What Exactly Does Lagos State Want From Ndigbo?

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

On October 1, Nigeria marked its 65th anniversary as an independent country and Nigerian leaders, as usual, used the opportunity to preach the gospel of peace and unity. Nigeria, many insisted, is the handiwork of God.

*Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe and Peter Obi inspect the demolished structures at the Trade Fair Complex, Lagos

President Bola Tinubu led the choir in his nationwide broadcast with this rallying cry: “While our system and ties that bind us are sometimes stretched by insidious forces opposed to our values and ways of life, we continue to strive to build a more perfect union where every Nigerian can find better accommodation and find purpose and fulfilment.”

Those that are more religiously inclined insist that since God does not make mistakes, then a united and indissoluble Nigeria must be seen as part of God’s divine purpose. But in reality, these preachments of unity mean nothing. They are mere sound bites meant to wheedle the unwary but which, at the end, as the legendary Shakespeare noted in Macbeth, are “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” They are periodic effusion of platitudes, wearing the toga of an idiot’s tale.

Charles Soludo Vs. Peter Obi

 By Emeritus Professor T. Uzodinma Nwala 

I wish Prof Charles Soludo would unwind and assert his energy in a different and more positive direction. The question is not how we made him, because he knows how he was made. 

Obi and Soludo

The question is that Peter Obi’s path does not need to cross his own if he has enough intellectual and moral self-confidence!

After Soludo won the Anambra Governorship election, I immediately went to his house in Enugu in the company of some members of the Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF) to make one request of him.

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.

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.

Prioritising Leaders' Greed Over Basic Welfare, By Peter Obi

 

The recent proposal by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to increase the salaries of Political Leaders is causing widespread anger and bitterness among Nigerians, and we share the concerns of many Nigerians who question the necessity and timing of this proposal. 

Such thinking in the face of faster-eroding living standards of the people not only portrays the insensitivity of leaders but also exposes their greed. 

Letter To President Goodluck Jonathan

 By Amanze Obi

His Excellency, President Goodluck Jonathan. I address you today with utmost sense of respect. My choice of this open medium is deliberate. It is aimed at ensuring that others who feel as concerned as I do help in calling you to order. Our dear former President, information reaching us has it that you are considering standing for election in the 2027 presidential race.

*Jonathan 

We hear that you are being propelled into this project by those who feel that what the North needs in 2027 is a southerner who will serve only one term to complete the turn of the South at the Presidency. Since President Bola Tinubu is not an option for the North, or for any Nigerian for that matter, the North, which claims to have the numbers, is shopping seriously for a credible southerner that will spend only four years in office.

Lessons From Obi’s One-Tenure Proposition

 By Dan Onwukwe

The emergence of Mr. Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential race and the profound impact he made in that election has been driving Nigerian politics in astonishing manner. He’s defining public agenda, and speaking up – articulately and emphatically – on the urgent need to fix a broken Nigeria, clean up the mess, cut the cost and size of governance.

*Peter Obi
Like no other politician in the present dispensation, Obi is also marshaling out the challenges of immediate sort confronting the country and the citizens and proffering solutions to them. These are leadership lessons.           

Mr. Obi never fails to remind anyone who cares to listen that part of his vision for a better Nigeria is not for personal gains but to dismantle the present structure of criminality in the country, not by violent means, but through active participation of the citizenry in the democratic process.

The Peter Obi Challenge

 By Obi Nwakanma

A friend of mine sent me the link of the clip of my old buddy, Dr Reuben Abati, declaring that the civil war in Nigeria has not ended. Therefore the North will not vote for the likely candidacy of Peter Obi, an Igbo from the East. It of course struck me on two levels. Dr. Abati seemed deliberately to be lubricating tired and self-serving ideas.

*Obi

The second part, where this hit very pointedly was at a very sudden realization! Dr. Abati is afraid of a Peter Obi presidency. He is not even hiding it. But for what reason? Why is the revanchist arm of the Yoruba in the Southwest of Nigeria a little too startled by the prospects of the Obi presidency? It is a question worth exploring. 

Tinubu And Alienation Of S’East Region

 By Dan Onwukwe

Political power is like a bikini. It reveals. It exposes a leader’s real character, no matter how he tries to hide it. That’s why what some politicians do when they are trying to get your vote is not necessarily what they do after they have it. This is what happens: when a President feels he has got enough power, when he thinks he can do without you anymore, that’s when you begin to see how he always wanted to treat people. 

*Tinubu

Moreover, you can begin to see by watching what he does with the power he has desperately acquired and what he wanted to accomplish all along. That’s also why history sometimes provides a striking opportunity for understanding the interplay between leaders, circumstances, and the behaviour of some leaders who society once accorded recognition and respect.

Lagos And The Yoruba…

 By Obi Nwakanma

The lethal cladding of extreme power could blind, and constrain a man, so much that he might fall into the ditch, and still think himself powerful. Wise folks know this. So, they handle power and its claddings with extreme care. 

I would like in that sense to caution Dr. Rotimi Fasan, columnist and colleague at the Vanguard, whose recent take on the renaming of streets bearing Igbo names in Lagos, leaves sour tastes on the mouth. I will try to stay in the bounds of collegiality, but I should remind Fasan that our calling in the humane letters demands a broader, clearer, sober, gentler regard  for truth unconstrained by provincialism or the kind of deadly and empty self-regard, that is so writ large in his column, this past Thursday. He titled it, “Who Are the Bigots?” Dr. Fasan should take a very hard and steady look at the mirror, and his answer might stare right back at him. 

Oshiomhole Lied! Benin Nursing School Not Owned By Govt — Catholic Church

                                           ----------------------------------

                    PRESS CONFERENCE

(July 30, 2025)

Setting The Records Straight: Philomena College Of Nursing Is Not Government-Owned

*Obi

Introduction

He who speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. — Proverbs 12:17 (RSVCE).

On this note, I welcome you, ladies and gentlemen of the press, esteemed guests, and fellow citizens to this press conference at the Archdiocesan Secretariat of Social Communications and Printing Press. My name is Rev. Fr. Jude Orah, and I am the Director of Social Communications and Press of the Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City, Edo State. Thank you for honouring our invitation.

A Call for Truth in a Time of Misinformation

The times we live in today call for moments of truth so that falsehood may not thrive. As Scripture reminds us, “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (cf. John 8:32). 

It is in this spirit that we are gathered here today to address the public regarding the ownership and funding of the College of Nursing Sciences, located within the premises of St. Philomena Catholic Hospital, Benin City. 

This clarification has become necessary in response to misleading statements made by His Excellency, Senator Adams Aliu Oshiomhole, CON, who was a former president of the Nigerian Labour Congress, former Governor of Edo State, and former National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC); also the current senator representing Edo North Senatorial District.

2027, Lagos And Resurgence Of Anti-Igbo Sentiments

 

By Emeka Alex Duru

2027 general elections may still be far but signs of what to come are becoming clearer and indeed, disturbing. Nigerians may be in for a rough deal, perhaps, worse than what was experienced in 2023, if the morning, as they say, tells the day. Mudslinging and ethnic recriminations are already dominating public spaces, in place of issue-based engagements. Lagos is a place to watch in the worrisome development.

Igbos Earned Their Lunch In Lagos

 By Prof. Femi Olufunmilade

Lagos has been a cosmopolitan, global destination with a modern seaport at Apapa since the mid-1800. It became a Crown Colony in 1861. I did a research for the Nigerian Customs, went into the Federal Archives at the University of Ibadan and discovered records of the Customs Administration of Lagos since 1877. Could have been earlier? 

Lagos was developed by people from diverse parts of the world. The British contributed their bit, ditto indigenous people, as well as other West African groups like Dahomians, Ghanaians, Togolese, etc. From within Nigeria, you have early settlers like the Bini, and the Tapa, and returned slaves from Brazil and Sierra Leone, and, by the early 1900s, the Igbo began to flock in. Later, the Lebanese came, followed by the Indians. All of these groups had made Lagos what it is before Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (ABAT) came out of his father’s crotch, whoever he is. 

Lagos Is Playing with Fire — And Tinubu Must Put It Out

 By Ojudu Babafemi

A troubling trend is unfolding in Lagos State. In the aftermath of the recent local government elections, some newly elected officials have embarked on a reckless spree of renaming streets—particularly those bearing Igbo names or named after prominent non-indigenes. This is not coincidental; it is a calculated political maneuver rooted in resentment, identity politics, and shortsighted leadership. 

The long-simmering tension between Yoruba and Igbo communities reached a boiling point during the 2023 elections. Peter Obi of the  Labour Party (LP) shocked the political establishment by defeating Bola Ahmed Tinubu—Lagos’s long-reigning political figure—in the presidential poll within the state. That upset sent shockwaves through the ruling APC, and fears grew that a similar surprise might unfold in the governorship race. What followed was an aggressive, divisive campaign that shamelessly weaponized ethnicity, fear, and misinformation.

Peter Obi Unsettles And Exposes Many Just By Being Himself!

 By Ayowolo Ayoola Abimbola

Peter Obi continues to expose us, not by making noise, but simply by being himself. He has exhumed everything that’s wrong with us as citizens. 

*Obi

We’ve become so conditioned to seeing power expressed through arrogance and showmanship that we now find humility unsettling. We can't seem to process the idea that power can be handled quietly, responsibly, even gently. 

Obi continues to remind us, again and again, of just how broken our understanding of leadership has become. In a country where power is equated with privilege, and status is often worn like armor, Obi’s quiet consistency unsettles many, not because he offends, but because he doesn’t fit. 

Why Peter Obi Is Their Major Threat

 By Dan Onwukwe

On a fine, rarefied atmosphere, December 16, 2009, just eight days before Christmas, a clutch of reporters had gathered at the magnificent Holy Trinity Cathedral field, Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra state. The reporters, from print and electronic media, had assembled for one of those political events, that was, in retrospect, of great importance in election season. It was the flag-off of the governorship campaign to re-elect Mr. Peter Obi for a second term in office. The election took place on February 6, 2010. 

           *Obi    

All eyes at the Cathedral ground were on Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the leader of All Progressive Grand Alliance(APGA), the party on which Mr. Peter contested the election. It was not for nothing that the presence of Ikemba Nnewi riveted attention that day. He had a lot to say about Obi that would define the direction of the campaign and perhaps determine the outcome of the governorship election. And it did. Known for his gift of the gab, Ojukwu looked at the mammoth crowd and said: “You  know I am getting old now, and one favour I ask of you at this time is to vote my political son(Peter) into office again to enable our people to continue to enjoy the dividends of democracy”. 

Armageddon>>Obi: The Promethean Mandate

By Steve Osuji 

IT'S NOW OR NEVER: Let Nigeria get ready. Indeed, let the world get ready for, it is now or never.

The epic battle for the soul of Nigeria shall be fought in 2027. It shall be a showdown between day and night; light and darkness; good and evil. Let's call it a sort of liberational Armageddon! Let everyone bear it in mind and determine today, on which side he shall be fighting!

Politics In Bola Tinubu’s Nigeria!

 
By Ikechukwu Amaechi

At best, Nigeria’s democracy in this Fourth Republic has been wobbly, standing, as it were, on feet of clay. And a quarter of a century thence, rather than getting better, things have got worse as the politicians are busy dismantling all the guardrails of democracy – civic participation, which undergirds every genuine democratic project; the rule of law, that norm which says no one is above the law and makes a democracy function properly; separation of powers and checks and balances, democratic values which ensure that no individual or institution would have too much power over others;  federalism and limited government, which Dr. Meena Bose, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, at Hofstra University, described as “principles that ensure that the American political system protects liberty and natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”