By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo The elections are here. There is no margin for error. So, we must work and pray. We must work for peace and pray for unity. If we could choose credible leaders without frittering away borrowed funds in this exorbitant and perennially ineffectual ritual, our situation wouldn’t have been as dire. Nigeria’s […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo A few days before the APC primaries in June 2022, Asiwaju Tinubu lost his cool. The rumours that president Buhari would anoint a preferred candidate to represent the party had thickened and pressure had been applied on Tinubu to step down. So before his kinsmen in Abeokuta, Tinubu literally declared war. […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo In the last few days, two of Nigeria’s best music maestros have locked horns. And since the jibes have spared no indecency, sentimental mobs have queued up behind the gladiators, throwing tribal firewood into the inferno. What started as a clash of political ideas has lost its innocence and degenerated into […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo The Janjaweed have sprouted in Rivers state. In Rivers, nobody can campaign freely. The INEC has a constitutional duty to monitor election campaigns and prosecute electoral offences, but it has said nothing. A few days ago, Senator Abe of the SDP was rushed off the campaign stage as gunshots sent the […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo A few days ago, at my village entrance, there was a roadblock beside a military roadblock. Armed NDLEA staff in colourful purple and beige uniforms were interacting with motorists in the ‘wetin you carry’ mood. Yes, National Drug Law Enforcement Agents. They don’t often mount such roadblocks in Lagos or Abuja, but somewhere […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo In a banana republic, big politicians are gods. They are not gods because they are bullies who arbitrarily ride roughshod over laws and moralities and decide the fate of men. They are gods because sane citizens adopt them as idols they must protect, promote, and worship. It is the willful mass […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo Obasanjo has never had kind words for this government. He had asked Buhari to resign in 2019 when he supported Atiku. So the presidency should have disregarded the arrows in the letter and taught Nigerians how to react with maturity to unpalatable political endorsements. The presidency could have engaged the endorsement […]

By Dr Ugoji Egbujo 2022 was of a certain kind. It started with the Super Eagles mesmerizing opponents in the early rounds of the African Nations Cup tournament in January. Nothing had been expected from a set of eagles that had ditched their boring foreign coach too late in the day to build harmony with […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo The anti-corruption war has slowed. Whistleblowers are on leave. The 2015 euphoria has died. Post-Buhari, anti-corruption could become an antiquated slogan.  In 2014, the promise of that war swayed many neutrals to support the former opposition party. Today, eight years later, no party pretends anger against corruption. Anti-corruption enthusiasts and agencies […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo The meek ones have, like Shakespeare, said, “The quality of mercy is not strained.” Other others have said, like Moses, “An eye for an eye.” In other words, “spare the rod and spoil the child.” Yet Others have, like Jesus, drawn the line and said, “He who has never sinned alike, […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egujo Cyprian Ekwensi’s Jagua Nana lived in the 1950s Lagos. Jagwa woman, as she called herself to summon her spell, was an ageing but enchanting prostitute who longed to marry an innocent, ambitious young boy. Handsome Freddie, aware that his future didn’t belong to the cougar, yet couldn’t resist her offerings. Jagua […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo Gifted with many charlatans as leaders, Nigerians are enjoying the comicality of shallow electioneering campaigns. Ortom, who now wears multicoloured suits since he became Wike’s apostle, woke up one morning and, in a fit, said that anyone who likes Atiku is his enemy. He spoke in plain English. Some of Ortom’s […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo In 1984, Buhari was predictable. He made only mistakes of passion. People who couldn’t fall in bus lines were flogged. Umaru Dikko was caught, anaesthetised and crated. Corrupt politicians were hurriedly tried, and handed prison sentences fit for the Guinness book of records. Gen. Buhari was called a dictator. But he […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo A man in a colourful suit arrives at the airport for an early flight. Because he left home early, he couldn’t observe his morning rituals. Then the flight scheduled for 6.30 am is delayed for aviation fuel reasons, and his bowels notify him that the time has come. He picks up […]

By Dr. Ugoji Egbujo Recently, when a certain presidential candidate was asked about climate change, he confessed his ignorance. Ignorance may not be bliss, but the truth set him free that day. He hadn’t studied it. But The great Jagaban had read it. So once the Arewa Wisemen confronted him with Climate Change, he chuckled. […]