Bwala, and the job of “opposition”, By Abimbola Adelakun

In his interview session with broadcaster Ifedayo Olarinde (Daddy Freeze), presidential media aide Daniel Bwala got the chance to state his side of what happened during his recent infamous Al Jazeera interview with Mehdi Hasan. Bwala claimed he was unnerved when his words were read back to him in the studio because he did not […]

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MTN Nigeria’s Trillion Naira Profit and the Lessons of 25 Years…, By Olusegun Adeniyi

At the 2016 edition of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) annual ‘Telecom World’ held in Bangkok, Thailand, then Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai shared the story of the difficulty encountered in selling Nigeria’s liberalised telecommunications industry to international investors. According to El-Rufai, who was the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) Director-General between 1999 and 2003, Nigeria was so […]

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Daniel Bwala: Of context, lying, and denial, By Suyi Ayodele

The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates warned that lies are not harmless distortions of reality; they are assaults on truth itself. Falsehood, he argued, is destructive because it murders truth and corrupts the moral order. Permit me to use his exact words, to wit: “The punishment for a liar is not being believed, even when telling […]

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Cross River vs. Akwa Ibom: Assignment For Tinubu, By Reuben Abati

There is an urgent assignment for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It is the need to intervene and seek to resolve the festering conflict between Cross Rivers State and its neighbouring Akwa Ibom State, both once together as a com-munity, until state creation in 1987, and now the politics of oil, the fight over 76 oil […]

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Nigeria, Iran and the next election, By Lasisi Olagunju

On August 2, 1100, England’s King William II went hunting in the New Forest in southern England. During the chase, an arrow shot at a stag by his companion, the Norman nobleman Walter Tirel struck an oak tree, ricocheted, and pierced the king’s chest. The king died right there. The spot where he fell is […]

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Opposition Without the Yoruba, By Akin Osuntokun

Nine months to the January 2027 D Day general elections, this electoral cycle is distinguished by the poverty of the opposition platform. It was predictable. The moment they could not commit to the prescription of the North /South power rotation principle, the opposition lost its most potent instrument of political mobilisation. Says the scripture “There […]

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Daniel Bwala’s Al Jazeera Humiliation, By Farooq A. Kperogi

I barely know Daniel Bwala. He came to the forefront of national media attention in 2022 because of his impassioned opposition to the choice of Kashim Shettima as Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s running mate. But beyond his public break from the APC, he came across to me as a voluble, ignorant and opportunistic careerist, not because […]

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In Defence of Abuja’s (Non)Voters, By Olusegun Adeniyi

Driving through Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) streets during the recent Federal Capital Territory (FCT) elections, I witnessed what members of the political class seem uninterested in hearing. Polling units that should have buzzed with civic energy were attended by more party agents and security personnel than actual voters. With 65,676 votes recorded for all the […]

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3,021 Reasons to Bet on Nigeria, By Kemi Adeosun

I recently posted a simple appeal on social media, recruiting three positions for Nidacity, my entrepreneur-focused social enterprise. It was personal: “I’m looking for bright, teachable people. OND to PhD — I really don’t care.” There were no job descriptions, no person specifications, just an invitation to work directly with me and grow. Within days, […]

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PDP, APC are mere jerseys, By Lasisi Olagunju

Journalist arrived at the Government House with a proverb on his tongue. “Your Excellency,” he began after the courtesies, notebook open, “in Yoruba, there is a word: Apanimáyọdà.” The APC governor smiled faintly. “The one who kills without unsheathing a sword.” “Exactly,” the journalist said. “A + pa + ni + má + yọ + […]

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Reflections on FCT Polls and Voter Apathy, By Simon Kolawole

The February 21 elections into the six councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) left me scratching my head on many counts. The All Progressives Congress (APC) won five of the chairmanship positions, leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with one. In 2022, the PDP and APC won three apiece. The African Democratic Congress (ADC), […]

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Dancing On The Graves: Moral Collapse, Elite Indifference, And The Crisis Of State Responsibility In Nigeria, By Gesiye Salo Angaye

Abstract Nigeria is experiencing a profound moral and governance crisis marked by widespread insecurity, hunger, unemployment, and deepening poverty. While citizens confront daily threats to life and dignity, the political elite appear insulated, celebratory, and increasingly preoccupied with electoral calculations rather than human survival. This paper interrogates the ethical decay underpinning Nigeria’s contemporary political economy, […]

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Tinubu and the NNPCL House of Cards, By Olusegun Adeniyi

Following the revelation of the withdrawal of $2.1 billion ‘security money’ from Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) accounts more than a decade ago, I wrote a column titled, ‘NNPC: The ATM for Dirty Money’. The scandal occurred amid the drama in the National Assembly over the Petroleum Industry (PIB) at the time. And my piece dwelt more on the gaps in the PIB, especially regarding how NNPC operations might be impacted once the legislation was […]

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The Recent Elections in FCT, Kano and Rivers, By Reuben Abati

The elections, held over the weekend, Saturday, February 21, were interesting for the obvious reason that they were clearly the litmus test cases for the Electoral Act, 2026 which was signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday, February 18, 2026. The President had promised last week that we were “all going to […]

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Real-time etransmission: ‘Technical glitch’ in 2027 will unsettle Nigeria, By Olu Fasan

The vexed debate over the Senate’s refusal to guarantee “mandatory” and “real-time” electronic transmission of results in the electoral law ignores two fundamental problems. The first is Nigeria’s utterly weak state capacity; the second is the total lack of institutional independence. Even if the electoral act provides for mandatory and real-time transmission of election results, “mandatory” […]

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Time Out with Generals in Umuahia, By Olusegun Adeniyi

On 26 November 2012, I was the lead speaker at the annual Chief of Army Staff Conference in Asaba, Delta State. I spoke on ‘Terrorism and Inter-Agency Coordination in Nigeria’. While congratulating me later that night, one of the Generals ‘confessed’ that when some of them learnt about my invitation, they kicked against ‘a small […]

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Between City Boys and Village Boys’ Movements, By Obinna Chima

As political alignments intensify ahead of the country’s next general elections, Nigerians on various social media platforms are being entertained with the activities of groups pushing for the endorsement of their aspirants. From Facebook to X, Instagram, and the latest addition from the founders of ARISE and THISDAY media group, Lekeelekee, the digital space has […]

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El-Rufai: Limits of Dubious Demagoguery, By Akin Osuntokun

“I am writing as a concerned citizen to seek clarification and reassurance regarding information available to the political opposition leadership about a procurement of approximately 10 kilograms of Thallium Sulphate by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), reportedly from a supplier in Poland.. Given that thallium salts are highly toxic and tightly controlled […]

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