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Opinion

Monday, 11 April 2016 01:15

Another desperate memo to President Buhari

Dele Momodu Your Excellency, Assalam Alaikum. It has been over six months since you graciously invited me to your office in Abuja. I must note once again that I was truly honoured and humbled by our one-on-one meeting. We spoke and interacted like two old buddies. What was more, I was all alone with you without a third party in the room. We spoke candidly and cracked jokes freely. I remember presenting you with an advance copy of my forthcoming book and you even requested me to autograph it for you which I did with such pride and gratitude in…

Sunday, 10 April 2016 01:24

Leave matter for Matthias

Reuben Abati “I saw something yesterday. I thought it was a joke.”“What happened?”“Nigerians and their sense of humour; we always manage to squeeze laughter out of every situation, no matter how sad.”“I don’t like the suspense. What is it?”“I attended a wedding engagement ceremony.”“And?”“When the groom’s family was presenting gifts to the bride’s family, do you know what they did?”“I am with you”“They suddenly brought out two 50-litre jerry cans of fuel, which they presented to the bride’s father, with a declaration that they don’t want their in-law to go through any stress during this season of fuel scarcity”“Correct in-laws!”“We…

Sunday, 10 April 2016 01:08

Cameron says he mishandled Panama Papers tax scrutiny

Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday he should have handled scrutiny of his family's tax arrangements better, seeking to reassert his leadership after days of negative media coverage and calls for his resignation. After four days and four different statements over his late father's inclusion in the "Panama Papers", Cameron said on Thursday he once had a stake in his father's offshore trust and had profited from it. "Well, it's not been a great week," Cameron said, speaking in London at a meeting of members of his Conservative Party. "I know that I should have handled this better, I…

Saturday, 09 April 2016 02:01

President Buhari and Tinubu's Blindspot

Reno Omokri I read the papers a few days ago and two of the most conspicuous headlines centered on comments made by President Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, National Leader of his party, the All Progressive Congress, APC. As if in a coordinated onslaught, both of them blamed Nigeria's current woes on the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and its 16 years in power. There were many headlines reflecting their accusations, but the most descriptive, in my opinion, were from ThisDay and Punch newspapers. The ThisDay headline went thus 'Buhari Blames PDP for Nigeria’s Economic Woes', while Punch had the…

Friday, 08 April 2016 01:26

Panama Papers, Zuma and the DNA of corruption

Reuben Abati Where corruption is involved, African leaders seem to be utterly beyond shock. Blacks folks in office often regard as normal business, the kind of infractions that draw alarm and apologetic resignations in other parts of the world. This is not meant to be a racist comment, but it is curious that the African sense of shock is mediated so often and so conveniently by other considerations, including politics, ethnicity, religion, and a certain lack of a feeling of shame: that measure of restraint that defines the idea of being human. Two major scandals in the international arena in…

Thursday, 07 April 2016 02:03

Our Fulani and herdsmen of mayhem

Ifeanyi Izeze The increasing sophistication and clinical coordination of the group of mindless attackers we call "Fulani herdsmen" or "cattle rearers" that have meted chained terror to our people in different parts of the country is mind-boggling and embarrassing. To think that what is happening in the North-Central and now in virtually every other part of the country is a mere conflict for grazing rights would only amount to naivety at best, because it is now without a doubt that an evil wind is blowing and no section of the country is spared. The question to ask is: why is…

Wednesday, 06 April 2016 01:55

The shame of the fuel crisis

Simon Kolawole The joke of the week must be the tweet by @chidiajuzie, illustrated with a picture of fuel hawkers. He wrote: “Nigeria has so far created 3 million jobs, all in the Ministry of Petroleum, Street Petrol Hawking Division.” I’m still laughing. Without this sense of humour, most Nigerians would be walking the streets with severe cases of madness. The searing heat and deafening generator noises are enough to blow up the fuses in the head and turn us to mental cases. But thank goodness, humour is helping us out. It is bad enough that there is no power;…