refining. Period. "What deal did Nigeria make?" — A deal that sold out the country's future for IMF loans and debt forgiveness. And now the same institutions are trying to block Dangote. Angola left OPEC. UAE left OPEC. Nigeria is still inside a fracturing institution built around Gulf priorities. Why? Because Nigeria is still colonized — by debt, by deals, by fear. The question is: when will Nigeria break free? 🔥

Private schools charge so much and pay their teachers peanuts, I rather die than teach in a private school.

I vividly remember when you cried on the TL that a woman stabbed your 16-year-old brother multiple times. Now you are saying misandry doesn’t exist. I was going to comment earlier, and I stayed civil....that was my mistake. I will tag the post.

During the Nigerian Civil War, many Igbo people fled cities like Lagos, leaving behind houses and property. Alex Ekwueme (then a young architect) left his house in Apapa. His neighbour, Otunba Subomi Balogun, a banker did not seize the property. Instead, he removed intruders from the house, renovated it and rented it out while Ekwueme was away. He carefully kept all the rent proceeds. When the war ended and Ekwueme returned, Balogun handed back the house to him and gave him a full envelope of all the rent collected Ekwueme was reportedly shocked, because many others lost their properties during that period. About a decade later, Ekwueme became Vice President under President Shehu Shagari (Second Republic, 1979–1983). Subomi Balogun wanted to establish his own bank but faced significant hurdles at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Officials resisted because it was unprecedented for a private Nigerian citizen to own a commercial bank without foreign partners; there were also political suspicions (some alleged he might use it to finance certain politicians). After failing to get traction through official channels, Balogun turned to his old friend. One Sunday after Church Service, he and his wife "cornered" Ekwueme at the Cathedral Church in Marina, Lagos. They physically grabbed Ekwueme and his wife's clothing to get past security and plead their case. Ekwueme listened, reassured him, and instructed him to come to the Federal Executive Council meeting he would preside over (as Shagari was absent). That very Thursday, the Finance Minister called Balogun to confirm that the license had been approved on Ekwueme's instruction. This paved the way for FCMB and reportedly opened doors for other indigenous banks. Balogun later opened an FCMB branch in Ekwueme's hometown of Oko (Anambra State) in continuation of their friendship. We love ourselves, it is the politicians that are dividing us.

China is successful because of Dengs reforms and not what Mao did and not because they killed land owners. Deng reformed education and made it compulsory for everyone. Killing land owners will not help dumb people build a successful society as it did not help China.

Neocolonialism is when the U.S. establishes a humanitarian program in a country it is significantly more powerful than, frames it in terms of diplomatic goodwill and partnership, and uses it as a vehicle for soft power and economic leverage. Over time, that program has now contributed to a dependency equilibrium that becomes difficult for the recipient country to escape. Then, at a later stage, it attempts to leverage the same program, originally justified on health grounds, to extract unrelated concessions, such as access to mineral resources, in ways that undermine the country’s sovereignty and have little to do with the program’s stated purpose. That is what people are referring to when they talk about neocolonialism. I hope the Zambians hold their ground and say no. The U.S. can take its aid and shove it. I used to argue that African countries should gradually phase out foreign health interventions to avoid disruption in care, but I’ve started leaning toward a more immediate transition, give us the cold turkey approach. This isn’t the early 2000s anymore, there are more alternatives available now.