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In a 1995 campus gist, P.M. News reported that many “Jandonites” who had travelled to Germany and America during university closures were returning to campus after failing to secure admission or survive abroad. Some came back with flashy clothes, oversized bracelets, colourful caps and strange haircuts. One student, T. Man, returned with a 1970s Afro and dog chain, calling it “Snoop Dogg style”. One returnee from Germany said he had struggled financially and socially, failed to secure admission and decided to complete his education in Nigeria. Others, the column said, remained stranded in Frankfurt. It also told the story of Jimmy, who fled to America after impregnating a fresher and promising to care for her. Spotted later at Idumota, he claimed he was only visiting, but rumours suggested he had been deported after abandoning school and feared facing people he owed. The column also mocked the “been-toos” who flaunted fake American or British accents and name-dropped places such as Leverkusen, Dortmund, Munich, Miami and Arkansas. Its advice to the returning Jandonites was to get their priorities straight and stop dreaming.

In 2007, a Senate committee indicted Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for allegedly diverting Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) money, further threatening his bid to contest the April presidential election on the Action Congress platform. The committee, led by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, recommended sanctions against Atiku but not President Olusegun Obasanjo. According to P.M. News, it only mildly criticised Obasanjo for approving expenditures without consulting the Federal Executive Council or following due process. The report urged the National Assembly to strengthen its oversight of the fund. It relied heavily on Atiku’s testimony, in which he accused Obasanjo of using ₦250 million in PTDF money to register a private company. A committee member, however, called the investigation shallow because it had not invited the president to testify. The Senate had set up the committee in 2006 after both men traded accusations over the fund. The EFCC also accused Atiku of misappropriation, while a presidential panel led by Attorney-General Bayo Ojo found him guilty of mismanagement. But a Lagos High Court faulted the panel’s indictment because it was not lawfully constituted. INEC nevertheless continued to cite it in relation to Atiku’s disqualification from the April election. Receiving the report, Senate President Ken Nnamani promised to sign every page to prevent forgery and said senators would study it before the next day’s debate. Meanwhile, the Senate postponed Senator Arthur Nzeribe’s motion seeking a vote of no confidence in both Obasanjo and Atiku, despite a packed chamber of members of the public waiting for its consideration.

In 2007, Lagos governorship candidates clashed over integrity during a Channels Television debate, as Jimi Agbaje challenged Deputy Governor Femi Pedro to explain his exit from Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB). According to P.M. News, Pedro had questioned Agbaje’s administrative experience, citing his management of a small pharmacy. Agbaje hit back by questioning Pedro’s integrity and asking why he left GTB. Pedro said he had headed several GTB branches before leaving to become managing director of another bank. He added that shareholders threw him a farewell party in recognition of his service. He denied corruption or mismanagement, saying he had acquired no property while serving as deputy governor. On Governor Bola Tinubu’s claim that he could not be trusted with public funds, Pedro asked Tinubu to explain the remark and insisted Lagosians could trust him. Agbaje defended his credentials by highlighting his father’s record as Nigeria’s first bank director and his family's standing. Meanwhile, PDP candidate Musiliu Obanikoro promised to reorganise LASTMA and end the state’s revenue-collection contract with Alpha Beta. AC candidate Babatunde Fashola pledged not to misuse public funds, declaring: “My word is my bond.” He promised to account for every kobo of state funds spent under his administration.

At this age, Mike Okri had released his debut album, Concert Fever, and become one of the country's hottest new singers. In 1988, he was voted Best Vocalist of the Year, with his hit song Omoge making waves across the country. What are your fave Mike Okri songs?

By 1999, fundraising dinners were bringing in hundreds of millions of naira for presidential candidates.

In 1993, the NRC budgeted over ₦329 million for its presidential campaign.

In 1995, businessman Aliko Dangote was detained at Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison amid a military crackdown on suspected coup plotters against General Sani Abacha. According to P.M. News, prison officials suspected his arrest was linked to the alleged coup, citing his arrival without a detention warrant, under tight security and at an unusual hour. Sources also claimed Dangote gave ₦2,000 to each warder on duty when he arrived, apparently hoping to secure VIP treatment.

Who pays for the pursuit of political power in Nigeria, and can the public find out what their money is buying? This is Election Context. archivi.ng/election-context/…

This week in Nigeria’s Past: the struggle to survive.

In 2010, an Abuja Federal High Court rejected a bid to compel the PDP to zone its 2011 presidential ticket to the North, dealing a blow to Atiku Abubakar and other zoning advocates. According to P.M. News, PDP aspirant Sani Aminu Dutsema had challenged Goodluck Jonathan’s eligibility for the party’s primaries, arguing that the South’s two terms in 1999 and 2003 entitled the North to the 2007 and 2011 tickets. Justice Lawan Hassan Gummi ruled that although Article 7(2)(c) of the PDP constitution recognised zoning and rotation, it did not specify how they should operate. He agreed that Dutsema had the right to sue as a party member but held that candidate selection was an internal party matter beyond the court’s jurisdiction. The judge also ruled that deciding which region should produce the PDP’s presidential candidate was a non-justiciable political question. He dismissed the PDP caucus minutes and a letter on zoning submitted by Dutsema because they lacked the signatures of the party’s national chairman and secretary.

In 2007, the Supreme Court cleared Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to contest the April 21 presidential election, overturning INEC’s decision to disqualify him. In a unanimous ruling, according to P.M. News, a seven-member panel led by Justice Katsina Alu held that INEC could not usurp the courts’ powers by disqualifying candidates. The court ruled that the Court of Appeal had erred by upholding INEC’s decision. The Supreme Court cited Section 137(2) of the 1999 Constitution, which protected a person with a conviction under appeal from being barred from contesting an election. The ruling overturned the Court of Appeal’s April 3 judgement, which had upheld INEC’s authority to screen candidates and remove those it considered constitutionally ineligible. That judgement had reversed an Abuja High Court ruling that INEC lacked the power to disqualify candidates.