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THE GENETICS OF BETRAYAL: WHY ALIA WAS BORN TO FIGHT AKUME
By Aondoakaa Tersugh Daniel | 22/06/2026
The moment Chief Hyacinth Iormen Alia took his oath of office, he turned his guns on Senator George Akume without any visible provocation, and the confusion that followed has lingered ever since. Akume himself could not hide his bewilderment. He has been quoted saying that people should pray for Father, because the man fighting him is not the Father he used to know. Yet a closer look into Alia’s family history reveals that this hostility is not new at all. It is simply genetics finding its way back to the surface.
Decades ago, when Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka championed the United Middle Belt Congress and became the face of that movement, Thomas Kastina Alia rose as his fiercest opponent within Benue. The elder Alia went as far as planting the headquarters of Nnamdi Azikiwe’s NCNC, the opposition party of that era, right inside Aliade, the very heartland of Tarka’s Masev support base. The rivalry between the two men was bitter and beyond repair.
As though that chapter of hostility was not enough, another figure emerged to continue the assignment. While Tarka served as a Minister, Godwin Dabo raised allegations of corruption against him, a move that eventually forced Tarka to resign from his position. That blow is widely remembered as one of the most damaging episodes of Tarka’s political career.
This raises a question the Kunav elite of today owe the younger generation an answer to. What truly happened between the Kunav and Jemgbagh people that birthed this chain of political vendetta? Thomas Alia, a Kunav son, frustrated Tarka of Jemgbagh first. Then it was as if a baton had been quietly passed to Godwin Dabo to finish the job. Both men were not only of Kunav extraction but shared the same Kyan constituency, a detail too specific to ignore.
It becomes difficult to understand why Akume, who descends directly from Tarka’s lineage, did not study this history closely enough to avoid walking into the same trap that Alia represents. There is an old saying that a blind man does not allow his roasted groundnuts to burn twice. If the first batch is ruined, he learns to manage the fire better on the second attempt, ensuring it comes out either half done or perfectly roasted. Akume has now looked history squarely in the face and still ended up handing power to the son of Tarka’s oldest political enemy.
So when people call this current war between Akume and Alia madness, they are not entirely wrong, but it is madness with deep roots. It is nothing more than a genetic expression of rivalry that has existed for generations, simply resurfacing in a new political season. Akume owes the memory of Tarka a final reckoning. The score can only be balanced if Akume does to Hyacinth Iormen Alia exactly what Godwin Dabo once did to Tarka.
By Abigail David
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has called for a new approach to women’s economic empowerment, urging women to move beyond being beneficiaries of interventions and become active contributors to Nigeria’s economic growth.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim made the call at the SheIsIncluded 2026 Summit, where the Federal Government announced plans to expand economic opportunities to 10 million Nigerian women through skills development, recognised credentials, employment and entrepreneurship.
The minister said women should be equipped with the tools and opportunities needed to create wealth and contribute meaningfully to the economy.
Under the SheIsIncluded initiative, women will have access to free, mobile-based learning in local languages using phones they already own. Participants will also receive verifiable credentials designed to be recognised by employers and financial institutions.
The programme is supported by Ubuntu Tribe, its implementation and technology partner, through Ubuntu Tribe Academy.
Ubuntu Tribe founder, Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, said technology could help remove barriers to skills development by making learning accessible regardless of income or location.
Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, Nurudeen Zauro, described the summit as a shift from policy discussions to practical implementation.
The initiative is part of the government’s broader economic development agenda and its ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
By Abigail David
The West African Examinations Council has announced that the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination for School Candidates certificates are now available on its Digital Certificate Platform.
WAEC made this known in a post on its official X handle on Friday, urging candidates to access their certificates through the platform.
“The 2026 WASSCE for School candidate Certificate is now available for access on the WAEC Digital Certificate Platform,” the examination body said.
Candidates can access, download and share their certificates through the platform by visiting the official WAEC website or using the WAEC Digital Certificate mobile application.
The digital certificate platform provides two categories of access: Certificate Access, for individuals who want to view, download or share their certificates, and Certificate Confirmation, for institutions and organisations seeking to verify candidates’ certificates.
How to access WAEC certificate online
To access the 2026 WASSCE certificate online, candidates should:
- Visit the official WAEC website and access the Digital Certificate Platform.
- Select Certificate Access.
- Provide the required examination details and identification information.
- Complete the verification process, including any OTP authentication where required.
- View and download the digital certificate.
- Save the certificate securely or share it with institutions that require it.
WAEC also advised candidates to use its official digital certificate application, available on the Google Play Store, to access their certificates.
The certificate platform is separate from the WAEC result-checking portal, which candidates use to check their examination results.
The development comes after WAEC released the results of the 2026 WASSCE for School Candidates. WAEC said 1,950,726 candidates sat for the examination, with 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent, obtaining credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
The 2026 examination was conducted between April 21 and June 19, 2026, with candidates across more than 24,200 secondary schools participating.
By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Armed bandits, in large numbers, have again reportedly launched an attack, killing a local vigilante, Mustapha Baba, and abducting a woman and her son at Kyauta, Millennium City, in Kaduna State.
The brother of the deceased, Yusuf Baba, who confirmed the incident on his social media handle, said Mustapha Baba was shot by the bandits during the attack and rushed to Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital, Kaduna, where he later died on Wednesday night.
The terrorist group reportedly attacked a house located near the popular Mai-Rago Friday Mosque in the area.
According to a family source, the attackers demanded to see the owner of the house but later abducted his wife and son when they could not find the main target.
Series of attacks
It was gathered that the incident is the latest in a series of attacks targeting Kyauta and other communities within Millennium City.
A previous attack was reported at the Police Estate in Baban Saura, where five residents were reportedly abducted.
During a recent security meeting, residents of Millennium City appealed to the Kaduna State Government and security agencies to improve road access to some parts of the community as part of efforts to address insecurity.
Stakeholders demand action
The Chairman of the Millennium City Security, Development and Enhancement Forum and Chairman of Katukan Danhonu Community, Alhaji Abu Mohammed, said stakeholders had identified the completion of the Eastern Bypass road project as a top priority, describing the abandoned road and bridge construction as a major challenge to effective security operations in the area.
The stakeholders urged the Federal Government to expedite work on the Eastern Bypass and complete the bridge to improve accessibility for security agencies, facilitate the movement of heavy-duty vehicles and ensure prompt emergency response to security threats.
They also called for the deployment of additional police and military personnel, as well as more sophisticated security equipment, to strengthen the capacity of security agencies to combat banditry and protect communities in the area.
Police yet to comment
The police had yet to issue any official statement regarding the attack as at the time of filing this report on Thursday.
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