The final benchmark, eleven, is the need for collective consciousness that the state of the Nigerian state is serious and each day we appear to be sinking deeper into the abyss. Our Constitution defines the purpose of the state as the protection of the security of Nigerians and the pursuit of their welfare. That is […]
Musings on parties in turmoil, By Azu Ishiekwene
Nigeria’s three main political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Labour Party (LP) – are in turmoil. They have been infested by little foxes that threaten to damage and, potentially, destroy them. I know that discipline is not a virtue of political parties in a presidential system. […]
Onakoya: Playing chess from the slum to world record, By Reuben Abati
Tunde Onakoya, the 29-year-old Nigerian Chess Master who has just broken the World Record for the longest chess marathon is most appropriately an embodiment of the Nigerian can-do spirit, the capacity of the average Nigerian to snatch victory from the depths of despair, indeed just when you think it is over, the Nigerian is so […]
The naira abuse palaver, By Dakuku Peterside
There is no disputation that naira abuse or more specifically the act of spraying money at social events has become an acceptable norm or cultural practice in Nigeria. Nigerians have a cultural affinity for lavish social gatherings. Many people regard these occasions as a means of displaying social status and wealth. Spraying Naira notes, and […]
Our coast, highways, and global warming, By Uddin Ifeanyi
But even if we are to continue to play the ostrich on this matter, as the idea of the coastal highway suggests we are minded to, we may still wonder whether this highway is an optimal solution to part of our infrastructure challenges. The same way we continue to ask why our focus on rehabilitating […]
Tips to self-fulfilment in life, By Sunday Adelaja
The journey to the cross (3): Crucify him, give us Barabbas, By Ayo Akerele
The murder of the sinless son of God still remains the world’s greatest example of the travesty of justice. The gang up against Jesus by the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Caiaphas, the corrupt High Priest, and the oppressive Roman government, led to the release of Barabbas and the conviction of the righteous one. Till date, the world […]
Secession? Not a laughing matter!, By Wole Olaoye
We must resist the temptation of dismissing the farcical breakaway as a mere comic relief. Secession is not a laughing matter. The challenge before us is to recognise that there are active centrifugal forces maliciously gyrating in real life and on social media. In the latter case, strange philosophies are propagated to justify hate vending […]
Yahaya Bello and a complicit judiciary, By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu
The EFCC now claims it has declared Yahaya Bello a fugitive but the real question will be how a compromised and complicit judicial leadership will now treat the nomination of his unqualified wife as a judge and the petition against the declaration of his violent cousin as governor of Kogi State. The judges who currently […]
Yahaya Bello, Yoruba Nation and Portable, By Festus Adedayo
Like Sa’eed, Nigeria’s season of migration to the double life of a butterfly – the season of lies – seems to have come. Such seasons come and go like the ever changing colours of a chameleon and unfold like the rainbow. Beginning with the drama of power in Abuja last week, which involved ex-Kogi State […]