2019: The Risk Nigerians Must Take!

By Jerome-Mario Utomi

Risk viewed conventionally is an observable reality that people sprint away from as it is both covertly and overtly considered an unpleasant situation. But contrary to this belief, Peter Drucker, a United States of America born management consultant in his book; Managing For Result, underscored the inescapable posture of risk-taking in human existence and essentially classified it into four categories; the risk one must accept, the risk one can afford to take, the risk one cannot afford to take, and the risk one cannot afford not to take.

Indeed a virulent reality, however, from the recent/unpleasant political and socioeconomic occurrences in the country, it has become a barefaced truth that for Nigeria to accelerate economic growth and make social progress, the people must use the 2019 general elections as a vehicle to  confront/correct the ‘inbuilt’ anomalies  debilitating our nationhood.

Nigeria: A Requiem For The Lifeless One

By Femi Fani-Kayode

”A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping. Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more”- Jeremiah 31:15.

O lifeless one, you have lost all sense of decency and you are drunk with power.

As the children are murdered in cold blood and cut short in the streets of Abuja by your soldiers you watch silently from a distance: smug, smiling, detached, indifferent and secretly egging the killers on.

For Hauwa Liman, Martyred!

By Obi Nwakanma

Since the movers of Boko Haram think of books as “haram,” it is most unlikely that they, being illiterate, can comprehend, and therefore are likely to read this tribute to the young woman whom they have killed, Hauwa Liman. And so, this is not directed at them. 

*Hauwa Liman

They cannot read. In any case, one must address a community of humans, those who share human traits; who have the natural human, and healthy instinct for empathy. It takes a subhuman freak, and a deadly form of misanthropy, to take another life. Members of the Boko Haram movement are not human. 

Nigeria: The Problem With Gov El-Rufai’s Gonin Gora Demolition Threat

By Moses Ochonu

The problem with El-Rufai is not that he is a bad Governor. The problem, rather, is that he tries so hard to be seen as a good governor, so hard that he ends up undermining his own good works, causing unnecessary controversy, and exposing his bigotry and lack of executive governing temperament. He is a much better technocrat than he is a wielder of executive authority.

*President Buhari and Gov El-Rufai 

He threatened to demolish an entire community, Gonin Gora, in the middle of an ethno-religious crisis. It is a terrible idea to threaten or to actually demolish an entire community whatever crimes some members of that community may have committed. For one, it amounts to collective punishment, a primitive punitive action incompatible with modern, enlightened notions of justice, correction, and recompense. Second, it is a rather lazy, knee-jerk, thoughtless, and ultimately counterproductive response.

Nigeria: The Usman Yusuf Saga

By Ray Ekpu

The Professor Usman Yusuf saga is obviously sapping the energy and the health of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) of which he is the Executive Secretary. It all started last year when a group called United Youth Alliance Against Corruption (UYAAC) sent a petition dated April 21, 2017 to the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole. In that petition garnished with supporting documents, the group accused Yusuf of fraud, abuse of office and nepotism. The supervising Minister thought, as is the practice in government, that the accused person should be suspended to create room for a fair investigation by the EFCC.

*Professor Usman Yusuf

The recommendation for his suspension received the nod of Professor Yemi Osinbajo who was then acting as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari was at that time receiving medical attention in the United Kingdom. When Buhari returned he overruled the Minister and the Acting President and recalled Professor Yusuf from suspension apparently without the EFCC completing its investigation. The presidency said at the time through the tongue of Mr. Garba Shehu, one of Buhari’s spokesmen, that Yusuf was a victim of ethnic and political conspiracies which was an unmistaken indictment of the Minister of Health, Professor Adewole and the Acting President, Professor Osinbajo. 

The Alarming Rate Of Poverty In Nigeria

By Victor Ikem

As the world marked the 2018 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on the 17th of October, it has become imperative to remind governments and policy actors in Nigeria of the growing rates of poverty and the urgent need to reverse this ugly trend through a well thought out and compressive strategy, policy and programmes towards eliminating the causes of poverty in Nigeria. 

While the debate generated by the Brookings Institution’s World Poverty Clock report which rated Nigeria as a country with the highest number of extremely poor people in the world, is yet to wane, it is disturbing to see how the British Prime Minister, Theresa May at her recent visit to Africa, described Nigeria saying much of Nigeria is thriving, with many individuals enjoying the fruits of a resurgent economy, yet 87 million Nigerians live on less than $1 and 90 cents a day, making it home to more very poor people than any other nation in the world.

Nigeria: Senseless Killings As National Pastime

By Dan Amor

Irrational impulses are not surprising in the stress and tension that characterize a demented society. In an atmosphere of violence, reason is sometimes abandoned and humanitarian principles forgotten. The inflamed passions of the time lead men and women to commit atrocities. 

*President Buhari and Army Chief, Gen Burutai 

But the concern here is not with the psychological pathology of those who commit atrocities but rather with what has turned our nation into a slaughterhouse where human beings are daily killed with intimidating alacrity. Throughout modern history, atrocity propaganda has often mesmerized readers thousands of kilometres away from the scene of the crime. Often, the improbability of the actions described suggests that the stories were little more than fantasies concocted for diverse reasons from even more diverse sources.

President Buhari, Show Us Your Certificate!

By Reno Omokri
Nothing could prepare me for the shock that greeted me when I opened the dailies on Friday, October 26, 2018. Right there on the front-page headlines was the news that President Buhari, again, could not present his West African School Certificate Examination certificate because the original is with the army. 

*President Buhari and his wife, Aisha

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me! That lame excuse could hardly suffice in 2015 when President Jonathan was the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, but it is certainly an untenable excuse today!

NYSC: National Service Or National Scam?

By Olatunde Akinyemi

It is the pride of most parents to see their wards all dressed up in khaki and boots. A symbol that the child has scaled through tertiary education, and successfully served the country,  a matured individual. For some,  it signifies a bonafide citizen of the nation, ‘omo ijoba’, as my Yoruba friends will say, a bragging right. 

Many years ago, as a Primary 5 student, my uncle came home on one particular  day in that popular uniform. I didn’t know what course he did in school, I didn’t know what school he attended,  no idea he had graduated, all I knew was that he had gone to serve.

When Will Northern Youths Truly Be Free?

By Simon Abah

The deaths of and whispered deaths of people in far-away places in Kaduna can lead to the deaths of hundreds of people in the state capital. These have gone on for too long with no end in sight other than preachment for tolerance and for people to learn to live in peace when the dust settles. Leaders go about begging people to live in peace. Beg? No-one is ever punished; the benefactors are always in the wind.

Pastors, Bishops, Sheiks or Chief Imams, have failed the north by the way they have handled these repeated crises in northern Nigeria because they are habituated to being politically correct every time instead of calling a spade by its name, shrinking violets. Who doesn’t know that politicians in the north play on prejudices to divide and tear the people apart? What is amazing is how fast youths go about killing people. These killings would go on unabated until these youths have jobs to do but who will provide them with jobs.

The Auctioning Of APGA

By Chibuzo N. Ziggy Azike

For those who might not know, APGA is the All Progressives Grand Alliance, a political party founded by Chief Chekwas Okorie and Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu in collaboration with other prominent Igbo sons, some of who never carried the card of any political party including APGA, but generously provided resources and logistics to ensure that “The Igbos also have our own party”; just like the Yoruba’s had AD and the Hausa’s APP”; that was the sentimental basis for the founding and establishment of APGA; and its success was instantaneous as Peter Obi won the election to be Governor of Anambra State in 2003, though he had to go through the courts to retrieve his mandate in a very tortuous journey which took the better part of three years to accomplish.

*Chief Ziggy Azike

I could have titled this piece “The betrayal Of APGA” or “The betrayal Of Chekwas” or “The Betrayal Of Ojukwu” or even “The Betrayal Of Bianca” or, and why not; “The Betrayal Of Ziggy”; because this article is to tell a tale of betrayals by a trio whom history thrust the fate of APGA into their care at a time like this and who have proceeded so wantonly, so prodigally and so treacherously to dissipate, abuse, waste, decimate and completely decapitate the legacy of Chekwas Okorie, Ikemba Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Professor Ben Obumselu, Engr. Arthur Eze and the legion of great Igbo patriots who invested in sundry ways into building the now wasted monument and institution called APGA.

The trio of Victor Umeh, Willie Obiano and Victor Oye are today holding exalted positions in our land courtesy of the valiant sacrificial labours of our “hero’s past” because the banner of APGA was used to foist them to prominence having been raised by APGA without any investments on their part; they like all prodigals care less about the heirlooms and the historical significance of sustaining a legacy; to them, APGA is a loot to be apportioned, shared balkanised and gobbled up in a rambunctious sleazy feast; to them; APGA has become a cash cow to be milked, to them APGA the hen that laid the golden eggs must also be menu on the dinner table tonight all because their tomorrow must be now. 

*Chief Victor Oye and Gov Obiano 

How did APGA get to this sorry pass? How do I start the story? Let’s try to put things in context; have you listened to the audio recording of the meeting Governor Obiano had with Ifeanyi Ubah moderated by Dr. Cletus Ibeto? That tape went viral; and you would have heard Obiano pleading with Ifeanyi Ubah to deploy his machinery and support his second term election. Obiano unequivocally and in very clear succinct terms assured Ubah that he, Obiano, will support Ubah as candidate of APGA for the Anambra South Senate seat. Now, how did Obiano honour that solemn pledge after Ifeanyi kept his side of the bargain and Obiano achieved his now “famous” 21/21? I will tell you. Obiano knowing full well that he had made a commitment to Ubah, now went and encouraged the widow of our founder, HE Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu to contest for the same Anambra South Senate seat under APGA. Then this serial betrayer and amoral traitor proceeded to receive all manner of inducement. The long and short of it is that today, neither Bianca nor Ifeanyi is the candidate of APGA for that seat.

The story of the auctioning of APGA cannot be fully told in any single newspaper article. But in trying to put things in context, it is important to say that at the time Governor Obiano decided to install Chief Victor Oye as National Chairman of APGA, Oye had never been a member of our party, prior to that time. Oye had been my friend and I knew he was not one of us; but as we have only one Governor who triples as party National Leader and Chairman of our Board of Trustees, we deferred to him to produce anybody he desired as party National Chairman because his re-election was the most important item in our party’s calendar and we knew that he needed to feel secure and assured of the National Chairman to warrantee his nomination and re-election bid. Some of us who had noticed Oye’s predisposition and predilection to corrupt practices had told Obiano that he should consider letting Oye go once his own re-election was accomplished, but little did we know that Obiano perished the thought as he needed someone of Oyes rare amorality for the bazaar he was planning for the 2019 election season. We will come back to Oye presently.

I mentioned a trio at the beginning of this essay, yet so far I have not narrated the role of Victor Umeh who today is a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and who is the immediate past National Chairman of APGA, the Master Puppeteer who manipulates Obiano and Oye to do his bidding, particularly as he has convinced Obiano that  he (Obiano) is a prime beneficiary of his artifice as he made Obiano Governor when he, Victor Umeh was National Chairman of APGA. Victor Umeh considers himself the kingmaker of APGA and the “agbawo dike izu” of APGA.

He is also the messenger of doom for APGA; it was Victor Umeh who brought the information to some spiritual and temporal leaders of Imo State that he had chosen for Imo people the person who will become Governor under APGA. Yes, it was Victor Umeh that became the Chief Auctioneer.

It is trite news that in the run up to the forthcoming 2019, elections in Imo State more than 25 persons showed interest to contest the Governorship election under the APGA; very early in the day we had told the leadership of the party that with so many aspirants, the only way to avoid rancour and ensure victory was to work out a process of consensus where the aspirants would by themselves produce a candidate.

The leadership, starting from our National Leader, Governor Obiano, past National Chairman and Master Puppeteer/Chief Auctioneer Senator Victor Umeh and National Chairman Chief Victor Oye did not want this; they jointly and severally mouthed “free and fair primaries”; alas what they actually wanted was chaos, and a bazaar where they would eventually auction the tickets to the highest bidders; so they started what Fela would have called “Government Magic”.

They started selling delegates forms, at N10,000 (ten thousand Naira) per delegate for respective elections; thus if you wanted to be a delegate for the House of Assembly; House of Representatives; Senatorial and Governorship primaries you must cough out a total of N40,000 yes; (forty thousand Naira); we had made APGA a solid grassroots brand, and there was a deluge and the party raked in billions of Naira from the thousands of prospective delegates; then the “national leadership” sent out feelers to aspirants, if you want your delegates list to be used (you know that in Imo State where Rochas had not paid workers and pensioners, the poor masses whose shops and markets had also been demolished could not possibly purchase the forms; so aspirants paid for them); you were approached to come and pay humongous bribes; the auction was on.

After collecting so much money in all manner of currencies from diverse aspirants, the Leadership of the party who had promised “free and fair primaries” started orchestrating confusion and tension and deliberately aborted the “primaries”. Nothing held because having collected money from so many bidders there was confusion as to who was to be delivered.

So there was no primary election for Governorship and other positions in Imo State under APGA. It was mayhem galore.
In Anambra State the story was a bit different because “primaries of a sort” was held in many constituencies and when many incumbents of the State House of Assembly lost out, and Certificates of Return were issued to the winners; they promptly started collecting signatures for the impeachment of Governor Obiano who all along was holidaying in his favourite fleshpots somewhere, he quickly issued instructions to Oye to give Certificates of Return to all the incumbent Members of the Anambra House of Assembly because they threatened to impeach him.

Today there are multiples of persons holding Certificates of Return for the same constituency in Imo and Anambra States.
The reality is that the trio of Obiano, Umeh and Oye have totally, completely destroyed the APGA brand in Imo State; APGA’S promise has been shattered and demolished; the APGA which Imo people prayed will come and restore their land just as NCNC and NPP did is no more; the N-APGA which was a response by the Union of APGA Governorship aspirants in Imo State is struggling to revive a highly demoralised populace; in Anambra, APGA will surely lose constituencies; if anybody under APGA wins, it will be because of the individual's rating and efforts, the brand APGA has been damaged and no longer represents “Nkea bu nkanyi”; “this is our own”; Obiano, Umeh and Oye have managed to destroy in one fell swoop, a legacy built by Chekwas Okorie, Peter Obi, Ikemba Nnewi, and all other Igbo patriots who invested integrity, goodwill, sacrificial leadership, good governance, patriotism and dedication to high ideals in directing the people.

Just as APGA was going national, having won a House of Representative Seat in Taraba, elections in Kaduna, FCT, and Bayelsa States, the demon spirit of Judas Iscariot captivated and enraptured the leadership of APGA. Today neither Obiano, Umeh or Oye can safely step into Imo State without the highest level of security as Imo people hold them responsible for undermining and truncating their dreams and hope in a better and greater Imo State from May 29, 2019.
I weep for APGA.

*Chief Chibuzo N. Ziggy Azike is a member of  the Member of the Board of Trustees APGA and Governorship Aspirant

Forced Prostitution: Link To Nigerian Juju Is Useful Nonsense

By Leo Igwe

On October 23, 2018, I addressed a stakeholders meeting, the Academy of Nations, in Munich in Germany. This meeting brought together representatives of the police and the regional government, social workers, religious organisations, and other governmental and nongovernmental agencies. They discussed the issue of human trafficking and forced prostitution in the region. Some of the victims were Nigerian women. I made a ten-minute speech that included a short video. 

And here is what I said:

Thank you Georg Falterbaum and Mattarei Norma for the invitation to address this important meeting on human trafficking. And thank you, the Bavarian government for the commitment to tackling the problem of human trafficking and forced prostitution. Trafficking in human beings has been described as a form of modern-day slavery in our contemporary world. So, it is important to use occasions such as this to have an open and frank discussion on this issue and to explore ways of eradicating it. 

Maternal And Infant Mortality In West Africa…Beyond The Numbers

By Clem Ugorji
THE pain of childbirth has been described as equivalent to 20 bones getting fractured at a time, a level slightly greater than the 45 del (a subjective measure of pain) limit of pain a human can endure. With this unique experience comes inexplicable joy and the pain is momentarily forgotten. But not in all cases. The curtains may fall on the mother or baby or both, and the long 9-month wait ends in anguish with a psychological pain that can never be quantified, not in words or numbers.

Maternal and newborn mortality ratios, that is, the rates at which women or babies die from birth related complications, in West Africa are among the highest in the world. UNICEF reports that the maternal and newborn mortality rates in the West and Central Africa region are 679 women per 100,000 live births and 31 babies per 1000 births, respectively. 

How Oshiomhole’s Panel Trekked From Abuja To Abeokuta

By Paul Oreniyi

And yesterday the bird of night did sit,
Even at noon-day, upon the market-place,
Hooting and shrieking. When these prodigies
Do so conjointly meet, let not men say
“These are their reasons; they are natural.”
For I believe they are portentous things
Unto the climate that they point upon.”
“Indeed, it is a strange disposed time,”
to further quote the inimitable.
– William Shakespeare.

 

*Oshiomhole 

It had all the trappings of a Hollywood movie, save that it is a tragic, if not macabre one. Viewed from a related angle, features of a palace coup are also visible, enacted fully or piecemeal – “here”, and to be fully enacted “there” if Abuja is found remiss in the rapidly unfolding events of the ruling party.

Cardinal Okogie To President Buhari: We Are In Danger In Nigeria Today!

...Open Letter To President Muhammadu Buhari

By Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie

Dear Mr. President,
We read from the media the admonition to religious and traditional rulers at a recent interfaith conference in Abuja.  You advised them to refrain from partisan politics so as not to lose the esteem people have for them.

Yusuf, President Buhari’s Anti-Corruption Poster Boy

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

No matter how much President Muhammadu Buhari strives at every critical juncture to portray his so-called anti-corruption fight as incontestable reality, it often unravels as an unrelieved charade before the citizens. This irrevocable futility has once again gained expression through the case of Usman Yusuf as a foil for the acclaimed Buhari’s lack of tolerance for corruption at a time there is a list of 50 corrupt persons, albeit disavowed by the government. Those on the list have been embargoed from travelling abroad while the nation’s law courts have not found them guilty of the allegation of ruthlessly heisting the national treasury or their state patrimony.

*Usman Yusuf 

Yusuf is the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). He has been suspended from office by the agency’s governing council led by Dr. Ifene Enyantu. There are allegations of corruption against him. He has been accused of illegally executing N30 billion investments, inflating the cost of biometric capturing machines and unlawfully posting staff.

Toward A New Direction For The National Carrier

By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

The recent suspension of the proposed national carrier, Nigeria Air, has elicited mixed feelings across the nation. The name and logo of the flag carrier had been unveiled with so much promise at the Farnborough Air Show in Britain in July. Operations were due to begin this December. The pivotal point was that the airline would be private sector-driven.

Gov Obiano and President Buhari 

The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, stated: “It is a business, not a social service. The government will not be involved in running it or deciding who runs it. The investors will have full responsibility for this.” Unfortunately, the drive was suddenly suspended on September 19.

Peter Obi And Wise Men From The East

By Ozah Matthew

The biblical tales of the wise men project moral lessons to believers especially the three who visited Jesus Christ at birth. Nowadays, it is difficult to find wise men from the four corners of the globe with good intentions. Therefore, in many ways, the Eastern leaders’ comment the other day on Peter Obi’s choice as Vice President to Abubakar Atiku in the next year’s elections is to say the least, shocking and undeserving of real and genuine leaders. 

*Peter Obi at the 2016 Democratic National
Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia

Their improper act has once again, exposed some ugly nature of politics from that region. Indeed, politics of self interest seems to be very important to Igbo leaders whose ‘sophisticated’ thought now brings conflicting views into the Atiku’s running mate choice.

Why Cameroonians Must Reject President Paul Biya

By Fon Christopher Achobang

After 36 years in power, the records are there to prove that President PAUL BIYA and the CPDM party have failed the people of Cameroon woefully. Yes, everyone, even the old “mamas” in the villages and towns of Cameroon have experienced the effects of bad governance which has brought about the corruption and embezzlement of public funds, for which Cameroon is now internationally known and derided.

*President Buhari and Paul Biya 

But that is no news because some misguided people are quite ready to vote for a corrupt government and a regime made up of people suffering from kleptomania, a disease which in Cameroon, makes the sufferers unable to distinguish between public funds and their own bank accounts. In the past 36 years, President PAUL BIYA and his regime have also been notoriously known for instituting tribalism and ethnic discrimination in the management of the Cameroonian Civil Service and public companies. 

The “Oshiomhole Must Go” Coalition

By Reuben Abati

Chief John Odigie Oyegun, former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) must be having a good laugh wherever he is. If he is just finishing a meal, he can afford to pick his teeth and belch from the deepest part of his biological system, and even turn up his nose as he asks for a glass of water. He can also look around and thank Karma for being kind to him, as he gulps down the water and reflects on the circumstances of the APC since he was shunted aside and Adams Oshiomhole, former Governor of Edo State and former labour leader, supplanted him.

Oyegun’s waterloo was the election in Ondo State and the emergence of Rotimi Akeredolu as Governor, and before then, his power-tussle with some key stakeholders in the South West wing of the ruling party. Oyegun was accused of being disdainful of reconciliation within the party, and not willing to work with some prominent stakeholders. He was seen as an obstacle to party cohesion. He was sacrificed. His place was taken by Adams Oshiomhole.

Ebola From Belgium To Congo!

By Johan Dongen

Medical research and investigation revealed that many countries were actively engaged in human experimentation. But an American scientist who frequently appears after the Second World War is the USA army captain Daniël Carleton Gajdusek.

He visited from 1948 till 1954 respectively, on behalf of the US army command post-war Germany, Czechoslovakia, Congo/Zaire, Finland, South Korea, Crimea, and the former Yugoslavia, while he was a staff member of the Institut Pasteur in Iran from 1952 to 1953.

Rescuing Nigeria From Her Leaders

By Owei Lakemfa

Intellectuals and academics from fourteen universities who gathered at the  University of Abuja on September 5 to discuss the seemingly insoluble problems of the country, concluded that Nigeria has to be rescued from its leaders.

*Buhari

They poured in from the universities in Minna, Akwa Ibom, Benin, Ekpoma, Ado Ekiti, Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Osun, Makurdi and  Ago Iwoye. Others came from the IBB, Tai Solarin and  Lagos State  Universities.  Students of the host University of Abuja also filled the Management Hall, venue of the gathering which also featured an address by their Vice Chancellor, Professor Michael  Umale Adikwu represented by Professor  Gboyega Kolawole.

The Significance Of Citizen Peter Obi

By Martins Oloja

In a working democracy not polluted by soldiers of fortune, political parties and the power elite would have long courted former Governor Peter Obi as a presidential candidate to disrupt some dark forces and institutions that have held down a significant country like Nigeria. But this is Nigeria where the most important qualification to be a candidate for a high profile office is loyalty to ‘political party owners’ or the godfathers. This is the one of the reasons we have been battling with the spirit of near-success syndrome – since 1966 when we lost democracy and federalism. The vicious godfathers are still in charge even for #Project2019. 

*Peter Obi

Despite this prevailing political condition, I think Mr. Peter Obi, as running mate to a presidential candidate at this time should still be celebrated as a glimmer of hope for the most populous black nation on earth. The reason for this additional note to a series of contextual reporting of the man so far is simple. Current attacks on him by a section of the power elite in Eastern Nigeria and celebration of his nomination by the sophisticated Western Nigeria for instance, also illustrate a message of restoration for those who have lost faith in the optimism of the Mandelas who believe that it is only through Nigeria that Africa and the black race would be blessed and celebrated.

2019: Why Nigerians Are Highly 'Atikulated'

By Dan Amor

Until recently when the erstwhile Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, (Turaki Adamawa), began to attract my attention in a very edifying and ennobling manner, I had almost concluded that President Muhammadu Buhari had no challenger within and outside the All Progressives Congress enclave. At the risk of alienating himself from his regional political constituency, Atiku, as he is popularly called, who is better appreciated as a child of events and circumstances, has espoused a large vision of a new Nigeria.

*Atiku Abubakar

"No section of the Nigerian State can claim correctly that its people are better served by the current structure of the federation within the context of the past 50 years of a failed unitary federalism", he boldly proclaimed. Atiku, one of the most respected and consistent national voices, especially in the current political dispensation, has also said that state actors and other politicians who insist that Nigeria cannot be renegotiated and who equate every demand for restructuring with secession may actually be setting the stage for unsavoury outcomes.

Bola Tinubu’s Feudalisation Of Lagos State Politics

By Olu Fasan

 Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, has been thrown under the bus. He will not serve a second term in office not because the people of Lagos state rejected him in an election but because his godfather, Bola Tinubu, pulled the plug on his re-election bid. When somebody dies, Christians often say, quoting Job 1: 21, that “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away”.

*Tinubu and Abode 

 Well, in Lagos state politics, Tinubu gives and Tinubu takes away! He is the god of Lagos state politics, the lord of the Lagos Manor! In 2007, before leaving office as governor of the state, Tinubu gifted the governorship to his protégé, Babatunde Fashola. Eight years later, in 2015, Fashola didn’t know his place. He too wanted to be a godfather by making one of his own protégés governor of the state against the diktat of his own godfather. But, forgive the colloquialism, godfather pass godfather! Fashola lost out, and another Tinubu bag-carrier, Ambode, became governor.

Buhari’s Executive Order 6: Another Political Witch Hunt?

By Jude Ndukwe

Since President Muhammad Buhari signed the Executive Order 6 which primarily seeks to bar some politically exposed persons undergoing trial for one corruption case or the other, from travelling outside the country which in the seeming wisdom of the presidency ensures such people do not have access to their properties outside the country suspected to be proceeds of corruption and use same to frustrate their cases in court, Nigerians have been sharply divided over the matter.

*President Buhari 

Just like many Nigerians have said, the Executive Order even though affirmed by a judge is needless and an unnecessary waste of time and resources of State because even the judge in affirming the order reiterated the need for it to operate within the ambit of the constitution. 

Can Atiku Become Our Political Messiah?

By Chiedu Uche Okoye

It’s sad that political ideologues of the first republic, who evinced and manifested the traits of philosopher-kings, couldn’t entrench national unity in Nigeria as they placed primordial and ethnic interests and their personal aspirations above our collective good. So, they caused the failure of the first republic soon after Nigeria had become a politically independent country.

*Atiku Abubakar 

As a consequence, Nigeria slipped into a fratricidal civil war, which nearly caused her dismemberment. The Nigeria-Biafra civil war, which raged for three years, heralded the entrance of the Jackboots and brass hats into our politics.

Fighting Corruption In Nigeria

By Emeka Asinugo

Every day, you hear people talk about fighting corruption in Nigeria. Nigeria has become known as one of the most corrupt countries of the world. Nigeria has also become known as the centre of global poverty because of what has been described as “official corruption”. The unfortunate thing about this fight, however, is that the government seems to single out individuals who occupied or are still occupying public offices and who are suspected of tampering with public funds for investigation and possible prosecution. To my mind, this is a travesty of justice. 

The point to consider is that everybody in Nigeria is corrupt because the system itself is corrupt. The food Nigerians eat is corrupt. The water they drink is corrupt. Even the very air Nigerians breathe is corrupt. The system is such that anyone who is not corrupt is cajoled, made fun of, marginalized or dispensed with. Perhaps, a few examples will bring my contention home.

Battle Of The Sexes Proxy For Sexual Abuse

By Farouk Martins Aresa

Professor Blassey Ford is not Hauwa Liman an African woman the last time we checked but she carried all the stigma of Boko Haram girls that were sexually abused or killed. She predicted the pain and psychological trauma she would go through if she ever came forward. Nevertheless, she never predicted the threat to her life! Even worse is the fact that nothing would happen or change because her harasser would be believed over her.

In terms of equality between men and women, we might as well look towards Western Europe and Canada since Africans cannot count on the story and safety of American women. However, African women are pulling their weight everywhere. Many of them are just as highly educated as men but the opportunity to move to the highest level still comes through politics. This is the place where most women are missing in Africa.

President Buhari, Leah, Hauwa And Other Hostages

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

With the murder of Hauwa Liman, we have once again been starkly reminded of our lack of governmental bulwark against the savagery of those who are unmoored from all legal and moral boundaries in our midst.

*Leah Sharibu

Yes, it is only a reminder. Successive governments have abandoned the citizens in a gruelling struggle with their challenges. But the battle for daily survival only becomes more tormenting with the lurking reminder that these challenges are not just existential; they are unconscionably inflicted by a pestilential leadership deficit. Now, consider this: Despite the billions of dollars that are yearly voted by the government for electricity, security and other forms of infrastructural development, the citizens are saddled with the responsibility of providing these for themselves. 

Nigeria: The Grim Reality

By Charles Anekwe

We have the worst quality of life in the world – by a wide margin.
If you have any idea of how people really live in Ghana, Cameroon, Libya, Botswana, and other parts of the Third World, you’d be rioting in the streets calling for a better life. In fact, the average South African, Zimbabwean or Libyan taxi driver has a much better standard of living than the typical Nigerian graduate white-collar worker. 

I know this because I am a Nigerian, and I want to escape from this huge prison you call home. Already, we are silently protesting against cynical politics, spiraling corruption, economic stagnation and breathtaking levels of crime. We are disunited than ever although we have more immediate survival issues than unity.

Yoruba, Tribalism And The Tragedy Of A New Nigeria

By Wilson Ikubese

Yoruba race is one for which I have the greatest respect, because of their liberalism. I was born in Yoruba land, had my primary and secondary education in Yoruba land, married a priceless Yoruba woman and live in Yoruba land. 

*Dr. Wilson Ikubese

My children are thus partly Yorubas. My business investments are majorly domiciled in Yoruba land and I speak the Yoruba language more fluently than my mother tongue… I love the Yorubas and consider myself even one.

Nigeria: Buhari, Atiku And The Dwindling Economy

By Phrank Shaibu
There is a growing acceptance in Nigeria today, that President Muhammadu Buhari has failed again in his headship of Nigeria. This time, as a supposed democratic leader, the failure is not just visible nationally but even the International Community has recognized it and is not leaving anyone in doubt about their observations.

*Buhari and Atiku 

The recent remarks by some notable world leaders and top financial institutions have no doubt become a source of great worry for many people. In reality, the few persons that feel comfortable with President Buhari’s style of governance can only be identified in the camp of his seeming warped followers, sycophants and some Nigerians that have been intimidated into silence by the so-called anti-corruption agency of this administration.