Shettima’s final test, by Azu Ishiekwene
Vice President Kashim Shettima cannot be blamed for having doubts about whether President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would renominate him as his running mate for a second term. As governor of Lagos State for eight years, Tinubu used three deputies: KofoworolaBucknor-Akerele, Femi Pedro, and AbiodunOgunleye. Only Senate President GodswillAkpabio (as AkwaIbom governor) matched this record in the […]
The Road to a Doctor’s Nigeria, by Azu Ishiekwene
There Was a Country, lamented Chinua Achebe, Nigeria’s literary icon and one of the world’s greatest storytellers. Achebe’s title evokes many things in the mind beyond its primary thematic concern – a journal of the author’s experiences of the Biafran War, which raged between 1967 and 1970. Among other things, it raises the question: What happened […]
To catch an election thief, by Azu Ishiekwene
Nigerian elections never end. But the cycle gets into overdrive roughly one year before a fresh general election. This is somewhat understandable. Politicians seeking re-election and those who want to displace them are high on political testosterone. It’s their season of sowing wild oats, casting nets, hosting conclaves, joining covens, and forging alliances for the good, […]
Can we quench the fire that might start in Mali? By Azu Ishiekwene
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger – three rogue states that have formed an Alliance of Sahelian States, AES, to resist external pressure from ECOWAS on military rule – have just won the biggest diplomatic jackpot beyond their wildest imagination. Not even a sorcerer would have guessed that, as a reward for their delinquency, this trio would […]
Yusuf’s Red Cap on Tinubu’s Red Carpet, by Azu Ishiekwene
After months of dallying and endless speculations, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State finally broke ranks with Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, his in-law, mentor and political godfather. Yusuf had been in Kwankwaso’s shadow for nearly two-and-a-half decades, serving in various roles, including an executive portfolio as commissioner in Kano State, until 2023, when Kwankwaso nominated him as […]
We owe Putin an unreserved apology, by Azu Ishiekwene
As US President Donald J. Trump marks his first year in office by expanding his wish list from making Canada the 51st State of America to seizing and renaming the Panama Canal, and now taking Greenland by any means, if he cannot get the Nobel Peace Prize, spare a thought for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The […]
