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Opinion

Tuesday, 12 May 2020 05:32

For leaders, the lessons of Covid-19 go beyond crisis management

David Michels We’re now several months into the Covid-19 pandemic, and it makes sense to take a step back from the sprint of response to reflect. It’s the right moment to ask how the process has gone so far, and what leadership lessons learned are worth holding onto when the acute phase of the crisis begins to fade. Taking this step is part of what we call a learning mindset. That’s the ability to be conscious of one’s own state of mind and the factors that influence behavior, combined with the discipline to adjust that behavior when new information surfaces.…

Monday, 11 May 2020 06:06

As Ondo governorship race hots up... (1) - Bola Bolawole

“Home is where the hatred is/Home is filled with pain/And it might not be such a bad idea if I nev...” – Gil Scott-Heron. Some Sundays ago I announced that as Ondo governorship election draws nearer, I would be taking a hard look at the gladiators with a view to offering an opinion in the understanding that, perhaps, it may help to deepen our democracy, contribute to on-going discussions already heating up the State, and assist our people make an informed decision that will serve our collective best interest. The political parties will hold their primaries and choose their flag…

Monday, 11 May 2020 06:04

Covid-19 and the end of Individualism - Diane Coyle

The pandemic has shown that it is not existential dangers, but rather everyday economic activities, that reveal the collective, connected character of modern life. Just as a spider’s web crumples when a few strands are broken, so the coronavirus has highlighted the risks arising from our economic interdependence. Aristotle was right. Humans have never been atomized individuals, but rather social beings whose every decision affects other people. And now the COVID-19 pandemic is driving home this fundamental point: each of us is morally responsible for the infection risks we pose to others through our own behavior. In fact, this pandemic…

Sunday, 10 May 2020 04:21

Covid-19: Time to go Madagascar - Festus Adedayo

Like many other societies in the world, Africa boasts of a past that is ambivalent, a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly. She had villains, despots, tyrants, developmental leaders and all sorts as rulers. As she had a ruthless hero in leader of the Zulu Kingdom, Shaka kaSenzangakhona, better known as Shaka the Zulu, who reigned from 1816 to 1828, so also did Africa have 16th century notorious Basorun Gaa of the old Oyo Empire Army (Oyo Ile). In modern time, Africa had Ugandan Joseph Rao Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan guerilla…

Sunday, 10 May 2020 04:20

Armistice Day with Mama Igosun - Tatalo Alamu

It felt like Europe on Armistice Day exactly seventy five years ago. As dawn broke last Monday and government’s relaxation of some of the restrictions occasioned by Covid-19 came into effect, all hell broke loose in Lagos, the greatest megalopolis of the Black person in contemporary epoch. It was like watching a human volcano erupt as the outlying slums and suburbs emptied their contents on the besieged city. Only God knew what had roused the crowd to this early morning animation. But there were people everywhere heading in no particular direction and often at apparent cross purpose. Very soon, the…

Sunday, 10 May 2020 04:18

Unraveling the puzzles of earthly life (4) - Kola Oyefeso

In the previous series, we touched on quite a number of issues that man is faced with in the earthly life. They are so many and if one has to write a book on them, however voluminous such book is, he wouldn't have written enough. My take therefore is, those problems will always confound us, especially the reality of human being, of the world, object of human life, reality of time and space, problem of morality, good and evil, how really free are we, impracticality of freewill and omniscient God, why was the world created, who created the world, the…

Friday, 08 May 2020 05:29

The fascist politics of the pandemic - Federico Finchelstein & Jason Stanley

There is nothing like a pandemic to bring out the fascist ideology in countries under far-right rule. In the world's three largest democracies, national leaders are using the COVID-19 crisis to wage war on immigrants and minorities, while testing the limits of common sense. In stark contrast to the effective leadership shown by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and Singapore’s autocratic technocracy, the world’s far-right nationalists have met the COVID-19 crisis with something not seen in decades: the fascist politics of disease. And no one typifies this brand of politics better than Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro.…

Thursday, 07 May 2020 04:53

In ‘defence’ of Bill Gates - Bola Bolawole

Bill and Melinda Gates and or their Foundation have been in the news for the wrong reasons. There are lots of conspiracy theories swirling around the Gates; apart from the Chinese, I do not think there is anyone as vilified as the Gates today. The other day, Bill was attacked in broad daylight in a European country. The Chinese are accused of having manufactured coronavirus in a laboratory in one of their cities, Wuham; of having been careless with it, thus letting the virus escape from the laboratory into the world; and of not alerting the world on time of…

Thursday, 07 May 2020 04:49

Reading the Covid-19 market - Jim O’Neill

There is no telling whether equity markets are correct in defying the popular narrative about a coming Great Depression-scale downturn. Investors may be clinging to irrational hopes, or they may be betting that reports of the death of globalization have been greatly exaggerated. Though I have spent nearly 40 years studying financial markets, I find them as bewildering, complex, and fascinating as ever. At the time of this writing, the most widely watched equity index, the S&P 500, is trading at around 2,878, where it closed on April 27 (a Monday). That was its highest close in six weeks, putting…

Wednesday, 06 May 2020 05:22

What about other diseases? - Kayode Komolafe

The hectic and draining schedules of the medical workforce in this season of gloom can only be imagined by those outside the realm of healthcare. Like George Ehusani, a Catholic Reverend Father, said in a recent homily, medical workers are at risk from infection as they care for patients suffering from a highly infectious disease such as Covid-19. It’s a risk taken on behalf of our collective humanity. According to the Catholic priest, the activities of medical personnel in this period of public health emergency amount to a deep expression of the Biblical love for fellow human beings because the…

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Wednesday, 06 May 2020 05:21

My daddy, my best friend - Aisha Abba Kyari

On 17th April, 2020, my world came crashing down and my heart shattered into a billion pieces. Upon receiving the news of my father’s passing, I immediately felt the most excruciating pain – a pain I would not wish on my worst enemy. My biggest fear in the world had materialised. Most people knew my dad as the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari. As it is with many public servants, there was much more to him than the signature white kaftan and red cap by which he came to be recognised. He was a most remarkable husband to…

Wednesday, 06 May 2020 05:18

A pledge for Africa - Abiy Ahmed

In 34 of Sub-Saharan Africa’s 45 countries, annual per capita health spending is below $200, and measures like lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and even frequent handwashing to combat Covid-19 are nearly impossible to implement. This simple fact underscores the urgent need for the Global Health Pledging Conference on May 4. The world will not be free of the Covid-19 pandemic until all countries are free of the coronavirus that causes it. This simple fact underscores the urgent need for the Global Health Pledging Conference to be held on May 4. Only by acting now to support developing countries’ ability to combat…

Tuesday, 05 May 2020 05:06

All aboard…! Steering Nigeria’s Covid-19 action train - Fola Adeola

The first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Nigeria on the 27th of February 2020. Just a little over two months ago and, yet, it feels like a lifetime has elapsed. The world we lived in then is so much different from the one we are about to be released into, as the lockdown restrictions are lifted. When the lockdown was announced by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 27th of March, there were 65 confirmed cases in the country and the President’s Chief of Staff had just tested positive for the virus. Today, we have confirmed over 2,000 cases, and…

Tuesday, 05 May 2020 05:05

Coronavirus sets balancing act between science, politics

Should science alone dictate policy on how to cope with the Coronavirus pandemic? Governments worldwide are grappling with this thorny question as they loosen lockdowns that have tested the tensile strength of communities and economies alike. Stay-at-home orders have clearly saved lives by reducing the number of new Covid-19 patients streaming into overwhelmed hospitals. But measures to protect health have come at a steep economic and social cost. Even among scientists, opinions are divided. "If we want Covid-19 to be a bad memory and not a current nightmare, scientific advice must be prioritised in all political decisions, period," said Sara…

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