Why opposition eyes can’t see the colours of a rainbow, by Azu Ishiekwene
With the general elections only three months away, opposition politicians are becoming increasingly good at running in circles. They have fancy names for this waste of time: consultations, tours, deliberations and meetings. As soon as one round ends, another begins – all motion, no movement. It is quite ironic that the ruling All Progressives Congress […]
The Sam I knew
By Azu Ishiekwene I FIRST met him after the 2003 election, which his candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, lost. I was then Editor of Punch and Sam Nda-Isaiah, was founding member and Publicity Secretary of The Buhari Organisation, TBO. He came to see me about the coverage of Buhari, which obviously displeased him. He barged into […]
How Nigerians remember Maradona
By Azu Ishiekwene WHEN the news of the death of Diego Maradona broke, I was in a friend’s office. Our initial spontaneous reaction was sorrow and regret. And then we drifted, almost as if we had rehearsed it, to the next thing: who is football’s all-time greatest? Maradona or Pele? My friend wasted no time […]
Message from the dead Borno farmers
By Azu Ishiekwene THAT the slain Borno farmers did not get military clearance is an inconvenient truth, but the real error of judgement was taking the government at its word. In his inaugural speech on May 29, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the military chiefs – the same military chiefs there today – to relocate […]
In search of Lai Mohammed
His emotive and chaotic response during the flare-up in Nigeria-Ghana relations in August was a yellow flag for me By Azu Ishiekwene I HAVE known the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, for a long time, I think. Before I got close, I was first drawn to him when he was chief of staff to […]
Understanding Nigeria’s obsession with Rawlings
By Azu Ishiekwene THE saying that a prophet is not appreciated at home may well be referring to former Ghanaian president, Jerry Rawlings, who died last Thursday from COVID-19 related complications, three weeks after his mother was buried. Ghana is in seven days of mourning, but Nigeria is crying more than the bereaved. Among Nigeria’s […]
