Two unrelated pieces of information prompted the writing of this piece. First was the statement from the chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Bello Shehu, when he paid a courtesy visit to the chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State in his office in Abuja. He said the commission had concluded arrangements to review, upwards, of course, the remuneration of public officers in Nigeria. The last time such was carried out for these categories of Nigerians “was in 2008, which makes it even overdue for review,” he stated. The second was…

Through many years of work to support effective political leadership and sound governance in Africa, I have seen the continent confront immense challenges, not least during the Covid-19 pandemic. But there is one major issue that continues to be largely ignored: Africa’s unique position in the climate crisis. For many communities across the continent, the climate threat is already existential. Vast swaths of Africa are becoming uninhabitable, and immense reserves of natural wealth – tropical forests, arable lands, freshwater ecosystems, and coastlines – are being degraded. This is a grave injustice. Africa is suffering the most from a problem that…

As Okon’s antics became more outlandish with each passing day, snooper devised a scheme for tempering the juvenile Calabar rogue’s waywardness. The mad boy has even added Governor General of Efik nation to his numerous titles. We decided to ask him to accompany snooper to the barber’s shop where we normally relax and enjoy a game of draughts with our childhood crony, Buhari a.k.a Buhari Jogbojogbo. May be Okon can learn something from the ancient wit and wisdom of the Yoruba, and the humility with which they display their wisdom. The day began with snooper trying to sharpen Okon’s rusty…

From my personal ranking of their tragic imports, three events which occurred in the last one week constitute leading narratives of where we are today. They are, one, the siege laid to Southwest Nigeria’s Lagos-Ibadan expressway by kidnappers and the suicidal plunge to death of an operative of Nigeria’s secret police, known as the Department of State Services (DSS), into the Lagos lagoon. The third was a video clip posted by Tolu Ogunlesi, Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital and New Media, in a Twitter post where details of what Buhari discussed with British monarch, King Charles III, …