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 […]
The guest, coro, didn’t come to play
By Azu Ishiekwene IT’s true that coronavirus is not among the top five most deadly diseases in Africa today. But it’s also correct that at this time, we know far less about the COVID-19 pandemic than we know about malaria, diarrhoeal diseases, Ischaemic heart diseases, meningitis, tuberculosis, or HIV/AIDS. Yet, we’re fooling around with COVID-19 […]
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 […]
Letter to US President-elect, Joe R. Biden Jr.
By Azu Ishiekwene IF Nigerians had a vote, you’ll probably not be the 46th President of the United States of America. A Pew Research Centre poll in January showed that two countries – Kenya and Nigeria – were still madly in love with lame duck President Donald J. Trump. You might wonder why in spite of your […]
Reminiscences: My Journey Through Life
By Azu Ishiekwene AT the beginning, I was tempted to think of the author as a reluctant memoirist. Hon. Justice Sunday Akinola Akintan says his two greatest motivations for writing Reminiscences: My Journey Through Life, are 1) to fortify the slender repertoire of written records in Yorubaland and 2) to heed the counsel of famous […]
Win or Lose, Trump’s Danger to Africa
By Azu Ishiekwene IF Donald J. Trump were president of Wakanda on the eve of an election, that country would have received several warnings from the US State Department on the need for free and fair polls, and the necessity for all parties to play by the rules. But what is playing by the rules […]
#EndSARS: Sanwo-Olu’s cross and the meaning of Lekki Toll Gate
By Azu Ishiekwene It was hard to keep up with the torrent of posts as the power of social media was deployed in all its ferocity for good and evil. Through it all though, one thing was constant on my mind on Tuesday night: the images of vulnerable, distressed youths fighting for their lives. You […]
