Peter Obi: Turning Nigeria Around: Insights From Global Engagements

 

*Peter Obi Prof James Robinson
My last engagement of 3-day trip to the USA was defining and enriching, including over two hours of lunch and a walk meeting with the distinguished Professor James Robinson, alongside Professors Korieh and Utomi.

Professor James Robinson was co-author of Why Nations Fail and a Nobel Laureate in Economics on “Prosperity of Nations”.

My interest in meeting him was stirred by one of his penetrating observations, that there are nations in the world which clearly know the path to prosperity, yet consistently fail to take it. Among his examples was Nigeria. 

Demolitions At Trade Fair Complex Is Selective, Illegal And Will Scare Away Investors – S4C

 Press Release

Spaces for Change|S4C expresses deep concern about the unlawful demolitions in the Trade Fair Complex, Lagos State, which began on September 25, 2025, affecting a series of plazas, malls, shops, and other business premises. We demand justice for the unconstitutional destruction of several business premises in the Complex.

The demolitions selectively targeted a series of buildings under the directive of the Lagos State Government, under the guise of “(removing) illegal developments, structures without statutory approvals, defective structures, and structures built on road setback and drainage”.

However, our team visited the demolition site yesterday, and findings reveal key facts that not only contradict the Lagos State Government’s position but also highlight grave injustices and economic sabotage.

Between Natasha’s Defiance And Fubara’s Docility

 By Emmanuel Aziken

Two strong disruptions to Nigeria’s democratic flow in March 2025 were seemingly repaired recently with the dramatic restoration of Governor Siminilayi Fubara to the helm of affairs in Rivers State and the reinstatement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Senate after months of suspension.

*Natasha 

On the surface, both restorations may appear as victories for democracy, yet when viewed closely, they reveal two sharply contrasting responses to political persecution — one marked by courage, the other by compromise.

Good Night, Prof Okello Oculi (1942-2025), Scholar, Poet, Pan Africanist, Activist And Humanist

By Emman Ozoemena

I am sad to hear about the passing of a great African, Prof. Okello Oculi, a scholar, poet, pan Africanist, activist and humanist today. He was a thought leader who was committed to seeing the best emerge from Africa.

With a metropolitan world view like the Stoics philosophers, he dedicated his prodigious talents and intellectual resources towards actualizing the grand vision of a united Africa.

Our paths crossed over two decades ago in the course of my work as a journalist at a workshop in Abuja, Nigeria, where he presented a paper. I remember vividly, I walked up to him during the tea break, and we had a conversation regarding his paper. We exchanged contacts thereafter, and had kept in touch since then.

Nigeria: A Nation Without Roads!

 By Sunny Awhefeada 

The road constitutes a metaphor of life’s journey for Africans. It is central to the configuration and understanding of the meta­physical nexus between the abode of the dead and that of the living that we call life. The metaphoric and metaphys­ical essence of the road also mediates life’s journey and its uncertain twists and turns.

The road is benign as it con­nects people and places. The road is also a cruel phenomenon as it has thrown people and places into mourning. The road consumes humanity. It engenders loss. African literature in its depiction of the African predicament whether it is physical or existential has remained the most fertile site for the plural man­ifestations of the essence of the road.

Why Gender Equity Strengthens Nigeria’s Epidemic Response

 By Sylvia Ezenwa-Ahanene

Whenever any part Nigeria experiences a health emergency such as cholera outbreak in the riverine South, diphtheria outbreak in the Middle belt, or measles outbreak in the North, there is one group of health workers that is predominantly on the frontline, and it is women.

Women are caregivers, volunteers, community health workers, and nurses who, in many cases, put their safety on the line to tend to others. 

According to reports from the United Nations, women make up around 60% of Nigeria’s health workforce. However, they are under-represented in health leadership. Women have the highest population in the frontline and bear the heaviest burden during outbreaks.

Insecurity: Getting The Right Things Wrong

 By Adekunle Adekoya

Right now, the 80th United Nations General Assembly, UNGA is holding in New York, the United States. This year, unlike on previous occasions, our president is not attending. Instead, Vice President Kashim Shettima is standing in for the president and has already delivered the Nigerian national address to the UN body.

The key takeaways from the speech made at UNGA is the renewed call for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, and the proposal for a two-state solution to the unending Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I will quote certain sentences from the speech delivered by Shettima, and relate it to our peculiar circumstances.

Fubara: A Governor In Chains!

 By Emmanuel Aziken

The recent return to Port Harcourt of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and the quiet stealing away of the sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), are two poignant dents on the nation’s democracy. How the country progresses from here will undoubtedly define the character of the democracy Nigeria practises.

*Fubara and Wike 

Remarkably, some have praised President Bola Tinubu for not extending the suspension of the governor and the democratic structures in Rivers State beyond the six months he had initially proclaimed. Many opposition voices, however, insist that the president erred in the first instance by unilaterally removing an elected governor from office.

Self-Plagiarism: The Trickiest Of Them All

 By Ganiu Bamgbose

I found it interesting that the last two times journals had requested of me to rework aspects of my papers that shared similarities with other works, those other works were actually my own works. Self-plagiarism could be the toughest form of plagiarism to overcome and it manifests in different ways. 

Self-plagiarism makes you feel unguilty where there should be guilt. It makes you normalise and/or trivialise an unacceptable act. I have classified self-plagiarism into three and labelled them fraudulent self-plagiarism, frivolous self-plagiarism and fixated self-plagiarism. They shall be discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.

Fubara: Governor Only In Name

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

In trying to understand the curious conduct of Siminalayi Fubara since his reinstatement as the governor of Rivers State after serving out a six-month suspension slammed on him by the headmaster of Nigeria’s democracy, President Bola Tinubu, and his class captain, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, I have had to take a second look at the term, “Stockholm syndrome.”

*Fubara and Wike 

An AI overview of the phrase explains that in August 1973, four employees at the Kreditbanken Bank in Stockholm, Sweden, were held hostage by a robber named Jan-Erik Olsson and his accomplice, Clark Olofsson, for six days. During the standoff, the hostages developed an emotional connection with their captors and became afraid of the police. One of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, famously stated during a call with the Swedish Prime Minister that she trusted her captors but feared the police more.

The Return Of Fubara, Nigeria’s Most Diminished ‘Governor’

By Olu Fasan

Siminalayi Fubara returned as “governor” of Rivers State last week, six months after he was magisterially removed from office by President Bola Tinubu, following his declaration of an emergency rule in the state. Fubara returned with his tail between his legs, utterly humiliated.

*Fubara, Wike and Tinubu

Henceforth, anyone who refers to Fubara as governor must put the word in inverted commas. Why? Well, truth be told, he’s not a governor in the true sense of the word. He owes his existence in office not to the people of Rivers State, but to President Tinubu, the National Assembly and Nyesom Wike, the former Rivers State governor, now Tinubu’s self-aggrandising and untouchable minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

A Beautiful Afternoon At The Office In September 2025

 

Ugochuwu Ejinkeonye (September 2025)

A Word On Nigeria’s Deadly Enemies

 By Banji Ojewale 

Our leaders are our deadliest enemies.

 

Not given to altruism, these leaders don’t also subscribe to the law of the power of example. This is the golden rule insisting that rulers aren’t graded great until they exhibit selfless, sacrificial and Spartan conduct that sparks same virtues in the citizens. But our leaders, elected, selected or ‘dictated,’ believe in the precept of the example of power. Here, the goal is, as you grab power, you must dig in, you must live in it and flaunt it and extend its frontiers like you’d be in its embrace forever.

 Buhari and Tinubu 

They invest their all in it, nursing it with a lusty affection that outlaws competition or regard for other existential concerns. They bequeath a depressed economy after fattening their personal bank accounts and acquiring more property than they had at the point of entry. They exploit the led and desecrate their sacred office. They arrange a superannuation that glides them into a lifetime of cloying affluence and luxury.

Politicians As Nigeria’s Worst Headache!

 By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

Now, let’s face it. Despite all the empty (and, often, very exasperating) noise about being driven by patriotism and “desire to serve my people” that usually saturates the atmosphere at each election season, a careful, conscientious search on the political terrain can only yield about less than one percent (and one is being really generous here) of aspirants motivated solely by genuine desire to improve the lives of the citizenry and make society a better place. 

For the majority, the sole incentive is the golden opportunity politics offers them to gain access to government coffers and cart away as much free money as they could possibly grab before their tenures elapse. This is just the raw, plain truth – a simple case of organized banditry! Indeed, every politician in Nigeria is fully aware that most Nigerians know this. But they always bank on what I would like to refer to as the “collaborative passivity” of the citizenry. 

Ghana Celebrates Nkrumah's Birthday More Than A Century After

 Last week, on September 21, 2025, the world marked the 116th posthumous birth anniversary of the founding President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Today, we recall a piece written in 2020 by BANJI OJEWALE to celebrate the great Pan-Africanist and liberation fighter when Ghana marked its 63rd year of Independence. Enjoy it.

 The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa. – Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972) First President of Ghana.

 

February 24 slid into history again a couple of days ago, hardly remembered by many as the 54th anniversary of the military coup that toppled Kwame Nkrumah as Ghana’s president and temporarily halted the greatest anti-colonial move of the era. The putsch came just when the Black Star nation was preparing to celebrate nine years of liberation from its imperial lords in London. The rest of the free world across Africa and beyond, which had been thrilled by Nkrumah’s bold experiment in post-colonial sovereignty were also eager to felicitate with the Ghanaians.

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.