Carrying coal to Nescastle, by Muyiwa Adetiba
Regular users tell me that the road from Sagamu interchange to the Lagos end is usually about thirty minutes if the traffic is light and about forty-five minutes if it is heavy, which often happens at weekends. Recently, it took us – my two friends and I – almost four hours to navigate that journeyand […]
When will we ‘say it loud, I am black and proud’?
By Muyiwa Adetiba Those who came into this world from the 80s upwards and are not into music, may not know who James Brown was. He was the quintessential musician and showman; one of the best performers of his generation. I can almost imagine the nostalgic smiles on the faces of those of my generation […]
50 years on, it’s still ‘what’s 50 years on, it’s still ‘what’s going on?’
CNN did a documentary on one of Marvin Gaye’s iconic songs last weekend – he had three blockbuster songs which transcended age, gender and race. It was the only protest song – if you could call it that – of the three. The other two, ‘Let’s Get It On’ and ‘Sexual Healing’ were love songs. […]
The growing list of Nigerians who are licensed to kill
I will remember the scene untilI die because scars don’t goaway and this was a scar on thesoul. The soul of a young boy. It wasshortly before the Civil War
We created this monster. It’s up to us to tame it
By Muyiwa Adetiba Her maiden name was Dayo Akin-Williams. Her friends and many acquaintances called her D-Willie. She was a likable but feisty woman who stood up for causes she believed in. One of those causes was Nigeria. She was petit in stature but very tall in intellect. She came on my radar when she […]
Time to slow down this rising sectionalism
By Muyiwa Adetiba The Northerners in my estate on the Lagos Island have not changed their lifestyle to the best of my knowledge. The late comers among them have not started coming in early out of fear. Neither have the early birds waited for the sun to rise before venturing out. Those who wear hijab […]
Taking guns away from our youths
By Muyiwa Adetiba I don’t know about you but each time I read about the positive exploits of Nigerians in the diaspora, I feel elated. And there is a rash of them recently – from high level international appointments, to sensitive appointments in the Biden administration, to impressive, mega million dollar strides in the IT […]
Tinubu and the 2023 presidency
By Muyiwa Adetiba There is a Bola Tinubu bashing going on. It came to the fore again this season. Last Good Friday, some people tried to evoke the memory of Christ’s crucifixion in a most unusual way. They replaced the robbers at the sides of Jesus with two very prominent Nigerian politicians. One of them […]
Who benefits from the Hijab controversy? Certainly not the students
By Muyiwa Adetiba Last week, a post came to one of my often visited WhatsApp platforms that got many people commenting on its profundity. According to the post,if you collect a hundred red ants and a hundred black ants and put them together in a glass jar, nothing will happen until somebody shakes the jar […]
A wrong man for this season?
Fatherhood By Muyiwa Adetiba The mind flashes back some forty years ago to1983 when the then civilian President requested a dashing young man to rid the North-East of some cantankerous invaders from a neighbouring country. This young man who was a GOC (General Officer Commanding) at the time, rose to the occasion and gave the […]
Just what goes with us when we die?
By Muyiwa Adetiba A joke was made at a senior colleague’s 80th birthday ceremony some years ago by his close friend and contemporary. According to the friend, the celebrant once looked ‘down under’ at his shrivelling organ and said ‘don’t die before me o. We are going together’. The whole hall laughed. It is an […]
This is who we are
By Muyiwa Adetiba The first tranche of the much awaited COVID 19 vaccines arrived our shores last week. The first set of people to be vaccinated were the President, his Vice, the SGF, the CoS and some prominent Ministers. This is to be expected because that is who we are. Other countries started with their […]
Cracks on the wall
By Muyiwa Adetiba It is easy to spot reptiles when a house is clean and uncluttered. In fact any reptile straying into such a house would try to make good its exit almost immediately because there would be no hiding place. But a house that is dirty and cluttered offers itself as a dwelling place […]
Calm down, please calm down
By Muyiwa Adetiba Superstar Stevie Wonder and I were sitting across the table getting ready for an interview. I in anticipation,he probably as one of the chores he had to endure. This was during FESTAC 77 when he was at the peak of his incredible musical prowess – his album ‘songs in the key of […]
Swatting a fly with a sledgehammer
By Muyiwa Adetiba Anyone who lives or has lived in Nigeria knows that the occupy Lekki protest of last Saturday would not hold. And if it did, it would be low key probably with some casualties on the side of the protesters. They would know that the balance of the power which was touted by […]
If you were hungry, what would you do?
By Muyiwa Adetiba You don’t drop an egg and lament that it is broken’. Those were the words of the late Tanzanian President, Mr Julius Nyerere to me during an interview. Although they were said in a different context, the words sometimes come to me when I think of the socio/economic situation of our country. […]
