Fake Titles Are Not Nigeria’s Problem

 By Chiwuike Uba

A group of Nigerian academics has launched a petition against the misuse of “Dr.” and “Professor” titles. Their outrage is directed at quacks, diploma mills, and honorary degree holders who prefix their names with academic distinctions they did not earn. They call it a national disgrace.

But titles are costumes, not character. As the saying goes, the robe does not make the monk. Societies are built by conscience, not by prefixes. When the conscience collapses, credentials become nothing more than decoration. That is why this entire debate feels like a misplaced priority. Nigeria’s real disgrace is not fake titles; it is what the so-called legitimate holders of those titles have done with them.

Addressing Ethnic Profiling And Tribal Tensions In Nigeria

 By Klistivivi Ogunlana

On July 27, 2024, a popular X (formerly Twitter) user, @Lagospedia, tweeted a disturbing message. The user claimed the upcoming #EndBadGovernance protest, scheduled for 1 to 10 August 2024, was an Igbo-led attack on Lagos State. As a result, @Lagospedia demanded that all Igbos in Lagos and other southwestern states vacate the region within 30 days.

This is not the first time such a threat has been made. In 2017, the Arewa Youth leaders also issued a 90-day ultimatum for Igbos to leave northern Nigeria. These ultimatums violate the constitutional provisions that guarantee Nigerians’ rights to move freely and reside in any part of the country. If these actions continue, ethnic tensions could escalate into large-scale violence, forced displacements, and encourage genocide. 

Tinubu De-Markets Nigeria With His Penchant For Overseas Travels

 By Olu Fasan

Earlier this week, President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, announced that the president had cut short his two-week vacation in France and returned to Nigeria “to resume official duties”. Given that Onanuga previously described the president’s trip to France as a “working” holiday, one must wonder why Tinubu stopped working remotely from France.

*Tinubu

Truth be told, President Tinubu was wrong to embark on that trip in the first place. Whatever forced him to truncate his stay in France already existed before he left this country: Nigeria was in a dire strait; insecurity was overly uncontrollable, acute poverty and hunger were dehumanising ordinary Nigerians, and the government was rudderless and bumbling. By choosing to travel abroad under those dreadful circumstances, Tinubu behaved like Nero who fiddled while Rome burned!

Charles Soludo Vs. Peter Obi

 By Emeritus Professor T. Uzodinma Nwala 

I wish Prof Charles Soludo would unwind and assert his energy in a different and more positive direction. The question is not how we made him, because he knows how he was made. 

Obi and Soludo

The question is that Peter Obi’s path does not need to cross his own if he has enough intellectual and moral self-confidence!

After Soludo won the Anambra Governorship election, I immediately went to his house in Enugu in the company of some members of the Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF) to make one request of him.

The Godfathers Who Own Nigeria

 By Stephanie Shaakaa 

Since 1999, Nigeria has called itself a democracy. Every four years, Africa’s most populous nation lines up to vote, and the rituals of elections are performed with fanfare. But beneath the ceremonies lies another truth. Nigeria wears the clothes of democracy but lives under the rule of godfathers.

We pretend to elect leaders, but what we really do is ratify the decisions of men who pull strings in the shadows. In Nigeria, ballots don’t choose, godfathers do.

This is the Godfather Economy. Politics here is not about ideas, competence, or vision. It is about who owes who, who kneels to who, and who dares not bite the hand that feeds.

While Nigerians Starve, Their Governors Clap At Jets

 By Stephanie Shaakaa

There was a time when the word governor carried weight and governors carried themselves with dignity.

The men elected in 1999, for all their faults, would never abandon their states just to line up at an airport and wave at a departing president. The men of the First and Second Republics, who truly won elections without leaning on presidential whims or the “magic” of electoral bodies, would have considered it beneath them. They commanded real followership, drew their legitimacy from the ballot, and would have laughed at the thought of waving at a president’s jet like secondary school prefects.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa: When Duty Is Betrayed, Price Must Be Paid

 By Elsie-Bernadette Onubogu

It is no hyperbole when I say the internet erupted in a storm of tweets this past week. Unlike the cliché – ‘a perfect storm,’ there was nothing perfect in the sense of the word about this storm.

*Abike and Tinubu

That tweet on the ‘X’ platform soon found its way to other social media avenues in particular – WhatsApp. On the train to Ontario from New York, I realized I had missed several calls due in part to unstable network going through nature’s wooded scenery that allures me into taking the train to Canada rather than flying.

Upon investigation, I realized the raison d’etre for the storm was ‘the endorsement of a hate speech’ by a public officer appointed to represent and be the face of Nigeria in the Diaspora. Yes, there was outrage on the internet, and I keyed into that outrage. I did so because, in sharing and forwarding a tweet that was not only derogatory, bigoted, discriminatory, dehumanizing and denigrating, that Nigerian officer betrayed the sworn duty to promote respect, unity, and the dignity of every Nigerian irrespective of ethnicity, gender, class, religious belief or age.

Chinua Achebe’s Booker Award, Nigeria’s Glory

 By Farooq A. Kperogi

(This article was first published in 2007...)

The recent international recognition of the literary excellence of our peerless literary icon, Chinua Achebe, and the equally richly deserved crowing of the prodigious literary prowess of U.S.-based, up-and-coming novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie have been such comforting news especially for those of us living outside Nigeria who have had the unpleasant burden of explaining (actually, in most cases, explaining away) to our friends all the bad international press we’ve had in the last couple of months.

*Achebe 
Since May this year, every well-informed American I have met has asked me about our outrageously fraudulent elections and, of course, about the kidnappings of foreigners in the Niger Delta. These two issues seem to be the only topics people here know about Nigeria when they strike up a conversation with you. I don’t blame them, though. Their news media has had a rather unhealthy fixation with these stories these past few months.

 

Then first came the cheering news that one pulchritudinous and immensely talented 29-year-old Nigerian lady called Adichie has won the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction for her book, Half of a Yellow Sun. (Incidentally, Chinua Achebe was also only 28 years old when he wrote his magnum opus, Things Fall Apart). She trounced many better known and more established women writers to win the prize. Although news of her win didn’t do much to divert attention from the negative publicity of Nigeria in the Western media, it did provide a comforting alternative subject matter to discuss with people about Nigeria here.

The Senate’s Constitutional Overreach In The Case Of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

 By Obiageli Oby Ezekwesili

Memo To The Nigerian Senate, Judiciary And Fellow Citizens: Democracy Dies When Laws Become Weapons and Lawmakers Become Serial Lawbreakers.

*Natasha and Oby 
Six months have passed since the unconstitutional suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on March 6, 2025. The Senator, representing the people of Kogi Central Senatorial District, was suspended following her allegation of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

These six months have witnessed an unprecedented assault on constitutional principles, judicial authority, and the very foundations of our democratic institutions. Rather than transparently investigate the allegation against the Senate President, an errant political class has used this opportunity to taunt citizens on how successfully they have captured the Nigerian state, perpetrating unlimited abuse with zero accountability or fear of consequences.

Abike Must Resign, Or Render Unreserved Apologies

 By Steve Osuji

Though the comment elicited pure, undiluted outrage one, dithered in commenting about it initially.

*Tinubu and Abike

First, Igbo hating seems like a norm for Abike; a trait she cannot help. It seems to have lodged in her DNA like shrapnel. A number of times, in her unguarded moments, her true colours would peek from the horizon like the rising sun. 

Second, some Yoruba elements have taken Igbo baiting, bashing and hating to a new level in the last decade.

Consider the lineup: a paramount monarch of Lagos, the daughter of the sitting president, the current first lady in Aso Rock and the President's chief spokesman, among others, all have publicly and brazenly made hate remarks against the Igbo people of the southeast of Nigeria. 

Crying For The South-East

 By Casmir Igbokwe

Mr. Nduka Ozor is a fine gentleman from Agwa Community in Oguta Local Government Area (LGA) of Imo State. When he took the microphone to speak about the unlawful killings in his community, everybody listened attentively. Midway into his presentation, he broke down in tears.

International human rights organization, Amnesty International (AI), invited Ozor and some other stakeholders to share their experiences about the atrocities in the South-East region of Nigeria. In a report titled “A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in South-East Nigeria”, AI documented senseless killings, torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests at the hands of gunmen, state-backed paramilitary outfits, vigilance groups, cult groups and criminal gangs in the South-East from 2021 to 2024. The report was launched in Lagos on Thursday, September 4, 2025.

Banditry, Its Politics And Practitioners

 By Owei Lakemfa

One of the major challenges of Nigeria since colonial times had been corruption. But President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has now proclaimed its death. Corruption is gone! Futuristic laser technology must have been used to carry out such a comprehensive and professional operation on corruption in the body polity of Nigeria.

So sophisticated that we Nigerians were not even aware we were on anesthetics until the operation had been successfully carried out. There also did not appear to be casualties in the final battle that ended corruption; no corrupt persons sent to jail, and no announced recovery of the trillions looted. It is nothing short of a 21st century miracle.

The Fulani And Nigeria

   By Obi Nwakanma

In the 1950s and 60s, the national canard was “Igbo domination.” The Igbo were everywhere in the establishment. They were at the forefront of the anticolonial Nationalist movement. Dr. Azikiwe, himself Igbo, had created the first real National newspaper chain, which had “imagined the nation” into being.

It was clear that Igbo dominated the very process of dissemination which made them visible, ambitious, and as the departing British used to say, “clever.” Yes, those “clever Igbo” who had pushed for a new nation to rise out of colonial control, and were prepared to roll up their sleeves, and build a modern, multi-ethnic and prosperous nation, and had spread across the nooks and carnies of Nigeria, as postmasters, teachers, railway workers, Chemists, treasury clerks, traders, artisans, and so on, seemed too ambitious, and too daring for many other Nigerians, who had settled to more sedentary cultures. The Igbo were always cross-border, boundary breakers. They found land, and they settled. They created new thriving communities. 

Nigeria 2027: If I Were Goodluck Jonathan

 By Tonnie Iredia

For the second time in this column, I am today attempting to reach out to one leader who has had the special privilege of serving as a first citizen of Nigeria. The first time I tried it was in May 2012, when this column featured an article titled “Nigeria: If I were General Buhari.”

*Jonathan
What influenced my write-up at the time was a statement credited to Buhari that the consequences of the rigging of future elections in Nigeria would be catastrophic. Buhari was correct, an election is a game not a war. It has its rules that every responsible citizen ought to respect. In Nigeria, it has never been so, it is still not so; and the probability of a change in the nation’s unwholesome political culture is hard to see. 

Peter Obi: When Home Is Not Conducive To President!

From all indications, our President is not finding his home in Nigeria conducive for a long stay, and it should be concerning to us.

*Tinubu

Just yesterday, for the umpteenth time, Mr. President waved the nation goodbye again, barely 6 days after his return to Nigeria, after he spent 15 whole days for just a five-day engagement. He is now heading for about his 10th trip to France in two years, this time for his annual holiday. It does look like Mr. President is running away from Nigeria at every slight opportunity. And one would wonder why so much of his two years in office has been spent on holidays or away from the very country he was elected to preside over.

7,000 Stranded Nigerians, NIDCOM And Worth Of A Nigerian Life

 By Magnus Onyibe

The recent revelation by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), that more than 7,000 Nigerians are currently stranded in Libya, inspired this intervention. Her statement revived painful memories that moved me, eight years ago in March 2017, to publish an article lamenting the surge of illegal migration by our young men and women in search of greener pastures abroad.

That desperate pursuit often ended tragically, as countless Nigerians lost their lives attempting to cross the Sahara Desert on foot via Libya into Europe or navigating the Mediterranean Sea in rickety wooden boats into the Lampedusa islands, Italy.

Wike’s Rants: Blame The Media, Not The Minister

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

The conduct of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, in the public space is quite unbecoming. It is not enough to dismiss him as unhinged as many are wont to do because to do so is to ignore the fact that for whatever it is worth, he is a Nigerian political elite, a member of the privileged club that makes the authoritative allocation of our collective values.

*Wike during a media chat
In any sane society, such privileged position demands some level of politesse and dignity in public conduct. His actions, at any given time, violate the acceptable standard and respect for others. To put it mildly, they go beyond the bounds of decency.

₦142 Billion For Bus Terminals: Another Evidence Of Misplaced Priority, By Peter Obi

 

The difference between the success and failure of the development in any nation is how you prioritise your scarce resources. 

The recent announcement that a sum of ₦142 billion has been approved by the Federal Government for the construction of one bus terminal in each of our six geopolitical zones further affirms the lack of competence, lack of focus and poor leadership. 

My Meeting With Peter Obi In 2022

 
By Ade Damola

For my security and the privacy of some comrades I will try to be discreet about certain things, but I will try to safely say some things.

I met former Governor Peter Obi in Abuja for the first time and at his instance and invitation in 2022…He didn’t offer and I didn't expect him to give me any money…

I hope I won’t appear be too arrogant if I say I would have considered it an insult if he had offered me any money...

In fact it was at the end of our conversation that he apologised for not even offering us water to drink after discussing for hours… I   think I mentioned this publicly after that meeting; my response then was that there was nothing he could have offered us that would have been more than the time spent.

How Private Sector Can Help To Tame Soaring Rents

 By Ignatius Okafor

The crisis of rising rents in Nigeria’s major cities has become a painful reality for millions of households. From Lagos to Abuja, tenants face ever-increasing demands for two to three years’ rent upfront, while landlords insist that inflation and high construction costs justify their actions. 

With the country’s housing deficit now estimated at 28 million units, soaring rents are unlikely to abate without urgent reforms. Over the years, successive governments have launched initiatives to address this crisis, yet the impact has been minimal.