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Dahiru Mangal: Smuggling Kingpin Whose Activities Killed Nigerian Textile Industry Gets Buhari’s National Honour
Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, known as DMB, is the owner of Max Airline, one of Nigeria’s aviation giants, and Afdin Petroleum.
He was among the over 400 Nigerians and foreigners that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari conferred the country’s prestigious national honours.
When DBM stepped out on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, to receive his national award, those who with the knowledge of his real business, outside the aviation and oil and gas, felt the president was rewarding a man who killed a vibrant sector of the country’s economy−the textile industry in Northern Nigeria.
Mangal, whose smuggling activities were well detailed in a book titled, ”The Looting Machine” by Tom Burgis, an investigative journalist at Financial Times, was conferred with the honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
Rewarding Mangal, a smuggling kingpin by the President with CON, has confounded many Nigerians who believed that the administration’s war against corruption−though never taken seriously by critically minded observers− has become a mockery.
Many believed DBM is a shrewd businessman because he knows how to make money−whether legitimate or not. With little formal education, he has remained friends of presidents, governors, and politicians, as according to those in the know, he funds many political campaigns and installs governors.
Though he inherited the importation of goods from his father, Mangal had chosen cross-border freights for his quick access to wealth.
Burgis had, in his book published in 2015, detailed how former textile workers became helpless after contraband from China, smuggled by Mangal, believed to be one of the eminent West Africa smugglers, had brought the textile industry to its knees.
The British journalist said, “ In the shadier corners of the workshop of the world, Mangal found the perfect business partners.”
He was the conduit between Chinese manufacturers, who copied Nigerian wax and labelled them Made in Nigeria, and distributors.
According to the book, the Nigerian Government had repeatedly promised to bail out the industry, yet little assistance had been forthcoming. The more clear-eyed textile workers at the time realised that, in any case, the game was up.
“With over 600 fleets of trucks involved in moving contraband goods into the country through Niger and Chad, Mangal never admitted he was into smuggling.”
According to the book, he told Nasir el-Rufai, whom Olusegun Obasanjo, the former Nigerian President, had dispatched to talk to him about the need to change his line of business to something legitimate.
“Obasanjo was told, according to a consultant who was involved in lobbying the president, that Mangal was ‘the’ kingpin’,” Burgis wrote.
“Obasanjo dispatched Nasir El-Rufai, a northern-born minister with a reputation as a reformer, to try to get Mangal to clean up his act. El-Rufai told me he reached an agreement with Yar’Adua, the beneficiary of Mangal’s generous campaign funding and his political protector. The smuggler would endeavour to transform himself into a legitimate businessman.”
“El-Rufai recalled that Mangal asked him, “Why does Obasanjo call me a smuggler? I just do logistics. I don’t buy any of the goods that are smuggled. I’m just providing a service.’ Mangal told El-Rufai that he had a fleet of six hundred trucks plying the trade routes.”
“He promised to switch into refined petroleum products, another time-honoured money spinner for Nigeria’s politically connected trading barons. But the illicit textile trade continued, and Mangal’s operations remained under scrutiny.”
DMB was and is still managing a shadow economy that includes authorities and his political elites. Many observers wonder why President Buhari, who prides himself as a man of integrity, would dole out the covetous National Honour to a man who has done more damage to the country than good.
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NELFUND: The Renewed Hope Engine Propelling Nigeria’s Youth into Tomorrow
By Dayo Israel, National Youth Leader, APC
As the National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress, I have spent most of my tenure fighting for a Nigeria where every young person, regardless of their ward or local government, family income, or circumstance, can chase dreams without the chains of financial despair.
Today, that fight feels like victory, thanks to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). Launched as a cornerstone of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, this initiative isn’t just a policy tweak; it’s a revolution. And under the steady, visionary hand of Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr, NELFUND has transformed from a bold promise into a roaring engine of opportunity, disbursing over ₦116 billion to more than 396,000 students and shattering barriers for over a million applicants.
Let’s be clear: NELFUND was always destined to be a game-changer. Signed into law by President Tinubu on April 3, 2024, it repealed the outdated 2023 Student Loan Act, replacing it with a modern, inclusive framework that covers tuition, upkeep allowances, and even vocational training—ensuring no Nigerian youth is left on the sidelines of progress.
But what elevates it from groundbreaking to generational? Leadership. Enter Akintunde Sawyerr, the diplomat-turned-executioner whose career reads like a blueprint for results-driven governance. From co-founding the Agricultural Fresh Produce Growers and Exporters Association of Nigeria (AFGEAN) in 2012—backed by icons like former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Akinwumi Adesina—to steering global logistics at DHL across 21 countries, Sawyerr brings a rare alchemy: strategic foresight fused with unyielding accountability.
As NELFUND’s pioneer MD, he’s turned a fledgling fund into a finely tuned machine, processing over 1 million applications since May 2024 and disbursing ₦116 billion—₦61.33 billion in institutional fees and ₦46.35 billion in upkeep—to students in 231 tertiary institutions nationwide. That’s not bureaucracy; that’s brilliance.
Sawyerr’s touch is everywhere in NELFUND’s ascent. Since the portal’s launch, he’s overseen a digital ecosystem that’s as transparent as it is efficient—seamless verification, BVN-linked tracking, and real-time dashboards that have quashed misinformation and built trust. In just 18 months, the fund has empowered 396,252 students with interest-free loans, many first-generation learners who might otherwise have dropped out.
Sensitization drives in places like Ekiti and Ogun have spiked applications — 12,000 in a single day in one instance, while expansions to vocational centers in Enugu pilot the next wave of skills-based funding. And amid challenges like data mismatches and fee hikes, Sawyerr’s team has iterated relentlessly: aligning disbursements with academic calendars, resuming backlogged upkeep payments for over 3,600 students, and even probing institutional compliance to safeguard every kobo. This isn’t management; it’s mastery—a man who doesn’t just lead but launches futures.
Yet, none of this happens in a vacuum. President Tinubu’s alliance with trailblazers like Sawyerr is the secret sauce securing Nigeria’s tomorrow. The President’s Renewed Hope Agenda isn’t rhetoric; it’s resources—₦100 billion seed capital channeled into a system that prioritizes equity over elitism. Together, they’ve forged a partnership where vision meets velocity: Tinubu’s bold repeal of barriers meets Sawyerr’s boots-on-the-ground execution, turning abstract policy into tangible triumphs. It’s a synergy that’s non-discriminatory by design—Christians, Muslims, every tribe and tongue united in access—fostering national cohesion through classrooms, not courtrooms.
As Sawyerr himself notes, this is “visionary leadership” in action, where the President’s political will ignites reforms that ripple across generations.
Why does this matter to us, Nigeria’s youth? Because NELFUND isn’t handing out handouts—it’s handing out horizons. In a country where 53% of us grapple with unemployment, these loans aren’t just funds; they’re fuel for innovation, entrepreneurship, and endurance.
Picture it: A first-generation polytechnic student in Maiduguri, once sidelined by fees, now graduates debt-free (repayments start two years post-NYSC, employer-deducted for ease) and launches a tech startup. Or a vocational trainee in Enugu, equipped with skills funding, revolutionizing local agriculture. This is quality education that endures—not fleeting certificates, but lifelong launchpads. Sawyerr’s focus on human-centered design ensures loans cover not just books, but bread—upkeep stipends of ₦20,000 monthly keeping hunger at bay so minds can soar. Under his watch, NELFUND has debunked doubts, refuted fraud claims, and delivered results that scream sustainability: Over ₦99.5 billion to 510,000 students by September, with 228 institutions on board.
As youth leaders, we see NELFUND for what it is: A covenant with our future. President Tinubu and MD Sawyerr aren’t just allies; they’re architects of an educated, empowered Nigeria—one where poverty’s grip loosens with every approved application, and innovation blooms from every funded desk. This isn’t charity; it’s an investment in the 70 million of us who will lead tomorrow.
We’ve crossed one million applications not because of luck, but leadership—a duo that’s turning “access denied” into “future unlocked.”
To President Tinubu: Thank you for daring to dream big and backing it with action.
To Akintunde Sawyerr: You’re the executor we needed, proving that one steady hand can steady a nation.
And to every Nigerian youth: Apply. Graduate. Conquer.
Because with NELFUND, your generation isn’t just surviving—it’s thriving, enduring, and eternal.
The Renewed Hope isn’t a slogan; it’s our story, now written in scholarships and success. Let’s keep turning the page.
Dayo Israel is the National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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