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Oxford college installs plaque calling Cecil Rhodes a ‘committed colonialist’

Cecil Rhodes

Oxford college installs plaque calling Cecil Rhodes a ‘committed colonialist’

A college at the University of Oxford has installed a plaque next to a statue of the mining magnate and politician Cecil Rhodes, describing him as “committed British colonialist” who exploited the “peoples of southern Africa”.

The explanatory panel about the former prime minister of the Cape Colony has been placed outside Oriel College, where he had studied and left £100,000 – about £12.5m in today’s money – through his will in 1902.

The Oxford statue was the target of the Rhodes Must Fall protest movement, which originated in Cape Town and argues Rhodes is a symbol of colonialism and the violence that accompanies it.

The broader row over statues of controversial historical figures has become emblematic of the so-called culture wars in both the UK and the US with monuments to figures such as the slave trader Edward Colston and the Confederate general Robert E Lee being subject to similar heated debate.

The University of Oxford angered campaigners in May for backtracking on its previous decision to remove the statue and ignore the views of an independent commission.

The explanatory plaque describes Rhodes as a “committed British colonialist” who “obtained his fortune through exploitation of minerals, land and peoples of southern Africa. Some of his activities led to great loss of life and attracted criticism in his day and ever since”.

It adds: “In recent years, the statue has become a focus for public debate on racism and the legacy of colonialism. In June 2020, Oriel College declared its wish to remove the statue but is not doing so following legal and regulatory advice.”

The Daily Telegraph spoke to two academics who expressed concerns about the content of the plaque.

David Abulafia, emeritus professor of Mediterranean history at Cambridge and member of the History Reclaimed campaign, told the newspaper the sign should be “balanced and measured”, adding: “It should look at the whole of Rhodes’ career, explaining properly who he was and what he was trying to do. One needs to explain where he stands in the context of the attitudes of his day.

“He believed he was bringing benefits to Africa. We might now argue that he did more harm than good but one has to understand what his intentions were. He is portrayed here as some sort of devil incarnate.”

Dr Zareer Masani, a historian specialising in the British empire, said: “We are pressing for a balanced plaque to be put up, possibly with fairly minimal information but presenting both his flaws and his virtues.”

A commission was set up in June 2020 after the governing body of Oriel voted in favour of removing the statue. The commission was asked to look into the issue after a statue of Edward Colston was torn down in Bristol at the height of last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests in the UK.

A majority of the commission’s members supported the expressed wish of the governing body to remove the statue.

However, in May the college said it would not move the statue, stating that its removal would be subject to difficult legal and planning processes.

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Lagos Govt increases fares for BRT

‘Diesel price hike, lack of spare parts’ — Lagos increases BRT fares for ALL routes

The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has increased the fare for the Bus Rapid Transit better known as BRT.

A notice posted by LAMATA on Thursday afternoon said the 18 per cent increment would begin next week.

“Please be informed that there will be an 18 percent increase in the bus fare on all Bus Reform Initiative (BRI) schemes,” part of the notice read.

“The fare increase is because of the increase in the cost of operations and the need to ensure that buses keep running and guarantee your movement around Lagos”.

LAMATA called for the “understanding and cooperation” of passengers amidst the increment.

The Lagos Government had in November 2023 cancelled the 50% transport fare discount on all BRT and reverted to the old prices.

“The 50% rebate in transport fare in the regulated transport system in Lagos ends on Sunday,” LAMATA said then. “The statement informed commuters that starting “from Monday, November 6, 2023, transport fare will return to the pre-2nd August 2023 rate.”

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had in July of that year reduced the transport fares for the state-owned buses and commercial buses by 25% on all routes.

The moves were parts of efforts to cushion the impacts of the removal of fuel subsidy by the President Bola Tinubu government.

Sanwo-Olu also said then that the Lagos State Government was expanding its fleet of staff buses for workers in the Lagos State Public Service.

He said that the buses are ready and will be deployed through the office of the Head of Service of the state.

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Ekiti court strikes out defamation suit against Dele Farotimi

The Ekiti State Chief Magistrates Court, has struck out the defamation suit against human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi.

The court’s decision followed the application and motion by Martins Akala, the police prosecutor, to withdraw the suit from the court.

The Federal High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, on January 29, 2025, struck out cyberbullying and defamation charges against Farotimi following the police application to withdraw the charge.

In the matter at the Magistrate Court, the Ekiti State police on December 4 2024, arraigned Farotimi following alleged defamation of legal luminary, Afe Babalola in his book, titled, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’.

Farotimi had in the book claimed that Afe Babalola corrupted the Supreme Court justices among others.

Farotimi was granted bail on December 20, 2024, and adjourned the case till February 13 for a hearing.

However, on January 27, 2025, Afe Babalola agreed to withdraw the criminal defamation cases against Farotimi from the court, following the intervention of prominent traditional rulers led by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

When the matter came up on Thursday, Akala, the police prosecutor, told the court that the defamation suit against Farotimi should be withdrawn following directives from the authorities.

He said, “This matter is slated for hearing today. But I want to seek leave of the court to withdraw the charge against the defendant on the instruction of the police authorities.”

Reacting to the court’s ruling, Farotimi’s counsel, Kemi Adejare said, “the case was struck out based on the application of the prosecution. We welcomed it, they brought us here and they asked us to go.

“In the open court, I said they had just removed the chains, they brought the chains, they removed the chains. Why should we complain?”

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2,363 Ghost Workers Uncovered by Zamfara Govt

The Zamfara State Government said it had uncovered 2,363 ghost workers following the verification of civil and public servants in the state.

Governor Dauda Lawal constituted a committee headed by the state Head of Service in August 2024 with the mandate to conduct the verification exercise of state workers.

A statement by the governor’s spokesman, Sulaiman Idris, revealed that the verification process exposed 220 minors receiving monthly pay as civil servants.

The statement noted that the verification exercise was necessary due to the state government’s efforts to implement the N70,000 minimum wage.

Idris said, “The committee’s final report submitted to Governor Dauda Lawal highlighted that 27,109 permanent workers were cleared while workers with questionable employment include 2,363 ghost workers, 1082 civil servants who are due for retirement, 395 contract staff, 261 not on the nominal roll, 213 on study leave, 220 minors in employment, and 67 workers on secondment.

“The report highlighted that 75 workers’ first appointment dates were not in compliance with the issue dates, and all of them were minors at the time of employment.

“During the verification, 2,363 ghost workers were exposed. They were paid a total of N193,642,097.19 every month.

“1082 workers are due for retirement, and they collect a total sum of N80,542,298.26 monthly. At the same time, five workers found to be on secondment were paid monthly N354,927.60.

“The verification committee recommended suspending 207 workers who were not cleared. They are paid a total salary of N16,370,645.90 monthly.

“The committee found 12 workers on the payroll but not in the database and collected a monthly salary of N726,594.

“These verification exercises are ongoing efforts to monitor the Zamfara workforce and ensure transparency and accountability in service, especially as the minimum wage payments begin in March of this year.”

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