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All Protocol(s) Observed By Reuben Abati
This means you can’t recognize a Member of a State House of Assembly before a Member of the House of Representatives, and you can’t “acknowledge the presence (as it were) of” a Minister before a Senator. Any slight mix up is likely to fetch you a reprimand and complaints about how you are such an insensitive compere who wants to ruin an event that had been so well planned. Getting the pecking social order right is not even enough, you must be politically correct when you deploy such egoistic phrases as Your Excellency, The Distinguished, The Most Honourable, Your Honour, Your Worship, My Lord, Your Grace, Your Eminence…Only God knows what these honorifics do to the Nigerian big man or big woman’s mind. When you get it right, you can see the person actually believing the myth about he or she being so excellent, distinguished or honourable. Some would even rise and wave to the crowd.
The institutionalized flattery involved, is of course not limited to the special guests, sorry special guests of honour (!) who occupy the high table, or the top table, or better still, the reserved table. Other guests also have to be introduced. The rule is never to overlook any important person. If it is a government or corporate event, nearly everybody is important. If certain persons are mistakenly overlooked, they would insist on sending their personal assistants to the compere to remind him or her of how a grave error has been committed. Some would send their business cards, or a note or summon the compere to their table to register not a complaint but a protest!
Indeed, being a master of ceremony at a Nigerian event could be the ultimate test of humility and human patience. I once introduced a certain VIP as Chief XYZ. I was summoned and reprimanded. “He is not a Chief, but a High Chief”, he said. Correction taken, apology offered. “It is now my pleasure to introduce once more High Chief XYZ, the whatever 1 of anywhere.” The man grinned cheerfully. His retinue of assistants applauded so loudly, you would think the event was all about him. There certainly must be something special about being a High Chief; ordinary Chiefs, I guess, must be less human. But consider this: on another occasion, I mistakenly referred to another VIP as a Chief. The man sent for me, and whispered into my ears: “next time you call me a Chief, I’ll sue you, only unserious people go about saying they are Chief this and Chief that. I have never taken a chieftaincy title in my life; I am simply Mister. You understand? ” Yes, sir!
Again, apologies tendered. I went back to the microphone to introduce the Mister properly, cleverly leaving out his anti-chieftaincy commentary. But how do you deal with royalty? Now that many Nigerians act and behave like Republicans, traditional rulers and the royalty have also learnt to leave the comfort of their palaces to hustle like other Nigerians on the streets, and so, you can’t miss royal presence at most events. But there is a challenge, acknowledging them. You have to know who is His Royal Highness or which traditional ruler is better addressed as His Royal Majesty.
To play safe, it is always advisable to refer to every traditional ruler as His Royal Majesty. It doesn’t matter if the man is a common village head. The word “Royal” is where the magic lies. Leave it out, and you’d have palace jesters rushing to you to insist you emphasize that special phrase. To get the protocol right, the titles of female guests of honour must also be properly mentioned, the problem is knowing who is what: Yeye, Erelu, Lolo, Alhaja, Hajia, Dame, Mrs, Miss or Ms. And there is at least one female VIP who objects to any young compere mentioning her first name: she says that is rude! “I am old enough to be your mum, and you know my dear, we are Africans!” Etiquette lesson taken: “Sorry Ma.” Not to talk of the Igwes. the Knights of numerous Saints, the Otunbas and holders of honorary degrees who insist on being addressed as “Dr.”
By the time a Nigerian compere struggles with these imposed standards, half of the time is wasted on absolutely unimportant niceties. And wait a minute, most of the guests would arrive late anyway and insist on being seated close to the high table, at a visible location, preferably in full view of the television cameras. Important guests like to be noticed; they want to appear on television and have their photographs taken by photojournalists who criss-cross the floor, blocking people’s view, blinding guests with camera flashes, thus constituting extra nuisance.
But the real notice-me tactic often adopted is when in the middle of a programme or a speech, some really self-important guest arrives noisily and holds everything up, making a song and a dance, sashaying across the hall. The compere is expected to suspend the programme and massage the ego of the latecomer: “Announcing the arrival of….” I imagine it is precisely because of this elevation of bad conduct into a side event, that nobody is allowed to arrive late at any event where the President of Nigeria is already seated. The security people will not allow such breach of protocol. And if anyone at all must be allowed in, he or she would have to sneak in quietly and no official compere would dare announce such rude arrival. That is another delicate protocol matter, though.
Then, the speeches: no event is complete without speeches and do Nigerians love to make speeches? Oh yes. Most of the time, many of the speeches are unnecessary. Those who are not supposed to say a word are invited to say a few words and they take an hour. There is so much repetition, with some speakers not having enough sense to leave out what has already been said. You are also likely to find someone who starts with “I don’t have much to say” only to go ahead and bore you silly. Or, some would start with: “I’ll try to be brief.” When you hear this, it’s better to be on your guard. Be prepared to listen to a rambling sermon. Even when time is allotted for every speech, this is usually ignored. I have been at events where the microphone was deliberately muted when the speaker started wasting time. Some speakers would still insist that they should be allowed to finish whatever they believe they are saying and they’d go on rudely, without the microphone!
Then, the acknowledgements: Every speaker begins with a long list of acknowledgements: Your Excellency, the President of the world, Your Excellency the Governor of this, Your Excellency the Governor of that… (if ten or twenty governors are in attendance, some speakers will mention each one of them by name!), and the Distinguished Senator whatever, The Right Honourable somebody, My Lords, spiritual and temporal….this alone may go on for close to five minutes. Before then, the compere would also have taken about five minutes giving the biography of the speaker. And he does that with every speaker, who again takes the microphone and repeats the same protocol list, only to end it all with “All protocol(s) observed.” Sometimes, all protocols are not just observed but “duly observed”, followed by the ritual of time-wasting salutations.
And in some cases, the protocols are “respectfully and fully observed.” The truth is that speakers don’t have to worry about protocol being “duly, respectfully or fully” observed. Career diplomats often protest that these phrases are incorrect and offensive. But this has not stopped speaker after speaker adopting similar short cuts: “Madam Chairperson, permit me to stand on existing protocols”. Or: “Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to adopt existing protocols.” On one occasion, a speaker said: “I am sitting on existing protocols, Mr. Chairman.” That was something novel except that it didn’t stop the next speaker from standing on the same protocols that someone had just sat upon.
Elsewhere, in Britain, United States, Canada, and Europe, when speeches are to be made, people don’t sit or stand on protocols and there are no long introductions and acknowledgements. The speeches are delivered in a pre-arranged order, promptly, briefly and to the point. And of course, the guests arrive on time. Prefacing a speech with “Ladies and Gentlemen” is considered adequate. Here and in other African countries: Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Namibia, Ghana…the reverse is usually the case. We should perhaps begin to worry about African protocol, very much like African Time (!). Our public events and ceremonies could become more purposeful and business-like, however, if we dispense with lengthy introductions of titles and biographies. I once embarked on the onerous task of measuring the time spent on protocol at a particular event: two full hours. The main business of the day – an award ceremony – was just a little under an hour!
The Federal Government has begun moves to operationalise 112 as Nigeria’s single national emergency number, with the aim of giving citizens one toll-free line to access emergency assistance across the country.
The development follows the approval by the National Economic Council (NEC) of 112 as the unified emergency number across all levels of government and relevant response agencies.
FG Sets Roadmap for Nationwide Rollout
Vice President Kashim Shettima has directed relevant government agencies and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive operational roadmap for the nationwide implementation of the emergency number.
A committee comprising the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other relevant agencies has been constituted to finalise the roadmap and standard operating procedures.
The plan will subsequently be presented to the NEC for formal endorsement.
One Number for Different Emergencies
Under the proposed unified system, Nigerians would no longer need to determine which emergency agency to contact before seeking help.
The 112 system is designed to provide access to the appropriate response for situations including security incidents, road accidents, fires, medical emergencies, natural disasters and other life-threatening situations.
Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu said the adoption of a single emergency number would provide citizens with a simpler and more reliable way to seek urgent assistance.
FG Seeks Faster Emergency Response
The Federal Government said the initiative is intended to address fragmentation within Nigeria’s emergency response system, where different agencies and jurisdictions have historically operated through separate channels.
At the NEC meeting in April, Shettima said Nigerians facing emergencies needed a rapid response rather than bureaucratic delays. The council consequently approved 112 as part of efforts to create a more coordinated national emergency-response framework.
The government’s latest roadmap is expected to clarify responsibilities among participating agencies, establish operating standards and set milestones for implementation.
NCC Has Established Emergency Communication Centres
The NCC has already established about 35 Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) across the country to support the national emergency response system.
NCC officials, however, have stressed that the success of the initiative will depend on stronger cooperation among state governments and emergency-response agencies.
The commission has also called for the maintenance of communications infrastructure already deployed and greater integration between the police, ambulance services, fire services and disaster-response agencies.
112 Already Exists, But FG Wants a Unified System
Although 112 is not a completely new emergency code in Nigeria, the current reform seeks to make it the single, coordinated national emergency lifeline.
Government officials have acknowledged that challenges including connectivity, management of Emergency Communication Centres and public awareness have affected the effectiveness of the existing system.
A government report earlier in 2026 found that about 80 per cent of states could access 112, while connectivity and awareness remained challenges.
The latest initiative is therefore focused not simply on assigning a number, but on ensuring that calls placed to 112 result in coordinated and timely responses.
Committee to Finalise Implementation
Stakeholders involved in the rollout include the police, NCC, NEMA, FRSC and other emergency-response institutions.
The government says the committee will develop the operational framework and standard operating procedures required to make 112 function as a reliable nationwide emergency service.
Once fully implemented, the system is expected to give Nigerians a single point of contact when they require urgent assistance.
The Federal Government has announced the full automation of the evaluation and authentication of academic certificates, ending the need for applicants to visit the Federal Ministry of Education in person.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the development as part of the government’s wider digital transformation efforts under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to the ministry, applicants can now complete the entire credential evaluation and authentication process online through its dedicated platform.
Applicants No Longer Required to Visit Ministry
Under the new arrangement, Nigerians and other applicants seeking academic credential authentication or evaluation will no longer need to travel to the ministry’s offices for physical verification.
The Federal Ministry of Education said the online system is designed to reduce bureaucratic delays, speed up processing and make the service more accessible to applicants both within Nigeria and abroad.
The reform also seeks to improve transparency and strengthen the integrity of Nigeria’s academic certification system.
How the New Online Verification System Works
Applicants are required to use the ministry’s official credential evaluation and authentication platform to begin the process.
The ministry directed applicants to register and upload the required supporting documents through essverify.education.gov.ng.
For transcript verification, applicants are required to request their institutions to send transcripts directly from official institutional email addresses to the ministry’s designated email channel. This is intended to ensure that academic records are transmitted securely from recognised institutions.
Employers and Institutions Can Verify Qualifications
The ministry said the digital system is not only designed for individual applicants.
Institutions, employers and other authorised stakeholders will also be able to verify academic qualifications through a more structured and reliable process.
According to the government, this is expected to strengthen confidence in academic records while making credential verification more efficient.
FG Highlights Benefits of Digital System
The Federal Government said the transition is expected to bring several improvements, including:
– Faster processing of certificate verification requests
– Reduced bureaucratic bottlenecks
– Greater transparency in credential evaluation
– Improved data management
– Stronger protection of the integrity of academic records
– Easier access for Nigerians and applicants living abroad
The education ministry described the reform as part of its broader effort to use technology to modernise education governance and improve public service delivery.
Ministry Provides Official Contact Details
Applicants have been advised to rely only on the Federal Ministry of Education’s official platform and communication channels when applying for certificate evaluation or authentication.
The ministry provided essverify.education.gov.ng as the official online portal and [email protected] for enquiries in the latest announcement.
The move represents another step towards reducing physical bureaucracy in government services and shifting academic credential verification to a fully digital process.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has recorded a remarkable $1 billion increase in his estimated fortune within 24 hours, pushing his net worth to $32.5 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire tracker.
The latest jump came as investors focused on the planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which is expected to open on September 14, 2026.
Dangote’s Wealth Rises 3.3% in One Day
Forbes’ real-time data showed that Dangote’s estimated fortune rose from about $31.5 billion to $32.5 billion, representing a 3.3 per cent increase.
The figure was based on data recorded on Monday, September 7. His wealth had also increased by about $3.3 million on the previous Friday.
The latest gain means Dangote’s fortune has risen significantly since the end of 2025, when Forbes valued it at approximately $25.6 billion.
It is important to note that the $1 billion figure represents an increase in estimated net worth and should not be interpreted as $1 billion in cash income earned by Dangote in one day.
Bloomberg Puts Dangote’s Wealth Higher
Different billionaire wealth trackers currently give different estimates of Dangote’s fortune because they use different methods for valuing publicly traded and privately held assets.
While Forbes’ real-time tracker placed his wealth at $32.5 billion, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index valued it at about $35.5 billion on Monday.
The difference is largely linked to how the two platforms assess Dangote’s private holdings and other assets.
Dangote Refinery IPO Set to Open September 14
The surge in Dangote’s wealth comes as his massive petroleum refinery prepares for a landmark share offering.
The refinery plans to offer 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 per share, potentially raising about N2.15 trillion, or roughly $1.6 billion, if fully subscribed.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the offering and registered the refinery’s existing 120.13 billion shares, putting the company on course for what is expected to become Africa’s largest IPO.
The offer is scheduled to run from September 14 to October 13, 2026, according to details reported by Reuters.
Refinery Valuation Put at About $47 Billion
The registration of the refinery’s existing shares implies an equity valuation of roughly $47 billion, based on Reuters’ calculations.
The company plans to use funds from the IPO to support expansion and increase the refinery’s processing capacity from about 700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.
Reuters reports that the refinery has also unveiled a broader $14.3 billion expansion programme, with completion targeted for 2029.
Why the IPO Matters to Dangote’s Wealth
The public offering could provide investors with a clearer market-based valuation for one of the biggest assets in Dangote’s business empire.
The refinery, which began operations in 2024, has become a major player in Nigeria’s petroleum industry and has expanded its reach into international markets.
Dangote has also expressed plans to attract investors from across Africa, describing the planned listing as an opportunity that goes beyond Nigeria.
With the IPO approaching, investor interest in the refinery has added another layer of attention to Dangote’s already substantial fortune.
Dangote Remains Africa’s Richest Man
The latest figures further strengthen Dangote’s position as Africa’s wealthiest individual.
Earlier in 2026, his fortune had already climbed substantially. Billionaires Africa reported in March that Bloomberg had valued Dangote at $32.5 billion, making him the 64th-richest person globally at the time.
His latest reported wealth increase comes at a significant moment for the Dangote Group, with the refinery IPO expected to attract major attention from Nigerian and international investors.
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