Peter Obi: Is Nigeria Cursed, Or Are We The Curse?

 The past 10 days in Nigeria have witnessed unprecedented negative news, a level of chaos, insecurity, and institutional decay that should trouble the conscience of all the leaders. 

*Obi

Our country is now going through troubling times, not by fate, but by our collective leadership failures that allow insecurity, lawlessness, and institutional decay to thrive. Each day confronts us with a new tragedy and a new reminder that our beloved country is drifting amid a clear absence of competent, compassionate, responsive and responsible leadership. 

Peter Obi: A Pain One Carries Silently!

*Obi
 This afternoon, as I travelled from Abuja to Lagos, a group of young Nigerians approached me at the airport and said: “We have not heard or read anything from you today or yesterday, despite all the heartbreaking news dominating our front pages—from the appointment of some of the least qualified individuals as ambassadors, to our institutions being ridiculed, the First Lady hosting extravagant dinners for Senators while children are being abducted, and the countless killings across the country.” 

Peter Obi: Distribution of Campaign Vehicles: Profound Insensitivity And Abuse of Trust

 At a time when Nigerians are struggling with hunger, unemployment, and insecurity, the decision of any government to allocate limited public resources for distributing luxury vehicles like Hilux trucks and Hummer buses as part of the 2027 campaign mobilisation is not only insensitive but also represents a serious moral failure. 

*Obi

While ordinary Nigerians are grappling with poverty and hopelessness, those in leadership positions continue to flaunt their wealth by driving brand-new Land Cruisers, Hiluxes, and Hummers, treating the suffering of the people as mere background for political theatrics. This tragic misplacement of priorities is unacceptable. 

Bola Tinubu Has A Police Palaver

 By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

When Olusegun Obasanjo returned as the president of Nigeria in May 1999, according to Mohammed Dikko (MD) Yusuf, a former Inspector-General of Police, (IGP) he “inherited a Police Force that was poorly equipped, decimated in numerical strength, deprived of necessary logistics, and lacking, as it were, moral and public support necessary for effective performance and the enhancement of the security of the nation.”

*Tinubu with the IGP

Former IGP, MD Yusuf said these in the report he submitted in 2008 to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as the Chair of the second Presidential Commission on Police Reform to report in as many years. Headed by former Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Muhammadu Danmadami, he first submitted its report in May 2006 to President Yar’Adua’s predecessor and benefactor, President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Why Nigeria Is Not Working

 By Ugo Onuoha

The safe thing to do is to say that Nigeria is not working at its optimal best. But that will amount to playing the ostrich. Because the reality is that our country is not working, not at all, not even for the ruling political and economic elites who currently think that they are having a swell time. If only they knew how much more they would be better if the right things were to be done to make this country work for the majority of its citizens. Sadly, the understanding of our elites (and this is a wrong label for them) is limited, warped, myopic, and parochial.

It has to be acknowledged that the roles of elites, whether political, economic, or intellectual, in nation-building anywhere can be a mixed bag of the good, the bad, and the ugly. The sad reality in our case is that the impacts of Nigeria’s elites on the country over time have gravitated between the bad and the ugly. Any semblance of the elites doing good to the society started and ended in the first republic, 1960-1966. 

Hasn’t Tinubu Insulted Nigerians Enough?

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

It is extremely difficult to understand why President Bola Tinubu takes delight in insulting Nigerians at every turn. Or how else can one explain most of his actions other than that of a leader who does not care a hoot about what the people think or feel?

*Tinubu 

A few weeks ago, it was the issue of presidential pardon. It beggared belief that a president would demean a constitutional instrument, designed not only to temper justice with mercy but also give the Nigerian state a human face with the axiomatic milk of kindness flowing underneath near infinite executive powers.

Creating A New Nigeria Through The ‘Veil Of Ignorance’

 By Olu Fasan

The theory of political justice is based on two conceptions. The first is the ‘might-is-right’ school, which describes the illegitimate or amoral exercise of power over individuals or communities. The second is the contractarian perspective, based on the notion that a political community should be founded on consensus among its people, and serve their best interests. Nigeria is a product of the former, the might-is-right school. This country was created, built and continues to exist on the whim and self-interest of the powerful, not on high ideals or virtues. 

And because of this birth-defect, Nigeria is not a just society. What’s more, it has failed to transform itself from a perversely unfair society into one that the philosopher John Rawls describes as “a cooperative venture for mutual advantage”.

‘Jeunalists’ Must Have A Uniform Like Policemen!

 By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Jeunalists have replaced journalists in Nigeria. There used to be journalism in Nigeria but now what we do have is jeunalism, and the difference is clear, as the advert line goes.

The etymology of “jeunalists” goes way back to the Yoruba word “jeun” which means “to eat,” and fact is: the jeunalists are indeed eating today. 

What needs to be done now is to have a uniform for the jeunalists to differentiate them from the older form known as journalists.

For crying out loud, as the cliché goes,  jeunalists are in the urgent need for a uniform like policemen. 

Whatever a Nigerian policeman can do, a jeunalist can do better.

The brave new Nigerian jeunalists have shown the capacity to actually collect more bribes than policemen - whence the need for these eating  jeunalists to have the same make of uniform as their colleagues in bribe-taking, that is, the police. 

Guinea-Bissau’s Lawless President Embalo Has No Business In Office

 By Owei Lakemfa

The military coup on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 that swept away President Umaro Sissoco Embaló did not come as a surprise. Embalo, a retired general who camouflaged as an elected President, was a lawless leader who consistently trampled the country’s constitution under his feet. He had a sense of entitlement and a culture  of impunity.

*General Horta Inta-A Na Man

In my February 9, 2024 column titled, ‘The civilian coups in Senegal, Guinea Bissau and ECOWAS ambivalence’, I  pointed out that: “There are civilian or constitutional coups in Guinea Bissau and Senegal, yet the regional body, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, is pretending otherwise. It appears interested only in military coups, not those carried out by its bosses in the Heads of State Summit.”

Insecurity: Managing Our Clear And Present Danger

 By Adekunle Adekoya

There can be no further doubt in the minds of the average Nigerian that our dear country faces a clear and present danger on many fronts. The immediate one is the unrelenting wave of terror attacks, exemplified by repeated attacks on communities in Kwara State, which was preceded by abduction of Kebbi school girls, now said to have regained freedom.

Another problem the nation faces is with regard to the procurement, sale and use of narcotics and other psychotropic substances. The NDLEA, under General Mohammed Marwa has been doing a good job on that front, but he needs support. More on that another day.

Structure Matters: Nigeria Needs The Right Political System To Succeed

 By Olu Fasan

Too often, one hears that it is not Nigeria that needs restructuring, but the minds of Nigerians and their leaders. Those who hold that view try to shift the emphasis away from structure to culture. They are wrong! Of course, culture matters, and leadership matters too. But empirical studies around the world show that it is the right institutions, the right governance structure, the right political system that creates the incentives that shape behaviour and drive political and economic progress. 

*Tinubu and Akpabio

The best insight on the powers of incentives came from Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, authors of the fascinating book Freakonomics. They said: “Incentives are the cornerstones of modern life – and understanding them is the key to solving just about any riddle.” They added: “An incentive is a bullet, a lever, a key; an often-tiny object with astonishing power to change a situation.”

Questions For President Tinubu

 By Ochereome Nnanna

President Bola Tinubu’s spokesmen have been oddly quiet over two very grave accusations which portrayed their principal possibly as a part of our security problems. 

*Tinubu

When 25 students of Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga in Kebbi State were abducted about ten days ago, the state’s Governor, Mohammed Idris, made a shocking disclosure. He said his government received credible intelligence about a likely attack on the school. 

Nigeria Burns, Leaders Make Merry

 By Emeka Alex Duru

My friend and colleague, Dr. Promise Adiele, read my mind in his piece of Wednesday, November 19, 2025, titled “Tinubu: To be or not to be – that is the question”. In it, Adiele did a robust analysis of the governance challenges in the country and the inability of the Bola Tinubu administration to confront the situation. Adiele raised the question of whether Tinubu should resign as President or not, pointing out, of course, that either of the options has corresponding consequences.

*Tinubu and Shettima 

A portion of the write-up touched mostly. It read: “Today in Nigeria, terrorists are targeting military formations, decimating our soldiers through ambush and sophisticated intelligence. The mass kidnapping of schoolchildren has returned in all its fury and despicable orchestration. In just one week, a Nigerian Brigadier General was ambushed by terrorists and murdered in the most gruesome manner. 

Is Nigeria Beginning To Shut Down?

 By Ugo Onuoha

The prospects for the future wellbeing of  this country, Nigeria, are not looking good, the pretenses of our rulers to the contrary notwithstanding. And this is not about its distant future. It’s about the near future. Nigeria is rapidly deteriorating from not working to falling apart. The assertion of the country not working is a notorious fact, but the claim of its falling apart could be treated as crying wolf. 

*Tinubu

It may not be out of place if we reassure ourselves that we have been at the precipice on more than one occasion in the past. The country was barely seven years old from independence when it was plunged into a fratricidal civil war during which millions of lives were lost in the space of three years, 1967-1970.

Nigerian Media Should Avoid Government Funding, Aid

 By Chekwube Nzomiwu

During the 21st All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC), held at the Presidential Villa Abuja Banquet Hall recently, the President of Nigerian Guild of Editors, Eze Anaba, raised the alarm that the present economic realities in the country had put the media in distress. Consequently, Anaba who is the Editor of Vanguard Newspapers, asked the government to grant the media corporate tax relief for about ten years, Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption, tax deductions, and access to affordable financing from the Bank of Industry, among other requests.

President Bola Tinubu, the host of the editors endorsed the plethora of requests made by the NGE in a bid to rescue the distressed media sector in the country. The keynote speaker, Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, told the editors that their pen will shape the 2027 election. Uzodimma spoke on the theme “Democratic Governance and National Cohesion: The Role of the Editors and sub-editors,” and “Electoral Integrity and Trust Deficit: What Nigerians should expect in 2027.

Under Bola Tinubu’s Watch, Boko Haram Has Finally Won

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

President Bola Tinubu is over the moon right now, for whatever it is worth. Last week was horrible for his administration and the man-in-charge image he is trying desperately to project. In less than seven days, terrorists deflated his elephantine ego by ambushing, penultimate Friday, a military team led by Musa Uba, a Brigadier General and commander of the 25 Task Force Brigade, in Borno State, killing four operatives — two soldiers and two CJTF officials – and later executing the gallant officer.

*Tinubu during a security meeting with service chiefs

On Monday, November 17, they invaded Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, and abducted 24 schoolgirls after killing the vice-principal. On Wednesday, November 19, they stormed Christ Apostolic Church, in Eruku, Kwara State during a midweek prayer session, killing three persons and abducting 38 other congregants, mostly women and children, drawing nationwide outrage. To worsen matters, they placed a N100 million ransom on each of the 38 abductees.

Between Kumuyi And A Daring Pakistani Woman

 By Banji Ojewale

The 1978 book, I Dared to Call Him Father, by Bilquis Sheikh, sacked the staid and sacral stance of the slumbering world with its contribution to the generational interaction between Muslims and Christians. Bilquis was an aristocratic Pakistani Muslim whose conversion to Christianity plunged her into a whirlwind of rebellion, rejection and ridicule at the hands of family and society. Her book, with Richard Schneider, is the granular account of her epic battle to battle those who challenged her daring moves in a conservative community.

*Kumuyi

Her religion doesn’t admit God as a personal father. She writes: ‘’No Muslim, I felt certain, ever thought of Allah as his father… Wouldn’t it be sinful to try to bring the Great One down to our own level?’’ Now, Bilquis did not only call God her Father; but also, she went ahead to follow her deep-seated convictions to become a follower of Christ, sacrificing convenience and convention. She spoke of threats from kinsmen to visit her with honour killing.

Forty-Five Days That Changed Elections In Africa?

 By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

An unlikely coincidence of ballots in a forty-five day period from the middle of September to the end of October 2025 has cast a new light on the state of democratic governance in Africa and now threatens to unscramble the ritual hollowness that has become the fate of elections on the continent under the indifferent watch of the African Union and other regional institutions in Africa. How the continent’s leaders and institutions handle the aftermath could have serious implications for the stability of the continent.

*Clockwise: Africa's old, sit-tight rulers: Biya (Cameroon),Mbasago (Equitorial Guinea), Ouattara (Côte d’Ivoire) Museveni (Uganda) (Photo credit: Liberian Observer) 

On 16 September, Malawi wnt to the polls to elect their president. The last time the country did that in 2019, it produced results that were so transparently rigged that five judges of the Constitutional Court of Malawi wearing bullet-proof vests were needed to set aside the result declared by the electoral commission. That was only the second time in Africa’s history that a court would nullify the declared outcome in a presidential election.

Peter Obi And The Ethics Of Refusal

 By Valentine Obienyem

Elections, in a sane democracy, ought to be moments of sober reflection – times when citizens pause to weigh their choices, guided by conscience and conviction. Yet, in our political culture, every election seems to leave behind recrimination rather than reflection. The just-concluded Anambra election is no exception.

*Peter Obi 

Now that the dust has settled, one would expect thoughtful discussions on how the state might move forward – how the winner could be held accountable, how institutions could be strengthened, and how public welfare could be advanced. Unfortunately, what we see instead is the familiar pettiness of misplaced blame. Some voices, rather than addressing the moral and institutional lapses that plagued the process, have chosen to chase shadows and personalities.

Real Causes Of Nigeria’s Low Voter Turn-Out

 By Tonnie Iredia

In many societies across the globe, there is a high degree of consensus that democracy is the best example of a government of the people especially because persons in government are supposedly elected by the people to represent them. But how are we sure that those in government were the ones the people actually elected?

The only way to determine that is to critically examine the processes and procedures of regular general elections in a given society. But then, even in a free and fair contest, it is essentially simplistic to regard those who constitute government in countries such as Nigeria as bonafide representatives of the people considering the trend of an insignificant minority of the population who serve as electors. During the last general elections in Nigeria in 2023, about 93 million citizens were registered to vote, but only 25 million showed up to cast their ballots.