Our Senate Is A White Elephant

 By Ugoji Egbujo

Our Senate is a luxury. Akpabio, the Senate President, can’t choose his words carefully. Recently, he reminded a female senator that the Senate is not a nightclub. He was rebuking her for not obtaining his permission before speaking. In his flippancy and uncouthness, idleness could be gleaned. 

*

Senator Akpabio received a letter from Ganduje, APC chairmen, and read it in plenary. Then, robotically, he revved the engines of the Senate and dumped Ndume. That sequence would have been fitting in a one-party communist state like China. Ndume’s sin was that he criticized the president. 

Who Wants Dangote Refinery Dead?

 By Charles Okoh

There must be something inherently wrong with us as a people. There must be a reason that has made it practically impossible for all governance models or theories that have worked elsewhere to work here. Of course, the an­swer to that is corruption. We cannot say it enough. The level of corruption in the country is such that until something drastic is done, the development of this nation would continue to remain stunted.

*Dangote 

For a while now, we have been waiting for the much-anticipated Dangote Refinery to be launched.

Our expectations and optimism were not misplaced given the har­rowing experience Nigerians have been having with exploiting our God-given resources for the benefit of the people of this country. Sadly, there is no evidence to show that this nation is endowed with such a resource as crude oil because we have never benefited as a people.

Dangote Refinery, Victim Of Nigerian Factor

 By Dele Sobowale

A lot of media people have been talking to Alhaji Aliko Dangote lately; more would give an arm to be able to reach him – all because of the refinery which was advertised as the answer to our perpetual fuel problems. Laymen and women have developed the notion that, when it starts supplying fuel, prices would crash to pre-subsidy removal levels – among other expectations. More unsolicited write-ups have been sent to me by strangers and friends, alike, about Dangote himself and his refinery than I have ever received in a long time.

*Dangote 

Suddenly, the Dangote Refinery, apart from pervasive hunger, appears to be the only subject worthy of attention. The opinion leaders are almost evenly divided – those sympathetic to Dangote and those totally against – even though the latter are often afraid to be identified. That is power – the ability to make people fear you even when you don’t know them.

For Once, I Agree With Adams Oshiomhole

 By Tonnie Iredia

For the better part of the last two decades, I had cause to severally disagree or oppose the viewpoints, statements or actions of Adams Oshiomhole either as President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), or Governor of Edo State or National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). 

*Oshiomhole 

In order not to belabour the issues of the past, I will only just say we fell apart many times and quite often used the media to put our different positions in the public domain. It is therefore quite likely that many people who knew about our sour relationship would be surprised to read this piece which eulogises Oshiomhole’s commendable contributions to debates in the Senate, especially in the last couple of weeks.

Pastor A.C. Ohanebo: Old-Fashioned Preacher At 80

By Modestus Chukwulaka

“Where tradition is lacking,” Leon Trotsky writes, “a striking example becomes relevant.” 

*Pastor Ohanebo

In every sense, this is true. In biblical church practice, as in other spheres of endeavour, this is an essential part of the catechism of transformational leadership. It demands that leaders be inspirations to their followers, in line with the principle exemplified by Jesus, who began “both to do and to teach.” 

Bola Tinubu’s Ministry Of Cow And Chicken Affairs

 By Ugoji Egbujo

It’s haphazard. One moment, the Federal Government is pursuing the Orasanye reforms; the next, it’s churning out fresh ministries to serve political expediency. We took away the petrol subsidy to save the economy, only to become obsessed with distributing money and food to the public as if we can’t sit to think.

Now, we have a ministry for cow and chicken affairs. A full-blooded ministry for only livestock. Who knows why the title ‘Development’ is attached to it? Some say the entire thing is a peace offering to the Miyetti Allah and company. Others say the suspicious timing makes it a lollipop in the mouth of a group wailing against the Samoa Agreement.

ECOWAS Continues Its Blunders As West Africa Splits

 By Owei Lakemfa

West Africans on July 7, 2024, witnessed the tragic split of their region into two opposing blocs. The first time since the 1975 establishment of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.

Eleven regional Heads of State met in Abuja under the ECOWAS umbrella while three of their counterparts: Presidents Assimi Goita of Mali, Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso and Abdourahamane Tchiani, Niger, met in Niamey for the inaugural Summit of the Alliance of Sahel States, AES.

UK General Election: British Democracy Shames Nigerian Ineptocracy

 By Olu Fasan

Trust Nigerians, some will scoff at any comparison between Britain’s democracy and what Nigeria calls democracy. But if democracy is, as Abraham Lincoln famously defined it, “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, then Nigeria must be held to universal standards.

*UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer

The critical electoral link between the government and the governed must not be severed, and democracy must not become ineptocracy, a system run by inept people. In any representative democracy, the irreducible core is the will of the people freely expressed in credible elections. That’s why last week’s UK general election offers some lessons.

Bandits And Arewanistan Agenda?

 By Ochereome Nnanna

For sure, banditry, especially kidnapping for ransom, is one of the three security challenges in Northern Nigeria. The others are Boko Haram/ISWA terrorism in the North-East, and Fulani herdsmen militia, a nationwide terror network.

In the South, kidnapping for ransom is in the hands of local criminal gangs. Even our battered Nigeria Police Force, NPF, are still largely on top of their game. The recent rescue of the Fouani brothers kidnapped while jollificating on the waterways of Lagos, was achieved by the Police. When was the last time you heard the Police doing much about the rage of banditry in the North?

Universities Without Electricity: Nigeria’s Contribution To 21st Century Knowledge

By Owei Lakemfa

June 2024. Festivity was in the air. Professors and students, staff and high class visitors were in attendance. The highlight was a first class dinner. Africa’s book factory, Professor Toyin Falola, flew into the country to deliver the farewell lecture. It was all in honour of Professor Abd-Rasheed Na’Allah, out-going Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, UNIABUJA. But, trust spoilers.

They are never far away from festivities. As the wining and dining went on with fine speeches seeing off the VC at month end, students of the university were lamenting the N500 daily they pay to charge their cell phones. It was the second week the university had been plunged into darkness. It was not that the university is new to power outages, but this particular one had lengthened to pay farewell to Professor Na’Allah.

Interpreting Court Judgments In Nigeria

 By Tonnie Iredia

During Nigeria’s First and Second Republics, not many people had faith in the country ’s judiciary. To start with, court cases dragged on for too long; making it practically impossible for litigants to enjoy the fruits of judicial victories. In other cases, many criminals were set free on account of some technicalities couched in Latin that ordinary people never understood.

Part of the assignments of some transition bodies set up during military rule was to educate Nigerians on the dangers of extra- judicial activities. But if the truth must be told, it has been quite difficult to persuade politicians to follow the sermons on the rule of law which seem to provide inconsequential efficacy.

Investigate Buhari, Now!

 By Obi Nwakanma

Nigeria is in dire straits. That is no longer news. It is not even news anymore that Nigerians are going through the worst economic crisis of their lives. The very lean Structural Adjustment Programme years – the SAP years – may not even compare. I have been told that the kind of desperation seen now in Nigeria is apocalyptic. It is strange and foreboding. An eerie and very fatalistic despondence gnaws at the very core of the Nigerian psyche.

*Buhari 

For many of us growing up in Nigeria from the late 80s and the 1990s, Nigeria had turned into something of an economic dustbowl. Many middle class folks suddenly found themselves thrown down the scale. Many families were destroyed because of the stress on family life and income. I came home one holiday in 1986 from University of Jos, and asked for jam, and nearly got kicked off the dining table by my enraged father who thought my request both insensitive and unintelligent.

Self-Inflicted Agonies From Flooding

 By Adekunle Adekoya

The downpour of last Wednesday, which left many parts of the country flooded, and the attendant tragedies, is still talk of the town. It is an annual ritual from which we have learnt nothing, and forgotten nothing. The octopoidal Federal Government, whose officials these days, talk more about everything but do little about anything said 21 local government areas in 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, are submerged.

Videos and pictures of flooded areas, particularly in Lagos trended heavily in the social media. It was pathetic seeing buildings and roads in parts of Lagos like Lekki, Ikeja, Agege, Gbagada and others completely submerged. And the rains have just begun, it being early July. The trending images triggered commentaries which ignited verbal exchanges.

Biden-Trump Debacle: Nigeria Must Not Entrench A Gerontocracy

 By Olu Fasan

Two significant events hit the world from America recently. One is positive, the other negative. The positive is the criminal convictions of former President Donald Trump and Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son. Both are unprecedented: Trump is the first former US president to be convicted of a felony, and Biden Jnr is the first son of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime.

*Trump and Biden 

That suggests no one is above the law in America. However, the negative is the disastrous presidential debate between Biden and Trump. Both the positive and negative events have relevance for Nigeria. That relevance is worth exploring. But my focus here is the nerve-racking debate.

Nigeria: As Wike Plots To “fail” Ireti Kingibe

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

The  Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, is a cantankerous old fossil – irascible, quarrelsome and testy, no doubt. Whether as a local government chairman, chief of staff, minister or governor, he is bad-tempered, cranky and grouchy; a man not only at war with himself but perpetually with others. This is not the quality of a good leader even if the person is dubbed “Mr. Projects,” whether deserved or otherwise.

*Kingibe and Wike 

Leadership demands a healthy dose of humility. But as governor of Rivers State for eight years, Wike was at war with everyone, abusing all who dared cross his path. With him, every criticism, no matter how constructive is a definite no-no. His entire worldview is governed by the “us against them” mentality and in pursuit of this cock-eyed philosophy of life, he takes no prisoners, which explains why barely two months out of office, he was engaged in a war of attrition with his successor and anointed political godson, Siminalayi Fubara.

Addressing The Food Crisis

 By Juwonlo Dahunsi  

Our nation is at a critical juncture where the impact of economic crises, global challenges, tumbling currency, insecurity and climate change is affecting the ability of many citizens to feed themselves. The figures are striking. As of March 2024, the food inflation rate increased by 40.01 percent, which is about 15.56 percent higher than the March 2023 rate.

With the complexity and interdependence of the factors responsible for the current food crises, our approach to addressing them must go beyond the conventional means. We need a more agile approach to address the current food crises. An approach that can quickly adapt to our changing circumstances and effectively address the complex factors contributing to the crises. For this approach to be viable, it has to be rooted in three pivotal elements. 

Patriots In Kenya, Fascists In Nigeria

 By Andy Ezeani

Those in Nigeria who look towards the youths of the country, against the backdrop of the recent happenings in Kenya, and expect a similar redemptive stance need to be fair to young Nigerians. It is an entirely different hemisphere. Kenya is not Nigeria. And Nigerians are not Kenyans.

The tendencies of the political leadership in Kenya and Nigeria may be quite similar but the two societies retain their differences all the same. In standing up to brute force and putting their lives on the line to oppose an economic policy of the government, which they believe will only lead the society to turmoil and further grief, the youths of Kenya did what their counterparts in Nigeria would also do, under normal circumstances.

Presidential Jets And The Rest Of Us

 By Nick Dazang

There is an apocryphal story animating the social media. And it is doing so with a frenzy. It is to the effect that the Presidency had since allegedly acquired two jets via the Chagourys; and that the jets were being allegedly configured in lieu of their delivery to Abuja.

Even though this story appears outlandish and not in consonance with the latest reports in the mainstream media, namely, that the Presidency is considering auctioning some of the aging aircraft in the presidential fleet to make up the money to buy a new one, the said exaggerated story speaks eloquently to two salient and concerning issues.

Borrowing Is The Opium Of Nigerian Governments

 By Dele Sobowale 

“The DMO said as of March 31, 2024, the country’s domestic and external debts stood at N121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion). Nigeria’s debt rose by N24.33 trillion within three months – from N97.34 trillion ($108.23 billion) in December 2023 to N121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion).” Channels Television.

Nigerian government leaders, Presidents and Governors, are addicted to loans the same way drug addicts cannot kick the habit; and become increasingly hooked. What Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala persuaded Obasanjo to do in 2004, that is paid off Nigeria’s external loans was so alien to our government leaders that one late former Governor called her “stupid”.

Unending Weak Political Opposition In Nigeria

 By Tonnie Iredia

After twenty-five years of unbroken civilian governments in Nigeria, one can easily imagine that the country is getting settled as a democracy. But whereas a civilian government rather than a military regime is more likely to be democratic, civilian rule in Nigeria and indeed in several parts of Africa are far from adhering to democratic practices.

 In truth, what obtains in many African countries is authoritarian democracy. The causative factors are many. Poorly organized political parties, prevalent poverty, commercialized politics, election rigging and the tendency for those in power to decimate opponents so as to remain in power perpetually.