By Azu Ishiekwene NIGERIA’s February/March elections undid many things. One of them was the 63-year-old myth that no wealthy and ambitious candidate could emerge president. Until the last presidential election. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria’s president between 1963 and 1966, came close. But while ownership of his extensive and authoritative newspaper chain made him influential, he […]

By Azu Ishiekwene HADIZA Bala Usman’s new book, Stepping on Toes, is a cautionary tale for anyone hoping to work in public service in Nigeria, particularly in the Federal Government. It’s an incredible story by the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, of how to break your heart, if not your spirit, […]

By Azu Ishiekwene DONALD Trump consolidated his record in demagoguery when he became the first former US president ever to be criminally indicted and arraigned in a Manhattan court on April 4. He was the first US president to complain about an election he won and also the first to openly express support for the body-slamming […]

By Azu Ishiekwene WHEN King Charles, the head of the Church of England, is crowned on May 6, there would be two very unusual non-Protestant special guests at the ceremony, among others: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who is Hindu; and the Leader of the Scottish National Party, SNP, and next First Minister of Scotland, […]

By Azu Ishiekwene FROM Accra to Cape Town images of Nollywood, Nigeria’s popular movie footprint, are a common staple in homes across the continent as are the sights and sounds of its pop icons who are also amongst Africa’s biggest. When politics is on the menu, however, it does not appear that the rest of […]

By Azu Ishiekwene SOMETIMES it feels like we have been childhood friends. That we have known each other forever. For over 30 years since our paths crossed, I can’t remember how many times I’ve called him “Louis”, much less “Louis Osaretin Odion”. Even now, it feels awkward to write it. I call him by the […]

By Azu Ishiekwene FOR the third time since 1999, I voted at a general election on February 25 and did so without much hassle. I knew my candidates would lose at the unit where I voted, but that didn’t matter. Voting mattered more. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, processed me so quickly it was […]

By Azu Ishiekwene TRYING to fit him into a mould can be sometimes problematic. I have always thought of him as a teacher and mentor. And later, only much later, as a friend. For over three decades he has been more than enough in each of these roles. My path with Dr. Yemi Osinbajo, as […]

By Azu Oshiekwene THE last thing he wants to hear is that he desires anything other than what is good for Nigeria. Hero of Nigeria’s civil war; former military president who supervised the first-post-war transition to civilian rule; two-term civilian president; and a much sought-after African leader, Olusegun Obasanjo considers it beneath his status to […]

By Azu Ishiekwene WITH all the predictions of Armageddon and doubt about whether Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly polls would hold it does sound a bit silly to contemplate life after. Even those who grudgingly concede a life after fear it might be worse. Optimism is like playing the Ostrich. Nigeria’s history of electoral violence […]

By Azu Ishiekwene IT’s hard to imagine that it’s nearly eight years since. This time in 2015, I was over the moon with the prospects of a general election that was certain to end the government of President Goodluck Jonathan, which had lost its way. Folks were so excited at the prospects of change that […]

By Azu Ishiekwene A LEADER like Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand doesn’t come in tens. Not even in twos. And so, it was such a bright day on October 26, 2017, when she took office as New Zealand’s Prime Minister. She was 37 years old and also the youngest head of government at the time. […]

By Azu Ishiekwene HER funeral rites would have begun on Wednesday, January 11, but were postponed because her family, along with the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, is awaiting an autopsy report. As of the time of this writing, the matter had faded from the headlines, and a new date was yet to be announced. Obviously, […]

By Azu Ishiekwene I’m sure he expected the firestorm. As is his custom, he primed it and released it to explode at his own time and season. If the letter by former President Olusegun Obasanjo endorsing Labour Party’s Peter Obi had gone unnoticed, uncriticised, and unreplied, then it would not have been Obasanjo’s letter. The […]

By Azu Ishiekwene The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, will be shaken to its foundations, but it will survive. The most problematic question for the party, of course, is who carries its presidential flag in the 2023 election, when President Muhammadu Buhari will step down… If Tinubu survives the ambush of the wolves in his […]