The Senate’s Constitutional Overreach In The Case Of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

 By Obiageli Oby Ezekwesili

Memo To The Nigerian Senate, Judiciary And Fellow Citizens: Democracy Dies When Laws Become Weapons and Lawmakers Become Serial Lawbreakers.

*Natasha and Oby 
Six months have passed since the unconstitutional suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on March 6, 2025. The Senator, representing the people of Kogi Central Senatorial District, was suspended following her allegation of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

These six months have witnessed an unprecedented assault on constitutional principles, judicial authority, and the very foundations of our democratic institutions. Rather than transparently investigate the allegation against the Senate President, an errant political class has used this opportunity to taunt citizens on how successfully they have captured the Nigerian state, perpetrating unlimited abuse with zero accountability or fear of consequences.

Abike Must Resign, Or Render Unreserved Apologies

 By Steve Osuji

Though the comment elicited pure, undiluted outrage one, dithered in commenting about it initially.

*Tinubu and Abike

First, Igbo hating seems like a norm for Abike; a trait she cannot help. It seems to have lodged in her DNA like shrapnel. A number of times, in her unguarded moments, her true colours would peek from the horizon like the rising sun. 

Second, some Yoruba elements have taken Igbo baiting, bashing and hating to a new level in the last decade.

Consider the lineup: a paramount monarch of Lagos, the daughter of the sitting president, the current first lady in Aso Rock and the President's chief spokesman, among others, all have publicly and brazenly made hate remarks against the Igbo people of the southeast of Nigeria. 

Crying For The South-East

 By Casmir Igbokwe

Mr. Nduka Ozor is a fine gentleman from Agwa Community in Oguta Local Government Area (LGA) of Imo State. When he took the microphone to speak about the unlawful killings in his community, everybody listened attentively. Midway into his presentation, he broke down in tears.

International human rights organization, Amnesty International (AI), invited Ozor and some other stakeholders to share their experiences about the atrocities in the South-East region of Nigeria. In a report titled “A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in South-East Nigeria”, AI documented senseless killings, torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests at the hands of gunmen, state-backed paramilitary outfits, vigilance groups, cult groups and criminal gangs in the South-East from 2021 to 2024. The report was launched in Lagos on Thursday, September 4, 2025.

Banditry, Its Politics And Practitioners

 By Owei Lakemfa

One of the major challenges of Nigeria since colonial times had been corruption. But President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has now proclaimed its death. Corruption is gone! Futuristic laser technology must have been used to carry out such a comprehensive and professional operation on corruption in the body polity of Nigeria.

So sophisticated that we Nigerians were not even aware we were on anesthetics until the operation had been successfully carried out. There also did not appear to be casualties in the final battle that ended corruption; no corrupt persons sent to jail, and no announced recovery of the trillions looted. It is nothing short of a 21st century miracle.

The Fulani And Nigeria

   By Obi Nwakanma

In the 1950s and 60s, the national canard was “Igbo domination.” The Igbo were everywhere in the establishment. They were at the forefront of the anticolonial Nationalist movement. Dr. Azikiwe, himself Igbo, had created the first real National newspaper chain, which had “imagined the nation” into being.

It was clear that Igbo dominated the very process of dissemination which made them visible, ambitious, and as the departing British used to say, “clever.” Yes, those “clever Igbo” who had pushed for a new nation to rise out of colonial control, and were prepared to roll up their sleeves, and build a modern, multi-ethnic and prosperous nation, and had spread across the nooks and carnies of Nigeria, as postmasters, teachers, railway workers, Chemists, treasury clerks, traders, artisans, and so on, seemed too ambitious, and too daring for many other Nigerians, who had settled to more sedentary cultures. The Igbo were always cross-border, boundary breakers. They found land, and they settled. They created new thriving communities. 

Nigeria 2027: If I Were Goodluck Jonathan

 By Tonnie Iredia

For the second time in this column, I am today attempting to reach out to one leader who has had the special privilege of serving as a first citizen of Nigeria. The first time I tried it was in May 2012, when this column featured an article titled “Nigeria: If I were General Buhari.”

*Jonathan
What influenced my write-up at the time was a statement credited to Buhari that the consequences of the rigging of future elections in Nigeria would be catastrophic. Buhari was correct, an election is a game not a war. It has its rules that every responsible citizen ought to respect. In Nigeria, it has never been so, it is still not so; and the probability of a change in the nation’s unwholesome political culture is hard to see. 

Peter Obi: When Home Is Not Conducive To President!

From all indications, our President is not finding his home in Nigeria conducive for a long stay, and it should be concerning to us.

*Tinubu

Just yesterday, for the umpteenth time, Mr. President waved the nation goodbye again, barely 6 days after his return to Nigeria, after he spent 15 whole days for just a five-day engagement. He is now heading for about his 10th trip to France in two years, this time for his annual holiday. It does look like Mr. President is running away from Nigeria at every slight opportunity. And one would wonder why so much of his two years in office has been spent on holidays or away from the very country he was elected to preside over.

7,000 Stranded Nigerians, NIDCOM And Worth Of A Nigerian Life

 By Magnus Onyibe

The recent revelation by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), that more than 7,000 Nigerians are currently stranded in Libya, inspired this intervention. Her statement revived painful memories that moved me, eight years ago in March 2017, to publish an article lamenting the surge of illegal migration by our young men and women in search of greener pastures abroad.

That desperate pursuit often ended tragically, as countless Nigerians lost their lives attempting to cross the Sahara Desert on foot via Libya into Europe or navigating the Mediterranean Sea in rickety wooden boats into the Lampedusa islands, Italy.

Wike’s Rants: Blame The Media, Not The Minister

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

The conduct of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, in the public space is quite unbecoming. It is not enough to dismiss him as unhinged as many are wont to do because to do so is to ignore the fact that for whatever it is worth, he is a Nigerian political elite, a member of the privileged club that makes the authoritative allocation of our collective values.

*Wike during a media chat
In any sane society, such privileged position demands some level of politesse and dignity in public conduct. His actions, at any given time, violate the acceptable standard and respect for others. To put it mildly, they go beyond the bounds of decency.

₦142 Billion For Bus Terminals: Another Evidence Of Misplaced Priority, By Peter Obi

 

The difference between the success and failure of the development in any nation is how you prioritise your scarce resources. 

The recent announcement that a sum of ₦142 billion has been approved by the Federal Government for the construction of one bus terminal in each of our six geopolitical zones further affirms the lack of competence, lack of focus and poor leadership. 

My Meeting With Peter Obi In 2022

 
By Ade Damola

For my security and the privacy of some comrades I will try to be discreet about certain things, but I will try to safely say some things.

I met former Governor Peter Obi in Abuja for the first time and at his instance and invitation in 2022…He didn’t offer and I didn't expect him to give me any money…

I hope I won’t appear be too arrogant if I say I would have considered it an insult if he had offered me any money...

In fact it was at the end of our conversation that he apologised for not even offering us water to drink after discussing for hours… I   think I mentioned this publicly after that meeting; my response then was that there was nothing he could have offered us that would have been more than the time spent.

How Private Sector Can Help To Tame Soaring Rents

 By Ignatius Okafor

The crisis of rising rents in Nigeria’s major cities has become a painful reality for millions of households. From Lagos to Abuja, tenants face ever-increasing demands for two to three years’ rent upfront, while landlords insist that inflation and high construction costs justify their actions. 

With the country’s housing deficit now estimated at 28 million units, soaring rents are unlikely to abate without urgent reforms. Over the years, successive governments have launched initiatives to address this crisis, yet the impact has been minimal.

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.