By Abba Anwar

Whether Nasir Bala Ja’oji’s name rings bell or not, in Kano’s political arithmetic, his new appointment as the Kano state Director, City Boy Movement, highlights many things. Especially about his direct relationship with the Presidency.

While Malam Salihu Sagir Takai’s – a rare gentleman of national repute-Coordinator position of Renewed Hope Agenda, in Kano, is in charge of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s philosophy, Ja’o’ji’s City Boy Movement is directly linked to the personality of Mr President.

Come to think of it, City Boy is a nickname given to Tinubu during the heydays of 2023 presidential campaign. A term of endearment, referring to his roots in Lagos, a major city in Nigeria. The name also explains his shrewedness as a grassroot politician, who has strong connection to the city. A CITY BOY.

Ja’oji, currently the Senior Special Assistant on Citizenship and Leadership to President Tinubu, is a strategic, logical, calculated, and informed choice to become the Director of this Movement. The pedestal is accurate and not injurious.

While his pedigree as someone who previously served as Special Adviser on Mobilisation to the Kano State Governor, a member of the Governing Council of Coordinated Arewa Youth Groups, advocating for women and youth empowerment, among others, his appointment, still, speaks volumes of his uninterrupted relationship with the Presidency.

For those who don’t understand how powerful, relevant and engaging this position is, to Tinubu’s interest in Kano, against 2027 power struggle, just look at the category of people congratulating the appointee, Ja’oji. All of them know and understand the influencing power and attitude place on the position. As a build up to 2027 political struggle.

Not only Ja’oji’s pedigree, was what gave him an edge over many for this new appointment, the impact of his being, also speaks a lot. Politicians from South, especially South West, have their yardstick, for measuring what position goes to who and under what circumstance? Unlike, our North, in South, one has to sweatly earn respect, position and influence.

I cannot say City Boy Movement is a shadow government. Why? Because the movement goes round all the 36 states and Abuja. BUT, my but is in capital, the way I see it, State Directors, could be given the same or very similar political responsibilities to shoulder, as equal as that of Ministers and other highly placed positions in states and Abuja, when 2027 election proper, comes calling.

Therefore, Ja’o’ji’s appointment, is not only domineering in its breath and length, it is a stamp of trust and acceptance of loyalty, from Mr President directly. Believe it or not, Presidency must have objectively assessed, the impact of this young man, in his state, before reaching this point.

The way I know the strategic disposition of Ja’oji, as Adon Garin Kasar Hausa, a title conferred on him by Daura Emirate, which recognizes his unwavering commitment in advancing the welfare of women, children, youth and vulnerable groups, City Boy Movement, will definitely be a rallying point of genuine support to President Tinubu, months, years to come. How to achieve that, Ja’oji knows better.

As multi – tasking as I know Ja’oji, this position will not render his other official responsibilities redundant. In fact, this could be a driver to propel others to progress. This, I have no doubt. So for Ja’oji, you should know that, all eyes are on you now.

I am sure the confidence repose in him by the society, will not allow him goofed. He will hopefully stand firm and wield more power and influence. While sky is his limit, the good choice of co-travellers is a prerequisite.

I hope there will be monitoring and evaluation mechanism directly from Presidency, to examine the take-off and activities of all the 36 Directors of the Movement, and that of Abuja. This will help to periscope, in clearer terms, commitment, hardwork and patriotism.

Anwar writes from Kano
Saturday, 7th February, 2026

By: Lamara Garba Azare

Bauchi was not born in silence. On the third day of February 1976, it arrived with the quiet dignity of history unfolding, carved out of the old North Eastern State, not merely as a political entity but as a promise. A promise that people mattered. A promise that governance could be closer to the heartbeat of the land. A promise that a place shaped by savannah winds, ancient footsteps, and resilient souls deserved its own name and destiny.

In those earliest days, the founding leaders stood before an unformed canvas. There were no clear roads, only directions. No settled institutions, only intentions. Men like Mohammed Bello Kaliel and the first set of military administrators did not inherit comfort. They inherited responsibility. With discipline and restraint, they laid the skeletal frame of a state yet to find its voice. Ministries were formed, public service took its first breath, and order was introduced where uncertainty once loomed. Their service was not loud, but it was consequential. They held Bauchi together when it was most fragile, and history must remember them not for what was absent, but for what they preserved.

Then came the gentle dawn of civilian rule and with it the reassuring presence of Abubakar Tatari Ali. His leadership spoke directly to the soul of the people. Roads stretched outward as symbols of connection, farms rose as declarations of self belief, industries emerged as statements of confidence, and Bauchi began to imagine itself beyond survival. He governed with faith in possibility and left behind a lesson that development is not only measured in concrete and steel, but in hope restored and dignity affirmed.

The years that followed were long and demanding. Military administrators came and went, each carrying the weight of stewardship in difficult times. Mohammed Sani Sami, Chris Abutu Garuba, Joshua Madaki, Abu Ali, Wing Commander James Yana Kalau, Rasheed Adisa Raji, Theophilus Bamigboye and Abdul Adamu Mshelia each, in their own seasons, kept the machinery of governance alive. These were years of holding the centre, of completing water projects so thirst would not rule, of strengthening hospitals so life could be preserved, of nurturing sports and social cohesion so the human spirit would not be crushed. Bauchi learned patience in those years. It learned that progress does not always arrive with celebration, but often with quiet persistence.

The brief return of democracy in the early nineties under Dahiru Mohammed rekindled hope, only for it to be interrupted again. Yet the idea of civilian choice never died. It waited patiently in the consciousness of the people. And when it returned in 1999, it returned with purpose.

Ahmadu Adamu Muazu’s era marked a turning point that still echoes across the state. Schools multiplied, classrooms filled, enrolment soared, and Bauchi found itself counted among Nigeria’s strongest performers in education. Roads stitched communities together, water flowed where scarcity once reigned, electricity reached villages long forgotten by the grid, and healthcare gained renewed attention. His leadership proved that when people are placed at the centre of policy, development responds naturally. Many families still live inside the outcomes of those years, sometimes without knowing the names of the policies that made them possible.

Isa Yuguda and Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar governed in times shaped by complexity. Economic pressure, national uncertainty, and rising security concerns tested the limits of leadership. Yet governance continued. Roads were maintained, institutions sustained, and the state was kept standing when the ground beneath Nigeria often felt unsteady. Their stewardship reminded the people that leadership is not always about expansion, but about preservation, about ensuring that the house does not collapse while waiting for renovation.

Today, under Bala Mohammed, Bauchi speaks again in the language of renewal. Roads are being rebuilt not just as infrastructure but as arteries of opportunity. Schools are being restored, health facilities revived, urban spaces reimagined, and economic empowerment extended to women and youths who for too long stood at the margins. Investment summits invite the world to see Bauchi differently, not as an afterthought, but as a land of promise. His leadership reflects a belief that governance must listen, that peace must be cultivated, and that development must feel human.

As Bauchi marks fifty years, this is not merely a roll call of leaders. It is a collective tribute. To those who laid foundations when there was little applause. To those who governed in difficult seasons without surrender. To those who expanded opportunity and those who protected stability. To civil servants who kept institutions alive, teachers who shaped minds in overcrowded classrooms, farmers who planted hope in stubborn soil, and communities who believed that this state belonged to them.

As Bauchi steps into the future, it does so with memory in its hands and hope in its eyes. The past has spoken through sacrifice, the present breathes through responsibility, and the future waits for courage. What remains certain is this: Bauchi has never been defined by the ease of its journey, but by the strength of its will. From those who laid the first stones to those who now carry the torch, the story continues not as an echo of yesterday, but as a call to tomorrow. And as long as its people believe in the dignity of service, the power of unity, and the promise of becoming better than before, Bauchi will not merely endure. It will rise, again and again.

Lamara Garba Azare, a veteran journalist, writes from Kano

By, Alhassan Bala

The silence is deafening. While South Africa and Kenya agitate loudly for the return of their citizens deceived into fighting Russia’s war in Ukraine, Nigeria remains conspicuously quiet about its own sons being used as cannon fodder on foreign battlefields.

In January 2026, Kenyan social media platforms were flooded with images of young Kenyans killed while fighting for Russia.

In South Africa, the issue turned to politics as an elite was accused of sending young South Africans to Russia to join the army and fight in Ukraine.

However, the stories of the victims from Nigeria paint a horrific image, especially as among those faces was one that haunts the most: Anas Adam from Kano State, Nigeria. His story is not unique, but it demands to be told.

On November 10, 2025, Anas boarded an Egypt Air flight from Lagos, telling friends he was traveling to Russia for business. Within days, the cheerful entrepreneur’s voice had changed to one of desperation. In a WhatsApp voice note, he pleaded with friends to pray for him that “things have changed,” he said cryptically. Soon after, his photograph appeared online, wearing a Russian army uniform.

Two months after, precisely on January 10, 2026, his family received news of his death not from Nigerian authorities, not from the Russian government, but from a Kenyan he had met in Russia.

He was not alone. Two others: Abubakar and a man named Tunde left Nigeria the same day. Another young man from Kano had already died on the frontlines. Records have shown that more are presently processing visas to Russia, some fully aware of what awaits them: the plan to join the army, while others have been hoodwinked with promises of scholarships or employment.

The Deception Machine

During a visit to Ukraine in June, 2024, I met prisoners of war from Ghana, Egypt, Somalia, and Togo; young Africans were lured to Russia through various schemes. Their testimonies revealed a pattern of systematic deception and exploitation.

A Somali prisoner told me he was promised a Russian passport and received an advance of $20,000 deposited in a new Russian bank account. An Egyptian was given a choice: fight in Ukraine or complete his prison sentence in Russia. A Ghanaian who had applied for a scholarship found no academic program waiting but only a contract he signed without fully understanding, binding him to military service.

During that time there was no Nigerian captured or reported killed while fighting for Russia which made me think there were no Nigerians lured to join the Russian army but I was wrong as few weeks after some Nigerians were announced as prisoners of war, captured by Ukrainian forces.

This brazen deceit continues even in death. The agency that processed Anas’s trip operates from Kaduna State. Despite promises to visit his bereaved family, they have offered only excuses. There will be no compensation, no official acknowledgment, no dignity in his death.

Where Is Nigeria’s Voice?

Ghana has initiated discussions with Ukrainian authorities for the return of its citizens currently serving as prisoners of War. Authorities in Kenya and the media have raised alarm about their young people being exploited as mercenaries. South Africa and Kenya are demanding answers. Action is certainly coming.

Despite these efforts by theese African countries, there is still nothing coming out from Nigeria or its agencies like Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCom).

These young men are not statistics. They are sons, brothers, friends and are people with dreams who believed they were pursuing opportunities, not marching toward unmarked graves in a foreign war. They deserve better than to die unacknowledged, their families left without answers, compensation, or even the return of their remains.

During my time in Lviv and Kyiv, I experienced firsthand the terror of air raid sirens announcing imminent drones and missile attacks. I saw the reality of the war these young Africans are being fed into often without proper training, documentation, or legal protections regarding insurance and other rights. When I returned to Nigeria, I carried the trauma of those sirens with me. How much worse for those who never make it home?

A Call to Action

. The Nigerian government must break its silence. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs should immediately:

. Investigate how many Nigerian citizens have been recruited into the Russian military?

. Demand accountability from recruitment agencies operating within our borders

. Engage with Ukrainian authorities to secure the return of any Nigerian prisoners of war

. Warn young Nigerians about these deceptive recruitment schemes

It does not stop there as civil society organisations, the media, and concerned citizens must amplify these stories. We cannot allow our young people to become invisible casualties in someone else’s war.

Anas Adam’s friends posted his pictures in Russian army uniform as a memorial. But memorials are not enough. His death, and the deaths of others like him, demand investigation, accountability, and action.

Who will speak for young Nigerians dying for Russia? If we do not raise our voices now, the answer may be: no one. And that silence will cost more young lives.

Alhassan Bala, OSINT specialist, Researcher writes this from Abuja