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Opinion

Thursday, 18 March 2021 05:51

China’s regulatory war on Ant - Angela Huyue Zhang

Chinese fintech conglomerate Ant Group has quickly grown into an internet titan, owing not only to regulatory lag but also to its agile adaptation to rule changes. But recent strong official criticism of the firm, coming on top of the suspension of its IPO, suggests that the country's regulators have finally caught up. Ever since Alibaba founder Jack Ma criticized Chinese financial regulation in a speech last October, a regulatory storm has pummeled the country’s entire online financial and consumer sector. The Shanghai Stock Exchange suspended the planned initial public offering of fintech conglomerate Ant Group – an Alibaba affiliate…

Wednesday, 17 March 2021 05:45

Fiscal federalism sans social justice? - Kayode Komolafe

On May 11, it will be 40 years that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) called a strike to mount pressure on government for the enactment of a national minimum wage law. Hassan Adebayo Sunmonu, who incidentally turned 80 two months ago, was the NLC president who led the nation-wide popular action. Under the leadership of one of the most adroit negotiators produced by the labour movement, the NLC enjoyed the support of students, progressive intellectuals and even players in the informal sector in the process. In retrospect, the success of the historic strike could be measured by the fact that…

Tuesday, 16 March 2021 05:14

The Fox and the Cock in contemporary Nigeria - Bola Bolawole

The story of “How the fox lost its fright of the cock” or “How the cock foolishly made itself the fox’s delicious meal” was one of the “tales by the moonlight” that must have been told in millions of Yoruba households in those days. Grandma told me and the other children growing up under her tutelage the fox and cock story. I cannot say whether, these days, children still gather in the evening before going to bed to listen to folk tales from the old ones. The embellishments may vary from place to place and from story-teller to story-teller but…

Monday, 15 March 2021 05:36

The Bitcoin lottery - Jim O’Neill

The sudden rise of "special purpose acquisitions companies" and cryptocurrencies speaks less to the virtues of these vehicles than to the excesses of the current bull market. In the long term, these assets will mostly fall into the same category as speculative "growth stocks" today. I was recently approached about setting up my own “special purpose acquisition company” (SPAC), which would allow me to secure financial commitments from investors on the expectation that I will eventually acquire some promising business that would prefer to avoid an initial public offering. In picturing myself in this new role, I mused that I…

Sunday, 14 March 2021 05:44

Way out of herder-farmer dispute - Bola Tinubu

The herder-farmer dispute has taken on acute and violent dimensions. It has cost too many innocent lives while destroying the property and livelihoods of many others. It has also aggravated ethnic sentiment and political tension. Despite efforts of some of those in positions of high responsibility and public trust, the crisis has not significantly abated. Sadly, others who should know better have incited matters by tossing about hate-tainted statements that fall dangerously short of the leadership these people claim to provide. We all must get hold of our better selves to treat this matter with the sobriety it requires. Because…

Sunday, 14 March 2021 05:43

Mama Igosun brings pandemonium - Tatalo Alamu

To Iyaniwura Hall in Ikotun-Ajangbadi on this cool and wet morning as part of the weeklong celebration of the fairer sex. The atmosphere had been calm and tranquil until Mama Igosun began her shrill and implacable hell-raising. The modish and militant station which openly advocates confederation or balkanization must be a glutton for punishment. The last time it invited the ancient Amazon from Igosun, all hell broke loose from rival factions of Yoruba self-determination groups laying exclusive ownership claims to the old female matador. They ended up wrecking the studio even as the authorities threatened to withdraw their license for…

Sunday, 14 March 2021 05:41

Monguno’s missing $1 billion: Fraud or Freudian slip? - Festus Adedayo

Unbeknown to many Nigerians who haven’t heard him speak, Babagana Monguno, President Muhammadu Buhari’s National Security Adviser (NSA) secretly admires self-styled Mr. Bombastic, Jamaican-American reggae musician, singer and Disc Jockey, Orville Richard Burrel, better known by his stage name, Shaggy. Suave and glib, with words gliding effortlessly through his mouth like okra soup skids at the slightest prodding, Monguno can electrify and disarm his audience, not with guns but with bombasts. A few weeks ago, Monguno addressed the press on what he labeled the Federal Government’s newfound resolve – after thousands of Nigerians had been killed by bandits, kidnappers and…

Sunday, 14 March 2021 05:39

Abounding in fruitfulness and supernatural harvest - Taiwo Akinola

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt ~ Amos 9:13. Introduction: God didn’t plan for us to live just a normal, ordinary, natural life, but a supernatural life of harvests, full of relevance, significance, signs and wonders (John 10:10). Supernatural living is meant to be the norm for the children of God. At a time the people of Israel were in bondage in Egypt, and for about 400 years, it was…

Sunday, 14 March 2021 05:38

Article of faith: Caterpillars and butterflies (1) - Femi Aribisala

Some people love to read obituaries. When they open a newspaper, they go straight to the obituary pages or columns to find out who has dropped dead lately. But what about you, Christian Ojo? Have you read your own obituary lately? The bible says that the word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword. (Hebrews 4:12). This is because it tells us about life as well as about death. Indeed, the bible is full of obituaries. It says, for example: “Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor…

Saturday, 13 March 2021 05:40

Nigeria can’t decide what to do about the rise and rise of cryptocurrency

Innocent Chizaram Ilo The Nigerian presidency, central bank, local regulators, and tech community are at odds over “money created out of thin air.” When the Central Bank of Nigeria sent out a circular on February 5 warning the public about the dangers and risks of cryptocurrencies, it stirred local banks and the fintech community into a frenzy. In one stroke, the central bank seemed to have barred financial institutions from dealing in or enabling crypto transactions. “It’s a crazy one,” said Lightson Ogwor, a 25-year-old graphic designer based in Enugu, a city in Nigeria’s southeast. Ogwor, who has been trading…

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Friday, 12 March 2021 03:28

The story of the Naira-for-Dollar promo - Azu Ishiekwene

It would seem harsh to judge the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) solely by its intentions, especially in the last four or five years. In a weak, fragile and chaotic system where a number of the main actors are either half-asleep, distracted or indifferent, the zeal of CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, could be a good thing. His largely unconventional approach has its benefits, especially with the rapid - sometimes unforeseen - changes in the global financial system and the beggar thy neighbour policies of rich, industrialised countries. But the recent announcement by the bank of a two-month sales promotion to…

Friday, 12 March 2021 03:27

Betrayal: 'Trust not in a friend' - Michael West

When the Holy Bible admonishes that “Do not trust in a friend; do not put your confidence in a companion” (Micah 7: 5a), it looks like a divisive statement but the essence of this scriptural counsel has dawned on many people who are currently nursing the wounds sustained through blind trust in supposed friends, companions and confidantes. There are three categories of friends: the true, loyal and dependable friends, the passive friends who have no evil or good value addition to your life, and, fair-weather friends who pretend to be your loyal friends only when they benefit from their friendship…

Thursday, 11 March 2021 03:57

Harry, Meghan and Marx

Marx predicted that capitalism would destroy every remnant of feudalism. It would tear asunder “the motley feudal ties that bound man to his ‘natural superiors’”, in the words of “The Communist Manifesto”. It would drown ecstasies of religious fervour and chivalric enthusiasm in the “icy water of egotistical calculation”. And it would subject every national institution to the revolutionary logic of the global market. So far the British monarchy, one of the last vestiges of the country’s feudal system, has proved a splendid refutation of Marxism. The Crown has survived both the high-noon of Victorian capitalism and the revival of…

Wednesday, 10 March 2021 05:52

Build back equal - Maria Fernanda Espinosa

Creating an economy that works for everyone is not just a matter of empowering those who have been “left behind” by globalization. Instead, it requires a comprehensive and critical assessment of the systemic forces that are fueling inequality. The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated a wide range of inequalities. If leaders are serious about “building back better,” policies to overcome the systemic forces that underlie them must form the heart of their agendas. One such divide is the gender gap. Since the pandemic began, women have suffered job losses at a higher rate than men – not least because…

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