She was on the British throne
for 70 years.
A statement by Buckingham
Palace this afternoon states that “the Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this
afternoon.”
According to the statement which also appeared on Royal Family, the official Twitter handle of the British Royal Family, both “The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this [Thursday, September 8, 2022] evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
By Achike Chude
And so we are told that the federal government, having failed to honour its agreement with ASUU, has now come up with the ingenious and perfect solution which is the speculated plan to proscribe the union. And just like in the dark days of military dictatorship, the government has propped up, encouraged, and is facilitating the emergence of a rival academic group within the university system to break the rank of ASUU.
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When you have a minister of Labour in a country whose doctors
went on strike due to the same government’s refusal to honour another agreement
and the minister says that the frustrated doctors can run away from the country
because Nigeria has enough doctors, then you should weep and gnash your teeth –
because you know that the minister is guilty of egregious lies.
What a perverse and deleterious state of affairs! Because the recommended doctor to patients ratio of the United Nations is 1:600 (one doctor to six hundred patients). Nigeria’s doctor to patients’ ratio is 1:6000 (one doctor to six thousand patients). And worse, it will take 120 years for Nigeria to have enough doctors if they are no longer leaving the country.
By Olu Fasan
Every well-meaning Nigerian must remain outraged by the choice of a Muslim-Muslim ticket by Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC. Every patriotic Nigerian should be appalled by the utter insensitivity and perniciousness of the calculated decision that belittles Christianity and puts religious harmony and internal cohesion at greater risk in Nigeria. Of course, the issue won’t go away; we will discuss it until next year’s elections. My focus here is the symbolism of the choice.
Self-servingly, some have mischaracterised the opposition to the Muslim-Muslim ticket. Recently, Festus Keyamo, a minister of state for labour and employment and spokesman of the Tinubu presidential campaign, said it was about “balance of power”. According to him, Christians feared losing power at the centre if Tinubu became president with Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim, as his vice-president. He said this was misguided because the vice-president “is powerless”.
By Reno Omokri
(First published in my column, The Alternative, in today’s ThisDay).
I have just returned from a trip to Turkey, where I was on a pilgrimage to some of the seven churches of Asia, also known as the seven churches of Revelations.
I visited Smyrna (now known as Izmir), Pergamum (now known as Bergama, and Ephesus (now known as Efes). Prior to this visit, I had visited Laodicea (now known as Laodikeia). There are no remnants of some of the other churches, but I did get to see Cappadocia.
And
then I went to Istanbul and the city blew my mind. It was my third visit to
Istanbul, but my first time staying on the Asian side.
Istanbul has a rich history that can probably bring you to tears. This city used to be known as Constantinople, and was the center of orthodox Christianity, until on 29 May 1453, when it was conquered by the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Note I said Muslim Ottoman Empire, not Islamic Ottoman Empire.
By Bisi Olawunmi
Academic Staff Union of Universities has gone for broke with its declaration of indefinite strike, ending its roll-over strategy since its February 14, 2022 call out of lecturers in public universities. The union must have decided to force issues, considering that in recent times, momentum has been building up against the six-month-old strike by ASUU that has grounded academic activities in publicly owned universities across the nation.
The
lecturers are being backed to the wall as Federal Government negotiators, its
spokespersons and critics, mainly on social and print media,
project ASUU members as self-serving, overindulged and lacking empathy
for their students. The broadcast media are not left out as the ASUU strike has
been the subject of discussion and phone-in programmes on radio and television
stations.
Editorial writers and columnists are having a field day, pontificating on the face-off. The initial groundswell of support for ASUU is gradually giving way to a weariness-induced attitude of e don do (enough is enough) by a growing segment of the public. It is understandable. Those who have been largely parents, in absentia, are being compelled to be parents, in situ, for six continuous months and many are not finding it easy. It has occasioned frayed nerves at the family level.
By Binoy Kampmark
10 Downing Street is set to be bathed in social media guff with the victory of Liz Truss. Confirmed as Boris Johnson’s successor, the new British Prime Minister won by a slimmer margin over rival contender Rishi Sunak than anticipated. Nonetheless, 81,326 votes to 60,399 was sufficient to guarantee her a secure margin – for the moment. (The turnout had been 83 per cent.)
There is little doubt that the Tory selectorate – a good deal of it – seem to adore her. That hardly makes them, or her, representative of a broader constituency, and certainly the same constituency that voted for Johnson in 2019. Certain conservative voices have even warned that the Tory party now resembles, in part, the Labour Party of Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn stormed through the ranks with an adoring base of party supporters and ideological brio. The broader electorate were not quite so enamoured.
By Amanze Obi
My friend and colleague, Segun Ayobolu, has joined the infamous clan of journalists and writers who are demonizing the Igbo on account of Bola Tinubu’s presidential aspiration. I find this regrettable, especially in the light of my belief that these gentlemen, as cosmopolitan as I thought they were, were incapable of this level of incivility.
But I know that Segun was conscripted and fed a lie. He must have
been taken in by the antics of those for whom Igbophobia is a pleasurable
pastime. I dare say that the views he expressed in his recent article on the
Igbo and the Peter Obi presidency are hardly original to him. They are bits and
pieces of prejudicial narratives on the Igbo hammered into shape by promoters
of hate and purveyors of falsehood.
Like many others who have mischievously tied Obi’s presidential aspiration to his Igboness rather than his personality, Segun outlined many reasons why he is scared stiff of a possible Obi presidency. None of them, strictly speaking, is about Peter Obi. All of them border on Igbo stigmatization and jaundiced perception by many a non-Igbo Nigerian.
By Shaka Momodu
Fellow Nigerians, it is the season of politics and another election cycle is upon us. Candidates are presenting themselves to the electorate to be considered for various positions. But this cycle is looking more and more like 2015 when men and women, young and old, reasoned in reverse order. All efforts to make them see the danger and demagoguery that then-candidate Muhammadu Buhari represented proved futile. They were deaf to reason and blind to the red flags.
Today, we are all experiencing the consequences of electing incompetence dressed in borrowed robes as president. See the mess that Nigeria has become – a tragedy of monumental proportions. In just eight years, Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) have turned Nigeria upside down, a land flowing with milk and honey, has been turned into a famished land. They say once bitten, twice shy, but strangely, many are at it again, eager to repeat their foolery.
As I have consistently stated, Nigerians are incredibly smart people, with a history of foolish choices. Is it not baffling that despite the damage done to this country by the APC in nearly eight years of staggering misrule that is palpable even to the blind, that some people still support it to remain in power, from top to the bottom of the social class?
By Malcolm Omirhobo
In a majority decision of five to two, the apex court of Nigeria recently affirmed the rights of Muslim female students in Lagos state public primary and secondary schools to wear hijab.
The Supreme Court erroneously held that wearing the hijab was an
Islamic injunction and an act of worship required of Muslims and consequently,
the banning of female Muslim students from wearing hijab to school is a
violation of their fundamental rights to freedom of thought, conscience,
religion, dignity of human persons and freedom from discrimination.
The Supreme Court heavily relied on section 38 of the 1999 constitution, which guarantees every Nigerian citizen the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The justices failed to see the rights contained in section 38 of the constitution as private rights that must be exercised privately in our homes, place of worship, community, religious schools and not in the public or public schools for that matter funded with taxpayers’ money.
By Farouk Martins Aresa
What discovery, institution, plant or industry has these billionaire politicians established? They pick and choose billionaires that make returns as kickbacks. It is an insult on African Youths' intelligence when those choosing politics for retirement home promised to be the one to revitalize the economy after destroying the same all their lives.
When Virgin Airlines could not
stomach the money, shares and partnerships demanded in kickbacks from
politicians that had absolutely nothing to contribute, they ran out of Nigeria.
Though, Airlines are still making money, they cannot take their profits out
forcing local travelers going abroad to purchase their tickets in the U.S
dollars.
Intellectual properties have been patented as the most guarded secrets because of the billions collected when copied and improved for local use. What is lost in the claims at the World Trade Organization and the local courts is how these technologies move from one country to another. The Americans are making billions from these claims as they accused the Japanese and the Chinese of stealing their intellectual properties.
By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
There is talk here and there of bringing back History with a capital “H” in the Nigerian school curriculum. It is cool by me to do a short history course with the ruling party, APC, and President Muhammadu Buhari. Necessary lessons need to be learnt before the elections that will lead into the next dispensation of Nigeria’s much touted democracy.
To
start back in time, Nigeria’s first coup as arranged by Emmanuel Arinze
Ifeajuna, Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, Adewale Ademoyega, etc. did raise the issue
of corruption as a major prong of why they struck to sack the First Republic.
The entire coup attempt got mired in the corruption of ethnic politics until there was the bloodier counter-coup in which the revenge squad wanted secession, code-named “araba”, until the British colonial masters advised against herding into arid nothingness. Of course, the Nigeria-Biafra war supervened, and after the war, the youthful Head of State Yakubu Gowon proclaimed “No Victor, No Vanquished” and “Rehabilitation-Reconciliation-Reconstruction” that became more fictional than Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
By Sonnie Ekwowusi
On a Thursday I went to one of the branches of a Bank to carry out a transaction on one of the accounts of our law firm. This particular account was opened about 17 years. And since the opening of the account, our law firm has been successfully operating without any hitches or hiccups.
But this day after presenting my cheque at the counter, I was informed that “Sir, this account needs reactivation.” “Why the reactivation?” I queried. “Because it has been rendered dormant. It is no longer active,” the lady responded. What will I do to reactivate it? She pulled out a sheet of paper containing some bank requirements and said: “Sir, these are the requirements for reopening the account.
By Olu Fasan
Every well-meaning Nigerian must remain outraged by the choice of a Muslim-Muslim ticket by Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC. Every patriotic Nigerian should be appalled by the utter insensitivity and perniciousness of the calculated decision that belittles Christianity and puts religious harmony and internal cohesion at greater risk in Nigeria. Of course, the issue won’t go away; we will discuss it until next year’s elections. My focus here is the symbolism of the choice.
According to him, Christians feared losing power at the centre if Tinubu became president with Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim, as his vice-president. He said this was misguided because the vice-president “is powerless”.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
AS you read this, and barring any last minute rescheduling, it will be exactly 177 days to the 2023 presidential election scheduled to hold on February 25. Many Nigerians are enthusiastic, thrilled and motivated. Some are even exultant. This election cycle will be the seventh since 1999. Yet, none of the previous six elections elicited as much enthusiasm. In fact, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, figures, the turnout of voters had been on the decline.
For instance, 74 million Nigerians registered for the 2011 elections and 39 million (53.68 per cent) voted to elect Dr. Goodluck Jonathan president. In 2015, both the number of registered voters and the percentage that voted dipped. Whereas 67.42 million registered to vote, only 29.43 million votes were cast, representing 43.65 per cent voter turnout.
Four years later, there was an 8.9 percentage decline. Of the 84 million who registered to vote in 2019, only 28.61 million (34.75 per cent) bothered to show up on Election Day.
By Femi Falana
Under the British colonial regime, trade unions were prohibited while strikes were criminalised. But Nigerian workers defied the ban and formed trade unions to challenge the crude exploration of the nation’s resources by the foreign colonisers. When the British saw the futility of the proscription the Trade Union Ordinance of 1939 was promulgated. The law allowed the formation of trade unions but outlawed strikes. Notwithstanding the anti strike provision of the law the general strike of 1945 led by the Nigerian Railway Union under the leadership of Comrade Michael Imoudu paralysed the colonial economy for days.
From that moment, workers resolved to be in the front line in the decolonisation struggle. Hence, the British resorted to brutal attacks of workers. For example, the Enugu coal miners were brutally attacked by the colonial police for embarking on strike for improved conditions of service in November 1949. The murderous attack led to the death of 21 colliery workers while several others were injured. The strike provoked a nationwide condemnation, which exposed the atrocious activities of the British colonial regime.
By Rasheedat Shuaib
Nothing can be more shocking than learning that the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has embarked on not less than 16 industrial actions between 1999 and 2022.
For those who may not know, a major factor prompting our
university lecturers to be laying down their tools intermittently is the
failure of government to fulfill an agreement it once entered with the academic
union.
*Buhari receiving an honorary doctorate degree from the Kaduna State University
Another factor is the failure of the lecturers to reinvent themselves and face current realities, and find fresh ways of resolving their incessant disputes with the government.
Each time the ASUU strike rears its ugly head, one is forced to conclude that both the government and our lecturers lack empathy for us the students. Better put: they don’t have our interest at heart.
The recurrence of ASUU strike has numerous negative impacts on us, something the government and ASUU don’t consider when they fail to come to an agreement. We lost a whole session to this same madness two years ago. The same thing is already happening now, with the ongoing strike.
By Agunloye Bashiru
The failure and nonchalant attitude of the Federal Government of Nigeria on the incidents of kidnapping for ransom has made Nigerian families to resort to self-help to free their loved ones from the dens of kidnappers and bandits.
*Kidnappers and their victims
From 2021 to date, over 500 incidents of kidnappings were said
to have been recorded with close to 4,000 Nigerians and some foreign citizens
abducted across Nigeria, while some unreported cases were unknown due to the
nature of Nigeria when it comes to proper data documentation.
While all these incidents of kidnappings and abductions were
happening across the country, the Nigerian government left the victims in the
hands of these unrepentant and inhuman gangs.
From July 2021 to August 2022, over one billion Naira was reported to have been paid by Nigerians to freed victims of kidnappings and abductions. In July 2021, the sum of N250 million was paid by Nigeria Baptist Convention as ransom to the bandits that kidnapped 140 students from the Bethel Baptist College, Damishi, Kaduna State. In July 2022 alone, eight Nigerian abducted persons parted with N800 million while a kidnapped Pakistani national paid the sum of N200 million as ransom to kidnappers.
By Dele Sobowale
“All things do help an unhappy man to fall.”
— William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, Vanguard Book of Quotations, VBQ, P.257
Regular readers of this page know that I am one of the few Nigerians still passionate about Nigeria Air – the national airline. For me, it is simply an acid test of our ability as a nation to manage any complex enterprise. The success of Ethiopian Airlines should be sufficient for us to try once again. The lure of foreign exchange revenue should constitute an extra dividend. But, as time is running out on the Buhari administration, what was an uphill task is now becoming a mission impossible.
Worst Disaster
“Aviation crisis: We’re currently engaging CBN, others on blocked $600m funds – Lai Mohammed. Report, August 23, 2022.
Two things I learnt from personal experience, at the university
and former jobs are pertinent here. To persuade foreign airlines
threatening to leave Nigeria, we need credible communications. From a course on
communications in Business School, it was drummed into my head that the
messenger is as important as the message. The message itself must be credible.
When the messenger and the message lack credibility, the crisis is made worse.
With $600m funds belonging to foreign airlines, the worst government spokesman to address the issue is Lai Mohammed. One of my friends in an embassy was the first to let me know that they monitor activities on our social media platforms 24/7. They are aware that Lai Mohammed lacks credibility among Nigerians. He is also not well regarded in diplomatic circles. The announcement by Lai Mohammed, contrary to what the Federal Government expects, will most probably be dismissed as false by all airlines affected. In fact, it would have been better to say nothing than to send a messenger regarded as untruthful.
By Rotimi Fasan
The Federal Government through the Central Bank last week released $265 million to airline companies operating in the country. These are mostly businesses owned by foreigners. The aviation industry like most other sectors of the economy has been going through a very rough patch in the last few months. There had been a lot of hue and cry about the scarcity of aviation fuel which mostly affected local airlines.
But the scarcity of foreign exchange has translated into bad
business for the major airline companies that have not been able to repatriate
profits that are trapped in naira in local banks. After weeks of lamentation
without any improvement in their situation, a number of them, including British
Airways and Emirates, had taken the hard decision to halt their operations in
the country beginning from the end of August 2022.
The decision of these airline companies, should it come into effect, would amount to a virtual lockdown of the international routes of the Nigerian aviation sector. For a country that lacks a national carrier, this would be disastrous. As footloose as Nigerians, especially the elite, tend to be, it is both ironic and scandalous that they rely almost exclusively on foreigners for their international junketing. Yet our airports display some of the most exotic private jets, not one of them can be repaired or maintained locally, that are left idle while incurring avoidable debts on airport tarmacs and hangers.
By Patrick Dele Cole
(Book by Agunze Chib Ikokwu Foundation)
One thing is clear about the Igbos, by whatever standards there are, they are a remarkable people, strong in will, great in achievement, and undeterred by difficulties.
What
is it that has produced these remarkable people? What keeps them going? How do
people enhance their self-awareness even amidst open hostility, jealousy and
outright discrimination? It would seem as if the harder the other people in
Nigeria beat them, and discriminate against them, the more successful they
become.
This book gives a peep into the complexity of what makes the Igbo character. It starts from a very simple assumption, that education is a key component of development. Education fosters tolerance, but it may also foster bigotry, and when you take people eager to be educated, eager to change their positions in life, eager to find the world, to leave the world a better place than they found it, that inspires.
