This article could have been titled, THE LIARS, THE POLITICIAN AND THE PRESIDENT, and it will be just as appropriate. But, I think it is better to focus on the man who will suffer the consequences of his action.

I wish that historical Lord Lugard and the King or Queen of England who granted him the powers to rule and ruin our lives are alive today to behold the explosions being set off by the time bomb they planted in this part of Africa in 1914. History does not tell us its alternatives. In other words, we don’t know what would have happened if amalgamation had not occurred. But, we are now beginning to see the beginning of the end of the “geographical expression” (apologies to the late Chief Awolowo) they formed and named Nigeria by the satraps’ concubine.

The great entertainer who made this remark about his fellow Americans never heard of a country called Nigeria – because it did not exist then. If a Nigerian comedian wants to use the same line today it will probably be “A Nigerian fool is born every second and some of them invest in the Nigerian Stock Exchange.”

Just as I was getting prepared for a stiff opposition to the idea an Igbo President in 2023, part support came from an unexpected source. Until I read that statement in the VANGUARD newspapers nobody could have convinced me that Governor El-Rufai would not be one of the strongest stumbling blocks to what some people have already started telling me was an exercise in futility. Everywhere I have gone and opened my mouth to advocate for an Igbo President, people have given me two reasons it is a pipe dream. Even when they acknowledge that my previous venture into political advocacy was a success against all known odds, they are also very quick to point out that Lagos is not Nigeria. What worked in Lagos cannot be presumed to be a good template for pan-Nigeria advocacy. Let me quickly admit that there is some validity in the criticism. And, the fact stated scares me as we move forward. But, where courage is required for the success of an enterprise, I take solace in the words of the late American actor John Wayne, who, in one of his many cowboy films, said: “Courage is being scared to death but going forward anyway.” This crusade calls for a great deal of conviction and tenacity.

Perhaps in the midst of the multitudes of issues dividing this nation, especially religion, politics, ethnicity, regionalism, economic inequality etc, it might appear audacious to bring another contentious issue up for debate — particularly, when it is at the moment not a popular view across Nigeria.

Several calls and messages were received since the Supreme Court of Nigeria, SCN, delivered a judgment which even the winners are reluctant to rejoice about. The losers and non-partisan observers are livid with rage about it. Not since the SCN,

By Denrele Animasaun There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance — Socrates The last couple of days, the move to ban Okada and Marwa off the main roads in the city of Lagos has created so much anguish for the Lagos commuters. It has divided the people. Some are relieved that the […]

For me, this is already a happy year. Most newspapers now have annual awards for various individuals for different reasons. I have been opposed to the idea when it first started. To some extent, I am still very much in doubt regarding whether we are doing the right thing. Mainly, I object because the criteria, just like those of the National Awards, are not often clear. Individuals with absolutely atrocious or questionable records of achievement have been honoured. Governors are the most notorious in this regard. Some of the ex-governors who made the list in the past are now in jail for embezzling public funds. Easily debunked ‘Unusual Transformation’ in a particular state has not stopped a propagandist from receiving encomiums as a great achiever. Certainly, annual awards have been abused and the history of Nigeria distorted. We have given honour to several who are not due.

“Buhari has driven corruption under the table” – Lai Mohammed.—DAILY INDEPENDENT, January 2, 2020, p 13.
Wonders never cease.

By Dele Sobowale “We should under no circumstances let terrorists divide us by turning Christians against Muslims because those barbaric killers don’t represent Islam and millions of other law-abiding Muslims around the world” – President Buhari after Muslims slaughtered Christians on December 25, 2019. “A leader is best When people barely know he exists Not […]

“We should under no circumstances let terrorists divide us by turning Christians against Muslims because those barbaric killers don’t represent Islam and millions of other law-abiding Muslims around the world” – President Buhari after Muslims slaughtered Christians on December 25, 2019.

Fowler for those who might not know is from Lagos State and he was replaced by an Abubakar not from Lagos State. From the statement credited to Garba Shehu, who was just a loudspeaker and not one of the “we” who removedFowler, one would assume that Fowler was given definite revenue generation targets for each year in office which he failed to achieve.

“To know that which before us lies in daily life/Is the prime wisdom/What is more is fume” – John Milton, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ.

Robert Fowler representing Lagos State is out as the head of the Federal Internal Revenue Service, FIRS. He was replaced by Abubakar. In another development, a former boss of the Social Intervention Programme, SIP – a fellow from Ogun State – was not only removed as the administrator of the legacy programme of the Buhari government, the job was taken North. In addition, about 30 aides of the former Oga were shoved out of Aso Rock. The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, from Edo State now owes his survival in that position to one word from the President. If Buhari says “Go”, it is back to Edo or exile out of Nigeria.

Simplicity. Sincerity. Strength. Splendour. Those four words summarise the life and times of Nigeria’s most remarkable First Lady. When Maryam Babangida (nee Okogwu), born on November 1, 1948, passed away on December 27, 2009, at the Jonson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles, USA, her death served as a reminder to all of us of our mortality. But, the public life she lived in the span of eight years during which she was Nigeria’s First Lady re-echoed the words of the poet: “Lives of great men [and women] remind us/ that we also can make our lives sublime/ and departing leave behind us/Footprints on the sands of time.”