Accusing Onaiyekan of ‘partisanship’, By Abimbola Adelakun

By now, you must have noticed how the APC hound dogs’ attack quickly turns into an echo chamber. For instance, one of them uses derogatory language, and others take up the refrain to resound it across multiple channels. In their case against Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, the accusation they settled for is […]

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What happens when a president dies?, By Abimbola Adelakun

Who would have imagined that nearly three decades after the demise of Sani Abacha, we would still be arguing about how he died? The revival of the inglorious way he died is thanks to Dennis Amachree, a former assistant director of the Department of State Services who recently shared his account of Abacha’s final moments […]

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So how did ICPC ‘grill’ Gbajabiamila?, By Abimbola Adelakun

The press statement announcing that the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, had appeared before the ICPC as part of the investigation into the activities of the purportedly fake PFIPC included a bemusing sentence stating he “…returned to his duty post” afterwards. Ideally, conducting a serious investigation on accusations against a high-ranking public officer like […]

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Bwala should thank Nigerians in UK daily, By Abimbola Adelakun

When Daniel Bwala, one of Bola Tinubu’s many presidential “special advisers”, likened the jobs that Nigerians based in the United Kingdom do to “modern-day slavery”, I could not help but find his choice of metaphor ironic. Rehashing the old tale of over-educated Nigerians working jobs beneath their credentialed worth is ironic precisely because Bwala himself […]

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The unexamined life of Sunday Dare, By Abimbola Adelakun

Presidential adviser Sunday Dare jumped into the “akara and kúlíkúlí” conversation and came out as someone living an unexamined life. He gave his mother’s petty trading as an example of what was possible from meagre means. Dare could have left it there, but he had to prove himself a regular APC supporter who disregards the […]

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Oyo kidnapping, rumours, and conspiracy theories, By Abimbola Adelakun

That the news of the police rescue of Mrs Olaide John-Paul (the sister of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu) and her 12-year-old twin sons, Peter and Paul, was not well-received in all quarters is almost understandable. What should have been a celebration of an efficient rescue at a time we are undergoing some of […]

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Jonathan 2027: When political ambition becomes a striptease, By Abimbola Adelakun

A striptease does exactly what its name suggests: it stimulates your emotions through gradual revelation. The dancer stands in front of you, slowly and seductively removing their clothing while some soft, sweet music plays. Now, picture this: the music is tight, the light is dim, the anticipation is building, but this dancer just never reveals […]

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Those who will lead us can’t even organise themselves, By Abimbola Adelakun

The political parties that have so far held their presidential primaries have either descended into absurdity or dissolved into the usual bitterness. In high-stakes politics, elections at all levels will be highly contested, and there will be bitter feelings among those who lose. That is expected. The real shame here is that, at the rate […]

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How will Tinubu campaign in Plateau State?, By Abimbola Adelakun

It does not matter whether the excuse presidential aide Bayo Onanuga put up for his principal’s thoughtless remarks in Plateau State during his recent visit is true or not; the criticisms of Bola Tinubu’s goof are valid. Onanuga claimed Tinubu had to meet the attack victims of the Angwan Rukuba district of Jos North Local […]

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The decline of PDP is how APC too dies, By Abimbola Adelakun

From its once boastful conglomeration of the most powerful politicians in Nigeria, the house of the Peoples Democratic Party has become desecrated. From 31 governors at their peak, they have whittled down to one, plus a minority in the National Assembly. If only former PDP chair Vincent Ogbulafor were still alive to watch the party, […]

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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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Tinubu’s taxman: Another surgeon without painkillers, By Abimbola Adelakun

When the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, recently averred that implementing comprehensive tax reforms in Nigeria is a pain Nigerians must endure, what struck me was how he seemed to think he had said something truly original. How many times in the past have we not […]

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2026: The year before the election, By Abimbola Adelakun

In Nigeria, and in many countries with underdeveloped economies, the most important periods are the year right before a general election, the year of that election (when the winners emerge), and two years after that election (all the time the losers need to seethe over their losses as they await another opportunity). Elections are, of […]

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Terrorism after the Christmas Day bombings, By Abimbola Adelakun

Anyone who expected Nigerians to push back against foreign intervention in the country’s insecurity and insist that their national sovereignty be respected would have found themselves awfully wrong by now. Not only did people seem excited, but the euphoria that accompanied the Christmas Day bombings in Sokoto showed how quickly we can set aside partisan […]

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Who is ‘de-marketing Nigeria’?, By Abimbola Adelakun

Lately, Facebook memories brought to my attention a November 1, 2015, post by Femi Adesina, media aide to late Muhammadu Buhari, in which he took issue with then the Peoples Democratic Party’s spokesman, Olisa Metuh, who had accused the President of “demarketing Nigeria”. Adesina had insisted, “President Buhari will not, in the guise of marketing […]

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Mrs Tinubu’s crassness meets Adeleke’s indiscipline, By Abimbola Adelakun

The video of Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, chastening the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, during her coronation ceremony in Ile Ife reminded me of what I think was my first encounter with her about 14-15 years ago at their party secretariat (then, it was still Alliance for Democracy) in Lagos. I was a reporter […]

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Ambassador list: Who is the new INEC chair working for?, By Abimbola Adelakun

Now that the names of ambassadorial appointment nominees include the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, it has become pertinent to ask the newly appointed successor, Prof. Joash Amupitan, where his loyalties lie. Does he take his appointment as an opportunity to entrench Nigeria’s democracy, or is he working […]

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