Backstory of Osun Poll, and What’s Next for Adeleke, by Azu Ishiekwene
The money that politicians didn’t spend in Osun during the August 15 governorship election was the money they didn’t have and couldn’t steal. All kinds of figures have been bandied about, in hundreds of millions and billions. It’s difficult to say if these are over- or underestimations. But damn, it was some cash! Credible sources suggest […]
Kukah’s stories and broken truths
By Azu Ishiekwene IF you haven’t had a good laugh, you have not been with him. And anyone who knows him knows I’m not joking. The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has the rare gift of humour. Not the run-of-the-mill kind that forces a courteous half-smile. It’s the kind that extracts the prey […]
Have the hustlers finally ousted Kenya’s dynasties?
By Azu Ishiekwene ONE of the ironies of politics is how easily fiction becomes reality, and reality, precedent. Before our eyes, the president-elect of Kenya, William Ruto, who has played all sides of Kenya’s politics for at least three decades, has just won an election by claiming to be an outsider. Ruto’s electoral epic of […]
Politicians and the jeopardy of trial by ordeal
By Azu Ishiekwene I’m going to waste my vote,” a friend told me recently. “And don’t argue with me,” he added. “It’s my right to do so.” I defied him. Regrettably, even though I also recruited help nearby to press home my point, my unsolicited advice fell on deaf ears. My friend’s mind was made […]
Asking for trouble
AFTER BBC Africa Service promoted a story on Friday of an interview with the bandit warlords of Zamfara State, a senior Nigerian journalist, Kadaria Ahmed, called out the broadcaster in a tweet. Kadaria, an ex-Beeb, said the interview would give the terrorists oxygen, stoke hysteria and bring nothing but pain and misery to hundreds of […]
Matawalle’s guns
NIGERIA is awash with arms – guns, bullets, charms, drugs and local stuff. Not just Nigeria.The entire Sahelian and sub-Saharan African region is drowning in deadly small arms and light weapons – so-called because of their portability and ease of use and adaptation.
