Frank & Fair

Wole Soyinka: Has the man died? By Ugoji Egbujo

At almost ninety two, Wole Soyinka remains strong and razor-sharp. The Obidients bear witness to his roar and linguistic agility. Yet three years into his bosom friend’s presidency, and for the first time since 1960, Soyinka appears comfortable with a president’s atrocities and sacrilege. Has the man died? During the 2023 elections he claimed he was out […]
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The easy president and his fearless first lady

The first time was two years ago. She went on rampage on the  BBC. Mouths were left agape.  She said her husband had performed abysmally. She said she would neither campaign for nor vote for him if he failed to wake up. 

The priesthood and the political mercenary

Father Mbaka is an ordained priest of the Catholic Church. He is revered in Enugu. He   is a household name in Igbo land.   Many cardinals aren’t that lucky.   His adoration ministry meets the spiritual and physical needs of his   poor   and desperate flock. Father Mbaka’s sermons talk about heaven but they are known   for their blistering political contents. Mbaka perhaps understands that bad governance is worse than all the Mosaic plagues that befell Pharaoh’s country men.    His poor congregation therefore sees him   more as a freedom fighter than a distributor of holy communion. If Father Mbaka has acquired many antagonists it is because of his rampant foray into politics from the shield of the Catholic Pulpit. His style is pugnacious.   His   bishops as a big head priest with a loose tongue.  

Nigeria and the spirit of gambling

Tramadol and Codeine used to be the main demons. They walked the streets and ravaged the youths  and the elders looked away.  Long haul drivers went on their journeys with  cartons of  cough syrups with codeine in their trucks.

The big parties and their big plans

The big parties are back with big plans. Nigerian politicians make promises they cannot keep. The new plans  contain many empty promises. But it is encouraging that the plans  have received some attention. In the past,  no one read the manifestoes of the parties.

Religious Kano and the Ganduje tapes

Sometimes you can’t hold back laughter.  A governor is caught on tape stuffing his agbada with dollars. The dollars are bribe money  supplied by contractors. So the talebearer said.  The  governor gives only a tepid denial. Then a more damning  tape surfaces. 

Imo APC primaries :One Emperor and many Esaus

Politics must  need a basic minimum of decency. Not necessarily altruism, but some minimal  sense of shame. So that children  are spared disgrace when they read about their fathers and  their  days of greatness. These politicians are fathers and mothers too.

Nigeria : A true Nollywood country

Shehu Sani, the social crusader, ate his cake on the floor of the Senate.  But he  wanted to have it at the APC primaries. Others defected after burning their bridges.

Obasanjo and his ‘kabukabu coalition

Obasanjo  once knew too much about Atiku Abubakar. Whatever it was he knew was so abominable he feared the wrath of the gods if he dared support Atiku’s quest to be president of Nigeria.   Atiku  had dismissed  egotistical Obasanjo and his accusations. He said Obasanjo’s vendetta was the price he had to pay for stopping Obasanjo from becoming another Paul Biya

Atiku Abubakar : The battles  before  the war

Atiku Abubakar  has the PDP ticket  He stole the show. The margin of victory shut some mouths and left others agape. It  left no room for  further contests. In the parlance of the NPN politicians of the old, it was a ‘moon slide’ victory. Those who had called the shots in PDP in the last few months were left to lick their wounds. Some of them ran away before the convention ended. Others sat, visibly punch-drunk  and swallowed everything. Atiku abubakar has work to do.

Vanguard Detty December

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