Peter Obi: Poisoning The Soul Of Our Society By Making Excuses for Unverified Certificates

 A nation that tolerates unverified academic credentials at any level of leadership, regardless of who is involved, risks destroying the very standards upon which a society is built. The issue is not about an individual. It is about standards, accountability, and the values we choose to pass on to the next generation.

*Obi

We cannot continue to excuse blurred, missing, questionable, or unverified credentials simply because they belong to someone we support. The process through which people attain positions of responsibility matters greatly. How we get into leadership is as important as what we do with leadership. 

Peter Obi: Let's End This Cycle Of Killings

 The killings in Ungushi, Sokoto, where 32 Nigerians reportedly lost their lives, and the recent attacks in Ukum, Benue, where more lives have been lost and several others injured, are deeply painful.

These are not just numbers. They are parents, children, farmers, and breadwinners whose lives have been cut short, leaving families devastated and communities in fear.

We cannot continue with a cycle of killings, condolences, promises, and inaction. The government at all levels must prioritise addressing insecurity.

Peter Obi On The Commencement Of 2027 Campaigns

 MY ADDRESS TO MARK THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 2027 PRESIDENTIAL AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CAMPAIGNS

21 August 2026

 Dear Compatriots,

Members of the Press,

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen. 

Wednesday, 19 August 2026, marked the official start of the campaign period for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections. 

There is no doubt that this is a defining moment for our democracy. This moment gives Nigerians the opportunity to assess the records, ideas, and plans of those seeking their mandate to lead their country at a time of grave uncertainty in our rapidly changing world.

I consider myself quite privileged to be one of those seeking your mandate to deal with these challenges facing our country. 

I enter this contest with one firm conviction: Nigeria can work, and Nigeria must work.

Nigeria faces several serious challenges. Some of them are indeed of existential proportions.

Osun Election: Matters Arising

By Ikechukwu Amaechi 

Nigerians are an excitable lot. It is, therefore, not surprising that the outcome of the August 15 off-cycle Osun governorship election is generating so much buzz. To be sure, the outcome calls for celebration because for the first time in a long while, the will of the people prevailed in an election. 

*Adeleke

And it prevailed not because attempts were not made by the powers-that-be to replicate the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election heist. Till date, the beneficiary of that abracadabra, an open sesame of sorts, sits comfortably on the purloined mandate while the actual winner is languishing in political purgatory.

Remaining Sane In An Increasingly Insane World

 By Owei Lakemfa

It appears the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of world oil passed before the US–Iran war, was one of the most urgent tasks of humanity. The United States has, for six months, been unable to re-open this vital artery, which handled 100–140 commercial ships daily. Then, like magic, Oman and Iran reached a consensus to reopen the strait.

*Trump in the Middle East

Oman, a tiny country of 5.4 million people spread over a 309,500 square kilometre area, is one of the closest allies of the US. It was the first Arab nation in the Arabian Peninsula to sign a trade and diplomatic agreement with the US. That was 193 years ago. In the on-going US–Iran conflict, Oman has suffered many Iranian strikes, including on the ports of Duqm and Salalah, the industrial areas of Sohar, Mina Al Fahal and Bukha, radar and ship-detection infrastructure, and hits on commercial and oil tankers navigating the Gulf of Oman.

Let National Service Begin With Dignity, Not Suffering

 By Lanre Ogundipe

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) remains one of Nigeria’s most enduring nation-building institutions. For over five decades, it has fostered national integration, promoted cultural understanding and encouraged young Nigerians to contribute meaningfully to the country’s development.

Millions of graduates have proudly passed through the scheme, making it a symbol of unity and shared national purpose.

However, preserving the legacy of the NYSC requires more than celebrating its achievements. It demands a willingness to confront its shortcomings and reform areas that no longer serve the realities of contemporary Nigeria.

More Government, Less Service, More Hunger

 By Adekunle Adekoya

Just as I was preparing to write this column, news filtered in that President Bola Tinubu has assented to the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Bill, 2026, paving the way for the establishment of a dedicated economic regulator for Nigeria’s port sector.

*Tinubu

The news was sourced from a post on the Facebook page of Dr. Pius Akutah, Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers Council. The enabling law for this new agency was titled Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026. Meanwhile, in 2014, the Federal Government had designated the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as interim economic regulator of the ports pending enactment of a substantive law.

How Chief Abiola Was Killed In Government Custody

By Femi Falana

On June 12, 1994, Chief M. K.O. Abiola declared himself President on the basis of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which he won fair and square. General Sani Abacha’s military junta arrested him and charged him with treasonable felony at the Federal High Court.

*Abiola 

While he was held incommunicado in a military custody for 4 years, Chief Abiola was subjected to horrendous psychological and mental torture. Even though Chief Abiola had severe health challenges, he was denied medical attention by the maximum dictator.

His parlous medical state was confirmed on April 27, 1998 by Archbishop Desmond Tutu who had visited Nigeria at the instance of President Nelson Mandela and met with the imprisoned Chief Abiola. The revered priest reported that Abiola’s health and living conditions were severely deteriorating and called for his urgent release to enable him to take care of his failing health. The call was ignored by the military regime. 

Fake Independence: So, Tinubu Can Tell EFCC What To Do!

 By Olu Fasan

Some Nigerians commit the delusional sin of believing that once a state institution has the word “independent” prefixed to its name, it is, indeed, independent.

They believe that critical state agencies created by statute or the Constitution to ensure security and law and order, to guarantee justice and rule of law, to safeguard electoral integrity and democratic norms and to fight corruption and malfeasance in public office do, in fact, discharge their responsibilities dutifully without fear and without favour, deliberately removed from presidential control.

Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway As Symptom Of Something Frightful

 By Dianam Dakolo

A ruler's twisted judgment is what immediately becomes apparent when the US$13 billion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway comes under close scrutiny. A project never canvassed by any community along the entire stretch covered, from Lagos to Cross River State!

For, as one-time Governor of that State, Donald Duke, disclosed on national television on August 5, "There is already a road to Calabar.... I have driven along it several times....If the road is poor, fix it." 

The only possible explanation for the project, which was awarded through 'restricted bidding' to a company in which the ruler has substantial interest, in violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, was provided in the comments of the former Cross River Governor: " 

Presidency-Catholic Bishops Saga: When Defenders Are Attackers

 By Adekunle Adekoya

I really don’t think there is anybody living in this country at the moment that is satisfied with the state of affairs. Don’t let me bore you — everyone knows where it’s pinching hardest — whether in the cost of transportation, or the risen and rising cost of food, or near-unaffordable accommodation, sky-high cost of fuel energy (gas, petrol, diesel), insecurity, etcetira. If there is anybody as yet untouched by these, such a person, or group of persons must be doing things we can’t do, or know not how to do to make money. As a result, people are worried, and perplexed at the state of affairs.

*Tinubu with the Catholic Bishops

This Friday morning, not a few people would have woken up from disturbed sleep caused by an empty stomach, and worse, they can’t even see the prospects for a breakfast, no matter how little. So, when top clerics of the Catholic Church, specifically the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria sought and obtained an audience with the president on this undesirable state of affairs, I think they were doing a duty to seek better options for all of us, irrespective of our diverse faiths.

As Bola Tinubu Plays God

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

Listening to President Bola Tinubu’s response to the plea of Nigerian Catholic Bishops that he should make the yoke of Nigerians lighter, I couldn’t help but remember the Biblical story of King Rehoboam in 2 Chronicles 10:1-15.

*Tinubu

After the death of King Solomon, Rehoboam, his son, went to Shechem to be crowned king and the whole assembly of Israel supplicated: “Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you must lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

Rehoboam asked for three days for consultations. And, indeed, he consulted, first with the elders who had served his father during his lifetime.

“How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked. “If you will be a servant to these people and serve them this day, and if you will respond by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever,” they riposted.

Tacking Poverty In Nigeria: Onus On Crony billionaires, Not Self-Made Musicians!

 By Olu Fasan

Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Nigeria’s irrepressible first lady, recently made two controversial interventions on the country’s socio-economic situation. First, she told the jobless to start selling akara, roasted corn or kuli-kuli to eke out a living. 

Then, she admonished rich young musicians to help the poor. She received a torrent of criticism for the comments. Yet they contain a kernel of truth and a fundamental flaw. I explore both here, arguing the remarks are more deeply flawed than valid.

Economy Improving For Tinubu, Worsening For The People

 By Adekunle Adekoya

Recently, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu received in audience the leadership of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), led by its President, Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso. The clerics were on what was described as a courtesy visit.

*Tinubu

After remarks by the leader of the delegation, the president responded, and I quote, inter alia:

“I have listened to you carefully, and most importantly, your key areas are security and education. I can tell you categorically with sincerity that the country has been placed on a sound footing. The economy has recovered. The alarm for bankruptcy and dark tunnel of uncertainty that we had when I came in has been changed.

“The spirit of the people is lifting, and the economic turmoil that we feared is cleared. The economy has been delivered from bankruptcy.

“I always say, because of my background and profession, that I inherited the assets and liabilities of my predecessor. I have been running with it. This government has stabilised, and there is prosperity on the horizon. Life is improving,” he stated.

Too Many Fake Tendencies In Nigeria

 By Tonnie Iredia

Notwithstanding its nebulous status, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) was able to appoint a director-general and hundreds of staff. It also secured an office space at the federal secretariat and indeed found its way into the nation’s budget with a Budget Code 0111062001 assigned to it.

This huge achievement was attained by the presence in Nigeria of too many fake tendencies that can easily be put into use by some smart citizens. Although many citizens are baffled by stories of what the fake agency had done before an alarm was raised, one can conclude that many such bodies exist in our clime and that except concrete steps are taken to curtail the tendencies which give them oxygen, many more of such 419 institutions and entities will soon spring up and operate seamlessly in all the 3 arms of government.

Peter Obi: Hunger And The Insensitivity of Mr. President

 I watched with deep concern the statement made by President Bola Tinubu to the Catholic Bishops who visited his office, that there has always been hunger in Nigeria, even before he was born.

*Tinubu and wife, Oluremi

While it is true that hunger has been a part of human life and has existed in our country for decades, such a statement appears insensitive to the plight of the millions of Nigerians who face worsening economic hardship today. More importantly, we must focus on the facts and the measurable outcomes of governance.

On Bola Tinubu's 'Missing' Primary And Secondary Schools Particulars!

 By Solomon Dalung

I just read the published particulars of presidential candidates released by INEC for the 2027 election, and one thing immediately caught my attention.

*Tinubu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reportedly left the sections for his primary and secondary school qualifications blank, while listing only his university degree.

Gowon’s Book Of Barefaced Lies

 By Chuks Iloegbunam

This is General Yakubu Gowon, PhD, (91), on page 201 of his autobiography titled My Life of Duty & Allegiance: “On impulse, I called the airport at Ikeja to instruct Major Paul Dickson who oversaw the airport to send a helicopter to Ibadan to evacuate the Supreme Commander.” This was hours after the countercoup of July 29, 1966, was underway. According to this storyteller, “My immediate worry was that General Ironsi’s life might be in danger if I did not make effort to reach him as quickly as possible to give him a situation report.” The striking thing about Gowon’s fable is not this lie per se, but the artlessness of the man’s mendacity.

As of July 29, 1966, there was no Major Paul Dickson anywhere in the Nigerian Armed Forces. The only Paul Dickson in existence on that date was an Air Force staff sergeant whose official assignment at the Ikeja Airport pertained only to controlling other ranks on sentry duty within the facility’s perimetres. This was the man Gowon claimed to have instructed to carry out the evacuation of a besieged General Aguiyi-Ironsi from Ibadan, a city 113 kilometres away from Lagos as the crow flies! Once Nigerians behold a Sandhurst-trained officer, they automatically ascribe omniscience to them. General Gowon was, of course, Sandhurst-trained. But he knows that, placed on the crucibles of logicality and credulity, his Dickson story is impudent fiction.

GCK In Ogun…Dead Bones Will Live Again

 By Banji Ojewale

In January 2025 ahead of his trip to the United States of America to honour Washington’s invitation to the inauguration of President Donald Trump at his second coming, Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi, General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, DCLM, wrote an article in the respected American medium, The Christian Post, where he raised issues about man’s strange double standard in the face of God’s generationally tested ability to tame any crisis.

*Gen Obasanjo welcomes Pastor Kumuyi to    Abeokuta, Ogun State, during an earlier GCK

He said: “We trust God with the saving of our souls, believing He holds the keys to Heaven, but when it comes to our day-to-day concerns, anxiety often takes the wheel. Why is it that we can trust God for eternity but not for today? This is a question worth exploring because it exposes the depth of our faith…At its heart, worry is a failure to trust God fully. It is a subtle but powerful expression of doubt that whispers, ‘God might not come through.’ When we allow these thoughts to consume us, we enter a cycle of negative self-talk that paralyzes our faith and undermines our confidence in God.’’

‘Fake’ Agency: Tinubu’s Amoral Rule Breeds Impunity, Abuse Of Power!

 By Olu Fasan

There is a shocking paradox, a bewildering moral hypocrisy, at the heart of President Bola Tinubu’s leadership. On the one hand, he is actively prosecuting previous public officers for corrupt practices, claiming to have secured over 7,000 convictions since he came to power three years ago.

Yet, on the other hand, he presides over a moral cesspit, where ministers routinely abuse power and act with utter impunity, where some are so powerful they can literally get away with murder, protected by their fealty and sycophancy to the president, where governance is utterly devoid of transparency and accountability, and where conflicts of interest are so blatant, with a total blurring of public and private interests. These malfeasances are the subjects of this intervention, but we must start with the ongoing “fake” agency saga.