Baba Aye's

"Baba Aye...who also spoke to Sunday Independent, said that whistle blowing is es­sential for entrenching trans­parency and democratic values in any society. He, however, lamented: “But, not surprising, the class of ex­ploiters are hardly ever comfort­able about it. “They use states, which are primarily their means of repres­sion, to silence would-be-whis­tleblowers, or punish those who have successfully exposed them. “See what happened to Ed­ward Snowden and Chelsea Man­ning. See what is happening with Julian Assange. “So, it is not surprising that the Nigerian ruling class and its state are also not best friends with whistle blowers. “In my view, the best form of encouragement and support for whistleblowers can only come through organising from below. “Organised labour, radical civ­il society organisations and the mass media must support and encourage whistle blowing and whistle blowers.” Extract from:  Sunday Independent 29 June 2025 p.4

The Bola Tinubu administration has been on the saddle for two years. How do you see the state of the nation in these two years? My point of departure in responding to that question would be to draw from Malcolm X. He said something to the effect that there are two nations in every nation. The nation of the exploited and oppressed on one hand and the nation of the exploiter and oppressed on the other. For the poor working masses in Nigeria, the last two years have been terrible. Life has become terribly worse, and mere survival a great challenge. The cost of living has shot through the roof. The take home pay of workers cannot take them home. The 2024 minimum wage is meaningless. It is merely nominal. In real terms it is a wage cut compared to the 2019 minimum wage. But for the super-rich. Tinubu has been a blessing. As Oxfam pointed out in its inequality report earlier this year, this class of Nigerians wealth tripled between 2023 when Tinubu came to power and last year. Their riches...