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In the early 1940s, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the hugely popular Sardauna of Sokoto, found himself at a crossroads of politics and rivalry. After losing the contest for the Sultanate of Sokoto to his long-standing rival, Sir Abubakar III, he was appointed emirate councillor and superordinate district head of Gusau in Sokoto Province. The posting, however, […]
Continue ReadingIn ‘Jokes and Targets’ by Christie Davies, a Soviet journalist interviews a Chukchi man: “Could you tell us briefly how you lived before the October revolution?” “Hungry and cold.” “How do you live now?” “Hungry, cold, and with a feeling of deep gratitude.” This sounds like Nigeria’s malaria victims thanking mosquitoes for their love and […]
Continue Reading“You may forward this to him to reflect on…if he’s redeemable!” A Tinubu minister from the South-West sent this message to a respected, elderly journalist now in his mid-70s. It was meant for me and the Oga did as instructed; he forwarded the message to me. I read what the big man wanted me to […]
Continue ReadingWhy did Bola Tinubu offend Nasir El-Rufai? He should have kept him. There are three principalities the Yoruba dread to offend: The first is Osó (wizard), the second is Àjé (witch); the third is the most dreaded, their name is Aláròká. How do I translate that into English? I cannot, but you will get to […]
Continue ReadingHe was just a municipal court judge in a US city. Some years ago, he was asked: “In your 38 years of sitting on the bench, is there a case you still think about today?” This judge looked up, and did not hesitate before answering yes, there was a case, and he told the story: […]
Continue ReadingYesterday, someone asked me to give my current impression of that coalition party called the ADC. I asked if the person knew the meaning of the idiom: a loud fart in a windstorm, or simply, a fart in the wind. That is my impression of the party that came loud and furious like Hurricane Katrina […]
Continue ReadingThe Cambridge English dictionary defines ‘carcass’ as “the body of a dead animal, especially a large one.” The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was recently described as “a carcass” by one of its former governors, Mr Ayodele Fayose. Yet, that carcass defeated the reigning lion, the APC, in a decisive election in Oyo State at the […]
Continue ReadingMy literature teacher told me that situational irony is a fire station burning down, or a Babaláwo dying of Mágùn. Some 40 years ago, Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde, cursed his enemies in a song that they would challenge a moving vehicle, stand arrogantly in its front and then lose their limbs to the fury of […]
Continue ReadingWho killed Dele Giwa? Who was Gloria Okon and where is she today? How did David Mark accurately predict in 1994 that Sani Abacha would spend five years in power and would attempt to contest a multi-party presidential election with only himself as candidate? Why did M. K.O. Abiola contest the 1993 election even after […]
Continue ReadingEach time this country discounts tribe and tongue, region and religion, it wins. Nigeria’s stunning victory in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final on Saturday was more than a football triumph. Trailing 2-0 in Rabat at half-time, the Super Falcons initially looked outmanned and outgunned by Morocco. Yet, unity of purpose, unwavering belief, and […]
Continue ReadingOkuku town in present Osun State has a well-recorded history of cultural promotion and preservation. Ulli Beier’s ‘Yoruba Beaded Crowns’ (1982) and Karin Barber’s ‘I Could Speak until Tomorrow: Oriki, Women and the Past in a Yoruba Town’ (1991) are two of the contributions of Okuku to Yoruba cultural history. The late Yoruba playwright and […]
Continue ReadingShe spoke with so much authority on the sleaze and dirt that make our lawmakers so fat like the well-fed pigs in Animal Farm. The headline above is from a trending, obviously leaked, video of a committee clerk at the National Assembly levelling unimaginable allegations against politicians in both chambers. I have received that video […]
Continue ReadingDecades ago, my late mother pointed at a house to me: “Someone in that house once snatched someone’s wife. In the evening, when it was time for husband and wife to sleep, a storm swept into the bedroom and carried off their sleeping mat. Then pandemonium followed…Ó di b’óòlo o yàá mi.” She described that […]
Continue ReadingA tree does not fall in the forest and kill someone at home. That proverb may be true one hundred years ago. It has expired; its truth is lost to the ravages of this century’s technology. Check what Iran and Israel are sending to each others from a billion kilometres apart. They are pressing buttons, […]
Continue ReadingMODERATOR: We take this space for ‘The Sick Nation Debate’, a town hall exchange between two political tendencies recommending themselves to our sick nation. Today’s edition is between the ruling APC and a budding coalition which, for now, uses the ADC label. We start in alphabetical order. APC: Alphabetical order? No. A good debate should […]
Continue Reading“When lions battle, jackals flee.” Isaac Newton wrote that to his bitter rival, Gottfried Leibniz. It was a barbed remark on their feud over who between them first invented calculus. The more you read of the mutual respect those two had for each other, the more you wonder why they ended their respective careers in […]
Continue ReadingIf you think there are too many beggars on your street, please take heart. A trending video is showing a massive throng of Nigerian children and women being deported from Ghana where they were found doing street begging. They are said to be part of thousands of West Africans on Ghanaian streets. About 10,000 are […]
Continue ReadingIn Yoruba, there is a proverb: “Ojú l’arí, ọ̀rẹ́ ò dé ‘nú” — literally it means ‘we only see the face; friendship does not go deep inside.’ That is the name the Group Managing Director of the NNPCL, Mr Bayo Ojulari, bears. The name calls attention to why appearance and essence sometimes wear different colours. […]
Continue ReadingOne hundred and seventy-nine Anambra kings gave President Bola Tinubu a chieftaincy title last week. They said the title, ‘Dike si Mba’ means “Warrior from the Diaspora.” That title, plus its translation, get as e be. I heard them and asked questions. If they didn’t translate it, I would be quiet. But they did. Why […]
Continue ReadingWhen vultures surround you, stay awake so that you do not die stupid death. Whether you are in business or you are in politics or you are anything of value, stay alive and stay alert. People shave people’s heads in their absence. In 1938, Britain was rumoured to have toyed with the idea of donating […]
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