The Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu land on Sunday lashed out at popular Fuji musician Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde, also known as KWAM1, over his protest letter to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, in which he alleged that he was being deliberately excluded from the ongoing selection process of the next Awujale of Ijebu land.
In his protest letter dated January 8, 2026, written by his lawyer, Dr. Wahab Shittu (SAN), KWAM1 explained that the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, next in line to produce the new Awujale, had issued directives that were unknown to the Chieftaincy Declaration and the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State.
He claimed these directives were aimed at disenfranchising him from contesting for the throne.
But responding to the development, the Vice Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Prof. Fassy Yusuf, dismissed the protest letter as “arrant nonsense” with no bearing on the selection process.
Speaking on the telephone on Sunday, Yusuf said: “It is a misguided letter. Either Wahab Shittu is being misled or Wasiu Ayinde is being misled. It is arrant nonsense.
The letter was directed to the government, so they will respond appropriately. The issue being raised about the screening is illogical. We have over 20,000 members in the ruling house. How does he expect us to manage the crowd? What is being talked about is illogical.”
He added that the family had fixed Monday for the nomination meeting of aspirants for the vacant stool.
The selection process for the new Awujale, which has reportedly attracted over 60 aspirants, has generated widespread interest, with Ayinde openly declaring his interest in the stool.
The Fusengbuwa family, however, asserted that the Fuji musician is not a member of the ruling house and therefore not qualified to participate in the process.
Ayinde had approached the Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode, seeking an interim injunction restraining the governor and six others from proceeding with the selection process. The court declined the application, ruling that it lacked merit. The suit was subsequently withdrawn by Ayinde through his lawyer, although no reason was given.
The ruling house also suspended the nomination process and restarted it afresh after intervention by the state government.
In the fresh letter to the governor, Ayinde stated that the Ijebu-Ode Local Government, through a letter dated January 6, 2026, and signed by its Secretary, Oke Adebanjo, had given approval for the ruling house to commence the selection process for the new Awujale.
He said it was surprising that while members of the family were preparing for a meeting, one Prince Adeleye Lateef Ademuyiwa, the Public Relations Officer of the ruling house, issued a notice directing candidates to obtain nomination forms and appear before a screening committee chaired by Prince Alhaji Mitiu Adenuga.
Ayinde further stated that the directive fixed the nomination exercise for Monday, January 12, 2026, but also stipulated that nominations would be conducted by delegates selected at a meeting scheduled for January 10, 2026.
KWAM1’s lawyer said: “It is a matter of deep concern to our client that all the illegal directives—unknown to the Chieftaincy Declaration, the Obas and Chiefs Law, and the letter of the Secretary of Ijebu-Ode Local Government—were included in the family’s letter to the Local Government dated January 6, 2026. It is clear that there are plans by the leadership of the ruling house to disenfranchise members who wish to participate in the nomination of candidates for the Awujale stool.”
He added that his client took exception to the directives from the ruling house, describing them as deliberate attempts to exclude him from the process.
“We wish to emphasise that all members of the ruling house are entitled to attend this important meeting to nominate candidates of their choice. A group of people in the ruling house cannot usurp the rights of members to freely nominate candidates. The attempt by certain individuals to hijack the nomination process will certainly create a crisis in what should be a seamless exercise.
We state in specific terms that the directive providing for screening of candidates and nomination by delegates is not only inconsistent with the spirit and letter of the Chieftaincy Declaration but also with the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021. We counsel that in the larger interest of justice and compliance with due process, you take timely steps to address these fundamental concerns capable of affecting the integrity of the entire process.”
The letter added that attempts to preclude KWAM1 from the process would be resisted: “In particular, our client is concerned that certain elements are attempting to exclude him from the process in flagrant violation of the law, and this will be resisted. We hope your intervention will ensure that justice is done to all parties involved, including our client.”
The Awujale stool became vacant in July last year following the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona at the age of 91, after a 65-year reign.
Efforts to obtain the state government’s reaction were unsuccessful, as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, had not responded to enquiries as of press time.
The South African government has rejected claims that Nigerian singer Ayra Starr and members of her team were denied visas into the country.
The South African Consul-General to Nigeria, Prof Bobby Moroe, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, said immigration authorities had no record of any visa application or rejection involving the singer or her team.
He, however, urged those alleging that visas were denied to submit the names of the affected persons and their visa application reference numbers to enable the mission to verify the claims.
The reaction came after some Nigerians, including former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, and the senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Akpoti-Uduaghan, urged the Federal Government to review visa applications submitted by S’African artistes and their entourages in line with the principle of reciprocity.
“If it is confirmed that our Nigerian artiste Ayra Starr and her team were previously denied entry visas to South Africa, leading to the cancellation of their engagements, then Nigeria should respond with equivalent measures until Nigerian citizens and artistes are accorded fair and respectful treatment,” Akpoti-Uduaghan had said in a statement on Thursday.
Findings by our correspondents showed that in February 2024, Starr and her team were allegedly denied visas to South Africa ahead of the singer’s scheduled performances in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The organisers of the concerts, Steyn Entertainment, had in a statement attributed the cancellation of the shows to visa denial.
Ayra starr. Photo credit: Forbes
A statement by the company’s Managing Director, Dale De Ruig, read, “Regrettably, as has happened numerous times with other artistes from West Africa, through no fault of their own, visas were denied despite exploring every avenue possible to secure visas for Ayra Starr and her team.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause those who have already purchased tickets. All previously purchased tickets will be fully refunded within seven business days via Quicket.”
But the South African envoy said there was no proof that any visa application was made.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Moroe said, “The immigration said they were not aware of the application or the rejection. But what will assist us is if the people who are making these allegations will send us the names and reference numbers of Ayra Starr and her team; if they were rejected and why they were rejected, so that we can double-check.”
Efforts by our correspondents to obtain Starr’s reaction were unsuccessful, as an email sent to an address listed on her official Instagram page had yet to receive a response.
Tyla cancels Lagos concert
As the diplomatic row deepened, Grammy-award winning South African singer, Tyla, removed Lagos from the list of places she planned to visit.
Tyla had on Monday announced plans to hold a concert in Lagos as part of her world tour itinerary.
The planned stop was expected to be her first headline concert in Nigeria and one of the highlights of the country’s busy “Detty December” season.
However, the announcement of the visit triggered outrage among Nigerians, who criticised her silence in the xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in her country.
Nigerian celebrities and citizens linked the show to ongoing reports of anti-migrant violence in South Africa, including the death of Nigerian national, Chika Ibe, in Cape Town.
South African music star Tyla. Photo: Vanguard
Also, social media activist Martins Otse, threatened to mobilise the “Ratel Movement” to physically prevent the concert, declaring, “Tyla’s show will not happen in Nigeria.”
A social media personality, Solomon Buchi, urged his followers to reject the performance, as media personality, Do2dtun, called on the Nigeria Immigration Service to deny Tyla and her team visas.
An online petition seeking to ban Tyla from Nigeria until the xenophobic attacks ceased had gathered thousands of signatures.
But a check on the singer’s official tour website on Friday showed that the December 22 Lagos date had been removed, while dates across Europe, North America, Cape Town and Johannesburg remained on the schedule.
Neither Tyla nor her management issued any public explanation for the change.
The cancellation further fuelled hostility on social media, with many South Africans celebrating her decision.
In a particularly inflammatory post, a South African X user, @Abahambekr, called for Nigerians to leave the Rainbow Nation.
He wrote, “See Nigerians trying to stop Tyla from performing in Lagos during her APOP tour. If that happens, we want each and every Nigerian gone with immediate effect.
“We still have more than 500,000 Nigerians in South Africa. We want all of them gone back to their countries, and we won’t be nice about it. These ungrateful bastards are angry because we don’t want their people to come into our country illegally, to sell drugs in our country and to run businesses that are meant for South Africans according to our law. Now they are trying to attack innocent people who go by the law wherever they go.
“We will make sure there is no Nigerian in our country if Tyla’s show gets cancelled for any reason, and we will see who will cry on social media. We are done being nice and diplomatic.
“We will take the law into our own hands, and every Nigerian in South Africa will suffer the consequences.”
The rhetoric intensified on Friday evening, with another South African X user, @LeslyJohn7, posting, “As they should! SA has one job now; no Nigerian artist should ever perform in SA, period!”
Similarly, @Tyger1960 wrote, “Tyla is good. She removed Lagos from her tour. Now it’s time for SA and Nigeria to accept they don’t like each other and cut all diplomatic ties. Nigerians in SA must go back to Nigeria and South Africans in Nigeria must come back home.”
Another account wrote, “There’s still millions of Nigerians in South Africa… telling Tyla not to come there is risky for your Igbo and Yoruba brothers who are refusing to go home. All hell will break loose!!!”
Similar comments circulated widely on social media, with users calling for the collective expulsion of Nigerians, retaliation against Nigerian artistes, and justifying the hostility on the grounds of illegal immigration and crime.
Ex-envoy knocks South Africa
Speaking on the development, a former Nigerian Consul to Cameroon and Delegate to the World Expo and Economic Development Centre in Paris, Rasheed Akinkuolie, said the removal of Lagos from her tour was inevitable given the current diplomatic tension between Nigeria and South Africa.
According to him, bilateral relations between the two countries would remain strained, making it inappropriate to organise cultural exchanges at this time because of potential security concerns for participants.
“The relationship between Nigeria and South Africa is still very tense and, as such, this is not the appropriate time to stage cultural events in both countries. Participants in such events may be harmed,” he said.
Akinkuolie argued that the South African Government should compensate Nigerians for the loss of lives, businesses and property destroyed during the attacks, saying the matter should be resolved through dialogue and negotiations.
He, however, warned that if South Africa failed to address the issue, Nigeria could consider measures such as the seizure of S’African assets in the country as compensation.
The former diplomat also faulted the manner in which South African authorities handled immigration enforcement, insisting that the exercise could have been carried out in a civilised manner without allowing hoodlums to attack Nigerians and destroy their property.
He disclosed that Nigeria, alongside countries such as Ghana and Zimbabwe, would seek legal redress at the International Criminal Court to deter similar actions against foreign nationals in future.
No formal communication from Tyla – S’African Consul-General
Responding to reports that Lagos had been removed from Tyla’s tour schedule, South African Consul-General Moroe said the mission had yet to receive any formal communication from the organisers regarding the development.
He said, “On Tyla, we have not received any formal complaint or notification from the promoters, although we have also seen reports on social media, so we cannot confirm or deny them.”
Moroe maintained that diplomatic relations between Nigeria and South Africa remained cordial despite the recent concerns raised on social media.
“The fact that our President was proactive in requesting that President Bola Tinubu receive South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation is indicative of South Africa’s willingness to reconcile differences between the two countries.
“The meeting that took place on Monday between the ministers went very well, and we believe it was very productive,” he added.
FG demands compensation for xenophobia victims
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has urged South Africa to take concrete steps to implement the Memorandum of Understanding on the Early Warning Mechanism while renewing its demand for compensation for Nigerians who lost property during the recent wave of xenophobic attacks.
It also called for an end to the recurring attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa, insisting that compensation for victims was non-negotiable.
The demands came as the Nigerian delegation returned to Pretoria following diplomatic engagements aimed at easing tensions between the two countries after the attacks.
A credible source at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who spoke with Saturday PUNCH, said Nigeria expected South Africa to move beyond commitments by activating the Early Warning Mechanism agreed upon by both countries to prevent future attacks and ensure a swift response to emerging threats.
“Nigeria expects action on the Early Warning Mechanism MoU as the delegation returns to Pretoria. Nigeria also looks forward to an end to xenophobic attacks on its nationals resident in South Africa,” the source said.
The source added that the Federal Government was also pursuing compensation for affected Nigerians, insisting that victims deserved restitution for the losses they suffered.
The latest position follows diplomatic engagements that began after a South African delegation led by the country’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, arrived in Abuja last Friday on the directive of President Cyril Ramaphosa to meet President Bola Tinubu.
However, Tinubu declined to receive the delegation, prompting it to remain in Abuja over the weekend in a bid to hold the bilateral discussions for which it had travelled.
Following a telephone conversation between Ramaphosa and Tinubu, the Nigerian President directed the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, to meet with the South African envoys.
A content creator, who identified as Becca Oluwabukola, has narrated how her use of social media allegedly led to the loss of her job at a bank after she was asked to resign over videos she posted on TikTok.
The content creator, who shared her experience in a TikTok video on Thursday, said she was directed to resign after the bank accused her of exposing a “sensitive area” in one of her office vlogs.
Although, Becca did not disclose the name of the bank involved or her role within the organisation.
However, she is widely known on TikTok for creating lifestyle content centred on her daily 9-to-5 work routine.
Recounting how her content creation journey intersected with her banking career, Becca said she began producing videos in 2018 and often arrived at work early to record because she lacked a suitable space at home as of that time.
“I started creating content in 2018. In July 2022, because I don’t have a fine space at home, I would go to the office very early to make content. I used a sound on salary increment that I considered outrageously low. It wasn’t to mock my bank. My branch manager had to put a call through to me that they are calling me from the head office and got me queried,” she said.
According to her, the bank cited its social media policy while disciplining her over the video.
“They said it was against their social media usage. I was home for quite some time and I was reinstated. Although the video got constant salary increment and I was converted to a permanent staff,” she added.
Becca explained that despite returning to work, concerns over her TikTok activities persisted until this year.
“Fast forward to 2026, I was getting several warnings for posting videos on my TikTok. I did a vlog and I got another summon for videoing my office area. I took the video down. A week after, I got another query saying inappropriate exposure of the bank sensitive area,” she said.
She further disclosed that she was invited before a disciplinary committee, where she apologised over the incident, but was later informed that her employment would end.
“I got invited again to the disciplinary committee. I apologised only for me to get a call from my boss and then he says you’ve been asked to resign effective immediately and that’s it. I did as instructed and even cried,” she said.
While Becca is not the only one who has been filming the bank premises even the sensitive areas, our correspondent gathered that the social media is saturated with videos of bankers filming themselves in the bank and their official handles sharing some of them.
A check by PUNCH Online to verify bank regulations on confidentiality revealed that according to Central Bank of Nigeria’s Bill of Rights and Duties, banks generally do not allow employees to publicly show sensitive or restricted areas of the bank on social media without authorisation.
The CBN regulations require banks to protect confidential information, customer data, and secure operations.
It cited the prohibition as filming cash vaults or strong rooms, showing CCTV control rooms or security arrangements, recording restricted back-office operations, displaying customers’ personal or financial information, revealing internal systems, passwords, terminals, or confidential documents, publishing internal procedures that could compromise security, among others.
Ghana’s tallest man, Sulemana Abdul Samed, popularly known as Awuche, has died at the age of 33.
His demise has prompted an outpour of grief, particularly in northern Ghana where his extraordinary height made him a local celebrity.
Awuche | BBC
According to the BBC on Tuesday evening, Awuche died on Monday at the Tamale Teaching Hospital after being admitted with infected sores on his legs.
He was being treated in the northern city of Tamale, about 160km (100 miles) from his home village of Gambaga.
A relative, Sulemana Abdul Kudus, described the late giant as a generous and well-loved figure.
“Everyone knew how generous and kind he was. From when he died until now a lot of people are still coming to the house to find out what exactly happened,” Kudus told the BBC.
Diagnosed with gigantism in his 20s, Awuche measured 7ft 4in (223cm) when the BBC measured him in late 2022, though it is believed he may have grown even taller before his death.
Known by the Hausa nickname Awuche, meaning “Let’s Go,” he lived for years with complications arising from Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting the body’s connective tissues and responsible for his unusually long limbs.
The report said he had “struggled to pay his medical bills until businessman Ibrahim Mahama, brother of Ghanaian President John Mahama,” stepped in to support his treatment at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
Mahama had also met Awuche and, earlier this month, provided an update on plans for his medical care.
Kudus explained that the “sores on Awuche’s legs were not directly caused by Marfan syndrome but were likely a complication of the condition.”
Despite doctors reportedly saying he had been responding well to treatment, “Awuche died on Monday morning.”
“Everyone is just sad,” Kudus told the BBC, adding that residents of Gambaga were shocked by his sudden death.
He said Awuche’s fame had put the village on the map.
“Anywhere he found himself in the country and they asked him, he would say he is from Gambaga and people knew that was where the tallest man was from.
“It gave the community identity, and he was popular as well,” Kudus said.
The BBC recalled that Awuche was not always exceptionally tall. His rapid growth began at the age of 22 while he was working at a butcher’s shop in Ghana’s capital, Accra.
Recounting the onset of his condition, Awuche had told the BBC, “I realised my tongue had expanded in my mouth to the extent that I could not breath [properly].”
He said that within days, the rest of his body also began increasing in size before doctors diagnosed him with Marfan syndrome.
His condition eventually forced him to “abandon his ambition of becoming a driver and return to his hometown of Gambaga nine years ago.”
Reflecting on the impact of the disorder on his daily life, Awuche had said, “I used to play football like every other young man, I was athletic but now I cannot even walk short distances.”
Despite the physical challenges, the BBC reported that he maintained a positive outlook on life and embraced the celebrity status his remarkable height had brought him.
His family said they had decided to bury him in Tamale instead of Gambaga, fearing that the village would be overwhelmed by the number of mourners expected to attend the funeral.
