Seated on a mat with their needles and threads, weaving embroideries on northern caps in production, the four young men appeared as if they had no care in the world. But the moment they started sharing with me their horrifying stories, it became clear that behind the veneer of that calmness...... more
Few days back, the Nigerian election debate group - drawn from a broad spectrum of key leaders of the media industry in both the private and public sectors - organised a high profile presidential debate. Five out of the over three dozen contestants of the presidential poll were invited, but only...... more
The right to information is a component of the broader right to freedom of expression and of press enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1984 (UDHR). Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights1966 (ICCPR), Article 9 of African Charter on Human and People's Rights,...... more
There is something remarkable about the government whose tenure is about to end. The government started on a note of vendetta and illegality. Strikingly, the same government is ending on the same distasteful note. The ongoing ordeal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, may be a fitting...... more
With the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) latching on to the trial of Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen to make all manner of accusations and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) responding in kind, what is going on today is akin to what followed the suspension in 2011...... more
This question would have been redundant if the South East were a settled region. But the question is germane and compelling owing to the fluidity of the politics of the region. The South East is something of a babel. It is a land, an enclave, where everyone is lord unto himself....... more
Incumbent presidential elections are usually framed as a referendum on stewardship. But where the opposition is either weak or running a less than coordinated campaign, power holders have been known to turn the narrative into one of choice. The electorate is then presented with this kind of proposition: ‘You may not...... more
As it is common with this season, we have in the past two days been treated to a deluge of prophecies from religious clerics about what will happen this year in our country with specific reference to the 16th February presidential election. While many of these clerics have boldly told us...... more
Few hours back, I strolled into one of the key offices under the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with a singular matter for constructive dialogue with a friend who is a senior aide of President Muhammadu Buhari. My concern was on the observed lack of observation...... more
We will begin by recalling the exact prophetic proclamations made by Prof Chinua Achebe, of blessed memory, who in the early 1980’s recorded what can be called the exact poetic representation of the Igbo nation his book entitled The Trouble With Nigeria. His claims are of the highest empirical proofs. His words: “A...... more
We are just less than a few weeks to the 2019 general elections, in which millions of Nigerians are expected to participate in electing sets of office-seekers to occupy for four years some strategic national and state-wide offices. Nigeria is not only in a Christmas mood, but also in a campaign...... more
The circumstances under which Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh died on Tuesday underscore the gravity of the security challenge facing us in Nigeria today. Whatever may have been the motive of his assailants, that a whole former Chief of Defence Staff could be taken out just like that is very telling...... more
On December 10, 2018, I breezed into the expansive headquarters of the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Yakubu Gowon Way in the heart of the sprawling Maitama District in the Federal Capital Territory. That place is like a home by the virtue of my fond association as a member of...... more
Nigeria has assumed the notorious position of the third most impacted terrorism afflicted sovereign nation globally, just after Afghanistan and Pakistan. In its report “Changing patterns in terrorism and the threat to business”, Control Risks, the specialist global risk consultancy, finds that the number of incidents rose from 317 in 2013...... more
Sport is defined as an activity involving physical exertion and skills in which an individual or a team competes against another or others for entertainment. This is the dictionary definition of sports. Brandon Moore said the essence of sports is that they are played for the enjoyment of competition, the test and betterment of...... more
I spent last weekend in Enugu. My actual destination was the University of Nigeria at Nsukka where Nkem, my son and first child, had just graduated from in flying colours. I was at his graduation ceremony last Friday in the company of friends and family members who had come to celebrate...... more
“Oro buruku toun terin” That Yoruba adage which, according to my sister, Molara Wood, means that the best way to temper a very serious matter is with laughter, was at play on Tuesday when the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, received in his palace a delegation led by the European Union...... more
With just a few weeks to Nigeria’s most critical election, the major contenders who began their campaigns for the coveted number one political job in Nigeria – the office of the President – have so far not adequately addressed the critical issue of right to education. Going through the various ramifications and segments...... more
Although we still don’t know the actual number of gallant men and officers of the Nigerian army that we lost or the operating environment that allowed the Boko Haram insurgents to exact such tragic fatalities, the main lesson from last week attack on 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele, Borno State...... more
Let me confess that even among the several cases of gross irresponsibility on the part of a whole lot of police operatives and officers in Nigeria, there is a sprinkling of very efficient and disciplined officers. I must say that I was fascinated to read that a female professor and serving...... more
His steps and moves have, so far, been measured and calculated. He has been taking deliberate and conscious steps to ensure that he puts his hand where his mouth is. That is Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 general elections. After his overwhelming victory...... more
Every election season in countries well-governed, citizens expect that the policy documents of the leading candidates will contain not only promises but also what would come from their pockets to fund such plans. That is basically what the phrase, “no taxation without representation” connotes since it also presupposes that there can...... more
If you flip through the pages of Sunday ThisDay of November 18, the first colour advert that will greet your sense of admiration because of the creativity and aesthetics, is that of former vice-president of Nigeria and the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. The young-and-energetic- looking...... more
Most earlier scholars of philosophy were passionate about unraveling the essence and import of governmental authorities. A significant percentage of classical scholars, especially in the medieval epoch, were of the considered position that government exists to protect the rights of all citizens to co-exist in peace and respect common norms, legal...... more
After decades of an excellent banking career, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, OFR, took the entire business community and indeed the corporate world by surprise by announcing his resignation as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank Plc on October 2014. His foray into politics immediately after his honourable resignation...... more
Matters are coming to a head. The distraught and embattled former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), is set to revolt against his traducers and oppressors. For nearly three years, the man has been held in protective custody by the Department of State Services (DSS). Operatives of the security...... more
Sitting at meetings with former President Olusegun Obasanjo is almost akin to attending an advanced class in government and politics and if you pay attention, you are going to learn a lot. That has been my experience in the past three years on the Advisory Board of the African Initiative for...... more
For one week, yours truly traversed the entire South-eastern states of Nigeria during a visit to my countryside. The South-east of geo-political zone is home to the Igbo, Nigeria’s strategic member of the national tripod, just as Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani. During my visit to my home, yours truly came face-to-face with...... more
In the early 1980s when yours truly was just about leaving primary school, preparatory for enrollment into high school, something happened that has shaped my opinion of the Nigerian military. The event: A neatly dressed officer of the Nigerian Army was ushered into the assembly ground of the Aduwan-one Local Government...... more
After no fewer than 16 meetings and protracted negotiations with the organised private sector, the authorities in the 36 states and the federal government, the Ama Pepple-led national minimum wage tripartite committee finally submitted its report to President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday. And with the presidential endorsement of the recommendation, the...... more
Court sacks Jerry Gana, reinstates Donald Duke as SDP Presidential Candidate
2019: INEC may disqualify 1 presidential candidate, 3 vice presidential candidates, 40 others
Supreme Court refuses to hear 14 election cases
2019 elections will define Nigeria’s future –US ambassador
Protesting youths block Enugu-Onitsha expressway
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Lawmaker sued over failure to repay $10,000 borrowed to fund campaign
2019 budget: Reps uncover errors, discrepancies in MDAs allocations
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Lagos plane crash: Journalist releases victims’ names (170,400 views)
Gunmen kill ASP, 2 other police officers in vain bid to kidnap Rivers PDP chieftain (156,300 views)
