I will call him John for the purpose of this article. He is one of the internally displaced persons living in the camp at Yelwata. IDP camps are dotted all over parts of the north as a sign of the times we live in – but that is a story for another day. John had gone […]

There is a feud currently going on in the US between its President and the Governor of California. It largely has to do with jurisdiction, or the limits of power if you like. The week has witnessed some protests against the forceful immigration policy of President Trump in parts of California, especially Los Angeles, America’s second largest […]

Former President Bill Clinton left the White House at fifty-four with a financial challenge. It is inconceivable for us in Africa and especially in Nigeria, for a former President who had been a two-term Governor to boot, to ever face the daunting prospect of insolvency on leaving office. It is not as if he had a […]

The whole world, not just the Catholic or the Christian faithful, welcomed the announcement of the new Pope with joy and possibly expectation. The euphoria that surrounded this announcement as captured by the media, cut across race and religion. It was the joy of a world searching for a true, non-partisan, non- sectarian leadership. In […]

A friend came visiting recently. It was his first time to the house so I took him round our home before settling him in the family living room which I felt was cozier since it was just the two of us. He commended the arrangement of the apartment and its ‘view’. Compliments over, we settled down to […]

I should have given a thought to it but I didn’t. The breeze coming through the open French windows had become distinctively cooler and fresher, meaning it could rain. Instead, groggy with sleep, I covered my head and snuggled into my pillow for warmth. Then, in the small hours of the morning, the breeze brought […]

I saw a lot of C.Vs during my years of ‘Face To Face’ interviews. Some were captioned, many were not. But almost all were impressive because they were meant to be; after all, many were acclaimed achievers. One C.V struck me however because of the uniqueness of its title, and it has since stayed in […]

I don’t know how many readers saw the video of the birthday cake of Africa’s richest man but it went viral enough. It was a replica of his refinery, the world’s largest single train refinery which finally came on stream last year after daunting setbacks. I don’t know much about cake baking, and I know […]

What is the true picture of the security situation in the country? This is a question I get asked a lot these days by Nigerians in the diaspora. No matter how one cuts it, many of these guys still care about the country. Many nurse the hope, romantic maybe in the circumstances, that Nigeria will one day […]

Thedance between General Obasanjo and Admiral Adelanwa which took place recently had its generous share of the social media space with many wondering if it was not one of those TikTok gimmicks. I can confirm that it was not AI generated. It actually took place at the 90th birthday celebration of Admiral Michael Adelanwa, a former Chief […]

Smoke woke me up. It started as an offensive odour. Then as it grew in intensity, the last vestiges of sleep quickly deserted me.Alarmed, I sprang up trying to trace the source of the acrid smell. My worst fear was that an electric circuit had been somehow bridged during the night which had caused a […]

Some 25 years ago, during the tenure of a certain General made President by the godfathers of Nigeria, a contact called from Aso Rock to give me a piece of good news. The caller knew of my relationship with someone who was being considered for a top political job and felt I should know before it became […]

I have a very close friend whose father made him an executor to his will ahead of his much older siblings in a large, but affluent polygamous family. That was rather uncommon in a typical African setting. It gets even more uncommon. The very detailed will gave mere stipends from a rather expansive estate to some of […]

I was Editor of the Vanguard Newspapers in 1985 when General Ibrahim Babangida popularly known as IBB became the nation’s Head of State. The goodwill that attended his succession was indescribable, in part because of the harsh rule of his predecessor, but in the main because of his own persona. At the time, I often met people […]

By divine providence, this year turns out to be one of those years that Muslim Ramadan and Christian Lent start about the same time. This March should then mean a Holy Month for the nation called Nigeria given the importance – and influence – of these two major religions in the country. Many Nigerians, including their leaders, […]