Nigeria! Can this be the same Nigeria of the 1960s? Browsing through many chapters of the journey of nationhood – some exciting, others worrisome and now perplexing – people of my generation would be excused for wondering if politicians will ever lead us to the days of immediate post independence glory! I recall with nostalgia […]
The United Nations as we know it came about as a result of the aftermath of the killings that characterized the first and second World Wars. In those two wars, millions of members of the human race were slaughtered. But the Magna Carta of the United Nations or the universal declarations of Human Rights (UDHR) […]
The object of the war against corruption, in which successive governments in the country profess themselves to be engaged, needs to be clearly stated and constantly borne in mind. The Constitution is unequivocal that the object is the eradication or abolition of “all corrupt practices and abuse of office.” Accordingly, a duty is laid on […]
The Senate on November 9, 2017, approved the external borrowing plan for the sum of $350 million for the Ogun State development policy operation, from the World Bank. The approval for the foreign loan followed the adoption of the recommendations of its Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Shehu Sani. The recommendation […]
I am not impressed with the 2018 budget presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari even though it’s the largest in our history at ₦8.6T/$23.9B. The 2018 budget lacks the capacity to grow our economy significantly. ₦5.5T/$15.3B, roughly 64% of our budget is going to salaries and debt servicing, this is insane. Only […]
He is unpredictable and dramatic in more ways than one. A poet and a playwright. A linguistic stylist and a word juggler per excellence. At the height of his literary sojourn, he won for Africa as the first writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. Before then, he had been through […]
Azu Ishiekwene After calling out the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, twice in ten months, I gave up. The governor has the whole of Imo as his duchy and he will do what he will do. So, what’s the point? If I’m now constrained to cry more than the bereaved people of Imo, it’s simply […]
On Thursday, last week, President Muhammadu Buhari hurriedly travelled out of the country to London for yet another medical vacation in the United Kingdom. The latest trip is the third time the Nigerian president has sought medical attention in a UK hospital since he assumed office as president on May 29, 2015 – 20 months […]
The news that the Nigerian customs intercepted a container of “READY TO EAT FOODS” like egusi soup, jollof rice, ogbono, yam porridge imported from India should actually worry every African. What this means is that it was cheaper and easier to make egusi soup and package it in India than it is to make in […]
Reno Omokiri, has, apparently become desperately enamoured in making his former boss, Dr Goodluck Jonathan look good in the eye of the Nigerian public. Well, perhaps, we should submit from observed inclination of his writings which tend more to hagiography, that he’s still active in the employ of Jonathan. No one begrudges him his employment […]
Moderating a discussion session two Sundays ago, on the sidelines of the 18th Lagos Book and Art Festival, it was easier to understand how a simple proposition could be infused with more meaning than it could ordinarily support. The question, really, was simple for me. What does Olúfémi Táíwò mean when he insists that “Africa […]
In Anthony Sampson’s bestseller, The Seven Sisters, sleaze and oil go hand-in-hand. If there was a Nigerian version of that book, not only will sleaze and oil go hand-in-hand, they will be inseparable bedmates, with incompetence as their guardian angel. This corporation, which has defied every serious effort at reform, has been at the heart […]
As we move closer to handover day to a brand new Federal Government of Nigeria on 29 May 2015, with a mixture of optimism and trepidation, if Nigerians think that the problems that have besieged and dragged Nigeria down for several decades are going to disappear with a wave of a magic wand,we have another […]
In the two previous articles, I talked about the importance of knowing how to be smart with your money and checking your bank’s monthly statements . I once went over a mini- statement I printed from an ATM and noticed an organisation had taken the money they shouldn’t take. Guess what, I called and told […]
On May 29th, Taraba state would be ushered into new vibrant era dominated by the progressive politics of Arc. Darius Ishaku, the governor elect who would be sworn in on that same day. It promises to be a day of glitters and colours, with lots of interesting sideshows. Already a vibrant Inauguration Team headed by […]
Last week the European Union held an emergency meeting to address the rising number of people who died in the Mediterranean Sea in their bid to cross to Europe. In one of the latest events, about 700 people perished when their boat capsized some 130 km off the Libyan coast. It is feared that the […]
Despite a national merit award of CFR, he deserves a Nobel Prize as a jurist with unquestionable integrity, one whose voluminous profile attests to a man of tested and proven integrity, an incorruptible judge and model per excellence. The, the first Wakili to His Royal Highness, Emir of Ilorin, Justice Mustapha Akanbi, retired President of […]
There is absolutely nothing about Nigeria that defies remedy. Not even its politics. It is possible that Buhari’s supporters, have reduced Nigeria’s complexities into a sweet, soft, lollypop. Buhari’s euphoric victory at the polls soon dies out, as he begins to navigate the multifaceted layers of Nigeria’s difficult realities. For one, Nigeria has never been […]
Tears dripped from my eyes as I watched President Goodluck Jonathan’s nationally televised address. His speech was short but momentous. He conceded defeat, and accepted the electoral victory of his political opponent, Mohammadu Buhari. In the lawless and unprincipled milieu of Nigerian politics, that concession of defeat by an incumbent president was unparalleled, almost, inconceivable. […]