Coup making is not the exclusive preserve of soldiers or the armed forces. Civilians, too, do stage coups. In Nigeria, we have had our fair share of coups and counter-coups, and have resolved that our collective aspirations as a people are best served by a government of the people, for the people and by the […]
Protecting citizenship rights and ending statelessness in Africa, By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu
This past week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) adopted a new treaty Relating to the Specific Aspects to the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa. The explanatory memorandum explains that this treaty “seeks to facilitate the inclusion of […]
Hunger: Northern Nigeria takes its mother to the sky, By Festus Adedayo
Late Afrobeat superstar, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, in his early musical ensemble days as Africa ‘70, recalibrated a folklore that told the story of food shortage and hunger. The folklore, which Fela entitled “Alujanjankijan” brims with the motif of greed and its implications. The hunger folktale goes thus: Long time ago, a very severe famine hit the animal kingdom, […]
Article of Faith: The God Christians cannot trust, By Femi Aribisala
Cryonics: Futuristic medicine or heresy?, By Osmund Agbo
Whether or not cryonics ultimately works remains to be seen. Who knows whether in the future and with the right amount of money, one might be able to purchase additional years of life. The hope is that these extended years will not be marred by pain and suffering typically associated with an aged body, for […]
Friday Sermon: Ramadan, the month of countless blessings, By Murtadha Gusau
The dangers of introducing state police today, By Jibrin Ibrahim
As a student of and believer in federalism, I fully support the principle that federal political systems should have police forces controlled by the federating units – states, and in the past I have strongly campaigned for State Police. Today, I am very frightened of the idea because the evidence that it would be abused […]
World Bank and IMF: In the shadow of their talons, By Owei Lakemfa
The twin institutions, which exercise power without responsibility, are predatory birds, and as the 1969 title of James Hardley Chase novel asserts: “The Vulture is a Patient Bird.”… The World Bank and IMF remind me of ‘The Vultures’ a poem by David Diop in which he wrote: “In those days, When civilisation kicked us in the […]
Cost of living crisis: A personal story, By Azu Ishiekwene
Let’s heed Citizen Jibrin Ndace’s patriotic call, By Abdulsalam Mahmud
…the avalanche of successes he has recorded as VON helmsman thus far, are not what enamoured him to me. What is making the ‘Ndace phenomenon’ to hypnotise me is his unrelenting call for key stakeholders’ to partner VON in telling Nigeria’s positive and good story. Ndace wants the mind of the international community to be […]