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Two weeks ago, armed men invaded the Lagos home of Mr Segun Olatunji, editor of FirstNews, grabbed him, loaded him onto a vehicle and sped off. There was no warrant of arrest, as you would expect in a democracy, or a word to his family on what his offence was. There was no information on […]
Continue ReadingAs humans, we are wired to love stories of magical transformations. And the top spot in that genre at the moment must go to the story of the president-elect of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye. On 13th March 2024, Faye was still languishing in jail. Eleven days after, he was elected the president of his country. So, […]
Continue ReadingMy people have different social stratifications. One of them is a group of people they call olórí àpésín. That simply means those who chose destiny that makes people worship them. Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu numbers among that group. And when you are an olórí àpésín, you don’t feel what the common man feels. And olórí àpésín is like the proverbial […]
Continue ReadingFrom the description of the VIP treatment given the two Binance executives abducted by the Nigerian government in a Mohammed bin Salman’s Ritz-Carlton style, one gets the impression that they did not think their tactic through. They detained the men (Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan) deemed economic sabotages, still allowed them several privileges, somehow forgot […]
Continue Reading“Corruption in the Senate of Rome was a prevalent issue throughout the history of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Senators would often accept bribes from wealthy individuals, foreign ambassadors, or even other senators to influence their decision-making. Senators would use their influence to secure positions of power or prestigious appointments for their family […]
Continue ReadingWhen my uncle called me over the weekend, he had no time for the customary conversational courtesies that typically preceded our phone chats. He was agitated and wanted to know straight away why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wanted to relocate Nigeria’s federal capital back to Lagos. His questions were pregnant with anger, befuddlement, and a […]
Continue ReadingThe amusing tug-of-war between the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC and the leadership of the Labour Party, LP is undoubtedly one that enamoured supporters of President Bola Tinubu must find very interesting. The reason why the BATists will be encouraging this crisis is simple: NLC and the Labour Party are potentially the remaining hindrances to the political hegemony […]
Continue ReadingA particular parenting insight dawned on me from a casual conversation with a teenage girl that often comes to the house. I had noticed that even after dismissing her, she hovered around or would reluctantly ‘be going home’’. One of the days that she was at it, I asked why she didn’t like going home. […]
Continue ReadingThe practice of drinking coffee, though a fairly common one among various races, has been present in many different cultures, but has often been dismissed by many as a pastime of idle people. So, although it has grown to become a global commodity, it has a long history closely tied to food traditions around the Red […]
Continue ReadingI have a very senior police officer friend whose nickname is Ambush. On the front of my friend’s left shoulder is an ugly scar. At the back of the shoulder is an even bigger scar. I remembered Ambush the day it became known that 17 soldiers were murdered in a community in Delta State. My […]
Continue ReadingThe two striking, and commendable, developments for our consideration today are: (1) The Presidential Directive inflicting a temporary foreign travel ban on public officers, covering Ministers and heads of MDAs, and (2) The signing into law of a bill by the Abia state governor, Alex Otti, stripping all former governors and deputy governors of the […]
Continue ReadingCount it all joy, dear readers, if I am summoned by Nigerian legislators after the publication of this article, for it is most likely I will be invited only once, tongue-lashed, and asked to remove my shoes and frog-jump back to my house. For heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), they cannot be that […]
Continue ReadingOutraged senators at the plenary last Tuesday, March 12, literally pounced on their colleague, ranking Senator Abdul Ningi, who has been a lawmaker for the past twenty-four (24) years, seventeen (17) of which he has served as a senator after being a member of the House of Representatives. The enraged legislators in the red chambers […]
Continue ReadingFor decades, the Nigerian government has regularly rolled out obnoxious policies to make life difficult for individuals and businesses. The expatriates employment levy (EEL) must rank among the top five. It is as silly as silly gets. Although it has now been suspended by the same Bola Tinubu administration that launched the ghastly policy, it […]
Continue ReadingOn 27 February, Nigeria’s National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja opened a continuing education course for judges. The opening featured an address by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, who invited the participants to eschew “unethical conduct that could expose the judiciary to ridicule.” Beneath his text, it seemed as if the Chief Justice desired […]
Continue ReadingOn October 29, 1974, the Nigerian Ministry of Defence, through the Ministry of External Affairs, wrote to Nigerian missions and embassies abroad that it wanted to buy tonnes of cement to build barracks for its post-civil war armed forces of 200,000 officers and men. The Nigerian Army had just about 8,000 personnel before the war. […]
Continue ReadingTalented filmmaker, Tunde Kelani, recalibrated a popular Yoruba folklore in his famous Agogo Ewo (the forbidden gong) movie. A supremacy battle ensued between Eledumare – God, and Land. The two earthly ancient principalities had gone hunting and jointly killed an Emo rat. When it was time for sharing of the game, both got locked in a duel […]
Continue ReadingNigeria’s now perennial insecurity has been damaged by political laziness. Every two- penny politician has developed a habit of weaponizing insecurity as political language. In the process, very little effort or rigour is devoted to the reality of what we are dealing with. Even those who are paid to keep us safe tend to resort […]
Continue ReadingOne of the most beautiful and inspiring news to come out of Nigeria in recent times is the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership bestowed on our own Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, for his exceptional and patriotic service to his beloved country Nigeria, and indeed Africa. It then becomes a double […]
Continue ReadingSince the conclusion of my ‘missionary journey’ to Aso Rock almost 14 years ago, I have written more than a dozen columns on the need to reform the budgeting process in Nigeria. Notable ones include ‘The Illusion of Budget Performance’, ‘Budget War and Dysfunctional Envelope System’, ‘Buhari and the Budget Palaver’, ‘Nigeria’s 2016 Zero Budget!’ and ‘Of Government and Budget Blues’. The kernel […]
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