No Emergency Rule In Rivers

 By Charles Okoh

 The senseless crisis in Rivers State has continued un­abated and from the looks of things, it might just con­tinue until common sense prevails or until those who are fueling it run out of firepower. I call the crisis senseless because there can only be one captain in a ship and as it is in Rivers, the State Governor, Mr. Simi­nalayi Fubara, is the captain in the state and whatever may be happen­ing out of the state is irrelevant, im­material and inconsequential.

*Fubara, Wike, Tinubu

The crisis last week following the expiration of the tenures of Local Government Council Chairmen in the state, took another dimension, as police, youths and other citizens occupied 21 council secretariats, re­sisting the outgoing chairmen and their supporters from gaining en­trance to the offices.

Bola Tinubu Should Resign!

 By Casmir Igbokwe

Three videos which trended on the social media last week brought home the current reality of life in Nigeria. The first one happens to be a group of young women struggling to scoop rice from the pot of a rice vendor in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. The big pot of rice was still on fire, steaming hot. But the women were not bothered with fire or any other thing. All they wanted was to quench the fire of hunger ravaging their stomachs.

*Tinubu

In the second video, a group of people, mainly youths, were struggling to collect loaves of bread said to be N100 each. It was on February 14, 2024, being Valentine’s Day. As the youths were pushing and shoving one another, the organisers, who had a tough time controlling them, resorted to whipping them to be orderly. This particular incident reportedly happened on Lagos Island.

Insecurity: Mr President, Don’t Ignore Call For State Police

 By Ray Ekpu

In the last one year I must have written up to a dozen articles on the intractable problem of insecurity in the country. How can I stop when insecurity has not stopped harassing us. It has become a daily nightmare because nowhere is safe today, neither the road nor your house.

Six sisters and their father from the Al-Kadriya family who lived in the Bwari area of Abuja were kidnapped from their residence. They killed the most senior girl when there was a delay in paying the ransom. Then a benevolent Nigerian volunteered to pay the ransom which led to the release of the five girls.

Cash Scarcity Lingers, Food Scarcity Follows

 By Dele Sobowale

“Why is cash scarce again?” — Lekan Sote, January 10, 2024.

Lekan, one of the most perceptive columnists in Nigeria today astonished me when he asked that question. Vanguard readers knew as far back as March 2023 that another round of cash scarcity was coming. It occurred in December. It will linger for a while – as long as the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, continue to miss the point. 

Nigerians should actually be asking two questions regarding cash scarcity: will it end? How? The answer to the first is “Yes”; but not next month or perhaps even March. It will certainly not end before a great deal of damage would have been done to the economy. The answer to “How?” will be left untouched for now. The FG and CBN will be shocked to know the major cause of the lingering scarcity. The stranglehold on cash supply is now assuming the characteristics of a plot. 

Tinubu, Appoint Diplomats, Not Politicians To Run Our Missions

 By Owei Lakemfa

The culture in Nigeria is that after Presidential Elections, politicians, hangers-on, propagandists, relatives and a rainbow of persons gather like ants over sugar. Primarily, the gathering is to partake of the honey which is how they see the emergent government.

*Tinubu 

In fact, for many, elections are the best investment they can make, and they need to quickly recoup the funds invested. The Tinubu administration has so far, exhibited the symptoms of that national disease.

Palliatives In Nigeria = Two Cups Of Grains!

 By Dele Sobowale

“Blessed are they that expect nothing; for they shall never be disappointed” – Pessimist motto.

Hope renewed is becoming increasingly dream deferred. When President Tinubu announced during the inaugural address that “subsidy is gone”; and followed that with partial harmonization of exchange rates, the “hit the ground running” brigade went berserk with jubilation.

At last, a courageous leader, ready to make the tough decisions and set the nation on sustainable economic prosperity, has arrived. Those of us, who knew from bitter experiences in Nigeria and abroad, were not so sure all was well. We counseled balancing hope with realism. Talk is cheap.

Will Nigerians Ever Trust Their Legislators?

 By Tonnie Iredia

Nigerian citizens who may not have fully followed the tense political situation in neighbouring Niger may have been misled into thinking that for once, their federal legislators are no longer disposed to playing their rubber-stamp role towards the executive branch of government. But we can hardly know if they are really set to act as a check on the executive.

*Senate President Akpabio

First, has President Tinubu actually asked for approval from them to militarily coerce the Nigerien army to restore democracy to Niger? Some say Tinubu merely informed the legislators of the prevailing viewpoint of ECOWAS on the situation in that country. Consequently, the senate could not have rejected a request which had not been made. To the onlooker therefore, both the president and the senate have been imitating our colonial officers of old.