eLearning Africa shows the world
“what an exciting, innovative continent Africa is” say the organisers of
Africa’s leading conference on technology assisted learning and training,
eLearning Africa. This year’s eLearning Africa, which took place in Abidjan,
Côte d’Ivoire from 23 -27 October and focussed on “the keys to the future:
learnability and employability” was a “great success,” they say.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Henry Boyo, Renowned Economist, Dies
Dr. Henry
Boyo, renowned economist and public intellectual, is dead. He died in London on Monday, November 18. He was 72.
Dr. Boyo was the Managing Director of Cocosheen Nigeria
Limited, Lagos.
He has written extensively on the Nigerian economy in his syndicated columns which
appear in several national newspapers, like Daily Independent, Punch, Vanguard, etc.
Friday, November 15, 2019
Dele Giwa: Lingering Echoes Of A Murder
By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye
“Death is…the
absence of presence…the endless time of never coming back…a gap you can’t see,
and when the wind blows through it, it makes no sound”. – Tom Stopard, German
playwright.
“Death is…the
absence of presence…the endless time of never coming back…a gap you can’t see,
and when the wind blows through it, it makes no sound”. – Tom Stopard, German
playwright.
*Giwa
In the morning of Monday,
October 20, 1986, I was preparing to go to work when a major item on the
Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) 6.30 news bulletin hit me like a hard
object. Mr. Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch magazine, had
the previous day been killed and shattered by a letter bomb in his Lagos home.
My scream was so loud that my neighbour barged into my room to inquire what it
was that could have made me to let out such an ear-splitting bellow.
We were three young men who
had a couple of months earlier been posted from Enugu to Abakaliki to work in
the old Anambra State public service, and we had hired a flat in a newly
erected two-storey building at the end of Water Works Road, which we shared. My
flat-mate, clearly, was not familiar with Giwa’s name and work, and so had
wondered why his death could elicit such a reaction from me. But later that
day, as he interacted with people, he realised that Giwa’s death was such big
news, and by the next couple of days, he had become an expert on Giwa and his
truncated life and career. Across the country, Giwa’s brutal death dominated
the news not just because of the pride of place he occupied in Nigerian
journalism practice and but more because of the totally novel way his killers
had chosen to end his life.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Kogi 2019: Will Yahaya Bello Carry The Day?
By Tony Ademiluyi
Before Nigerian
independence, the youths played a vital role in wrestling political power from
our erstwhile colonial masters. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe established the Zik Group of
Newspapers with the West African Pilot as it’s foremost in the group in 1937 at the
age of thirty-three after a three year stint in editing the African
Morning Post in Accra, Ghana. It revolutionized the newspapering
industry and was the most nationalistic while still maintaining a modest
modicum of financial success in its three decades of existence.
Chief Anthony Enahoro edited the Southern
Nigerian Defender one of the newspapers in the Zik Group in 1944 at the
age of twenty-one straight from the famous Kings College Lagos without any
university education. He went on to move the motion for Nigeria’s independence
in 1953 at the age of thirty. Chief Bola Ige became the organizing secretary of
the defunct Action Group at the age of twenty-three. Ambassador Matthew Tawo
Mbu became the minister for Labour at the age of twenty-three in 1954 before he
went to the United Kingdom to study law. Mazi Mbonu Ojike spearheaded the
cultural nationalism with his famous ‘boycott
the boycottables’ in his early thirties after his educational sojourn in
the United States and became the Deputy Mayor of Lagos long before he turned
forty. The list is endless of youths who achieved a lot in pre-independence
Nigeria.
*Gov Bello and aides took to the streets to celebrate Buhari's return from UK medical trip |
Monday, November 11, 2019
President Buhari, Bring Leah Sharibu Home!
By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye
As
President Muhammadu Buhari, the commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed
Forces, spends his two weeks “private visit” in the United Kingdom surrounded
by all the luxury, comfort and care our oil money can afford, with his own
family members safe and well-provided for anywhere they chose to be in the
world despite the unspeakable hardship tormenting the Nigerian masses at home
due to his failed leadership, a 16-year old, tender, innocent girl called Leah
Sharibu is at the moment a hapless, pathetic and traumatised captive of Boko
Haram terrorists, obviously, under the most dehumanising conditions.
*Leah Sharibu |
Given
what has, reportedly, been the horrible experiences of young, beautiful girls
like Leah who have been very unfortunate to be captured by these terrorists,
one is really scared to imagine what she might have been subjected to for over
a year now. Most painful is that she hardly gets mentioned again these days by
those whose job it is to rescue and bring her home!
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Five Challenges Buhari Should Tackle Now
By Martins Oloja
President Muhammadu Buhari, leader of the most populous black
nation on earth, may not be well aware of what most of the citizens are saying
at this time about his administration and how far they think he can take
Nigeria. It is indubitable that most president’s men tell any
president-in-council what they think he would like to hear. Presidential aides
and even most cabinet members are not known to be ready to tell the president
any inconvenient truth that can strain the relationship. What is more, our leaders
at all levels like sycophants and mediocrities to be around them.
But despite overt hostility to even groundswell of opinion and
wise counsel, I think we should continue to wish our leaders well by advising
them on what we think they should do for our public good. We should not be
weary in doing good, despite their poor attitude to reading and listening. That
is why I would like to join good people who have been suggesting some
priorities to our leaders, especially since the build-up to the 59th anniversary
of our independence early this month.
*President Buhari |
Friday, October 18, 2019
Nigeria: Reducing The Cost Of Governance
By Anthony Akinola
Agitation or call for a reduction in the cost of governance has
been rather perennial. I wrote on this very topic sometime in the 1980s for the
London-based West Africa magazine. I had then called for a reduction in the
number of senatorial seats per state, which then was five. I had also called
for a reduction in the number of ministers and advisers-all these in the
Nigerian Second Republic.
*President Buhari and Senate President Lawan |
I would later follow up this discussion with a
memorandum to the Ibrahim Babangida-led Armed Forces Ruling Council
(AFRC), sometime in 1986, in which I suggested that senatorial constituencies
could be limited to what is now 3 Senators per state.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Assessment Of Nigeria’s 59th Independence Anniversary
By Guy Ike Ikokwu
The situation in Nigeria today, is egregious and monumental that
it gives a great majority of our peoples a feeling of total hopelessness in
such a way that the general belief is that there must be a catalyst within the
system.
It is now clear to the Nigerian masses that
they have been deprived of their sovereignty for more than 50 years by the high
ranking military personnel since January 1966 which torpedoed the civilian
democratic norms inherited in various discussions with our British colonialists
who had acted equivocally in their own self and economic interest.
We have had 9 constitutions in 25 years to
usher in real democracy which our young heroic musician and artist Fela
Anikulapo Kuti called “Demon – Crazy” that was a philosophical thoughtful
expose but the perspectives of our past decades show that our system of
governance has really been demonic till this day! The last 1999
constitution which Nigeria had was initiated by Gen. Abudulsalami Abubarkar.
Today we know that the 1999 constitution was a fraud as it was not delivered by
the people of Nigeria. Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Female Lecturers Also Demand Sex From Male Students – Ghana Broadcast Journalist
Following the viral BBC documentary video on the alleged #Sex-for-Grades
menace flourishing in Ghanaian and Nigerian universities, Ghanaian broadcast
journalist, Ms. Oheneyere Gifty Anti, has said that the practise is more
widespread than many are willing to believe. According to her, it is rampant
even in primary and secondary schools. She also alleged that even female lecturers
sexually harass male students and score them low if they refuse to yield…
Read Her Recent Post
Monday, October 7, 2019
Save Our Women!
By Simon Abah
This hustler brought his fiancée to the United States from
Nigeria. He didn’t have the necessary papers to be in the US, he did menial
jobs but through hard work he was able to save money and sent her to a nursing
school, she got a job as soon as she graduated, and legalized her stay.
The job as a nurse in the US put her on a pedestal higher than him and life was so good, so it seemed. She earned income higher than his shifting income and they settled down to raise six children, of course for the passport as a meal ticket for tomorrow. Then the fizz burst, they had a major disagreement, madam nurse forgot the days in Nigeria before she came to America and that the hustler even brought her there.
(pix: africa.com) |
Friday, October 4, 2019
Xenophobia: What Buhari Told Ramaphosa In South Africa (Full Text)
President Muhammadu Buhari’s Speech At A State Banquet In His Honour By
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa
Your Excellency, Cyril
Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa,
Your Excellency, David Mabuza, Deputy President of the Republic of
South Africa,
Honourable Ministers,
Senior Government officials,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure for me to
address you tonight.
2. I would like, first of all, to thank
you, my Brother, President Ramaphosa, for inviting me and my delegation to your
beautiful country. We have been overwhelmed by the warm hospitality of the
South African people since our arrival. Thank you very much also for this very
generous and sumptuous banquet in our honour.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
At 59, What Will Save Nigeria?
By Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie
At 59, may God bless our leaders and all our
fellow-citizens. May God bless the government and people of Nigeria with
wisdom, courage and patience to work together in harmony so that we may build a
Nigeria that does the will of God, a Nigeria we all can be proud of. All those
who believe in God and who wish Nigeria well must pray and work for a better
Nigeria.
We must not just bend our knees in prayer, we must also roll up
our sleeves and work for Nigeria. We must overcome our addiction so that
we can enjoy the numerous blessings with which the Almighty had endowed us as a
country—our addiction to falsehood. Our allergy to truth is our greatest
undoing.
*Cardinal Okogie |
Nigeria: What Does ‘Independence’ Mean?
By Hope Eghagha
The years between 1957
and 1963 were very crucial to African countries within the context of gaining
independence from colonial powers. Great Britain, Portugal, France, the
Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and the United States (in the Philippines) were at
different times, colonial powers.
The scramble and partition of Africa from 1883 to 1900 benefited the imperial powers. Through force of superior power and masterful cunning, whole nations were subjugated under colonial rule in order to compel the ‘conquered’ nations to part with their resources at little or no cost to the colonial power.
The scramble and partition of Africa from 1883 to 1900 benefited the imperial powers. Through force of superior power and masterful cunning, whole nations were subjugated under colonial rule in order to compel the ‘conquered’ nations to part with their resources at little or no cost to the colonial power.
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Ghanaian President, Akufo-Addo, To Deliver The 2019 Achebe Leadership Forum Lecture At Rutgers University
We are delighted to invite you to the ACHEBE LEADERSHIP FORUM to be held at
Rutgers University on Saturday, September 21, 2019, from 1-5 PM.
This is event is proudly hosted by the
Center for African Studies, Rutgers Global, the School of Arts and Sciences,
and the Christie and Chinua Achebe
Foundation.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Africans Should Isolate South Africa
By Luke Onyekakeyah
President Muhammadu Buhari’s order to evacuate Nigerians from
South Africa is a positive step in the right direction. Nigerians, indeed, Africans should leave South
Africa and not regret it, as a first step towards redressing the unceasing
bullying, intimidation, and arrogance of that country against fellow Africans
that joined forces to liberate her from the crushing white apartheid regime.
African nations should severe diplomatic relations with South Africa as a mark
of protest. This land of apartheid should be isolated and let’s watch how it
copes with being an island.
Good enough, an uncommon patriotic Nigerian, Allen Onyema, owner of Air Peace, offered to voluntarily evacuate the troubled Nigerian citizens from South Africa. I must commend all those in the forefront of this operation, namely: President Buhari, Air Peace Management, Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Kabiru Bala, Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike-Dabiri-Erewa, among others. The belated arrest, delay and harassment of departing Nigerians on highways and airport in South Africa, is of no consequence. It is akin to the pursuit of departing Israel from Egyptian bondage by Pharaoh and his army, which ended in disaster.
Good enough, an uncommon patriotic Nigerian, Allen Onyema, owner of Air Peace, offered to voluntarily evacuate the troubled Nigerian citizens from South Africa. I must commend all those in the forefront of this operation, namely: President Buhari, Air Peace Management, Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Kabiru Bala, Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike-Dabiri-Erewa, among others. The belated arrest, delay and harassment of departing Nigerians on highways and airport in South Africa, is of no consequence. It is akin to the pursuit of departing Israel from Egyptian bondage by Pharaoh and his army, which ended in disaster.
Friday, September 13, 2019
No Vuvuzela For President Buhari On His Victory Day!
By Banji Ojewale
South Africa based- Nigerians now
returning from the home of vuvuzela are coming back with a mixed reaction. They
are meeting a nation whose president has just been ‘vindicated’ by a competent
tribunal over claims by the opposition that he wasn’t eligible for the office.
Their old hosts are used to taking up the local instrument as both a weapon of
intimidation and celebration.
*President Buhari |
South
Africans reach out for their 2 to 3-feet long plastic horn to make raucous
noise at football matches in support of their national teams. It was
popularised during the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. The myth is that its
beastly emission–some 120 decibels– can conjure victory for their club or
national side. Or it can cudgel opposition to concede goals for their players
to win the day. To their grief, these didn’t happen nine years ago.
The Nigeria/South Africa Palaver
By Adekeye Adebajo
I was recently visiting Lagos – the city of my birth – when I
found myself feeling a sense of déjà vu as I watched South African
mobs on television looting and attacking shops owned by Nigerians and other
Africans. We have been here before. Nigerians were among those hurt in the
horrific xenophobic attacks of 2008 when 62 people – mostly Zimbabweans,
Mozambicans, and Malawians – were killed, and 100,000 displaced. More
recently, in March 2017, South African vigilantes burned and looted scores
of homes and businesses belonging to Nigerians in Rosettenville, Mamelodi, and
Atteridgeville in Gauteng province, which they alleged were drug dens and
brothels.
Having lived in South Africa for 16 years, one of my biggest
frustrations is the failure of so many of its citizens to embrace an African
identity and of the government to attract more skilled Africans to its shores
in order to create an “America in Africa”. America’s genius has, of course,
been its ability to attract the best and brightest from the rest of the world –
trained at huge expense by these countries – and to turn them into American
citizens or green-card holders.
A Warning For Foreign Minister And People Of South Africa
By Femi Fani-Kayode
"I would appreciate them in helping us as well
to address the belief our people have and the reality that there are many
persons from Nigeria dealing in drugs in our country" – Dr. Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, South African Minister of
International Relations.
Is this the sort of thing that ought to be said by the
South African government when we are still in mourning and when we have not
even buried our compatriots that were cruelly slain, bludgeoned to death and
cut to pieces in the streets of South Africa?
* Femi Fani-Kayode |
At a time when this irresponsible, insensitive, shameless,
conflicted, self-hating, pitiful and mendacious creature that has been
described as the foreign minister of South Africa should be apologizing to the
Nigerian people for the mindless savagery and barbarity of her blood-crazed
compatriots, she is pointing accusing fingers at their victims and the objects
of their collective hate and seeking to demonise them. What have we done to
deserve this? First, you kill us then you seek to justify it and demonize us!
Thursday, September 12, 2019
P&ID, Christopher Butcher’s Long, Cruel Knife
By Jerry Uwah
Justice Christopher Butcher is a
merciless and ruthless butcher. The British judge, who awarded a landmark sum
of $9.6 billion as damages to an obscure Irish firm known as Process and
Industrial Development (P&ID), is more ruthless than the butchers in Lagos
abattoir.
*President Buhari |
The racist judgment Butcher handed down on
Nigeria on August 16, 2019 in favour of his kinsmen would lead many of the 154
million Nigerians already living below poverty line to the slaughter slab. It
would push millions more below poverty line and start them on the road to the
slaughter slab.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
President Buhari, Bring Back Education Glory
By Matthew Ozah
The fact that everyone confesses that education brings a brighter
future and by extension shines a light on a nation does not make the most
government give education the attention it deserves. Therefore, it is hard to
over-emphasise the wretchedness and difficult position which the ruling
government has made education become in recent time.
Notwithstanding the government’s continued
flying a kite with a slogan that education is the light of a nation. Even
inscriptions in some schools’ motto such as ‘Knowledge is power’, or ‘Knowledge
is light’ among other signs depicting that education is indeed the key to
unlock the future as well as eradicate poverty in the society do not sway
politicians to do the needful on education.
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