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I used to keep the list of ‘spurious’ loans that were written off for Nigeria in 2006. Our leaders in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s had collected all sorts to build different monstrosities of their bizarre fancies. In those days, even local government chairmen collected foreign loans. Just before those loans were written off by […]
Continue Reading“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). People naturally love freebies. However, the reality is that there is hardly anything that is free in life in the […]
Continue ReadingIf not that we politicise everything in Nigeria, the Kemi Adeosun saga should provoke a genuine public debate on reforming the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The constitution and other laws are supposed to be living, not embalmed, documents. No constitution is perfect. Through practice, we encounter the flaws. This dynamism allows us to modernise […]
Continue ReadingMy dear Asiwaju, I pray my letter meets you and yours in fantastic spirit. It has almost become a tradition for me to write, or openly express my views, to you periodically on political issues, since about 2007. Before I go into the meat of my epistle, kindly permit me to establish some protocol, or […]
Continue ReadingPreacher lies to the congregation cos that comes naturally, Shopman cheats his customer for maximum profitability, Politician takes all the bribes he can, constitutionally, Lawyer robs you with a pen completely legally Country bombs its matty land nationalistically. It’s a dog eat dog world, a dog eat dog world, a dog eat dog eat dog eat […]
Continue ReadingThe other day I watched in plain disgust at the spectacle of Serena Williams making a fool of herself at the finals of the United States annual grand slam tennis tournament aka US Open. She was on the verge of losing to the new tennis sensation, Naomi Osaka. And apparently unable to bear the letdown- […]
Continue ReadingThis is a special tribute to a very special man. A very unusual man. A most under-celebrated icon of immense and immeasurable proportion. A man who towers well above several men and women who have unfortunately high-jacked national and international applause, much undeserved, to themselves. I know many people may query my choice of the […]
Continue ReadingThoughts about Nigerian politics would always wear you out. And that is regardless of whether you are thinking about the politicians or the electorate. In the colony of politicians, the import of the calling itself is largely centred on what the political actors would gain, that is power and possibly money. Elsewhere, politics, even though […]
Continue ReadingGiven the penchant for brinksmanship that has almost become a national ideology, I am almost certain that a solution will be found on the issue of funding the 2019 general election, especially since this directly touches the interest of our politicians. Therefore, I entertain no fear that the indefinite adjournment of the National Assembly will […]
Continue ReadingNigeria’s former Minister of Finance (2015-2018), Kemi Adeosun threw in her letter of resignation on Friday, September 14, to bring to a temporary closure, the public outcry and the embarrassment that her possession of a fake National Youth Service Corps Exemption Certificate had generated since July when it was first reported. Her letter of resignation […]
Continue ReadingIf the German philosopher Max Weber is right about the causal link between religiosity and prosperity, then why, asks LSE’s Olu Fasan, is Nigeria so poor? A few months ago, the popular American preacher TD Jakes came to the church I attend in London. Preaching on leadership and wealth, he said prayer is not leadership […]
Continue ReadingThe three Police inspectors who searched Chief Edwin Clark’s house in Abuja a fortnight ago have been dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force with ignominy for the gross abuse of police powers. Since the search was carried out pursuant to the search warrant issued by a magistrate in the Federal Capital Territory, some lawyers have […]
Continue ReadingOn Thursday evening, I was fiddling with my phone when an alert popped up, announcing the appointment of Mr. Yusuf Bichi as the new director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS). That means President Muhammadu Buhari did not confirm Mr. Matthew Seiyefa — who had acted as DG since the removal of Mr. Lawal […]
Continue ReadingIt is few months to general elections in Nigeria and expectedly every issue is viewed through a political prism, with major players in the polity trying to gain advantage from this. However, Kemi Adeosun’s certificate scandal has wider implications that patriotic and non-partisan people must bring to the fore. According to the NYSC Act, every […]
Continue ReadingLet us begin by quickly recalling two bits of Nigeria’s recent history. First, at the close of 1983, a military junta overthrew and supplanted the elected civilian government of Shehu Shagari, the first and only president of Nigeria’s Second Republic (1979-1983). Then, early in 1985, in the second year of the new military regime, which […]
Continue ReadingThe clamour for restructuring has become heightened in Nigeria today, in a manner comparable to the “On Aburi We Stand” clamour by Nigerians of South-East origin following the unfortunate incidences of the January 1965 coup, the July 1965 counter-coup and mass killings of civilians in Northern Nigeria. To pull the Nigerian nation from the brinks […]
Continue ReadingAgainst the background that there is no fresh recruitment in the already over-bloated civil service—at both federal and states—where salaries are no longer guaranteed and at a period most of the private companies are downsizing as a result of the harsh operating environment, it is no surprise that many Nigerians are now looking for the […]
Continue ReadingToday, this column is devoted to an interrogation of issues raised in “Saved for His Praise”, a new book by the journalist and publisher, Prince Emeka Obasi which was presented to the public in Lagos a few days ago. In the book, Obasi weighs in heavily on exposing the reader to a series of incongruities […]
Continue ReadingIn the past few weeks, I have traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria, asking my compatriots, especially members of our political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to give me a chance to fly our flag and eventually lead our country. Along the way, I have met the Nigerian people in their domains and […]
Continue ReadingThe political primaries are scheduled to hold between this month and the next and definitely by the end of October 2018, the hustling and jostling in Nigeria’s political arena would have begun in full earnest. The elections will be held in February 2019. For the benefit of any outsider who may never have witnessed Nigeria’s […]
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