Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his comment that borrowing is not leprosy, describing the position as “absolute nonsense”.

Obasanjo spoke on Friday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, at the Ajibosin Platform, a public forum theme “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to solve grassroots problems and accelerate National Development.”

In April, Tinubu said his administration would continue to borrow whenever necessary, insisting that it should not be viewed negatively.

Tinubu spoke at the State House during a meeting with Plateau leaders led by Caleb Mutfwang, the governor, and Nentawe Yilwatda, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“If we have to borrow, we borrow. Borrowing is not leprosy, we just have to work hard to be able to pay for it,” the president had said.

His remarks came amid rising public concern over Nigeria’s growing debt burden and the increasing share of national revenue committed to debt servicing.

Reacting to Tinubu’s comment, Obasanjo hit him hard, maintaining that leprosy can only destroy one person at a time while debt destroys generations.

The former president said: “And for anybody to say debt is no leprosy, is absolute nonsense. Debt is worse than leprosy. Because leprosy destroys only one person. Debt destroys generations.”

Obasanjo questioned Nigeria’s economic management, recalling that when he started his farm 47 years ago, the naira exchanged at N1 to $1.85.

“When I started my farm, 47 years ago, naira to the dollar was one naira to $1.85. Forty-seven years ago. What has Nigeria done in 47 years that we now have 1,500 naira to the dollar? What have we done?” he asked.

He also questioned the capacity of the country’s political leadership to make decisions that would improve the lives of Nigerians.

“What do our leaders know? And what do they not know? And from what they know, what can they do for us?” he asked.

The former president further criticised Nigeria’s dependence on foreign institutions, particularly the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that their policies were not necessarily designed to address the country’s peculiar circumstances.

He recalled how Nigeria was discouraged from subsidising agriculture despite what he described as the agricultural support available to farmers in developed countries.

“World Bank and IMF were not designed for us. They were not built by us. They were built before we became independent. And that’s the people who would determine what we do,” he said.

Obasanjo also warned against blindly adopting economic prescriptions from foreign-trained experts without considering Nigeria’s realities.

The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Sokoto State, Hon. Manir Muhammad Dan’iya, has reportedly escaped unhurt after suspected gunmen opened fire on his convoy near the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport on Friday night.

The incident occurred at about 9pm on October 30, 2026, shortly after Dan’iya had escorted former Sokoto State Governor and Senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to the airport.

The candidate’s bulletproof sports utility vehicles were reportedly damaged in the shooting.

Confirming the incident, the Sokoto State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmad Rufae, said the command had received a report of the incident at the airport and would take necessary action.

He added that anyone found culpable would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

In a statement issued by his media aide, Aminu Abdullahi, Dan’iya alleged that personnel of the Sokoto Marshal and the Sokoto State Community Guard blocked his convoy and prevented it from passing through the airport area.

According to the statement, the personnel claimed they were acting on directives from their superiors not to allow ADC members into Sokoto State.

It further alleged that attempts by members of Dan’iya’s security team to resolve the confrontation failed before gunshots were fired, damaging the candidate’s bulletproof vehicles.

The statement also claimed that two Department of State Services (DSS) operatives attached to the candidate’s security team were detained during the confrontation.

Dan’iya described the incident as a threat to his personal safety and a development capable of undermining democratic freedoms, political participation and peaceful coexistence in the state.

The ADC candidate also alleged that earlier on Friday, his team had observed unusual deployments of Sokoto Marshal and Community Guard personnel at various entry points into the state, where vehicles bearing ADC inscriptions were allegedly stopped from entering.

He said what initially appeared to be routine security operations had raised concerns about a possible attempt to restrict the movement and political activities of opposition members.

“If security personnel can block a gubernatorial candidate, fire gunshots during a confrontation, damage his vehicle and detain officers assigned to his protection, then the people of Sokoto deserve urgent answers.

“No one should be above the law, and no security outfit should be used to threaten political opponents,” Dan’iya was quoted as saying.

The candidate disclosed that he had visited the Commissioner of Police in the state to formally report the incident, present his account of what transpired and seek intervention.

He called on the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the DSS and other relevant security authorities to investigate the incident, identify those responsible and determine whether any unlawful orders had been issued.

Dan’iya also demanded the immediate release of the two DSS operatives, if they remained in custody, and urged the authorities to preserve available video footage, operational records, eyewitness accounts and other evidence for an impartial investigation.

He appealed to the Federal Government, the National Assembly, human rights organisations and the international community to pay attention to the security situation in Sokoto, warning that political intimidation and violence could threaten the credibility of the democratic process.

The ADC candidate also challenged the Sokoto State Government to clarify the alleged directives attributed to the security personnel and ensure that state-controlled security outfits operated within the law and without political interference.

“Sokoto is not the property of any government or political party. Every Nigerian has the right to enter the state, move freely and participate in lawful political activities. Any order intended to exclude ADC members from Sokoto would be unacceptable and must be investigated,” he said.

Despite the incident, Dan’iya urged his supporters to remain calm, avoid provocation and refrain from retaliation, insisting that neither intimidation nor violence would make him or the ADC abandon their constitutional and democratic rights.

He said he would continue to pursue his political ambition peacefully and lawfully, while urging security agencies to protect citizens irrespective of their political affiliations.

A 15-year-old Ghanaian boy, Javits Frimpong, has been shot dead while on his way to school in the Bronx, New York, with his father suspecting that the killing was connected to bullying at school.

Javits was reportedly shot in the stomach at about 9:30 a.m. on Thursday near Crotona Park. He was rushed to a hospital but later died from his injuries.

According to the New York Police Department, three teenage boys are being sought in connection with the killing. Investigators said the suspects fled the scene wearing black tracksuits and blue surgical masks.

Surveillance footage reportedly showed a person matching the description of one of the suspects fleeing the area after the shooting. The victim was said to have run for about a block after being shot before collapsing.

The teenager’s father, Thomas Frimpong, said he believed bullying was behind the incident, claiming that his son had been targeted by two schoolmates who were recently suspended.

Frimpong disclosed that the school principal informed him about the bullying just three days before his son was killed.

He also maintained that his son was not the aggressor in a recent confrontation at school.

“The principal told me Javits is innocent. Javits is innocent. He was defending himself,” the grieving father said.

Frimpong said he brought his son from Ghana to New York about a year ago in the hope of giving him a better life, while the boy’s mother remained in Ghana.

Describing his son, he said: “My son was precious, very clever.”

The father, who works as a taxi driver, said his last conversation with Javits on Thursday morning was a reminder to get to school on time.

The killing has sparked outrage among residents of the Crotona Park neighbourhood, with some calling for increased after-school activities and youth programmes to keep teenagers away from violence.

Police have yet to publicly identify any suspects or announce arrests as investigations into the teenager’s killing continue