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With the way we are running our country, I said in my Platform Nigeria 1st May 2019 presentation, ‘An Economy on Life Support: Time to Pull the Plug’, a convulsion was inevitable at some point. “It’s either we have a conversation about the future of our country in an orderly manner or it is forced […]
Continue ReadingIn September 2018, there was an interesting exchange in Premium Times between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and his ‘illustrious predecessor’ (as he described him), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. The issue in contention was restructuring of the country. The latter had taken on the former on his postulation that what Nigeria required was “managing resources properly and […]
Continue ReadingWhen you come to power with a campaign to fight corruption, you cannot afford to be silent when your government is being accused of aiding and abetting impropriety; and certainly not when the accusers are members of your own political party or their agents. It is for that reason that President Muhammadu Buhari may have […]
Continue ReadingThe revelation by the National Law Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Chairman, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (rtd) that close to two million Kano residents abuse tramadol, codeine, and other cough syrups, should concern not only state authorities but all stakeholders in the Nigeria project. While the figure may not be as high in other places, it is […]
Continue ReadingDespite the five-hour time difference between Boston and Warri, I followed last Saturday’s coronation of Ogiame Atuwatse III, the 21st Olu of Warri. That a blindfolded monarch picked that title (from the 20 ceremonial swords bearing the names of his predecessors) could not have been a coincidence. It is a testament to the courage of […]
Continue ReadingThere are different accounts of how ‘Afghanistanism’ became an English word. But the most popular is the one that traces its origin to the 1947 American Society of Newspaper Editors Convention in Washington DC. In their column, ‘Behind the Front Page’, Robert H. Stopher and James Jackson wrote that it was coined by Jenkin Lloyd […]
Continue ReadingIt is not for nothing that I call Dr Okey Ikechukwu ‘Ijele’. The former University of Lagos philosophy lecturer has a way with words. Asked on ARISE Channels early in June for his impression of the acrimony resulting from the gubernatorial primaries of leading political parties in Anambra, Ikechukwu dismissed the situation as the usual […]
Continue ReadingI doubt there is any Nigerian on WhatsApp who has not watched the 86-second video clip of four policemen rummaging through a burnt station and the emotion-laden speech of one of the officers. With his name tag and service number visible, the leader of the group said, “Good morning fellow Nigerians. See what happened to […]
Continue ReadingWithin the last one week, I have been to Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State twice. Last Friday, when I left Yenogoa, Bayelsa State, I drove straight to Amafor-Imerienwe to spend a few moments with my friend, Dr. Sam Amadi, chair of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) who was burying his late […]
Continue ReadingAfter a four-year interregnum, the trial of the ‘supreme leader’ of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mr Nnamdi Kanu resumed on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja. First arraigned on 14th October, 2015 before he eventually secured bail and fled the country, Kanu had been slammed with an 11-count charge bordering […]
Continue ReadingAs I have often argued on this page, the connecting thread for the variants of violence we are witnessing across Nigeria is the loss of what Max Weber described as “the legitimate use of physical force” to criminal cartels. And until we muster the capacity to effectively confront those who trouble the peace of our […]
Continue ReadingIn March this year, the University of Aberdeen, Scotland announced it would return one of the thousands of metal and ivory sculptures and carvings looted by British soldiers from the palace of the Oba of Benin in 1897. According to the Head of Museums and Special Collections, Neil Curtis, the University had previously agreed to […]
Continue ReadingNothing speaks to a time like this in Nigeria better than a Yoruba adage that could be considered obscene, so I crave the indulgence of readers: “Ohun tí a ni kí òkóbó bọ, kò ni bọ ibe; ó ní ohun lè bọ igba abẹrẹ lójú orun.” (An impotent man would leave what he was asked […]
Continue ReadingIn his piece on Tuesday, ‘The Death of Ahmed Gulak’, Dr Reuben Abati attested to the character of the late Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan with whom he worked. He also spoke about the danger his gruesome murder portends, especially at this period in our nation. I didn’t know Gulak as well as Reuben, […]
Continue ReadingA three-minute TVC news clip trending on WhatsApp features a notorious 30-year-old gun runner from Niger Republic, Shehu Ali Kachala, who was recently paraded by the Zamfara State Police Command. Caught in the process of supplying arms to criminal hideouts, the suspect claimed he was importing the weapons from Niger Republic through the assistance of […]
Continue ReadingThe irony of life is that sometimes we find wisdom in the most unlikely places. And often from the most unlikely persons. That precisely was the point of a tweet last week and two of the responses that followed. First, from @nzesylva: “Cab guy just dropped an epic proverb: ‘This world na standing fan. If […]
Continue ReadingLast Sunday, the charismatic ‘House on the Rock’ Pastor, Paul Adefarasin told his congregation that no country has survived two civil wars. He warned that if the current situation degenerates, nobody can foretell the consequences. After calling on the government and other stakeholders to come together to address the challenge, Adefarasin then added a controversial […]
Continue ReadingIn March this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) devised a ‘Naira 4 Dollar’ scheme to make remittances through formal bank channels more convenient for our nationals in the Diaspora. With many countries now tapping into remittances from their Diaspora populations to increase inflow and shore up their national economies, it is a smart […]
Continue ReadingDisturbing videos are making the rounds on WhatsApp. As Boko Haram insurgents invade a northern town with their armoured vehicles, they are being hailed by young boys and girls who act as though they are watching a movie. The videos also come with a message that sums up the state of our country and the […]
Continue ReadingIn one of his numerous macho moves in April last year, the late Chadian President Idris Deby led his troops on an offensive against Boko Haram. Thereafter, he granted self-promoting interviews where he attempted to put down Nigeria and the efforts of our military. “Our troops have died for Lake Chad and the Sahel. From […]
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