May Day And The Workers’ Woes!

 By Ayo Baje

 “A labourer is deserving of his wages.” – Deuteronomy 25 vs 4 (The Holy Bible). 

Back in June 2015, the piece of news that got millions of Nigerians enraged was that of the unpaid workers’ salaries in 23 out of 36 states! It came against the dark backdrop of the jumbo pay packages of elected and selected politicians and their appointees. 

The paradox of payment inequality was worsened subsequently, when the lawmakers, each on allegedly monthly salary scale of over N30 million found it extremely difficult to approve the paltry minimum wage of N30,000 for the beleaguered workers. 

You Cannot Swear-In A President Twice

 By Obi Nwakanma

“If you do not know where to put your hand, rest it on the knee” – Igbo proverb.

The inauguration of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into office is a pretty serious constitutional event. It transfers power definitively to an individual who is then expected to embody the moral, philosophical, visionary, and constitutional ideals of the nation, and direct the executive function of state. The Constitution establishes the power of Nigeria in three institutions of state: the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, and the President. The National Assembly makes the laws.

The Supreme Court interprets those laws, including the permanent laws established by the Constitution. The President, as the Head of the executive branch of the three arms, executes the laws. These three powers together make up the Federal Government. They operate separately, and each is granted the power to oversee the other in order to create a balance of power, and prevent the misuse of authority. For instance, the National Assembly, which is actually the most powerful institution of state in a democratic republic, controls the Treasury of Nigeria, by law. Not the President.

Did Buhari Really Apologize To Nigerians?

 By Adeze Ojukwu 

Did Buhari really apologize to Nigerians? This is the poser before many citizens.  To put the record straight, a few days ago, Muhammadu Buhari, who has barely 32 days to exit as president, asked for pardon from those he might have hurt during his tenure.

*Buhari

The question is: “Did those scant remarks convey genuine regret or sincere contrition?” 

For many nationals, his mien and diction were not only condescending and evasive but also disingenuous. He did not come across as someone who was compunctious. Obviously, he is yet to come to terms with the monumental impact of his divisive and parochial governance on the nation. 

Borrowing In The People’s Name To Steal!

 By Sunny Awhefeada

Those who run and ruin Nigeria read like rogue characters in a picaresque. Nigeria has turned out to be a sordid adventure and those who dominate our landscape are the picaros. Roguish, arrogant and bra­vura-like, our rulers prance about and do things that normal people will not do.

Yes, those who presently rule Nigeria are not normal. Their mental constitution is made of something in the realm of the abnormal. Daily, we are confronted with a multiplicity of inanities orchestrated by government officials who are never fazed by their acts of recklessness and perfidy. They have turned Nigeria into a nation of anything goes since infractions now happen without sanctions.

As Buhari Comes To Judgement…

By Sonnie Ekwowusi

President Muhammadu Buhari has come to judgment. After exercising presidential power, judgment follows. Pricked by pangs of conscience on the last Sallah Day, Buhari realised that he committed many injustices against numerous Nigerians during his eight-year reign. 

*Buhari 

Consequently, he apologised to Nigerians and begged for their pardon. “God gave me an incredible opportunity to serve the country. We are all human, and if I have hurt some people along the line of my service to the country, I ask that they pardon me… All those whom I have hurt, I ask that they pardon me,” said a seemingly remorseful Buhari.

DisCos And Their Oppressed Customers

 By I.D. Nga

What exactly were Nigerians supposed to gain from the pri­vatization of the power sector? What, for instance, made the new power distribution companies (DIS­COs) preferable to the much despised and now defunct NEPA or PHCN? Or was the privatization programme just another scheme to put power supply in different (preferred) hands, and nothing more?

A key issue with the new arrangement is that the citizens are still denied the op­tion of choice. In the telecommunications sector, once you lose interest in one service provider, you can simply throw away its SIM card and obtain that of another. But in the case of the power sector, you are perpetu­ally stuck with the particular DISCO un­der whose fiefdom you fall into by virtue of where your accommodation is located. And so, even if you are not happy with their dismal and excruciating style of operations, you cannot leave them, and you have no one to run to for help.

Fashola’s Perverse Doctrine: Performance Trumps Integrity In Politics!

 By Olu Fasan

Babatunde Fashola, SAN,  former governor of Lagos State and outgoing Minister of Works and Housing, has a reputation for erudition and a knack for memorable turns of phrase. Recently, Professor Wole Soyinka credited him with what he called “the Fashola Dictum”, based on his saying that elections should be “carnivals and festivals”, not wars. Yet, sometimes, Fashola’s logic is flawed and, sometimes, his views are warped. Take his recent apologia for Bola Tinubu, his former boss and predecessor as Lagos State governor. 

*Fashola

In an interview on Channels TV, Fashola was asked about Tinubu’s integrity. He ducked and dived. He was so slippery that pinning him down was like nailing jelly to the wall. Eventually, he delivered an appalling apologia. Allow me to quote the words verbatim. 

Nigeria: The Righetousness Of Dissent

 By Obi Nwakanma

“No one tells the deaf that there is a stampede in the market” – Igbo proverb
On May 29, a handover ceremony should take place, with a parade at the Eagles Square, to inaugurate a new, elected President of Nigeria. That date would end the eight disastrous years of Mr. Muhammadu Buhari as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I do emphasize the word “disastrous.” Buhari is a very tragic figure of Nigerian history.

History beckoned twice to him to govern. First as a military Head of State. Second as a Civilian President of Nigeria. In both instances, he was a failure. In the unfolding annals of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari will be recorded as the worst leader ever to rise to leadership, at least so far. Whatever else happens, he would be recorded among the worst plagues to befall Nigeria. Should Nigeria manage to survive and hang together as a nation, the story would be told of a Muhammadu Buhari who was offered the opportunity for greatness but squandered it over pettiness, ignorance, provincialism, and the corruption of the institution of state.

Buhari’s Valediction

 By Amanze Obi

President Muhammadu Buhari has begun his valediction. He is making all manner of statements that point to his imminent retirement. He is imagining that his attention will be needed by Nigerians when he leaves office.

*Buhari

He was quoted the other day as saying that he would move far away from Abuja in order to avoid the temptation of interfering in the affairs of the new government that is to come. He even added, for effect, that he would leave Daura for Niger Republic, if there is pressure on him in his Katsina home. Before then, the President had made a broad appeal to Nigerians. He asked those whom he may have offended in the course of his presidency to forgive him.

Nigeria: The Politicisation Of Justice

 By Hope O’Rukevbe Eghagha

If the title of my essay sounds scandalous it is because we live in frightening and scandalous times, with barriers blurred, lifted or abolished. Sadly, this disrespect for sound values permeates all segments of society. Taboos are, have become old hat, old school. Codes of social engagement regulating societal behaviour have been jettisoned. The judiciary has been both a beneficiary and victim of this disappearance of settled norms and conventions. That’s the reason we find some judges doing ‘show body’ on social media!

My thesis statement is that any society which politicises its judicial system is on a free-fall into the chasm of perdition and total annihilation. It may take decades. But the consequences of politicizing the judicial system are dire. The full consequence may not be totally felt in our life time, though we are witnessing bits of it. The judiciary should not be a haven for small-minded persons and petty thieves who do not have a global view of their assignments and to whom the notion of the common good does not exist.

With Urgent Innovative Investment, Malaria Spread Can Be Halted!

 By Aliko Dangote

World Malaria Day is observed each year on April 25, to underline the need for malaria control and total elimination. Adjunct to this is the galvanization of global efforts towards advocacy and sustained political will and investment all aimed at ending the scourge of the disease in identified communities.  Since 2000, global partnerships and investments in the fight against malaria have yielded positive results – preventing some 2 billion malaria cases, saving 11.7 million lives, and putting eradication within reach.

At a historic Global Fund Replenishment meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in 2022, billions of dollars were pledged by donors to boost the fight against HIV, TB and Malaria. However, an unprecedented shortfall of more than 50% in global malaria funding is now holding countries back from maintaining life-saving malaria programmes at current levels, from and reaching everyone currently living with the risk of contracting malaria.

Afenifere: Truth Is Constant

 By Sola Ebiseni

From the wisdom-pool of ancient Yoruba philosophy is the eternal word of admonition that “a ò rí irú eléyi ri, a fi nderu ba olórò ni”, which may simply translate that no occurrence no matter how bizarre it may seem or exaggerated to frighten a victim can be deemed as never seen or happened before. In the similar words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun”.

*Adebanjo 

In all occurrences in our land, after a deep introspection rooted in humanity in general and more particularly delineated by the history of our country and its unforgettable heroes, I have, like Balam, chosen to live by and for the truth that I may die the death of the righteous and my end might like his be.

For Africa, Why Sudan Matters

 By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

There are two countries whose well-being and stability reach nearly every part of Africa. One is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is nominally in the Central African region but which shares borders with nine countries extending to all of the continent’s four other regions – Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Unsurprisingly, the DRC is in the regional organisations of every region of Africa except those of North and of West Africa.

The second is Sudan. With a current landmass of 1,886,068 km2 Sudan is nearly double the size of Nigeria and the third largest country in Africa behind only Algeria and the DRC.

Obidient Movement As A Fascist Group

 By Promise Adiele

For the sake of peace in Nigeria, let us unanimously agree that the Obidient Movement is a fascist group. (Make peace for reign, abi?) But if we must subscribe to that spiteful narrative, let us innovatively, redefine and explicate fascism. Although generally understood as an authoritarian rule that abhors opposition, fascism must acquire a new identity for a better understanding in Nigeria since it is associated with the famous, radical Obidient Movement. 

*Peter Obi mobbed by a crowd of admirers...

In Nigeria, the brand of fascism associated with the Obidient Movement means rejecting all forms of official criminality and conspiracy in governance. It means the revolutionary denunciation of all manipulative tendencies which invidiously compromise the architecture of equitable, democratic representation. It means all efforts to uproot the edifice of deception, outrageous villainy, and the entrenchment of illegitimate power outposts in Nigeria. It means the attack against all forms of venal forces that have kept the country in the doldrums. 

Why Obi Should Stay The Course

 By Chiedu Uche Okoye

Mr. Peter Obi’s quest to become the president of Nigeria is the emblematization of the dreams and yearnings of young Nigerians, who want a better and new Nigeria. It cannot be disputed that millions of young Nigerians have lost hope in the Nigerian project.

*Peter Obi and his wife, Margaret, after casting their votes during the February presidential election 

Decades of oppressive military regimes and years of decadent political administrations have eroded their hope and trust in the Nigerian political leaders. The End SARS protest, which turned violent, offered them the rare opportunity to express their disgust, frustration, and dissatisfaction with Nigeria’s bad economic and political situation.  

When Will The Benue, Southern Kaduna Killings End?

 By Charles Okoh

It appears that there will be no end in sight to the killings in Kaduna as well as Benue states. The lackadaisical approach of the Federal Government to halting the carnage in both states remains worrisome. If it is argued that the sheer spread of violence and wanton killings across the country have become too much of a burden for the government to handle, will it be out of place to demand from the Federal Government what its plan is towards ending the senseless killings especially in these states?

No fewer than 29 people have been killed in a fresh attack by bandits on Runji Village in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The attack which occurred at about 10 p.m. penultimate Saturday night came barely three days after bandits killed eight people at the Atak’Njei community also in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area.

African Banker Awards 2023 Nominees Announced

 The 2023 edition of the Awards ceremony is set to spotlight SMEs, women and gender. A new category has been introduced to recognize efforts towards bolstering financial inclusion of women across the continent.   

*Group photo of the winners of the African Banker Awards 2022

24 April 2023, London: African Banker magazine has announced today the shortlist of nominees for this year’s edition of its African Banker Awards.

Since their inception in 2007, the African Banker Awards aim to recognise the exceptional individuals and organisations driving Africa’s rapidly transforming financial services sector.

The Mass Killings In Benue State

 By Etim Etim

It is so difficult to understand why Nigerian authorities are unconcerned about the mass killings of the people of Benue State by terrorists and militia groups in almost a weekly basis.

Children, women and even pregnant moms are slaughtered every now and then in many parts of the state by terrorists and ethnic militias in the plains and troughs of Benue.

Elections As Crime Scenes: Decriminalising The Electoral Process

 By Owei Lakemfa

Twice did I hear Aisha Dahiru, alias Binani, of the All Progressives Party, APC, declared the winner of the Adamawa State gubernatorial elections and the first female to be elected governor in the country. Twice did this turn out to be a hoax – a sick joke played on Nigerians. The first time was the product of propaganda; the diet on which Nigeria is run.

After the March 18, 2023, elections, it was announced on some media outlets the next day that Binani had won the elections. Many, including Great Britain, fell for the hoax. The British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Catriona Laing, took to her verified Twitter handle, screaming: “Great news! Huge congratulations to Aisha Binani! I hope you will be a trailblazer for other elected female governors.”

Nigeria: Federal Republic Of Thuggery

 By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Shamelessness is the vilest disease of the Nigerian establishment. The shameless mode of the leaders of Nigeria was activated in full force on February 25 and March 18, in this year of Our Lord, when so-called national elections were staged. 

It all turned out to be a sham, a charade that even the most mentally retarded child would scoff at. Yet, billions were voted for the exercises that the organizers never believed in at all in the first instance.

Nigeria And The Politics Of Hunger

 By Sunny Awhefeada 

My generation's first experience of hunger and its attendant crises was in the mid-1980s. My genera­tion here refers to Nigerians born after the civil war and attained teenagehood from 1983 onwards. We have read in history books of how starvation was one of the major tools that was deployed to fight the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970.

Pictures abound of chil­dren, youths and older people who suffered from the affliction of hunger. Not even the efforts of humanitarian agencies that tried to alleviate the hunger in the refugee camps that littered the secessionist enclave of Biafra alleviated the crisis. Hunger engendered dis­eases which in turn yielded deaths. Many still believe that starvation more than bullets and bombs was what made Biafra to capitulate when it did.

Nigeria: Must We Have This Census Now?

 By Adekunle Adekoya

It is no longer news that the Federal Government has activated plans to conduct a national population and housing census next month. The last time we had a census was March 2006. There is nothing bad in having a census; indeed, a lot of benefits will accrue if we really know how many of us are together in this country.

Historically, the first census was conducted in 1866 and this was followed by Censuses of 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901. However, all these earlier censuses were restricted to Lagos Colony and its environs. The 1871 census marked the beginning of decennial census in Nigeria in line with British tradition of census-taking every 10 years.

Setting Fresh Agenda In Fight Against Poverty

 By Stanley Achonu

The seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, made one of the most profound statements concerning humanity when he said, “Extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere.”

Like Annan, world leaders and public officeholders are increasingly aware of the devastating impact of extreme poverty on society and its potency to strip individuals of their dignity and push them toward hunger and deprivation. This understanding has birthed several global alleviation programmes to combat poverty and mitigate its impact.

Fascists? Look No Further Than The Ruling Party

 By Olu Fasan

As a creative writing scholar at Oxford University, I have been reviewing the legendary literature Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka’s latest book Chronicles from the land of the happiest people on earth. Reading the book, a political fiction, I’m enthralled by its linguistic and literary quality. Imagine my bafflement, therefore, when Professor Soyinka recently used the word “fascistic” to describe Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of Labour Party in February’s presidential election.

What drew Professor Soyinka’s ire was Dr Baba-Ahmed’s controversial interview on Channels TV. “Whoever swears in Mr Tinubu has ended democracy in Nigeria,” he said, adding: “Mr President, do not hold that inauguration. CJN (Chief Justice of Nigeria), your lordship, do not partake in unconstitutionality.” Baba-Ahmed argued that Bola Tinubu “has not met the requirements of the law”, having failed to secure 25 per cent of the votes cast in Abuja.

The Real Threat To Nigeria’s Democracy

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad,” says an ancient proverb. I agree completely. If you are in doubt, reflect on the bizarre actions of the suspended Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari.

It will only take a mad man, destined for destruction by the gods, to pull off a stunt, so foolish and dangerous, as Yunusa-Ari did on Sunday, April 16, when he usurped the powers of the Returning Officer to declare Senator Aishatu ‘Binani’ Dahiru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the Adamawa governorship election even when the results of the supplementary election held the previous day were yet to be fully collated.

Nine Years Of Chibok Abduction And 96 Captive Girls

 By James Christoff, Matias Schmale and Cristian Munduate

The abduction of 276 female students from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, in 2014 brought the plight of children in Northeast Nigeria to the forefront of international attention. The Chibok girls became a symbol of the conflict’s devastating impact on children in particular girls, and their continued captivity nine years later is a reminder that the crisis is far from over.

On the ninth anniversary of the abduction, the world is once again reminded of the devastating impact of the ongoing armed conflict in Northeast Nigeria on children.

96 Chibok girls remain in captivity, as well as a significant number of children abducted by non-state armed groups, notably, Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP). As a global community, we cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of these children. We demand their unconditional release.

2023 ANA Literary Prizes: Call For Entries!

 

Introduction:

The Association of Nigerian Authors [ANA] hereby announces a range of prizes for its 2023 literary competitions. The prizes are:

1. ANA / KMVL Prize for Poetry (Published) -500,000

2. ANA Prize for Prose Fiction (Published & Unpublished) – N 100,000

3. ANA Prize for Drama (Published & Unpublished) – N 100,000

4. ANA Prize for Children's Literature- 7-13 Years Age Range (Published Works Only and Open To All Categories Of Authors) - N100, 0000

Nigeria: Rule Of Terror On Steroid Loading

 By Ugo Onuoha

Nigeria’s federal government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its enforcer, the [In]dependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must be ruing their failure to stop by any means, fair or foul, Mr. Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP or Elup) from being on the ballot in the February 25th presidential and national assembly elections. If the numerous youths of this country had not been on the ballot through their chosen team— Obi and Datti-Ahmad – the President, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari regime and the APC would have casually walked away with the numbing electoral heists of February 25th and March 18th.

*Buhari 

If the presidential contest had been the about the usual Peoples Democratic Party represented by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar versus Alhaji Bola Tinubu’s APC, Tinubu and APC and their collaborators would have been celebrating since March 1st when INEC awarded them the presidential trophy in the dead of the night when majority of Nigerians were sleeping. Nigerians were expected to wake up to a ‘faith accompli’ and to the phrase of ‘go to court’ by INEC and APC to the candidates and political parties who believed that they were raped and robbed.

Soyinka: That Awful Somersault Of A Sage

 By Ike Abonyi

“If you're betrayed, release disappointment at once. By that way, the bitterness has no time to take root.” ― Toba Beta. 

The author of Master of Stupidity, Toba Beta, has timely advice for all Nigerians on what to do when we are bitter at betrayal. Not a few men of conscience feel that way in this country today. We are all concerned and disappointed that even our revered literary icon, and rights crusader, Prof Wole Soyinka could find himself entangled in the dirty side of our politics. 

*Soyinka and Tinubu 

Anybody who has been privileged to have aged parents or other relatives around should understand why the Obidient and indeed the rest of Nigerians should take it easy with Prof Soyinka who avoidably dragged himself into the murky waters of Nigerian politics. As a result, he found himself at the bashing end of the Obidient Movement and has understandably remained cranky since the electoral fraud of February 25 in which candidate Peter Obi was heading for victory but got thwarted by the devious actions of Prof Mahmoud Yakubu and his [not-so] Independent National Electoral Commission. 

Nigeria’s Incoming National Assembly May Also Fail

 By Tonnie Iredia

To say that the next set of Nigerian legislators may also fail implies that their predecessors had earlier failed. But considering that since 1999 when democracy was restored in the country, our lawmakers have become Nigeria’s wealthiest class, is it not contradictory to describe them as failures? But when the steady decline of Nigeria is considered against the backdrop of the failure to use lawmaking as a tool for the attainment of good governance, it becomes obvious that our successive lawmakers have consistently failed the people whose interest they were expected to represent.

On June 04, 2015, the 7th National Assembly(NASS) while marking the end of its tenure, passed 46 Bills in 10minutes. The Bills were first passed by the House of Representatives before they were forwarded to the Senate which simply skipped all the necessary law-making procedures and passed them, thereby technically entering the Guinness Book of records. 

Soyinka, Chimamanda And Other Burning Issues

 By Valentine Obienyem

The last election in Nigeria was the worst in its electoral history. Have you asked yourself why it was only APC and Sen. Ahmed Bola Tinubu that failed to condemn non-transmission of results from the polling booths to the central server even before the results were announced? The election has created  deep divisions among Nigerians, who belong to diverse ethnic and religious groups because Tinubu charged his supporters to secure victory for him by any means possible. Alas, we have seen how his followers used the ethnic and religious card, Ayo masquerade festival, guns, cudgels, threats, and psychological warfare to secure unmerited victory for him.

*Soyinka and Chimamanda 

 

The unconscionable  action of Tinubu was a clear example of his readiness to bring Nigeria down owing to his vaulting  political ambition. The practical disfranchisement of Nigerians had removed the mental stimulus that comes from free political activity and a widespread sense of liberty and power.

Soyinka, Chimamanda And Obi-Dients: When Does Opinion Cross The Line?

 By Jideofor Adibe

In recent weeks Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, multiple award winning writer, Chimamanda Adichie, and supporters of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25, 2023 presidential election  (otherwise known as Obidients), have been trending. The backgrounds were an interview granted by Datti Baba Ahmed in which he was quoted as saying that whoever “swears in Mr. Tinubu has ended democracy in Nigeria”. Elsewhere, Dr. Datti Baba- Ahmed was also quoted as saying that Nigeria does not have a President-elect.  

*Chimamanda and Soyinka 

The conversation took a different turn when Soyinka criticised the comments by Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, saying: “I have never heard anyone threaten the judiciary on television the way Datti did I heard the kind of menacing, blackmailing language that we were treated to by Datti. That kind of do-or-die attitude and provocation is not what I think we have all been struggling for.”

Abuja’s Special Constitutional Status And Why It Is Not A State

 By 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 jurisprudence that courts do not indulge in speculative or academic matters. Its authoritative jurisdiction is invoke to interpret live issues. Thus, none of the cases so far cited from the varied opinions is precedent for our purpose. As stated by the Supreme Court in a plethora of cases “the decision of a court must always be considered in the light of its own peculiar facts or circumstances. No case is identical to another, though they may be similar. 

Bloody Attacks Must Stop In Nigeria

 By Obiotika Tochukwu

An April 9, 2023, St Francis Xavier Catholic Church Owo, Ondo State, was reopened. This is 10 months from June 5, 2022, when a bomb attack and mass shooting took place during a service in the church; in which 41 persons lost their lives and several others sustained varying injuries. Up till now there are no suspects regarding those who carried out the dastardly act. Such attacks have been going on in the country in recent times. To worsen matters, the government only mourns and condemns attacks, afterwards nothing happens. How does one imagine the mindless killings and no one cares?

Before last Easter, there were cases of bloody attacks in Benue State. The attacks in Benue State are too many. In the past, the state government despaired and lost every confidence in the Federal Government’s inability to help it to tackle the episodes.

Ethnic Profiling In An Imperiled Republic

 By Hope O’Rukevbe Eghagha

Nigeria is currently plagued by a myriad of debilitating problems – insecurity, hunger and poverty, rights of minorities, economic mismanagement and exploitation, corruption, myopic leadership, and a weak governance structure. Some of these directly threaten the corporate existence of Nigeria.

There are too many unsettled issues about the conditions for mutual coexistence of the different ethnic groups in the country. There is a perception that the basis for national unity has not been negotiated and accepted. A master-servant relationship between a parasitic majority and the minorities is troubling the new generation of Nigerians.

In Nigeria, Owners Of The Killers Are Back With Impunity!

 By Chidi Odinkalu

Mbabai, the village where Tarnongo Mike Utsaha was buried on April 1, 2023, used to be part of the municipality of Makurdi, the capital of Benue State. It only became part of Guma Local Government Area in Benue North-West in 1987. Current governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, also comes from Guma.

The LGA derives its name from River Guma, which empties into the River Benue, part of a network of fresh water sources that have historically defined that part of Nigeria as the nation’s food basket. With arable land drained by an abundance of freshwater sources on the foothills of the rainy season, this is a neighborhood that should ordinarily bustle at this time of year.

2023 Election: The Betrayal, The Tragedy, The Shame

 By Tony Eluemunor

First the betrayal: Presi­dent Muhammadu Buhari and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), without being prompted by anyone, repeatedly promised Nigerians a free and fair election in February 2023. Bu­hari promised that a transparent 2023 election would be his legacy project.

Yet, what happened? Local and in­ternational observers have derided both Nigeria and the elections. Both Buhari and the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu knew that giving Nigeria a flawless general election was doable. They knew that the money pro­jected to meet the logistics that would make the poll transparent was duly budgeted for and the monies were made available to the electoral agency. The computing systems that would make it possible to upload results real time, and so deny election riggers the opportunity of cooking the figures at the so-called collating centres, were bought and de­signed. The right laws were in place. 

Nigeria: The Followership Has Failed Us again, How Sad!

 

By Ayo Oyoze Baje

“Some praise at morning what they blame at night.
But always think the last opinion right” – Alexander Pope

They make the fantastic promises of the weaver bird, exude the sinister smile of the hyena, with the embrace of the gorilla, while executing the dizzying dance steps of the monkey, at the sight of bananas. As far as their own erroneously perceived Nigeria is concerned, the end justifies the means. Call it the Machiavellian doctrine; it does not matter to them.

Truth be told, what engages their mind most is the lure of the lucre-filthy or not. So, they kowtow to it, raining insults and innuendoes on anyone who has a different opinion to that of their paymasters. And that includes their townsmen, brothers, sisters, friends or associates. What a crying shame!