In the recent Abuja Municipal Area Council elections, the limping elephant of Nigeria’s democracy gave birth once again to a miserable mouse. This Is not about who won or lost what seats in the much -choreographed election. It is about how many people came out to vote for who...
COLUMNIST
It was the German playwright Bertolt Brecht who first made this satanic suggestion in his satirical poem, Die Losung. He suggested that since the dictatorial regime in East Germany could not put up with the libertarian noise of the masses, it might be better to dissolve the people so...
After many days, I realize that wherever you go, the sun, earth and moon will be the same. I left everything back then, my mother, my brother and a few of my possessions too. I had to leave Neva, the old library where I used to read, as I...
At the grand intellectual festival to celebrate him at 80, on the 5th January, his birthday, I was conspicuously absent. I was billed to be a discussant on the anti- colonial aspects of his writings following a public lecture on the subject. But an unavoidable personal emergency took me...
The Defense authorities have confirmed that there was indeed a foiled attempt by elements of the military to oust Mr. Tinubu from power. But the long expected disclosure has not made much impact as news. Our public is preoccupied with more fundamental existential matters to be captivated by stories...
The political army has gradually worked the nation into an election preparation frenzy. You can hear it, feel it and smell it in the very air we breathe. A banker friend jokingly told me the other day that some politically exposed customers are beginning to seek huge loans and...
Manchester United reignited the Premier League title race with a pulsating 3-2 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, ending the Gunners’ long unbeaten run. A late, long-range strike from Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha proved decisive, condemning the league leaders to a first defeat in 13 matches...
Under Donald Trump, the United States is fast approaching the dead end of a curious transactional presidency. Even the most treasured items of American nationhood and heritage are up for sale to the highest bidder in an bazaar as governance. This is an era where everything America does is...
Those intent on a head on collision with a moving train must mind their limbs. In Abia State, the 2027 contest for the governorship has mostly been decided. All that is left is the ritual of voting and the ceremony of anointment on 29th May, 2027. If public opinion...
In 2026, Nigerians will live life in a double reality. We will literally be dancing to two dissonant drumbeats. Some will find the gathering 2027 election campaign beats irresistible. On the contrary, the majority of the common folk, civil society groups and the non -political elite will cling to...
Tomorrow in Lagos, scholars and intellectual expeditioners will gather to honour and celebrate a most unique and outstanding Nigerian intellectual. Prof. Biodun Jeyifo , easily one of Nigeria’s most outstanding humanities intellectuals, turns 80 tomorrow. Jeyifo , fondly called BJ by his colleagues and students alike is concurrently Emeritus...
On the matter of war and peace, US President Donald Trump is an ambiguous creature. His large ego craves recognition and celebration as a global peace maker. But his basic psychology is unrepentantly belligerent. He wants to be adored as a messiah of peace and feared as a fierce...
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has restated his administration’s commitment to ensuring that the Supreme Court’s judgment affirming the financial independence of local governments is implemented. President Tinubu made the commitment on Friday night at the 15th National Executive Committee meeting of the All Progressives Congress, held at the State...
There are troubling skirmishes in Nigeria’s immediate neighbourhood. A coup attempt in next door Benin Republic was a rude poke in the nation’s eye. Nigeria quickly woke up and did the needful. When there is a fire in a neighbour’s hut next door, you need to rally to put...
Public reaction to the belated release of President Tinubu’s list of ambassadors designate has been uniformly negative. Some people feel insulted by the caliber of nominees. Others feel belittled that minimals are being chosen to represent a country that boasts some of the best and brightest citizens. Yet others...
President Bola Tinubu has finally decided to wrestle with the ogre of insecurity. He has named the wrong and declared an array of measures to contain the scourge. The public has been incensed. The nation over which he presides is tethering on the brinks of avoidable unravelling. He has...
Recent trends in our national life have forced Nigerians to abandon the virtue of incurable optimism and unconditional hope in the nation as a perpetual reality. It used to be that in all circumstances, Nigerians would never believe that the nation is under any terminal threat. But in recent...
It is Soyinka in his dreadful play, “Madmen and Specialists”, who insisted that “Even poison has its uses… You can use it either to kill or to cure.” In a sense, US President, Donald Trump, has fed Nigerians a big dose of Hemlock. It is now up to us...
Donald Trump’s gunboat foreign policy of unguarded words and unguided targeting has taken aim at a difficult target: Nigeria. Nigeria is in the gunsights . But it is a wrong choice. Nigeria is huge, complex, amorphous and a geo strategic nightmare. Though divided by diverse faiths and cultures, Nigerians...
A conclave of diverse economists have recently been crowing about the prospects of recovery in the Nigerian economy. It is not strange. Professional economics is a variant of madness. A mad man may have no compass indicating where he is coming from or where he is headed. But he...