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Opinion

Friday, 28 April 2023 03:09

What Nigeria’s election cannot teach does not exist - Azu Ishiekwene

Nigeria’s February/March elections undid many things. One of them was the 63-year-old myth that no wealthy and ambitious candidate could emerge president. Until the last presidential election. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria’s president between 1963 and 1966, came close. But while ownership of his extensive and authoritative newspaper chain made him influential, he was not wealthy. In any case, he was only a ceremonial president. The other leaders, especially the elected ones, up till now, had neither money nor ambition. And all, without exception, were also not prepared for office. A number of them even said so publicly. Bola Tinubu would be…

Thursday, 27 April 2023 03:53

Buhari doesn’t deserve forgiveness - Abimbola Adelakun

During the governorship and state house of assembly elections in March, President Muhammadu Buhari enjoined Nigerians to go ahead and collect any monies distributed by vote-buying politicians but still vote their conscience. Ideally, it should be shocking that a country’s president—especially one who came to power as an anti-corruption crusader—would shamelessly endorse an electoral infraction. But he has let us down so often that pointing out this error will be a waste of everyone’s precious time. The more annoying part of that thoughtless statement was that it negated his previous posturing on the naira redesign policy to protect electoral integrity.…

Sunday, 23 April 2023 02:43

From Kiev to Abuja: Two nations, one struggle for electoral justice - Osmund Agbo

In the immediate aftermath of the 2004 presidential election in Ukraine, the nation’s capital of Kiev became the center of a series of civil disobedience campaigns, sit-ins, and general strikes. The protests were sparked by reports of massive corruption, voter intimidation, and electoral fraud from several election monitors, both domestic and foreign. There was also a widespread public perception that the results of the run-off vote of 21 November, 2004 between leading candidates Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych were rigged in favour of the latter who was supported by the government in power. Sounds familiar? The protests continued for three…

Sunday, 23 April 2023 02:42

Binani, Buhari: Hurt, guilt and forgiveness - Festus Adedayo

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, asked Nigerians who he might have hurt in his near-eight-year misrule, to forgive him. Similarly, a section of the social media is asking for forgiveness for Aishatu Dahiru, popularly known as Binani. Dahiru is the woman who, before the April gubernatorial election re-run in Adamawa State, was considered a political exemplar and one who typified the assumed political purity of the female gender. Very few narratives of the concept of hurt and forgiveness are as gripping as the grisly story of Father Michael Lapsley. As he walked into the sitting of the Truth and Reconciliation…

Sunday, 23 April 2023 02:40

Singing a new song - Taiwo Akinola

I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth ~ Hosea 2:15. Introduction: This year is rapidly advancing to a close, with the prospect of greater opportunities ahead. No doubt, it has offered diverse experiences to different people in very many distinct circumstances. Whatever the case, God is saying that our springs of joy and gladness are not gone forever. Please be informed that it is quite normal that certain experiences in the journeys of destiny show up with remarkable…

Sunday, 23 April 2023 02:38

Article of faith: Controlling anger (2) - Femi Aribisala

Causeless anger often relates to deep-seated sin, such as envy or pride. Malice refers to deep-seated anger that makes a man inclined to interpret the actions of another negatively. David brings his brothers some supplies from home, yet Eliab attacks him for coming to the war front. David replies: “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” (1 Samuel 17:29). “But David, don’t you know your brother bears malice against you? Have you forgotten that although you are the baby of the family, it was you that the high priest anointed as the future king of Israel?” Joseph’s…

Saturday, 22 April 2023 03:47

Kole Omotoso at 80: A sage of all ages - Toyin Falola

Central to Kole Omotoso’s ideological leaning is the belief that moral rectitude should naturally form the foundation of human identity. As I read his works, I see the emphasis on moral dignity to curb excessive behaviour from individuals, regardless of their cultural and philosophical backgrounds. If morality were an ideological overture, Omotoso would have been an apostle with loyal disciples, since he considers morality as the basis for civilisational ideals. Meanwhile, his moral perceptiveness includes a universal examination and critical repudiation of values favouring powerful minority elites at the detriment of the hapless majority. To that extent, what is considered…

Saturday, 22 April 2023 03:46

To Kole Omotoso at 80: An appreciation - Akin Omotoso

Dear Daddy, As a child I remember waking up to the hypnotic sound of your typewriter echoing through the house in Ife. I remember, when you were writing your masterpiece, Just Before Dawn, the floor in your study was covered in books. My brother, sister and I would swim in them. I remember whenever we would ask you a question you would give us a book, saying the answer was in there. I remember this and much more on this occasion of your 80th Birthday and I am thankful that we choose you to love, guide, inspire, support us in…

Friday, 21 April 2023 03:05

Hadiza and the toes of the Nigerian Big Man - Azu Ishiekwene

Hadiza Bala Usman's new book, "Stepping on Toes," is a cautionary tale for anyone hoping to work in public service in Nigeria, particularly in the Federal Government. It's an incredible story by the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) of how to break your heart, if not your spirit, in public service. In Nigeria, public service is a big deal. At no time is there a greater vacancy than when a new government comes in. The turnover in this sector, which consumes nearly 60 percent of Nigeria’s yearly budget, is unknown. However, in the US, it was…

Thursday, 20 April 2023 03:49

The subversive politics of Gangs of Lagos - Abimbola Adelakun

The Nigerian Video and Film Censors Board Executive Director Adedayo Thomas said their agency is not taking any censorious action against Gangs of Lagos, a film directed by Jade Osiberu and streaming on Amazon Prime, because the law does not empower them to regulate online content. When I read that, I could not help but be grateful for Web 2.0. Thank God for streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon! These platforms have expanded the options of artists in Nigeria beyond the reach of bowdlerizers of imagination like the “censors board”! Imagine we still live in the age where agencies like…

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Wednesday, 19 April 2023 03:15

Abuja’s special constitutional status and why it is not a state - Sola Ebiseni

Contrary to wild assumptions for and against, Section 134 (1) (b) or 134 (2) (b) which deals with the requirements of 25 per cent of the votes cast at the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, as a prerequisite for declaring a candidate winner of the Presidential election in Nigeria, has never been directly and purposely interpreted by our courts. This is because no one has ever been declared President without having scored 25 per cent of the votes cast in the FCT to invoke the jurisdiction of the court to interpret the section accordingly. It is a cardinal principle of our…

Wednesday, 19 April 2023 03:13

Soyinka: Enough of the hubris! - Kennedy Emetulu

In all honesty, I’m getting quite pissed with all this attempt at beatifying Wole Soyinka after his clearly insulting comments he’s now trying to pass off as some sagely talk. Soyinka has happily, but thoughtlessly concocted an acidic porridge of words and language to belittle, undermine and deride young people who’ve genuinely questioned his tone-deaf comment. He’s been at it for a while. I think he needs a moment of sober reflection. He needs to climb down from his Mount Olympus, discard his oracular false airs and think deeply about what’s going on with him right now. Sure, he’s our…

Monday, 17 April 2023 03:14

Of Ramadan, you be thief, and Pantami - a mix - Hassan Gimba

This is a repeat as it was first published two years ago, precisely on 19/04/2021. Has anything changed? The reader should say. Ramadan is a month synonymous with fasting in the Muslim world. In Islam, fasting is the practice of abstaining from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity between dawn and nightfall. At present, the world over, adult Muslims of sound mental and physical health are observing it, being the fourth of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims observe it in the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. The name of the month has supplanted…

Monday, 17 April 2023 03:12

Kill the Chatbots? - MIchael R. Strain

The world has been dazzled by sudden major advances in artificial intelligence. But now some prominent and well-placed people are responding with misguided demands to pull the emergency brake. An open letter calling “on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least six months the training of AI systems” has received thousands of signatures, including those of tech icons like Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, many CEOs, and prominent scholars. Geoffrey Hinton, one of the pioneers of the “deep learning” methods behind the recent advances, was recently asked by CBS News about AI “wiping out humanity.” And, as always,…

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