I feel sorry for the poor who constitute the vast majority of Nigerians and who have been made victims of the rapacious appetite of their elites

A few days before the President’s recent visit to Lagos, which was to, among other things, flag off the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, bulldozers paid another visit to the Oniru Beach. Parts of this beach, for those who have been unaware of the several reports in the media, especially the social media, are said to be along […]

It happens often. Birthdays or anniversaries take the back seat when urgent and pressing developments crowd the mind. Last Monday was not an exception. June 3 was the day forty years ago, when the first copy of Sunday Vanguard rolled out. It is not a day I am expected to forget easily given the role […]

We may have had a change of government on May 29 last year, but the attitude of Nigerians, especially the elite and opinion molders, has remained the same

An eclipse is hardly sudden. The entities inch slowly towards each other over time until one overshadows, or eclipses the other. The signs of an impending eclipse are there for the observant or the gazers. One loses its size and its lustre while the other gains ascendancy in stature and brightness. So it is with […]

It must be a sign that I am getting too old, or too cynical, that the recent siege on the Oyo State Secretariat, the seat of the old Western Region, by a group of Yoruba agitators, took me completely by surprise. I did not see it coming. I can’t say I had not heard of […]

Those sixty girls, drawn from different parts of the State, and its two main religions, were among the girls the Vice President, as Governor of Borno State, sent to various institutions abroad to study medicine

I know of an era in Nigeria – not too far from my growing-up years – when only the bold and courageous of women wore trousers. Even then, they knew when and where to wear them – there are a couple of women I know who till today, don’t wear trousers to church. So it […]

Late Chief OluAboderin, the Founding Chairman of Punch Newspapers travelled quite a bit in his days and his preference was for the defunct Nigeria Airways whenever possible. I am a witness to this in a way. We had cause to travel out together a couple of times and he always leaned towards flying with the […]

“Some of us live and some of us die Someday God is going to tell us why Open your heart and grow with what life sends We’ll meet again at the festival of friends” – Bruce Cockburn Some twenty years ago, one of my favourite persons embarked on a journey out of the country with […]

The social media had since the elections, and probably even before that, been a sad place. For as long as I can remember, negative and unpalatable stories about Nigeria spewed fortheveryday, like lava from a volcano, staining and corrupting whatever they came in contact with. But last month, something beautiful and refreshing happened and the […]

Rare is anybody above 70 years who does not have an underlying ailment. And because of this, the reliance on others increases as we age.

What do you give a man who has everything? Or seemingly has everything? That has always been the perennial question. Relating this to the context of a powerful President and his birthday, what do you give our President on his birthday? What would he truly appreciate? These questions would have given his courtiers, Ministers and Special Assistants […]

I came across a comedy skit last week. It was about a teacher who was telling a class of six, seven year-old children about legacies. By stating that the best legacy one can leave their children is a good name, she reiterated what we, the much older generation learnt about a good legacy while growing up. This […]

I am neither an intelligence person nor a security expert. So analyzing intelligence reports is not my forte. I do not also know whether there is a dearth of intelligence in the country or a deliberate refusal to act on available intelligence. But clearly what is happening in the northern part of our beleaguered country suggests a […]