When Hypocrisy And Doublespeak Define A Nation

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

On October 1, 66 years ago, Nigeria gained flag independence from Britain. Within these years, the country reached another milestone – 27 years of unbroken civilian rule, which many confuse as democracy. Ours is not yet a democracy. 

*Tinubu during the 66th Independence ceremonies

It may well be with time, but democracy and civilian rule are poles apart. In a civilian rule, power is concentrated and recklessly abused by the political elites without public oversight but the idea of democracy calls for something more fundamental: it requires popular participation, free and fair elections and strong institutional checks and balances.

Flood Menace In Nigeria

 By Paul Nwosu

Our country’s annual tragedy of rampaging flooding is at its worst this year. It is estimated that more than 300 persons have been killed by the floods that are somewhat beyond control. Out of Nigeria's 36 states, 27 are battling with the floods. Even Abuja is under threat of the flood sweeping from Kogi State capital, Lokoja. Large number families have been affected, and displaced persons keep increasing. Thousands of hectares of farmland have been destroyed. Hunger is a clear and present danger as the agriculture chain has been grossly disrupted.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is at its wits end while the State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) can hardly cope with the onslaught of water. Nigeria is indeed facing a beyond-the-pale disaster. The spokesperson of NEMA, Manzo Ezekiel, has stressed that “this is the highest we ever had since 2012”.

It has now become a recurrent factor that Nigeria records flooding every year.