The APC After Buhari, By Chidi Amuta

The APC was birthed out of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s resilient appetite for presidential power. Its victory in the 2015 presidential election was a product of both his regional cultic followership and a nationwide rejection of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s bumbling presidency. Seven years afterwards, Buhari’s appetite for apex power has been fulfilled and arguably squandered. His […]

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The Staying Power of Mrs. Jonathan, By Chidi Amuta

Very few Nigerians remember any quotable utterances by former President Goodluck Jonathan. A self confessed introvert, the man was more preoccupied with finding enough confidence to fill a job whose scope clearly overwhelmed him. A man who hardly found shoes to wear till rather suddenly found himself struggling to fit into the oversized shoes of […]

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Mr. President, Try the Other Exit, By Chidi Amuta

In one respect, President Muhammadu Buhari may have worked so hard to prepare his successor for the acclaim that has so far eluded him. He has unconsciously scripted a higher popularity rating for that lucky successor. The next president will harvest national and international acclaim by doing something that requires little or no effort: just […]

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A Contest of Bandits and Terrorists, By Chidi Amuta

Politicians tend to get into trouble when they tinker with language to conceal mischief. Former US president Donald Trump, the most advertised quintessential linguistic idiot, was in the habit of getting lost in a forest of simple distinctions. He could not distinguish between truth, facts, fiction and faction. He tinkered with ‘alternative truth’ instead and […]

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Buhari: Dead End of the Mythic Presidency, By Chidi Amuta

In the pantheon of Nigerian rulers, President Buhari occupies an uncontestable stool. He is the first leader to return to power on the strength of a faulty myth rather than on a record of demonstrable achievements. The political marketers of the Buhari candidacy in the count down to the 2015 elections were armed mostly with […]

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Democracy and the Tyranny of Judges, By Chidi Amuta

Those paid to protect the guardrails of democracy hardly look in the direction of the courts for enemies. Nor do most people suspect that judges could become facilitators of authoritarianism and subtle promoters of anarchy. As custodians of the rule of law, judges and the courts over which they preside are the insurance for democracy’s […]

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From Kabul to Kaduna, By Chidi Amuta

Separated by great distance but proximal in influence and geostrategic thinking, Nigeria and Afghanistan are drifting closer. For most Nigerians, Afghanistan is not exactly their next favorite tourist destination. But aspects of Afghanistan’s undulating history of trouble making and theocratic fixations are beginning to resonate more with Nigeria and indeed the rest of the world […]

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Dead End of the Politics of Catastrophe, By Chidi Amuta

On 19th May, 2021, Mr. Abu Mohammed Abubakar bin Mohammad al-Sheikawi (Abubakar Shekau), life ‘president’ of Boko Haram, finally died on his own terms under the supervision of his fellow ISWAP terrorists. The Nigerian presidency was silent. I am not aware that there has so far been any official presidential statement on the death of […]

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Dividends of Buhari’s Summer Revelations, By Chidi Amuta

President Buhari has just rendered invaluable service to an uneasy nation. He used this year’s political anniversary season to grant two revealing interviews and deliver a beneficial Democracy Day address. With these pronouncements, he has lifted the veil from his troubling trademark silence. The television interviews, one with Arise Television and the other with Nigerian […]

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Twitter, Diversion and the Next Level, By Chidi Amuta

The Buhari administration has just stumbled on a convenient but unexpected political diversion: the Twitter ban. We can keep debating Twitter while an orchestrated project of deepening authoritarianism takes hold. While Twitter rages, the president has said in his latest television interview that he has ‘ordered’ the police and the army to be more ‘ruthless’ […]

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INSECURITY: Forget Foreign Help. It’s the Leadership Thing, By Chidi Amuta

Frustration and anxiety have driven major opinion leaders to a dead end of options on our worsening insecurity. President Buhari is being asked to literally outsource Nigeria’s internal security operations to some foreign power. Wole Soyinka, ever the incurable patriot, has pointedly suggested that the worsening security situation leaves Buhari no better option than to […]

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Mr. President, Let this Minister Go, By Chidi Amuta

President Buhari’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Sheikh Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, could have casually slithered through public office with scant notice if he could delete his past. Unfortunately he cannot run faster than the jagged shadows from his past. In these parts, a ministerial portfolio with an oversized office and some fancy title […]

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THE OBASEKI HERESY: Economists, Politicians and the Death of Nations, By Chidi Amuta

Between economists and their enabling politicians, the fate of nations often hangs precariously on a balance. On their own, economists can be a miserable enough bunch in ordinary circumstances. Their professional relevance hangs on the precarious uncertainty that all things may never become equal in real life. Like Delphic oracles, economists keep their relevance and […]

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