TUNJI Alausa, the Minister of Education, has all but sealed the Federal Government’s plan to eliminate pen and paper in the conduct of the Senior School Certificate Examinations. Starting next year, candidates will sit these exams exclusively on computers, in what is known as computer-based testing. While this shift may seem progressive, Alausa should tread with caution before a seemingly good policy backfires with destructive consequences. After observing a pilot CBT SSCE conducted by the National Examinations Council at a school in Abuja on July 22, Alausa was effusive with praise. “I must tell you I was impressed with what I saw,” he said. “I am a very happy person today that NECO has transitioned from paper-based to CBT. By November this year, both NECO and WAEC exams will be fully CBT. And by 2026, all essays and objective exams will be computer-based.” But are other West African stakeholders following the same path? Deployed correctly, CBT could limit human interference and ease administrative burdens. However, in Nigeria, where millions of pupils, especially in rural areas, have never even seen a computer, let alone operated one, the plan is premature. It is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse. Secondary schools are critical in preparing students for tertiary education and the workforce, but currently, they struggle with poor funding, unqualified teachers, and abysmal infrastructure. Of Nigeria’s N54.99 trillion budget this year, only a meagre 7.08 per cent was allocated to education—a decline from the 8.21 per cent in 2024. This falls far short of UNESCO’s recommended minimum of 15 per cent. This inadequate funding explains why many schools lack basic classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and instructional materials such as computers and other ICT necessities. Stable electricity and reliable internet connectivity are absent in most public schools, making the desired learning outcomes difficult to achieve. This, more than anything else, proves that Nigeria is not yet ready for CBT. Recently, UTME candidates had to sit with candles and lanterns when power cutoffs hit parts of the country at night. Common issues such as unqualified teachers, poor remuneration, and low teacher morale continue to undermine instructional quality. These endemic problems should be resolved before rushing to implement new exam modes. The country carries the heavy burden of 18.3 million out-of-school children, according to UNICEF. More than half of the girls in the North-East and North-West regions do not attend school at all. Prioritising their return to education should precede imposing mandatory CBT for senior secondary school exams. In Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, over 800 schools reportedly remain closed, with nearly 500 classrooms destroyed and about 1,392 damaged due to the ongoing insurgency. Rehabilitating these war-torn schools must be at the forefront of government efforts, rather than being distracted by a fixation on grandiose exam reforms. Alausa waxed lyrical about patronising CBT centres established by private investors, which only fuels suspicions that the government may have ulterior motives in its rush to enforce CBT. He appears to conflate the SSCE and UTME exams, but they are not the same. The SSCE is a certification exam assessing broad skills like critical thinking and creativity, while the UTME is a selection test focused mainly on objective questions. CBT systems are poorly designed to evaluate the rigorous components of learning measured by SSCE, making it inappropriate to replace traditional essay-based assessments with computer testing. For example, in the United Kingdom, A-Level exams are still conducted in writing, not CBT. Nigeria’s educational policies have a history of chaotic implementation, but reforms must benefit all stakeholders. Teacher training colleges that once produced competent teachers were abolished without replacements. The former A-Level certification, which provided suitable university entry, was also done away with. Likewise, the 6-5-4 education system was changed to a 6-3-3-4 system, aiming to prepare students for vocational skills or self-reliance. It has failed to deliver on either promise.

WITH Nigerians still grappling with soaring prices, deep economic uncertainty, and widespread hardship, the introduction of a 5.0 per cent surcharge on locally produced and imported petrol and diesel set to take effect from January 1, 2026, under the new tax law, is not only untimely but fundamentally unjust. Since President Bola Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy on his Inauguration Day (May 29, 2023), coupled with the subsequent devaluation of the naira, ordinary Nigerians have faced relentless inflation. Food and transportation costs have skyrocketed, with high inflation affecting everything from medical expenses and school fees to telecom services and electricity tariffs. For a population already stretched to its limits, any further increase in petroleum product prices is nothing short of rubbing salt into an open wound. Since May 2023, petrol prices have risen fivefold, and the naira has lost over 60 per cent of its value against the US dollar under Tinubu’s economic reforms. As of July 31, petrol averaged N900 per litre nationwide, compared with N187/pl before Tinubu took office. With this new levy, household budgets, already decimated by the high costs of petrol and diesel that influence everything from the price of beans to bus fares, will be crushed even further. Therefore, it must be expunged from the tax act. Fuel marketers, drivers, farmers, and even human rights advocates have sounded the alarm that another tax on petrol will directly lead to higher transport and commodity costs, worsening the daily hardships faced by millions. The Federal Government’s argument that the surcharge will boost non-oil revenue and promote fiscal sustainability rings hollow, given the severe toll this policy will take on families, small businesses, and the working poor. The Tinubu administration’s focus on revenue generation, seemingly indifferent to the struggles of ordinary people, borders on cruelty. The government claims it has saved about $600 million monthly, and allocations to states have increased by 40 per cent annually since 2023 due to the fuel subsidy removal. So why are Nigerians being taxed further? This defeats the purpose of the tax reforms to reduce the incidence of multiple taxation. While the government projects a N796 billion windfall from this surcharge, it comes at the expense of consumers already suffocating under high inflation, food insecurity, and rising transportation costs. The rationale that these taxes promote fiscal sustainability is weak, especially considering that recent tax reforms were designed to broaden compliance, close revenue leaks, and expand the tax base. As these reforms take effect, there is simply no moral or practical justification for imposing an additional direct tax on essential items like transport fuel. For an administration that claims “renewed hope” as its central theme, this insensitive new tax is a betrayal of that promise. As Akintade Abiodun, National Chairman of the Joint Drivers Welfare Association, aptly puts it, the government is using Nigerians as “lab rats” for unpopular economic decisions. If the government truly wants to raise more revenue from the oil sector, it should answer persistent calls for accountability, enforce fiscal discipline, and plug systemic leakages within the NNPC. It should focus on boosting oil production, selling the bankrupt refineries, and investing in gas gathering, processing facilities, and pipelines to enhance sector performance and profitability. The answer is not to shift the burden onto ordinary citizens under the guise of reform. Recommendations for digital tracking, transparent pricing, and robust oversight to improve efficiency in the oil downstream sector must not be overlooked in favour of the easier path of squeezing Nigerians to the bone. Imposing this new tax at a time when citizens are already reeling from multiple economic shocks reveals a leadership tone-deaf to the suffering of the people. Revenue generation cannot come at the expense of social justice. Fiscal reforms should aim to uplift, not further impoverish, the very citizens the government is meant to serve. This petrol tax should be shelved until the economy and its people have genuinely recovered. To do otherwise is not just bad policy, it is patently unfair.

The online space was thrown into chaos this past week after a group of Internet personalities took the feud with controversial actress, Liz Anjorin, to another level by staging her mock burial. The bizarre stunt, which involved printing an obituary, cooking food, and performing rituals, was led by a TikToker known simply as Oko Awon Single Mother. According to him and his followers, the actress had gone too far with her online rants, insults and curses, especially against fellow actress, Iyabo Ojo, and her supporters. However, the burial wasn’t a light-hearted skit. It was a dramatic affair that mimicked a real funeral. A massive banner featuring Anjorin’s photograph was printed, while people “mourned” and ate. The obituary read, “Never to be forgotten and forgiven. Gone too soon. With deep sorrow and a heavy heart, we announce the passing of Mrs. Lizzy Anjorin, a woman of quiet strength and tender grace, who left this world under painful and sorrowful circumstances. She lived a life filled with silent battles and quiet endurance. Despite having no life and now flourished as he final call her tlear followed her till her final breath (sic). We pray that her soul finds peace and rest in the bosom of the Lord. Her memory remains with those who knew her sorrow and sacrifice.” While it might seem shocking that such theatrics took place over a social media war, it didn’t end there. Before the event, the TikToker challenged Lizzy to retaliate, saying, “I will surprise you. Lizzy, carry your police to the centre of Ikorodu garage. You too come and eat your akara (bean cake), it will not be well with you. You will think you have died. In fact, you are dead. Lizzy, I know you are here (on the livestream). Use your real page to approach me. It is aura for aura, curse for curse we are doing here. Nobody has a monopoly of madness. You are not the only crazy person.” Not done, the TikToker and his associates held what they called a “back to sender ritual,” which was live streamed on TikTok. The session involved chanting incantations and killing a hen as a form of spiritual retaliation. Viewers watched in disbelief as the TikToker danced and received money and other gifts while the mock funeral took place. When Saturday Beats called the number displayed on the banner used for the ceremony, it was switched off. Meanwhile, Anjorin, undeterred, continued to take vicious swipes at Ojo. In a recent viral video, she cursed Ojo’s daughter and her soon-to-be-born grandchild. Also, when Saturday Beats reached out to Anjorin, she remained defiant. She said, “She has been cursing my children. She is a very tricky person and I just pray she does not happen to anybody. I only reacted to what they do to me and people who are conversant with social media can testify to this. Why would I fight who is not fighting me? When she was bullying me for years, I kept quiet. She even dared me to mention her name. She engages in so many things and if I offend her, let her come out and defend herself. She joined people to perform rituals on my children on Facebook Live. They printed the pictures of my children and took them to the burial ground and she was there. She even joined some social media pages where people were doing a ‘curse festival’. She will drop comments and cheer them on. She is someone that will destroy you if you don’t stand firm.” Anjorin insisted that the group who held the mock burial for her was sponsored by Ojo. Meanwhile, her online feud with Ojo intensified after controversial social commentator, VeryDarkMan, alleged that Iyabo and some others tried to frame singer, Naira Marley, for the death of singer, Mohbad. In one of her reposts, she wrote, “We dey hustle to make our parents and the whole nation proud … oloribu**** Iyabo dey create WhatsApp group they destroy glorious hardworking people with lies for donations and ransom.” Her constant attacks eventually prompted a response from Fola Tinubu, the estranged wife of Lizzy’s husband. Fola lashed out at Anjorin via Instagram, writing, “Only if there’s no God you will go scot free, Lizzy Anjorin, for wishing death on yourself not us. Only if you have power than God.” Actress, Bridgett Adebayo, also waded into the matter, calling for public action against Anjorin. She said, “Can’t we find one person that can beat up this woman or use scissors to shut her mouth up? We are tired. Her rants are too much and I see her every time on my page.” Not one to back down, Anjorin responded in a video, attacking Bridget and claiming her husband was a fraudster, therefore disqualifying her from criticising anyone. As fans and observers continued to express fatigue over the drama, Lizzy’s former manager, Dayo Badmus, stepped in to give historical context to the rift. In a lengthy Facebook post, he detailed the origins of the over-15-year feud between Anjorin and Ojo. Opening up about his broken relationship with Lizzy (whose real name is Ibukun), Badmus described her as paranoid, dishonest, and prone to exaggeration. He traced the origin of the feud to a celebrity-packed event in 2009 held somewhere around Agidingbi, Ikeja. “According to my friends who were at the event, Liz came quite late into the event. In her usual conditional respectful manner, she greeted most of the celebs including Iyabo Ojo who didn’t like Lizzy’s manner of greeting. My whispering birds told me Lizzy said something like, ‘Iyabo, bawo ni…. (Iyabo, how are you?)?’ This, according to my whispering birds, angered Iyabo on the spot and their outburst nearly brought the event to a premature end. It was a weekend, and the fight between two superstar actresses dominated the front pages of most soft sell magazines. That I can tell laid the foundation for what has now dragged on for over 15 years,” he wrote. Badmus further accused Anjorin of spreading lies about sponsoring his 2009 wedding when she only allegedly gave him N20,000. He also denied ever leaking any of her information or pictures to bloggers. He claimed he had been offered money by blogs but stayed loyal to her. He criticised Anjorin’s behaviour, noting that despite being a graduate, she had “little grace and self-control,” in contrast to Iyabo Ojo who he described as more “strategic and composed”. He also dared her to repeat her claim of never dating or sleeping with any actor, saying more revelations may soon follow. As the online drama grows increasingly messy and emotional, many fans have begun pleading for peace while others appear invested in watching the feud unfold like a never-ending soap opera.

Burnley came from a goal down to win at nine-man Watford and take a big step towards sealing automatic promotion back to the Premier League. Strikes either side of half-time from striker Zian Flemming and captain Josh Brownhill saw Burnley recover after Mamadou Doumbia gave Watford an early lead. Leeds United's 1-0 win at Oxford meant they lead the table on goal difference from Scott Parker's side, who equalled the club's record unbeaten league run of 30 games. The Clarets are just the second team in Championship history to go 30 consecutive, non play-off games without losing after Reading. And Burnley can rubber-stamp their top-flight return as early as Monday if they beat third-placed Sheffield United at home. Mid-table Watford, who dropped a place to 12th following this defeat, ended the game with nine men after they had both their captain Moussa Sissoko and then Edo Kayembe sent off. Watford started positively and were rewarded in the eighth minute when Doumbia headed in Rocco Vata's left-wing cross, ending Burnley's hopes of claiming an English record-equalling 30th clean sheet of the season at Vicarage Road. Flemming passed up two chances to level for Burnley, and Parker's men were fortunate not to fall a further goal behind midway through the half. After more good work down Watford's left, Caleb Wiley crossed for Kayembe but he could not keep his header down, instead directing the ball over. Burnley dominated possession after that without overly troubling Watford goalkeeper Egil Selvik until a frantic finish to the first half. Firstly, Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford produced a stunning flying save to fingertip Kayembe's drive on to the crossbar. While Trafford was still celebrating his save, the first of his three standout stops during the game, Burnley launched an attack of their own which ended with Flemming nodding in Jaidon Anthony's cross. Anthony then tested Selvik before Trafford denied Kayembe at full-stretch once again, and the two teams went in level at the break. Just before the hour, though, Burnley completed the turnaround. Following a slick passing move down the right, Connor Roberts' cross to the far post was knocked back into the middle by Hannibal Mejbri and Brownhill headed the visitors in front. Watford then suffered a double blow to their hopes of staging a recovery of their own when Sissoko and then Kayembe were dismissed, both after being shown two yellow cards in quick succession. With their two-man advantage, Burnley were the most likely next scorers and Brownhill was denied a second by Selvik. But they also had to remain alert at the death and needed a last-ditch CJ Egan-Riley tackle on Vakoun Bayo, and another big Trafford save to keep out Ryan Andrews' effort to preserve their lead. Watford head coach Tom Cleverley speaking to BBC Radio 3CR: "Barring an amazing saved by [James] Trafford [from Edo Kayembe], we would have gone in 2-0 at half-time and really in control of the game. "In that 20-second period where he's made an absolute worldie and they've gone down the other end, scored a real goal of quality, and the game is then 1-1. "That's what sides at the top of the league do. They really ride out the storms, capitalise on the waves, and they've done that well today. "For a team who is, we have to say, mid-table now, I thought that the guys looked motivated, full of life, quality and [that was] one of our best performances of the first half against the league leaders. "Unfortunately, through fault of our own, we've not seen the same level of football match in the second half, just because of the numerical disadvantage. We shot ourselves in the foot today. I've not got any complaints about the red cards. It's something we need to learn from." Burnley head coach Scott Parker told BBC Radio Lancashire: "I'm delighted with the team. We came here for three points and managed to walk away with them. "They react constantly to adversity. They're reacting the right way. They find a way. There's quality there of course, but sometimes it's a mentality that can get you to that point [of winning a game]. It was brilliant today. "Watford are a very good side. Tom has done an incredible job here. We knew that and I knew that looking at the prep leading into the game. "We knew that this game was definitely a tough game for us and we needed to address it in the right way, and we've managed to do that and get out of it. "We'll enjoy this result. The next game is our biggest game of the season again, which is Sheffield [United]."