Nigeria: Before Backing Atiku

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

Since we seem fated to chafe under the carapace of duplicitous politicians, we are justifiably cynical about their promises. In their desperation to get power, politicians harangue us with these promises in varied shades. But there is often that lurking caution that we should treat these promises as mere hallucinations of people who flay at anything in sight to assuage their hunger for power.

*Atiku Abubakar 

Yet, how do we measure the authenticity of our politicians if we accept as a given that politics is not a site of credibility? How do we align with the self-immolating notion that politicians are free to live in a world that is divorced from the reality of the rest of the citizens? We should not rule out the possibility that it is politicians who do not want to meet the demands of their offices but want us to take them seriously who are the purveyors of the expectation to gloss over the tragedy of the violation of their promises. 

Atiku Will Make A Far Better President Than Buhari, Any Day, Any Time!

By Femi Aribisala

One of the biggest mistakes this country ever made was to allow APC to come into power in Nigeria. It must be sent packing in 2019...

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dodged a bullet; a bomb even with the conduct of its presidential primaries a few days ago. This was conducted in a calm, serene and collected manner. There were no riots. No bombs went off to mark the process as “do or die.” Nobody got killed, maimed or injured. The party did not find it necessary to insult the intelligence of Nigerians by boasting that it now has millions upon millions of fictitious members. Everything was as smooth as silk.

*Atiku and Buhari 

The same could not be said of the All Progressives Congress (APC). There is one word that comes to mind describing APC politics today: “shambolic.” APC primaries are characterised by violence, tear gas and acrimony. At the presidential level, the party virtually prevented other aspirants from competing against Buhari. It then showed its contempt for Nigerians by claiming the president, as a sole candidate, obtained a bogus 14.8 million votes.

Nigeria: Mindset Of Our Politicians

By Passy Amaraegbu

The greatest minds are capable
of the greatest vices as well as
of the greatest virtues.
—Rene Descartes.

A family of five perishes in one night because their old generator caught fire at midnight and before neighbours could offer any help, the soot suffocates them. A professor of engineering dies in a general hospital due to poisoned intravenous injection he received. Famine is ravaging several villages because the indigenes can no longer engage in productive farming. The villages are now the den of robbers, kidnappers, killer herdsmen and marauders. The road network linking several villages, towns and communities have degenerated and disintegrated. Some of the roads that were repaired are also quickly being eroded systematically.

*Nigerian Politicians

No doubt, the situation in the various levels of our societal life may not always be as sordid as earlier portrayed but in some occasions it is or even worse. Our society has reached a negative tipping point. We are on the edge of the cliff and if no systematic and determined positive steps are taken by the citizens and the government, the result will be an imminent and inimical descent into catastrophe. 

Minimum Wage, Maximum Politics!

By Owei Lakemfa
The general strike on September 27 and 28 over a new National Minimum Wage will, going by antecedence, be the first of many strikes to come. This strike was not about a new wage per se or figures; not about agreement or disagreement, not to talk about implementation. It was merely to demand that the Buhari administration which has an unenviable history of cancelling promises, returns to the negotiation table.

If a general strike had to be called just to pressure government to talk with workers and employers on a New National Minimum Wage in accordance with the constitution, imagine the struggles that will need be waged to get the new wages implemented across all sectors and levels of government.

Lagos: Bola Tinubu’s Parasitic Master Plan

By Modiu Olaguro

 “Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason.”—Mark Twain.

In the last one month, the eyes of the nation was fixated on Lagos. Like a child’s play, the rumour of the governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, not getting a second term in office began and to the consternation of all, the rigmarole culminated in his ousting in a manner without precedents in the state. The All Progressives Congress (APC), being a party whose modus operandi relate in every way, shape or form with its siamese cousin, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), governors ordinarily take their second terms for granted, with the parties throwing the seat at them under the guise of first refusal however bleak a future they may have carved for their respective states.

*Jide Sanwo-Olu, Bola Tinubu and Gov Akinwunmi Ambode

With this in the know, coupled with the financial wherewithal of Lagos which could make even the least skillful occupant of the throne claim some glory from the people, Ambode, in a hubristic fashion wore the cloak of invincibility, deluding himself that should worst come to worse, the party would fear the backlash a move that could deny him a second term would generate.

Bola Ige, The Predictor

By Lekan Alabi

Last Sunday, September 30, this year, marked exactly the 35th year that the first civilian governor of the old Oyo State, (present Oyo and Osun States) the late Chief ’Bola Ige, Senior Advocate of Nigerian (SAN) left office in a rather foggy circumstance.

*Bola Ige 

Foggy in the sense that happenings preceding the gazetted end of his government were fraught with threats, betrayals, back stabbings etc. I intend, by this article, to recall history, but more importantly, to pull the ears of present-day enfant terrible in Nigeria’s political space, that their disturbing acts of incivility, winner – takes – all, anti-party deals, etc., do not advance democracy and good governance. 

Gov Ambode: There Shall Be Secondary After The Primary!

By Abraham Ogbodo

And so, Ambode could not be forgiven his ‘sins’ by the godfather. He has been smashed like a gadfly and when the polls open sometime in February next year to pick a governor for Lagos State after the 2015/2019 electoral cycle, his name shall be missing from the ballot paper. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is part of the Akinwunmi Ambode administration in Lagos as managing director of Lagos Property Development Corporation (LSDPC) has been chosen by the oracle to replace him. 

*Bola Tinubu and Gov Akinwunmi Ambode

It wasn’t as if a proper trial was conducted and Akinwunmi Ambode found guilty of serious and unpardonable sins. He was just unfortunate to be on the scene at this time. The charge, specifically, was that he had forgotten, since he became governor about three and half years ago, to invite the real owners of Lagos State to the dining table. It was not also said that he was eating alone while others were kept at bay salivating. 

Why Have They Thrown Gov Ambode Into The Lagos Lagoon?

By Sam Ohuabunwa 

Many Nigerians will remember the story of the threat which the Oba of Lagos was said to have issued to Ndigbo who lived in Lagos during the 2015 political season. Those who decide what happens in Lagos State were in great panic. They looked into their crystal balls and found that a majority of Ndigbo in Lagos had planned to vote for Jimmy Agbaje of PDP as governor of Lagos. All the political principalities in APC in Lagos went beserk.

*Ambode

What to do? Oba of Lagos was recruited. He summoned some of the so called Eze Ndigbo in Lagos and issued the infamous threat. They must vote for Ambode of APC or they better be prepared to be thrown into the Lagos Lagoon. It was a desperate situation that demanded desperate action. 

Gov Ambode: The Tragedy Of Not Conquering The Self

By Akin Fadeyi

While reading the book, Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate by Bob Woodward, something fascinated me. Richard Nixon, former American President and the man at the centre of the Watergate scandal was on the cusp of political extinction as he faced the most disastrous period of his career.

*Ambode 

The options for him were limited: One of it was to resign or face a disgraceful impeachment and trial. Nixon had to decide not just on the resignation, but also how to navigate his exit without going to jail. He would require state pardon from his likely successor, Vice President Gerald Ford. 

Nixon summoned his Chief of Staff, Alexander Haig, his right-hand man and a retired Army General for a brainstorm.

Gov Ambode: Adebule’s Unkindest Cut

By Comfort Obi
I have never met the Deputy Governor of Lagos state, Dr. Idiat Adebule, either officially or unofficially. Like her colleague–Deputy Governors across the country, she is redundant and anonymous, even though her state gives her a little advantage over others.  When you are the Governor, First Lady, or Deputy Governor of Lagos state, it is a plus. Every Governor of Lagos state can always lay a claim to being the number one governor in the country – deserved or not. So is the Lagos First Lady. And, well, so is the Deputy Governor. The reason is simple.

*Gov Ambode and Deputy Gov Adebule 

Lagos is the capital of the Nigeria Media. It is also the business capital of Nigeria. So, these guys in Lagos attract more attention than their counterparts elsewhere. At times, they are arrogant about it. What other governors would fall over themselves for, a Lagos State governor would ignore it. 

Nigeria: Musings On Our Sham Democracy

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

After surviving the dark days of an autocratic military rule with its grisly infringement on the liberal ethos that conduces to good governance and development, we do not need a reminder of the need to be protective of the nation’s democracy. But the tragedy is in the amnesia that goads on to make our environment perpetually in hospitable to democracy.

In no other time in our national history is this mental affliction more horrid than the President Muhammadu Buhari’s era. Since he became the president, the democracy that paved the way for his emergence as president has been so travestised that it poses a huge danger to the continued existence of the nation. Since Buhari’s demystification after he became president, we thought that we could no longer be shocked by the depth of perfidy into which he and his All Progressives Congress (APC) would sink. But we were mistaken. For the recent political absurdities in Osun State have shown that we are vulnerable to further rude shock at the hands of Buhari and his APC.

Beheadings: Mozambique Puts 189 On Trial

Mozambique put on Wednesday trial 189 people, including foreigners, accused of being involved in deadly Islamist attacks in a northern province. 
Since October last year, more than 100 people have been killed, often by decapitation, in 40 separate attacks, in villages in Cabo Delgado - a province on the border with Tanzania where companies are developing one of the biggest gas finds in a decade.

*President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique 

The trial was held in the open penitentiary in Pemba, the provincial capital of Cabo Delgado, where hundreds of suspected militants including 50 from Tanzania are being detained. The area is near one of the world's biggest untapped offshore gas fields, and Anadarko Petroleum is seeking to raise $14 billion to $15 billion for a liquefied natural gas project in the region.

2019: Is Buhari Deliberately Running To Lose?

By Richard Maduku

There is hardly any good thing that we Africans don’t corrupt. Sometimes, we practise only the negative aspect of almost every good thing. Clocks or watches for instance, are meant to ensure punctuality but in Africa they are used mostly for the opposite. It is called African Time. The Internet is meant for fast communication but in Nigeria many youths have turned it into a farm where they reap what they did not sow. It is called yahoo yahoo. Churches have been so corrupted in Africa especially in Nigeria that our traditional shamans blush with envy at the tricks church leaders of today play in order to exhort money from their gullible members.

*President Muhammadu Buhari 

 Democracy in most African countries has also been badly mangled due to the way most sitting Presidents or Heads of Government in Africa operate. They don’t only harass prominent members of the opposition in their respective countries they also brazenly rig supposedly democratic elections in order to remain in office. This has in turn made winning a re-election by a sitting President to be viewed with utmost suspicion. As a result, whether an election was free and fair, a sitting President conceding defeat was now more acceptable to the world especially to the West. 

Why Nigeria’s Growth Is Stunted @ 58

By Guy Ikokwu

A reflection of Nigeria’s palpable dismal situation 58 years after independence shows that our growth has been stunted for over 40 years since independence. The Nigerian nation is today at the cross roads of choosing its path to National growth in line with other developing nations or on the other hand continuing its present retardation along the ignoble road to self destruction and conflicts among its numerous ethnic nationalities as had been witnessed within the last few years. 

*President Muhammadu Buhari 

It is such that most observers, domestic and international, have observed that our country has not been as divided as it is today, the division stands from religious bigotry, economic degradation, high index of poverty, joblessness, insecurity, massive corruption as a way of life, high rate of mediocrity in the leadership circles, lack of good governance, very low capital appropriation coupled with massive external loans and indebtedness which are being used mainly for recurrent expenditures, personal allowances, and non-diversification of critical areas of the economy, which makes Nigeria a dumping ground for other countries and a classic case of consumption rather than production.

Nigeria Without Nation Builders At 58

By Martins Oloja

But for the way we are – as a country without leaders who are afraid of the people, I would have borrowed the title of an artful writer, Brett Baker who had on August 18, 2017 said of his country, ‘Don’t look now, but we are a country with no leader’. I mean, I would have liked the title of the anniversary essay on my country at 58 to be: ‘Nigeria @ 58: A Country Without A Leader’.

*pix: ThisDay

Despite the prevailing situation, I am still persuaded as we celebrate Nigeria at 58 that we are a nation with an absentee leader. There is a sense in which we can also look at the 36 states of the federation, 774 local governments and the three arms of government in this convoluted federation and claim too that we are indeed a country without nation builders (leaders) at all levels. 

Liberating Nigeria Through Advocacy And Sensitization

By Chukwuka Igwegbe

As the 2019 general elections draws near, there has been a huge clamour for the populace to get their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and vote for credible leaders. The clamour, though having good intentions is not rightly placed. Information available reveals that majority of the voters from the 2015 general elections were the uneducated masses. The educated class were reluctant to come out to vote, and in actual sense, most do not even have their permanent voters card. This nonchalant attitude by the educated class during election period has been the reason for the continuous bad leadership being experienced in Nigeria.

Despite having a skewed process in political parties in Nigeria that favours the emergence of elected leaders backed by money bags, the educated class have a lot of roles to play to change the narrative.

Rotimi Amaechi Vs. Magnus Abe

By Comfort Obi

If anybody was in doubt of why the civilized world laughs at us, the open letter, written to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, by Senator Magnus Abe, published in the ThisDay newspaper of Wednesday, September 26, puts a seal on the doubt.

**Magnus Abe and Rotimi Amaechi

I read it three times. And each time, my worries increased, with an exclamation to nobody: ‘Look at what politicians have reduced our country to.’

Both the Minister and the Senator are from Rivers state. The former, an Ikwerre man, and the latter, an Ogoni man. Until politics tore them apart, both were close friends. And belonged to the Dr. Peter Odili Political family – a family so strong, so influential, that every who-is-who in Rivers politics, from when Odili was sworn-in as Governor, owe their current and past “bigmanism” in government to it.

NGOs Are Causing Africa’s Agriculture To Stagnate

By Peter Wamboga-Mugirya 

A joke that is going around refers to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as “nothing going on.”

My experience over a 15-year period of studying, interacting with and experiencing NGO activities in my country, Uganda, has proven the joke to be spot-on, apart from those genuinely fighting or advocating for the protection of human and child rights. The NGOs that have emerged to fight against the transformation of agriculture are really up to the nasty mission of stagnating agricultural development in Africa, and developing countries in general.

Why? Because a focus on these NGOs and their anti-GMO activities has proven that they are hell-bent on selfishly opposing application of advanced scientific techniques or better methods of breeding crops/plants — particularly modern biotechnology or genetic engineering (GE) aimed at introducing drought-tolerant, disease- and pest-resistant and biofortified crops to our countries. They base their opposition to GM/GE-crop technology/foods on unfounded allegations that they’re unnatural, ungodly and inorganic. Yet it is our experienced and highly-trained breeders who call for and apply this technology as a tool where conventional breeding has failed over decades of trials to solve the problems. 

2019 Elections And Battle For The Soul Of Nigeria

By Simbo Olorunfemi

 The characteristic vice of the utopian is naivety; of the realist, sterility – E.H. Carr

 The reality of the 2019 elections battle is finally dawning upon us.

The contestation for power is becoming heightened. Alignments and re-alignments are taking place. Some of the early birds who took the assurance of a ticket on some platforms for granted are beginning to realise their mistakes.

The party that was in power yesterday has now become a receiver of presidential aspirants of all shapes and sizes, who have come to the realisation of the folly in nursing such ambition within the fold of the governing party, with the incumbent favoured to pick the ticket. 

Gov Ambode, Stop Begging Tinubu!

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

If Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode feels being held hostage by his political godfather, he should blame no one but himself for how long his ordeal lasts. No, we are not lost in schadenfreude – gloatingly cavorting about over the political misfortune of Ambode as he is being hoisted by his own petard.

Rather, we are interested in the political fortune of Lagos, its development and the fact that Ambode is not confronted with a terminal crisis. It is within his power to end his predicament. 

*Tinubu and Ambode

Ambode has been chafing under this political affliction that he is not sure of how and when it would end because he has refused to look for a cure outside Bourdillon.