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Opinion

Wednesday, 03 June 2020 05:42

As Ondo Governorship election hots up...(4) - Bola Bolawole

Nigeria’s elections – and politics - stopped being one of ideas and ideals a long time ago; gone were the days when manifestoes and programmes of political parties swayed voters one way or another. Our elections and politics these days are basically those of what is now derisively and euphemistically referred to as “stomach infrastructure” believed by many to have been introduced by an ex-Lagos governor (the Jeun s’oke kingpin and Area Father par excellence) and made popular by another erstwhile governor, this time of Ekiti state. Nigerians have suffered in the hands of governors! Gone were the days when…

Wednesday, 03 June 2020 05:41

A takeaway not to be ignored - Kayode Komolafe

Experts and non-experts now freely talk of the takeaways in the discussion of the harsh lessons that the novel coronavirus is teaching humanity. As nations, private organisations and individuals grapple with the socio-economic consequences of the virus one of the obvious takeaways is that ultimately development is to be measured by the quality of the lives of all the human beings in any geo-political space. You will notice if this takeaway is being ignored when you examine the priority being given to the worsening inequality in the land. Taking a global look at this big issue before humanity recently, Nobelist…

Wednesday, 03 June 2020 05:33

Dialoguing with Pan-Africanist compatriots - Edwin Madunagu

On April 21, 2020, and for a couple of days thereafter, my article, “Re-introducing the Lugano Report”, appeared in the media and on discussion platforms. The content of the piece is what the title indicates: a repeat introduction to readers, particularly from the Nigerian Left, of a book I had previously introduced under a different rubric. The earlier introduction of the quasi-fictional book, “The Lugano Report: on preserving capitalism in the 21st century”, written by Susan George, was published about a decade ago. In re-introducing the book I proposed that Nigerian Leftists “ought to search out and read or re-read…

Wednesday, 03 June 2020 05:31

Which post-pandemic government? - Raghuram G. Rajan

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has shown why high-level coordination is sometimes necessary for managing emergencies, it has also underscored the risks of placing too much power in the hands of an incompetent central authority. The best approach is a middle path, with a slight bias in favor of decentralization. Even with the Covid-19 pandemic still raging, speculation has turned to what society will look like afterward. Citizens, shocked by how easily their lives can be upended, will want to reduce risk. According to the emerging new consensus, they will favor more government intervention to stimulate demand (by pumping trillions of…

Tuesday, 02 June 2020 05:17

How the Hong Kong calamity will play out - Minxin Pei

By announcing a new security law for Hong Kong, China has effectively already brought an end to the era of "one country, two systems." And that means the worst is yet to come, as Chinese leaders' efforts to enforce full political control over the city meet fierce local resistance. China’s decision to crack down on Hong Kong with a new security law has shocked the world. But to those who read the resolution issued last November by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, it comes as no surprise. In that document’s section pertaining to Hong Kong, the…

Monday, 01 June 2020 05:17

Who has the world’s largest economy? - Jeffrey Frankel

Once again, new economic readings from the World Bank's International Comparison Program have fed into the long-going debate over whether China is surpassing the United States as an economic and financial power. And once again, the answer to that question is a qualified "no." The World Bank’s International Comparison Program has just released its latest measures of price levels and GDP across 176 countries, and the results are striking. For the first time ever, the ICP finds that China’s total real (inflation-adjusted) income is slightly larger than that of the United States. In purchasing-power-parity (PPP) terms, China’s 2017 GDP was…

Monday, 01 June 2020 05:10

George Floyd's senseless killing: End racism that afflicts America's soul like a cancer - Kay Coles James

The senseless and completely unjustified killing of George Floyd – an unarmed black man – by a white police officer in Minneapolis last Monday should shock the conscience of America. While I understand the frustration and anger, I do not condone the violence spreading across this country in response to Floyd’s horrific killing. Rioting tearing apart Minneapolis and cities coast-to-coast will never lead to anything but more suffering. Those who are committing crimes are distracting us from the even larger group of people who are peacefully demonstrating. But we cannot shrug off Floyd’s killing – along with the killings of…

Sunday, 31 May 2020 04:52

Why Trump may throw AfDB Adesina inside the Bandama River - Festus Adedayo

Occasionally, some occurrences on the African continent remind us of how vulnerable we are. Or, put in the lingo of neocolonialism advocates, how tied to the apron strings of the west Africa is, over six decades after the colonialists physically left the African shores. Such also tells us, as our late brother, Robert Nesta Marley, musically sermonized in our ears, that though there are no chains around our feet, Africa is not free. The occasions afford us opportunities of going back to the literature of decolonization, dependency theories and even looking inwards into how Africa herself has contributed largely to…

Sunday, 31 May 2020 04:51

In quest for the true religion: Periscoping Islam - Kola Oyefeso

Last week, we eulogized all the religions the world over, for the wonderful job they are doing in fulfilling the external aspect behind their formation. This refers to prompting us inter alia; to love one and another, without which we cannot love God. How can we truly worship God, if we depise His creatures-top of which are the humans? Pass mark was given to all religions for this external feature of continually instilling the fear of God in us and guiding us toward neighborliness. The second and most vital one is that of uniting us with the Creator, from whose…

Sunday, 31 May 2020 04:50

After confrontation with Mama Igosun, Okon demands security vote - Tatalo Alamu

As Coronavirus retreats into its shameful abode, and as the lockdown eases country-wide, gaiety and humour are gradually returning to their vacated stalls in the country’s rich market of daily transactions. Nigerians are quite a humorous lot and even in the most adverse of circumstances, a certain joie de vivre, an infectious bonhomie, never really deserts the people. But Covid-19 really put the fear of the Lord into most people. Except for the hard-headed ones, many wore a haggard and mournful look with heavy trepidation in the air. It was a dreadful unseen enemy which returned pre-colonial fetish and superstition…

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Sunday, 31 May 2020 04:49

If you’re a white woman and you’re uncomfortable right now, that’s a good thing - Liz Plank

I probably don’t need to describe the video because you are likely one of the 41 million people who have watched it already. But if you haven’t, let me explain: In a video posted to Twitter, a white woman calls the cops on a black birdwatcher after he asks her to leash her unleashed dog in Central Park, which mandates it. As she yanks her dog’s collar, the woman tells him that she is going to call the police and tell them “an African American man is threatening my life.” She is not in danger. He is not threatening her…

Saturday, 30 May 2020 05:38

Post-Coronavirus, Africa's manufacturing moment - Muhammadu Buhari

Across the world, as countries and economies slowly reopen, Africa lags behind. We were last to experience the coronavirus—and we expect to be the final continent to flatten the curve. Some may say it is too early, that the crisis still too deep and the recovery too distant to dwell upon the future. But that is wrong. In times of global crisis it is critical to think of the life after, and how—through adversity—we can refashion the world around us. In this new, post-coronavirus age, Nigeria—and Africa, more broadly—wish to benefit the world, not be a drag on its resources…

Saturday, 30 May 2020 05:36

Twitter and Trump raise stakes in fight over free speech in America

Jonathan Turley Long trumpeted as our defining right, free speech in the United States seems to be dangling on social media. The decision of Twitter to slap warnings on tweets by President Trump marked a major escalation of speech controls on the internet, a move that has been demanded by Democrats. While the company said Trump did not violate its rules, it still intervened between him and his followers to add its own view of the truth on a political controversy. The action taken against Trump on his mail voting tweets is the realization of a fear of free speech…

Saturday, 30 May 2020 05:35

What should you say when someone you know is grieving? - Jocelyn M. DeGroot

Covid-19 deaths are being announced everywhere. Recognize the loss. Over 100,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, and thanks to social media, many of us who aren’t personally in mourning are digitally connected to someone who is. Especially for people in the hardest-hit areas, death announcements in Facebook statuses, Instagram posts and tweets seem more frequent than they’ve ever been. While social-distancing requirements have limited funerals and burials, sharing condolences online is as easy as ever — or at least it should be. But I worry that people will keep scrolling and fail to reach out — or worse, make…

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