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So, I’ve seen many people claiming they can write a search engine optimized article. I have contracted some of these persons only to find out that just a few of them can write good articles close to being ‘search engine optimized’, whereas a good number of them can’t even churn up a readable content not […]
Continue ReadingLet me start with a fairly old story which was recently repackaged and circulated on the social media. It’s about two friends; one Nigerian and the other from an Asian country. The Nigerian paid a visit to his friend who had been appointed a minister a few years earlier and was surprised at the magnificent […]
Continue ReadingCorruption has been the bane of our lives ever since Nigeria came into existence: every year billions and billions of Naira of public funds are stolen with very few prosecuted. Our judiciary is laughable and with one former president claiming he doesn’t believe corruption is a crime, politicians will continue to loot with impunity knowing […]
Continue ReadingGod forgive me. When Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit two key oil installations in Saudi Arabia a couple of weeks ago, I was not sad. I read somewhere that oil could hit $100 as a result and the little rascal in me smiled. I was thinking of the extra revenue for Nigeria, the impact on our […]
Continue ReadingKaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, set the social media alight on Monday when he published the photograph of his six-year-old son, Al-Siddique, as the boy was being enrolled in the state government-owned Kaduna Capital School. Al-Siddique’s attendance was news because in Nigeria, public schools have collapsed. Attendance is not just for the poor; it’s for […]
Continue ReadingFellow Nigerians, the title of my epistle to you this week is an adaptation of the title of a sitcom which was produced and directed by the legendary Amaka Igwe of blessed memory. No other title better describes and encapsulates the total confusion, chaos and conflagration ongoing in the powerhouse of Aso Rock in Nigeria […]
Continue ReadingIn a moment of psychological terror, anguish and angst, Sophocles, at a point of deep exasperation, in Oedipus Rex, said: “call no man happy, until he is dead!” Life did terrible things to Oedipus. He had unknowingly murdered his father and married his mother. Chance rules our lives and the future, certainly, is all unknown. In […]
Continue ReadingOne of the significant (defining) attributes of the 19th century history of the Yoruba was the Afonja (the 6th Aare Ona Kakanfo of the Oyo Empire) rebellion. The historical epoch encompasses a century long internecine wars and disintegrative sociopolitical implosion-culminating in the collapse of the empire. The era was uniquely marked by a striking contradictory […]
Continue ReadingI’ll introduce this article by saying “with great power comes great responsibility!” (- a line I pinched from the ‘Spiderman’ movie!). Man has always craved power whether it be political, spiritual or financial power: it becomes the aegis necessary to stand out from the crowd. Some people have it while others clamour for it. There […]
Continue ReadingOver the weekend, supporters of former President Goodluck Jonathan came up with a funny idea while mocking the travails of SaharaReporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, who is presently in the Department of State Services’ gulag for, among other attributed sins, insulting President Muhammadu Buhari. According to them, Sowore had it coming because his criticisms of Jonathan promoted […]
Continue ReadingThere is this interesting WhatsApp story of a drunkard who woke up one morning deeply repentant after a bitter fight with his wife the previous night. Intent on ameliorating the situation and turning a new leaf, the man took out the crate of beer he believed was responsible for his character flaw and started smashing […]
Continue ReadingThere are many things I wanted to write about from last week, but I can’t, otherwise I’ll end up in jail. Since the Department of State Services (DSS) charged Omoyele Sowore, publisher of SaharaReporters, to court for “insulting” President Muhammadu Buhari, among other allegations, the message from the presidency has been loud and clear enough: Insult […]
Continue ReadingA Yoruba officer walked up to General Oladipo Diya at the height of his 1997 crisis with his boss, General Sani Abacha. “Sir, what is happening?” The very senior officer looked away from the colonel and told him there was nothing. “Sir, did you say there is nothing?” The officer asked with a tone of […]
Continue ReadingPresident Muhammadu Buhari recently set up an Economic Advisory Council, to replace the country’s Economic Management Team. He also moved some departments and agencies of government to the new Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. I don’t see why this should become a source of agitation and frustration for some Nigerians. The […]
Continue ReadingBy now, Nigerians must have settled the idea of who actually governs legally in Osun, especially, after the pronouncement of the Supreme Court. That said, it is also a fact that, come November 27, 2019, Gboyega Oyetola will mark his first anniversary as Governor of the State of Osun. Perhaps, for the sake of argument therefore, […]
Continue ReadingThe Nigerian Judiciary has fallen. It has crashed and self-destructed. All hope of bringing it back to life seems lost. There is neither trust nor confidence in our judiciary anymore. Let me adapt Abba’s song, “Money, money, money … it’s a rich man’s world” and the judiciary is in full disco dance to the tune […]
Continue ReadingWhat is patriotism? The definition should be fairly straightforward: loving your country. One of my favourite all-time tunes is the 1988 song, “Nation and the People”, by The Mandators, with the refrain: “Love your country/Your nation and the people”. They sang passionately: “Some are trying to find solutions to all the problems we have/Some are […]
Continue ReadingTen painful years after his demise from a very unexpected source (lung cancer, for a man who never smoked a day in his life) Chief Abdul-Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi continues to bestride the Nigerian political, legal and humanitarian landscape like a colossus. The Shakespearean analogy is certainly not misplaced. No one else comes to mind when […]
Continue ReadingFellow Nigerians, please allow me to quickly apologise for not concluding the series I started last week on the importance of celebrity journalism, the basis of my Fellowship at The African Studies Centre, University of Oxford. The reason for this change of plan must be pretty obvious, and predictable. A subject of pressing, and urgent, […]
Continue ReadingIt has been over 45 days since a presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2019 election, Omoyele Sowore, got detained without bail by state agents, and one would have thought that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), could learn from recent events and begin to toe the path of honour […]
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