A party for Nigeria’s latest abductors, by Azu Ishiekwene
Nigeria’s main political parties are in the thick of their primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections. That politicians can still manage to hold primaries in the midst of a worsening wave of horrendous attacks on communities and kidnappings in parts of the country, not to mention the economic hardship, suggests we must be living in […]
Ataga and the woman in the mirror
By Azu Ishiekwene IN one of my early journalism classes, my teacher, Olatunji Dare, said nothing sells like a judicious mix of crime, sex and money. It’s well over 35 years since he said those words and yet they ring true like yesterday. For over one week now, the country has been riveted on the […]
What is the endgame in Nigeria’s South East?
NIGERIA has been struggling with insecurity for over a decade. Against reasonable expectations six years ago when President Muhammadu Buhari was voted in, things have worsened. Compared with a number of other hotspots around the world in December 2020, however, Nigeria was not even among the three riskiest places. According to global medical and security specialists, […]
A President’s ‘missing’ iPad and other perils
By Azu Ishiekwene Awkward moments are human, and hardly call attention when mere mortals are involved. But when the high and might trip, they make the headlines. Both experts and lay people sometimes feel obliged to ask if such awkward moments may not indeed, like Freudian slip, mean more than meets the eye. And quite […]
The Minister’s Code
By Azu Ishiewkene THERE is a growing feeling in high political circles that the media is too free for its own good, and maybe also, for the good of the country. As a result, there are attempts on multiple fronts to save the media from what, for lack of a better description, may be called […]
COVID-19 stories by children
By Azu Ishiekwene IT all seems like memories from a distant past. But it’s not. This time last year we were in a lockdown. The world was under the monstrous grip of the coronavirus. Rumours and speculations about the origin and nature of this invincible foe were rife, leaving data and science in the dust. […]
The Travails of Malam Nasir El-Rufai
By Azu Ishiekwene The list was long and the contents harsh and threatening. The notices may have been issued separately, but they landed like a packaged digital bomb in my WhatsApp inbox. Eight unions, apart from the central body, had collectively declared war on Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai. The die was cast. The […]
Busybodies outside the Gates
By Azu Ishiekwene Bill and Melinda Gates had barely finished saying the “D” word when all kinds of marriage counsellors and grief-mongers besieged social media with suggestions of why they think the couple is breaking up. The sentiments, ranging from the probable to the bizarre, with a sprinkling of fictional tales in between, have defied the […]
Coup talk and echoes of a banana republic
By Azu Ishiekwene These days, it seems all right to play with fire. The blaze started like a solitary spark in Mali in August when the streets, the elite and jihadists banded to remove President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The former president had discarded election results and written a version that tightened his grip on power. […]
‘Follow me to the market…’
By Azu Ishiekwene EVERYONE has their meal of the day, and mine happens to be dinner. Having dinner, for me, is a ritual, but one that has evolved over the years. Back in the day, I would not dare have dinner without first taking my bath. My mother said it was “unclean” to eat before […]
First Jollof, now Twitter. What next?
By Azu Ishiekwene SOMETHING Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said reminded me of British political journalist, Andrew Marr. Journalism, Marr wrote in his book, My Trade, is a chaotic form of earning, ragged at the edges and full of snakes and con artists. Last week, Mohammed, furious at Twitter’s decision to start its first Africa […]
