Opinion

AN OPEN LETTER TO CHIEF SUNDAY AKIN DARE, CON, ON HIS 60TH BIRTHDAY

Published

5 months ago

May 29, 2026

Dear Chief Sunday Akin Dare, CON, Agbaakin of Ogbomosoland,

As you celebrate your 60th birthday today, I find myself reflecting on a journey that began on a fateful day, September 7, 2019. Little did I know that our meeting would mark the beginning of one of the most defining chapters of my life.

From that moment, my path has been blessed in ways I could never have imagined. Through God’s grace and your uncommon generosity of spirit, I have experienced growth, opportunities, and invaluable lessons that continue to shape my life and career.

When you served as the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, I approached every assignment with dedication, discipline, and a commitment to excellence. What I did not anticipate was the depth of your investment in the people around you. You saw potential where others saw only performance. You nurtured talent, rewarded diligence, and created opportunities for many of us to thrive.

What remains most remarkable is that your support did not end when your tenure as Honourable Minister ended. Many leaders move on when the office changes; you did not. Instead, you continued to extend your hands of friendship, guidance, and mentorship. Through different seasons and transitions, you remained present, offering encouragement, opening doors, sharing wisdom, and challenging me to become a better version of myself.

Over time, I was privileged to witness firsthand the qualities that have defined your extraordinary journey: your dexterity, resilience, professionalism, innovative thinking, and unwavering commitment to service.

More importantly, I encountered the man behind the public office: a leader deeply committed to people and the nation, a mentor who genuinely desires the success of those around him, and a father figure whose impact transcends titles and positions.

I was often stunned by the extent of your commitment to human capital development. You brought us closer, taught us lessons that no classroom could offer, and revealed profound truths about leadership, loyalty, character, and purpose. Those lessons continue to guide me every day.

Today, as you serve our nation as Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, you have once again demonstrated your readiness to answer the call of service. Those of us who have worked closely with you know that excellence follows wherever responsibility finds you.

Your deep understanding of communication, governance, strategy, and nation-building continues to enrich public service and strengthen the Renewed Hope agenda of President Tinubu’s administration.

Your journey, from an accomplished journalist and communications expert to a respected public servant, administrator, and national leader, remains an inspiration to many of us. Your commitment to family values, community advancement, youth empowerment, and national development has earned you the respect and admiration of countless Nigerians.

As you attain this remarkable milestone, I celebrate not only your accomplishments but also your impact on lives like mine. Your greatest legacy is not merely in the offices you have held or the policies you have championed, but in the people you have inspired, mentored, and empowered to dream bigger and aim higher.

Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for your guidance. Thank you for your mentorship. Thank you for being a constant source of wisdom and encouragement.

On behalf of myself and the many lives you have touched, I pray that God grants you many more years in good health, renewed strength, greater wisdom, and continued fulfilment. May your best years still lie ahead, and may your service to humanity continue to bear abundant fruit.

Happy 60th Birthday, Chief.

With profound gratitude and warmest regards,

Yours’ Sincerly,
Kola Daniel,
S.A. Media,
Office of the Director General,
National Sports Commission.
May 29, 2026.

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Opinion

RE: BLAIR “HAS QUESTIONS TO ANSWER” OVER SUPPORT FOR BRITAIN WHILE ADVISING NIGERIA

Published

2 days ago

October 20, 2026

The Gleamer

(A rejoinder to Gordon Rayner’s article of October 18,2026 in the Telegraph, UK
By Kehinde Bamigbetan
After reading this article, particularly the denials from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and the Federal Government of Nigeria, one is bound to question the editorial judgment that gives this piece any value.

In short, what did Gordon Rainer set out to do with this publication? Put a shine on Jupiter’s false and thoroughly empty narrative? Set up a former Prime Minister for blackmail and opprobrium? Or revive a dead case before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes?

Whichever, Rainer presents propositions which swallow their answers. His first argument that Blair might have undermined British national security interests is contradicted by the disclosure that the TBI has no contract to advise the Federal Government of Nigeria.

His second argument, that Jupiter was denied the execution of its licence, is contradicted by the fact that the company is unknown under Nigerian law. Rainer then admits knowing this fact and introduces the company as Jupiter’s partners.

For clarity and the benefit of his readers, these companies—Basin Mining Limited and Range Mining Limited—lost their licences for failing to pay annual service fees. Basin, for instance, owes N1,223,750,000, about £691,368.

The licences were revoked after the companies ignored several notices to fulfil their contractual obligations to the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office. Penalties for non-payment are increasing daily, and the legal process to recover the funds is underway.

Rather than rescue its partners by paying their fees and penalties or allow the international settlement court to determine its case, Jupiter has mounted an international self-help campaign of calumny and economic sabotage against the government and people of Nigeria, using methods that threaten Nigeria’s security and diplomatic interests.

We believe Rainer is its latest innocent recruit, hoodwinked into propagating a false narrative by appealing to British national security interests when, in fact, Jupiter’s partners are, under Nigerian law, economic and security risks whose continued defiance of Nigeria’s laws endangers centuries of Britain-Nigeria relations.

The question Rainer should ask: if, indeed, Jupiter has a cast-iron case, why is it shedding crocodile tears and shopping for sympathy with false pretences and narratives?

Let’s give the clue: Jupiter’s promoter, Steve Davis, has leeched on Nigeria’s presidents since 1999 by pretending to be an international mining expert, and he has acquired an ego and assets far out of proportion to his financial and technical status.
He is so comfortable living above the law in Nigeria that compliance with regulatory provisions is a taboo, an affront to his bloated ego as a self-deluded “founder of Nigeria’s modern mining sector.”

Davis had a good time living his ego until Dele Alake became Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development in August 2023 and immediately launched a clean-up of the sector focused on zero-tolerance for non-compliance with the provisions of the Nigeria Minerals and Mining Law 2007, a law that Davis boasts he contributed to making and should set an example by encouraging compliance.

The Minister was shocked that the Nigerian Mining Cadastre had a huge amount of unpaid statutory fees despite the government’s investment in the Electronic Mining Cadastre Plus (EMC+) automation, which digitised the licensing process and upgraded services to the mining sector.

In line with the law, the minister ensured debtors were duly notified, and defaulters duly gazetted before revoking their licences for flouting the regulation on the payment of annual service fees.

In November 2023, the minister revoked at least 1,663 licences, a decision that showed it was no longer business as usual under the new sheriff in town.

To show the government has a human face, it opened a three-month restitution window to address complaints and feedback indicating cases of extenuating circumstances.

But still basking in the euphoria of an ego that has outlived its era, Davis discouraged his partners from taking advantage of these opportunities for remorse. Instead, he threatened to exploit his global networks to frustrate the Federal Government of Nigeria.

He wasn’t joking. He launched a global disinformation campaign from his native Australia to Canada, from the United States to Europe. However, his lies evaporated as soon as the facts were laid bare.

Davis pulled his most ambitious stunt so far during Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s official visit to the United Kingdom in March this year, when he polluted the air with narratives designed to set Nigeria against the West by spreading blatant falsehoods and playing the victim.

But, as he found out to his misery, the whole public relations game was dead on arrival. A comprehensive statement clarifying the issues to the highly intelligent British media sent him into the cold.

All we ask is that journalists refer to the eternal maxim of the journalism profession whenever Davis knocks on their door: if in doubt, leave it out.

When a story like this betrays so many contradictions, the rule is not to encourage its spread. Every responsible journalist has the moral duty to kill it.

Kehinde Bamigbetan is a Journalist and Special Adviser to Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Federal Republic of Nigeria

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