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The death of an African American, George Floyd, at the hands of a white policeman in Minneapolis has sparked ten days of fierce demonstrations across the United States. It has also elicited global outrage, including a protest in Lagos on Monday. But in one of those conversations on social media, a lady wondered why most […]
Continue ReadingThe African Initiative for Governance (AIG) Advisory Panel meeting last Friday was expected to last no more than two hours. We were still engaged in a robust conversation ten minutes after exceeding the scheduled time when our chairman, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, offered one of his usual anecdotes. This time from a 1961 military parade, […]
Continue ReadingLast Saturday, the Kwara Police Command announced the interception of a truck conveying 200 ‘Almajiri’ children about to be off-loaded in the state. “When the driver of the truck was interrogated, he said that they were coming from Funtua in Katsina State, despite the inter-state travel ban,” said Ajayi Okasanmi, Kwara Police spokesman who added, […]
Continue ReadingThe ‘Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020’ sponsored by the Speaker, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and two other members (Pascal Obi and Tanko Sununu) was last week rushed through first and second readings in the House of Representatives. Rather curiously, members were not provided copies of the legislation until motives of the sponsors were called into […]
Continue ReadingIf there is any lesson we have learnt from the past five weeks, it is how difficult it is to enforce a meaningful lockdown or social distancing in Nigeria. All over the country, wherever restrictions are imposed, the pushing and shoving that occurs during market hours have themselves become serious risk factors. Last Friday, two […]
Continue ReadingHardly a day passed without the late Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari and I exchanging calls or WhatsApp messages. I never failed to forward negative comments I received about him and he took them as graciously as he took my criticisms of the government he served. But three weeks ago, his […]
Continue ReadingFollowing a meeting in Beijing last Thursday, the ‘Group of African Ambassadors’ wrote a joint letter to Chinese authorities to express their displeasure with the growing “discrimination and stigmatization” of people from the continent. Without a single report that African nationals have violated Chinese government anti-pandemic regulations, the ambassadors said, “we have received disquieting reports […]
Continue ReadingAs we practice social distancing, it is important to practice mental distancing as well. This means staying away from certain categories of people: Quack doctors who claim they have a cure for coronavirus; fake prophets who tell tales of how they saw this virus coming and can end it; conspiracy theorists who argue that this […]
Continue Reading“Social distancing is a privilege. It means you live in a house large enough to practise it. Hand washing is a privilege too. It means you have access to running water. Hand sanitisers are a privilege. It means you have money to buy them. Lockdowns are a privilege. It means you can afford to be […]
Continue ReadingNorthern politicians had just concluded their meeting in Lagos with the Chief Minister of pre-independent Nigeria, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. A few were now gathered in the office of the Federal Minister of Land, Mines and Power, Alhaji Muhammadu Ribadu, with a number of northern bureaucrats, also part of the colonial administration. When it was […]
Continue ReadingDespite the fact that Nigeria recorded its first index case of COVID-19 on 27th February and five new cases yesterday, (eight in all), President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to personally take ownership of a crisis that has already sent the 2020 budget spinning like a yoyo. A barrel of crude is now selling at $29 […]
Continue ReadingOn Monday, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State finally mustered the courage to do what he had been planning for almost three years: He dethroned the 14th Emir of Kano, HH Muhammadu Sanusi ll. Interestingly, the statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, made no reference to the rash of probes […]
Continue Reading“From 1 January through 9 February 2020, 472 laboratory confirmed cases including 70 deaths have been reported in 26 out of 36 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory. Of the 472 confirmed cases, 75% have been reported from three states: Edo (167 cases), Ondo (156 cases) and Ebonyi (30 cases) …Fifteen confirmed cases have […]
Continue ReadingWhile blaming the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for “the problems associated with candidates’ selection process” in the party, the Director General of the Progressives Congress Forum, Mr. Salihu Lukeman added that democracy in Nigeria is now anchored not on the choice of the electorate, but on “what can be […]
Continue ReadingFrom the killings of innocent villagers by Katsina State bandits to the abandonment of more than 600 corpses in a Delta State hospital, life has become very cheap in Nigeria. Demoralised by what I see around me, I thought it was going to be another of those weeks of doom and gloom. But it was […]
Continue ReadingAccording to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) statistics, there was a 94 per cent increase in the hacking and destruction of pipeline infrastructure across the country in November 2019. This report is coming at a time when Boko Haram insurgents are continuing to wreak havocs in the North-east, bandits are gradually seizing control in the […]
Continue ReadingLast week, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation listing Nigeria among six countries whose nationals would be subjected “to certain restrictions, limitations, and exceptions” regarding emigration to the United States. Justification for the decision, according to the White House, is that Nigeria does not comply with the established identity-management and information-sharing criteria, does not adequately […]
Continue ReadingIf there is anything that points to the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari may not be getting a full brief on the security situation in the country, it was his expression of shock on Tuesday regarding the level of criminality across Nigeria. Incidentally, the president spoke 24 hours after Senate President Ahmed Lawan made his […]
Continue ReadingTherefore, a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out…Jeremiah 5: 6 The introduction of the ‘Amotekun’ security outfit by South-West Governors has added a new dimension to how Nigerians make […]
Continue ReadingThere is a famous scene in Tunde Kelani’s movie, ‘Ti oluwa Ni ile’, which speaks to a time like this in our country. At his meeting with the two young men who were trying to co-opt him into the deal to sell a piece of sacred land which belongs to the entire community, Oloye Otun […]
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