Free Nnamdi Kanu…

 By Obi Nwakanma

As at this morning, dear reader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) remains a political prisoner, and a prisoner of conscience in Nigeria. Kanu continues to be held, against his will, and against the laws of the federation of Nigeria, whose courts have declared that he has broken no laws, and has no case to answer over the matter on which he is being held. 

*Kanu

Kanu’s continued detention is now no longer a personal matter between Nnamdi Kanu and the Federal Government of Nigeria, it is now an insult to the Igbo. I will come to this in a minute. But let me quickly outline the Nnamdi Kanu story, for those who do not know, or who may have forgotten, or who have been absorbed by too much flux of time, and who may now be extremely fatigued by the drag of this case.

Canadian Court’s Verdict On Nigeria’s Democracy

 By Ebuka Ukoh

Last week, the Federal Court of Canada, presided over by Justice Sébastien Grammond, gave a ruling that has shaken more than one man—it has shaken the image of an entire nation.

Douglas Egharevba, a Nigerian who once belonged to both the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), was denied permanent residency in Canada. The court concluded that his association with PDP disqualified him, citing the party’s longstanding record of undermining democratic principles. Ironically, his more recent membership in APC did not redeem him. (APC ex-chair, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, must hear this!)

Tackling Antibiotic Abuse: A Call For Action

 By Sylvester Ojenagbon

I sat down recently in a popular community pharmacy, waiting to be attended to. Then came a fairly educated middle-aged man who seemed to be a familiar face to the pharmacist on duty. “Give me that drug I bought that day,” he requested, pointing to a particular medication on the shelf. The pharmacist hesitated for a moment, then asked, “What do you want to use it for?” 

Without thinking about it, the man gave a response I thought was the most ridiculous I had ever heard: he wanted to use it for typhoid, which he did not have at that point. He said he just wanted to take it as a preventive measure since he worked hard and did not want to start having body pains. The pharmacist had to explain to him the dangers of taking antibiotics without a proper diagnosis and prescription. Although the man left without the drug, the pharmacist confided that he was certain he would come back when someone else was on duty or go somewhere else to buy it.

Prioritising Leaders' Greed Over Basic Welfare, By Peter Obi

 

The recent proposal by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to increase the salaries of Political Leaders is causing widespread anger and bitterness among Nigerians, and we share the concerns of many Nigerians who question the necessity and timing of this proposal. 

Such thinking in the face of faster-eroding living standards of the people not only portrays the insensitivity of leaders but also exposes their greed. 

Beyond Yakubu Mohammed’s Expectations

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

I have always known Yakubu Mohammed by reputation. But we met physically in 2018 when the League of Nigerian Columnists berthed. Initiated by syndicated columnists, Akogun Tola Adeniyi and Professor Anthony Kila, the league paraded industry giants such as Dan Agbese, Ray Ekpu, Reuben Abati, the late Henry Boyo, Ben Lawrence, the late Jimanze Ego-Alowes, Dare Babarinsa, Martins Oloja, Akin Osuntokun and yours sincerely as inaugural members.

*Yakubu Mohammed's book 

Attending meetings and sharing ideas with these great men, an assemblage of people whose encyclopedic knowledge of Nigeria is deep, was invaluable. Whether it is Ekpu, Mohammed or Adeniyi or the urbane economist, Boyo, you couldn’t but marvel at what they knew, not from hearsay but firsthand information.

Letter To President Goodluck Jonathan

 By Amanze Obi

His Excellency, President Goodluck Jonathan. I address you today with utmost sense of respect. My choice of this open medium is deliberate. It is aimed at ensuring that others who feel as concerned as I do help in calling you to order. Our dear former President, information reaching us has it that you are considering standing for election in the 2027 presidential race.

*Jonathan 

We hear that you are being propelled into this project by those who feel that what the North needs in 2027 is a southerner who will serve only one term to complete the turn of the South at the Presidency. Since President Bola Tinubu is not an option for the North, or for any Nigerian for that matter, the North, which claims to have the numbers, is shopping seriously for a credible southerner that will spend only four years in office.

How Desperation Turns Nigerian Job Seekers Into Scam Targets

By Tahir Ahmad

“Hear this: recruitment is not conducted on social media. If you see a post on Instagram, TikTok, or WhatsApp claiming to offer Customs jobs, it’s fake."

That was one of the striking lines from an AI-generated video I stumbled upon last weekend. That was while browsing the internet. It came from the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, speaking directly and in plain language to Nigerians about its recruitment process.

But while the video itself was clear and timely, it points to something much bigger than Customs’ recruitment alone. It reflects a national problem that is being fuelled by unemployment, exploited by scammers, and made worse by communication gaps in government.

Nigeria: Homelands Under Siege!

 By Sunny Awhefeada

Homeland holds significance in many ways. It embodies the phys­ical, psychological and spiritual essence of man. Homeland could be a birthplace or an adopted place of origin. Both ways, a homeland has an endearing and enduring impact on people. It has a pull that is difficult to ignore or avoid. Before modernity and globalization came with displacement and tendency to see everywhere as home, the idea of the homeland carried with it a romantic allure that it became a motif in po­etry and music.

 The enduring impact of the homeland magic and mystic finds eternal resonance in Evi Edna Ogholi’s “No Place like Home”. Her scribal brothers, Gabriel Okara, Tanure Ojaide, Ibiwari Ikoriko, Joe Ushie, Ogaga Ifowodo, Ebi Yeibo, Obari Gom­ba, Peter Omoko and Stephen Kekeghe, in their poetry romanticized an idyllic home­land that was lost to capitalist rapacity em­bodied in oil multinationals and insensitive successive governments under the firm grip of comprador bourgeoisie. People had gone to war to defend their homeland. No matter how far people sojourned in the distant past they always made attempt to return to their homeland.

Lessons From Obi’s One-Tenure Proposition

 By Dan Onwukwe

The emergence of Mr. Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential race and the profound impact he made in that election has been driving Nigerian politics in astonishing manner. He’s defining public agenda, and speaking up – articulately and emphatically – on the urgent need to fix a broken Nigeria, clean up the mess, cut the cost and size of governance.

*Peter Obi
Like no other politician in the present dispensation, Obi is also marshaling out the challenges of immediate sort confronting the country and the citizens and proffering solutions to them. These are leadership lessons.           

Mr. Obi never fails to remind anyone who cares to listen that part of his vision for a better Nigeria is not for personal gains but to dismantle the present structure of criminality in the country, not by violent means, but through active participation of the citizenry in the democratic process.

Warri: A Distressed And Dying City

 By Michael Owhoko

Who will restore Warri back to its glorious days? A city that was once the pride of all Wafarians is now a shadow of itself, rusty and reeking with aroma of poverty occa­sioned by systemic decline with peo­ple cocooned in deprivation and squa­lor. Warri is allusively known as Wafi, making the people and residents of the city identified as Wafarians. 

I was close to tears during my re­cent visit where I toured the length and breadth of Warri, covering Deco Road, Okumagba Avenue, Okere Road, McCiver, Odion Road, Market Road, Cemetery Road, Iyara, McDer­mott Road, Warri-Sapele Road, Upper and Lower Erejuwa, Ajamogha, Esi­si, and Warri Port. I stayed for over two months, the longest since my relocation to Lagos in 1984.

Africa’s Young Future Can’t Read!

 By Femi Awoyinfa

In a village school just outside one of the capital cities in Nigeria, a primary three pupil stares blankly at the blackboard. She’s ten years old and still unable to read a simple sentence. She is not alone. Across sub-Saharan Africa, nearly nine out of ten children cannot read or understand a basic text by age ten. This isn’t just a crisis of education, it’s a crisis of development. 

Africa is standing at a demographic crossroad. Over the next 25 years, the continent’s population will swell past 2.5 billion, with more than 40 per cent under the age of 15. This youth bulge is often cited as an opportunity for innovation, growth, and global relevance. But numbers don’t educate themselves. Unless urgent investments are made in foundational learning: basic literacy and numeracy in the early years, this demographic dividend will become a debt.

The Nigeria Police, CMR And Tinted-Glass Permits

 By Adekunle Adekoya

A little over a year ago, specifically on July 19, 2024, this column had cause to join issues with the High Command of the Nigeria Police Force over the issue of CMR, or Central Motor Registry, which the Police decreed all motorists must obtain a permit from. 

I recall a statement issued by Force spokeman, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, now DCP, which announced that the Police “will commence the enforcement of the digitalised central motor registry, e-CMR, by July 29, 2024.

“As part of the efforts of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, NPM, PhD, to enhance the security of lives and property, the Nigeria Police Force is set to commence the enforcement of the digitalised central motor registry (e-CMR) within the next 14 days, specifically on the 29th of July, 2024, — to rejuvenate and digitalize the motor vehicle registration system, significantly bolstering our nation’s safety and security framework,” the statement read in part.

Southern Solidarity For Tinubu: Which South, What Solidarity?

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

One of the absurdities of Nigeria’s pseudo-democracy is the fact that those clamouring for President Bola Tinubu’s second term are not flaunting his achievements. Instead, the battle cry is the need for him to complete his “constitutionally guaranteed” two terms of eight years, not minding that there is no such guarantee in the 1999 Constitution, amended or not.

*Tinubu

The more sophisticated amongst them are blackmailing the country with the rotational presidency arrangement between the North and South. They insist that since the late Muhammadu Buhari, a Northerner, was president for eight years, then a Southerner must be accorded the same privilege. And guess what? That Southerner must be Tinubu. In the event that the North reneges, they preach Southern solidarity as an antidote to the alleged greed of Northern political elites.

The Peter Obi Challenge

 By Obi Nwakanma

A friend of mine sent me the link of the clip of my old buddy, Dr Reuben Abati, declaring that the civil war in Nigeria has not ended. Therefore the North will not vote for the likely candidacy of Peter Obi, an Igbo from the East. It of course struck me on two levels. Dr. Abati seemed deliberately to be lubricating tired and self-serving ideas.

*Obi

The second part, where this hit very pointedly was at a very sudden realization! Dr. Abati is afraid of a Peter Obi presidency. He is not even hiding it. But for what reason? Why is the revanchist arm of the Yoruba in the Southwest of Nigeria a little too startled by the prospects of the Obi presidency? It is a question worth exploring. 

Nigeria: Millions For 90 Minutes, Peanuts For 35 Years!

 By Stephanie Shaakaa

When a country rewards each Super Falcons player with N150 million and a three-bedroom house for a 90-minute football match, yet sends police and military pensioners who served 35 years home with N2–5 million, no housing, no healthcare, and a pension too small to feed a family, what we have is not just imbalance it’s a moral crisis. 

And just like that the  copy-paste generosity extended to the women’s basketball team. More cash, more houses, same hypocrisy. Meanwhile, the  heroes of this country from other sectors  rot in silence.

I Choose To Believe Him: Peter Obi Has Earned The Benefit Of Doubt!

 By Kunle Agbede

Truth is rarely born of politics, and trust is even rarer. But that’s not unique to politics—it cuts across every human endeavour.

*Peter Obi 

For many, the moral arc easily bends away from conscience when the outcome benefits them. That’s the way of the world. But as we say in law: for every rule, there is an exception.

Is Media Still The Fourth Estate Of The Realm?

 By Fred Chukwuelobe

Before I delve deeper into the details of this question, let me briefly take a cursory read of the term, “fourth estate,” in the interest of those who may not know what it means.

According to Wikipedia, the term “fourth estate” refers to the press and news media and their influence on politics and society. It’s often seen as a watchdog of the government and a vital part of a functioning democracy, holding power accountable. The concept originated in Europe, contrasting the press with the traditional three estates of the realm: clergy, nobility, and commoners.

Tinubu’s Injudicious Governance Template In A Heterogeneous Society

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

In his seminal offering last Sunday titled, “Whose president is Tinubu, anyway?” TheNiche columnist, Dr. Chidi Amuta, concluded in a rather cautionary note: “Tinubu’s current quandary as to his real national constituency may end in greater confusion unless he is ready to rediscover the source of his original sin and redress it. That original sin is that he has failed to rise to the lofty height of the nation. Instead, he has spent two years struggling to reduce a great nation to the limited size of his stature, vision and politics. To discover his mission, Tinubu has to rise to the magnitude of his national canvass.”

*Tinubu

It was a well-intentioned advisory, which, if heeded, will do President Tinubu a world of good and soothe frayed nerves in the country. But knowing him, it is an advisory he will treat with derision.

A tale Of Two Nations And Their Victorious Women’s Sports Teams

 By Olu Fasan

The past two weeks have been remarkable for sports women internationally. Women’s national sports teams were victorious in major international tournaments and attracted differing responses from their governments. In Britain, England’s women’s national football team, the Lionesses, beat their Spanish counterpart to win the 2025 UEFA Women’s Championships.

In Nigeria, the Super Falcons, this country’s women’s national football team, triumphed over their Moroccan rivals to bring home the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, WAFCON. Barely a week later, the D’Tigress, Nigeria’s female basketball team, secured a hard-fought victory over Mali to clinch the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket cup. Kudos to the ladies! Who says women cannot do what men can do? Of course, they can, and even better! 

Insouciant, Immoral Politicking For 2027 Elections

 By Adekunle Adekoya

A cursory perusal of the state of affairs in Nigeria today and how things are managed by the politicians in charge led me to one conclusion — we, the people of Nigeria, do not matter a jot to the politicians managing our affairs. In addition, the laws that we have in place to regulate our daily experience in many spheres of life also do not matter to them.

This is because preparations to get re-elected after the elections of 2023 began earnestly last year, a development unprecedented since the Fourth Republic was birthed in 1999. To me, that wasn’t just jumping the gun, it signalled a crazy obsession with, and yearning for power that even demagogues may not possess. Throughout last year, and continuing into this year, developments on the political landscape had to do in the main with who is defecting from which party, and to which. This year, most of the rumours became fact when the decampings started taking place, one after the other, like the sequence in a computer programme.