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Opinion

Friday, 28 June 2024 04:44

The book after Trial of Nuhu Ribadu - Azu Ishiekwene

It was different 16 years ago. Very different. At that time, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was relatively new and walking where angels feared to tread. That was unusual for a government institution, especially a law enforcement agency. So unusual that one of Nigeria’s most courageous social crusaders, Gani Fawehinmi, a thorn in government’s side, joined forces with the commission in the fight against corruption even when the man he loved to hate, Olusegun Obasanjo, was president. But you couldn’t blame Gani. The first decade after transitioning to civilian rule in 1999 was an “enough moment” for Nigeria.…

Friday, 28 June 2024 04:42

My jet is bigger than yours - Chidi Amuta

In 1989, the call of duty and pull of family necessitated that I travel from my London partial base to New York. I was checked in on a British Airways flight from London to New York. We were set to leave Heathrow shortly after the usual pre-departure rituals. I was seated on an aisle seat on row 2 in the First Class cabin courtesy of my employers then. I noticed that on both sides of the aisle in my front, the two seats on each row were unoccupied. It was a bit curious. I reckoned it was either a VIP…

Thursday, 27 June 2024 04:46

When an elderly president stumbles, in which direction does he look? - Abimbola Adelakun

Yoruba people have a proverb that translates, “When a youth stumbles, they look ahead; when an elderly stumbles, they look backwards.” As a child, I thought the proverb was talking about how children and elders contrarily process the embarrassment of falling in public. I assumed that an elder looks backwards when they fall because it would be too shameful to look elsewhere. Growing older helped me appreciate the wisdom the proverb encodes. The youth and the elderly look in opposite directions when they miss their footing to draw upon sources of wisdom available to them. Foundering during one’s youth is…

Wednesday, 26 June 2024 04:40

The Tinubu Bus Stop - Sonala Olumhense

Nigeria was last week swept up in a wave of emotions as a video emerged in South Africa of President Bola Tinubu appearing to be on the receiving end of an embarrassing snub by the South Africa leader at his inauguration. But Nigerians who are looking at that video are at the wrong political campaign venue. They should be studying videos of how Tinubu views them. According to Sahara Reporters, Tinubu arrived in Pretoria on a private jet belonging to Gilbert Chagoury, his business partner and a man whose Hitech Construction Company he has trusted with the controversial N15 trillion,…

Tuesday, 25 June 2024 05:04

If democracy isn’t pro-worker, it will die - Daron Acemoglu

Even if the feared extremist wave did not quite materialize in the European Parliament election this month, the far right performed well in Italy, Austria, Germany, and especially France. Moreover, its latest gains have come on the heels of major shifts toward far-right parties in Hungary, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, and Sweden, among others. In France, the resounding victory for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (previously the National Front) cannot be dismissed as a mere protest vote. The party already controls many local governments, and its success this month has induced President Emmanuel Macron to call early elections – a…

Monday, 24 June 2024 04:48

Scamming NGOs and the need for government intervention - Hassan Gimba (1)

NGO is the acronym for Non-Governmental Organisation and as the name suggests, they are non-profit bodies formed to carry out non-governmental functions and thereby fill gaps that governments and even the private sectors could not affect or where their impacts are minimal while the needs are necessary. They are meant to be agents of development, more especially at the grassroots level, while engaging the citizenry with a deliberate agenda to awaken their awareness and desire for positive social changes that would enhance their quality of life while driving them to make their world a better place. Non-governmental organisations are supposed…

Sunday, 23 June 2024 04:43

Rehoboam, presidential jet and Nigerians’ Aparo eggs - Festus Adedayo

Nigerians have indeed suffered tremendously in the last one year. Not strictly the hunger tugging at our bellies. That pestilence of hunger was brilliantly conveyed by the whammy soundbite, “Ebi npa wa o” as Lagos Island people’s response to the president’s fleet of gleaming SUVs last year. As an aside, permit the pun, I think that national soundbite deserves a Grammy. Lacerating words from those who rule us even rub salt on our hunger injury. They make Christians race for their bibles to read the famous and incredulous story of King Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and successor. Some young men had…

Sunday, 23 June 2024 04:42

Help is on the way! - Taiwo Akinola

My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth ~ Psalms 121:2. Introduction: Your exemption from limitations and from hopeless crises in life is a function of the light of God that is at work in you. Since the fall of man, it has become completely impossible to live in this world or reign in life all alone without the help of God (Romans 5:17). Surviving wholesomely in our present estate certainly calls for help from a Source beyond ourselves. The Apostle Paul posits in this regard that the entire creature is in pangs, with joint groans and…

Sunday, 23 June 2024 04:40

Article of Faith: Justification of the ungodly - Femi Aribisala

The managing director had a liking for Fred, to the great annoyance of Joe, his main rival for promotion. Joe was convinced that Fred was no better at the job than him. He tried his level best to impress the boss but to no avail. So, he opted for a new strategy. He would set a trap for Fred, confident that he would slip up sooner than later. He did not have to wait for long. Fred fell into the trap hook, line, and sinker. Joe quickly and gleefully brought the matter to the attention of the boss. The dye…

Friday, 21 June 2024 04:42

Nigerian youths after prosperity gospel - Abimbola Adelakun

Some years ago, while Nigeria had abundant money from oil revenue, the prosperity gospel and motivational speaking also reigned. The prosperity gospel is a theology that promises divine blessings of material wealth and good health to the one who sows seeds of financial contribution to the church, a sacrifice that must be worthwhile enough to move divine transcendent power on one’s behalf. Motivational speaking was a similar message, except that the transformation it promised was connected to more secular tactics. In that era, charismatic preachers made good. Their lavish lifestyle made their message self-affirming. A lot has since changed. The…

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Friday, 21 June 2024 04:41

Writing for media and monetising it: An entrepreneur's perspective - Max Amuchie

Last December, on my last day of work before Christmas, I sat alone in my office in Abuja, reflecting on my life's journey. I thought about my years in the media, especially the few years since I ventured into entrepreneurship. I remembered my post on Facebook in June 2015 announcing my resignation as Managing Editor at LEADERSHIP Newspaper and the planned unveiling of Sundiata Post as an online newspaper the following month. I thought about the people whose paths I had crossed in the media. I remembered the statement made by Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, a retired army colonel, when, as…

Thursday, 20 June 2024 04:42

Democracy day in Nigeria is actually deception day - Babafemi A. Badejo

On 11 June at about 5 p.m., I was at my friend, Femi Onabajo’s office to listen to Al Jazeera, as well as charge my phone, before returning to my apartment in Abeokuta for the usual dark nights and, of late, no water. There was no water, not because the Ogun State government or the local government authority responsible for my place of abode had a temporary delivery problem. The two levels of governance eagerly collect taxes, share federal allocations meant to care for all of us, but never provide one of the reasons why people pay taxes and revenues…

Tuesday, 18 June 2024 04:48

China and Russia are beating the US in Africa - James Stavridis

Africa, with 60% of the arable land on the planet, 30% of the mineral reserves and a population approaching 1.5 billion, is an increasingly vital region for global security. Unfortunately, the US has not been adapting to a rapidly changing scene. In the latest blow, US troops have been forced to leave Niger, where the Pentagon had enjoyed a longstanding security partnership. At the same time, Russia and China are consolidating political and military influence across the continent. Russian paramilitaries and mercenaries, using the model of the now-defunct Wagner Group, have been operating in Mali, Congo, the Central African Republic…

Monday, 17 June 2024 04:11

Africa’s continental criminal court can no longer wait - Chidi Anslem Odinkalu

Less than a decade ago, the detention centre of the International Criminal Court, ICC, in Scheveningen on the outskirts of The Hague could easily have been mistaken for a committee meeting of leaders of the African Union. One of its long-term guests was Laurent Gbagbo, a former president of Côte d’Ivoire. From neighbouring Liberia, Gbagbo’s contemporary, Charles Taylor, kept up a punishing schedule on the tennis courts of the facility. With them there also was former Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, Jean-Pierre Bemba. At about the same time, Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta; and his Deputy and…

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