The Japan “Hometown” Hoax

 By Ochereome Nnanna

One of the fallouts of President Bola Tinubu’s recent trip to Japan was the news that Japan had created a “hometown” for Nigerians in Kisarazu, a suburb of Tokyo. The impression it gave was that Japan would issue special visas (perhaps something like the American Visa Lottery), to enable willing Nigerians migrate to Japan, settle and work.

When I made a social media post asking Nigerians if they would like to “japa to Japan”, a good number of young people seemed excited about the “opportunity” and sought more information. The Japanese Foreign Ministry has since clarified the issue, but in a manner that poured ice water on the enthusiastic expectations of those seeking to become Japanese overnight.

African Leaders And The Renewed Scramble For Africa

 By Adekunle Adekoya

Many readers might have read or heard about the initial scramble for Africa, as recorded by historians. It was a movement that culminated in a major political and economic exertion by the major and minor powers, largely of European origin.

The end result was colonisation. In a bid to continue to sustain the economic wealth of their countries, many European countries saw that they needed resources not immediately available in their territories to sustain the new ways of life that promises more wealth as the Industrial Revolution took off with inventions being rolled out one after the other and investors commercialising them. 

Wike’s Lives Hang On A Slender Thread

 By Dele Sobowale

In all matters, one must consider the end” – Jean De La Fontaine, 1621-

“A man cannot be too careful in his choice of enemies”– Oscar Wilde, 1856-1900.

*Tinubu and Wike
Every active and deliberately controversial politician in a deadly political environment has two lives to protect – his real life and his political life. Occasionally, the two lives are imperiled at the same time on account of circumstances brought about by him or beyond his control. For a long time in the history of partisan politics, a politician has placed his two lives in jeopardy. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has inadvertently boxed himself into a very tight corner.

Nigeria’s Passport Fees: Need For Caution

 By Tonnie Iredia

From the take-off of the current federal government in Nigeria till today, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the nation’s current minister of Interior has been seen by many as one of President Bola Tinubu’s best appointees. Young, agile and proactive, Tunji-Ojo has left no one in doubt that he would sustain high performances all through his tenure.

Indeed, at the beginning of year 2025, his presentation of his account of stewardship was received with general ovation. At a ministerial briefing in January, Tunji-Ojo gave Nigerians hope with revelations of what his ministry and its agencies had swiftly achieved. First, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) had at the end of 2024 successfully issued a total of 1.8 million passports while clearing a backlog of 200 applications.

The Clans Gathered For Brother Okello Oculi As He Paddled Across

 By Owei Lakemfa

The clans gathered. The intellectual clan surpassed the academic. The former flowed into the radical. The radicals bowed to the revolutionary. The revolutionary clan flowed into the Pan-Africanist. The Pan-Africanist made way for the traditional.

*Late Professor Oculi

We did not cry. It is not our culture to mourn the elderly who paddles to yonder sea. Rather, we rejoice for we have gained one more ancestor to watch over us.

Before Okello was 82, and decided to leave without fuss, he had spent the last 48 years in Nigeria. This Nigerian ancestor began his earthly journey in Dokolo, Northern Uganda. Then, we in Nigeria owned him, but he was a famous son of Africa; a priest who reminded us that so long as we are Black, we’ve got the identity of an African.