Elections in an orphaned Nigeria are so contentious and fractious because that is what democracy has been reduced to: a winner takes all high stake in which the winner has so much powers that he is virtually the state.

My submission at the August 26, 2023, conference was that since France invaded Egypt 225 years ago, it has dug in, refusing to let go of a continent it regards as its Garden of Eden from which to eat and drink eternally. I explained that France is so greedy and vicious that it is ready to do anything to maintain its grip on Africa.

They threatened to destroy the shop and the television sets unless the lady vacated the city within  seven days. The invaders ruled that the lady as a believer in traditional religion can only be allowed to trade and live outside the city

We may shout against coups, but democracy would be unsustainable if it does not translate to dividends for the people and does not lead to development

THIS week has been one of the most tumultuous with the plucking of Wagner chiefs from the sky, France’s renewed bid to invade Niger and fires thrashing North America, to the dramatic rescue of Pakistani school children after 16 hours of dangling from a broken cable car hundreds of metres above a ravine. The week […]

It appears that Nigerians are fairly attuned to the new sing-song that the country needs to move from consumption to production. However, discussions at a conference on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 once again brought to the fore the belief in some government and employers circles that the wilful and conscious deprivation of workers constitutional and […]

I WAS to attend the International Labour Organisation, ILO, Conference for two weeks in 2011 and was late in making accommodation arrangements in Geneva. I turned to Ambassador Ayo Olukanni, then Nigerian Deputy Ambassador in Vienna, Austria if he had somebody that can check out the hotels and make a booking. Olukanni had been like […]

THERE are optimists. Vice President Kashim Shettima is one. While many lament the negative effects of astronomical fuel price increases which have resulted in drastic traffic reduction on our roads, he sees the reduction as positive. In applauding this phenomenon, he posits that with the removal of fuel subsidy, the country may save over 15 […]

THE threat of the mighty United States of America, USA, on Tuesday, August 7, 2023  to invade little Niger Republic is not for its love of democracy, Nigeriens or Africans. It is basically in the nature of hawks to circle the sky looking for prey, especially chicks. There were American and French troops in Niger […]

Two different but related cries ring in my head. “Let the Poor breathe” and “I don’t want to die.” The first is the cry across the country as the masses are being suffocated by inflation and over 90 million poor get hungrier. The second is the plaintive cry of young medical doctor, Vwaere Diaso, whose […]

THE new military rulers in Niger Republic, the country which marked independence day on Thursday, August 3, 2023 have a Sunday ultimatum from the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS. It is that they give up power and restore elected President Mohammed Bazoum to power or face serious measures, including possible invasion. ECOWAS also […]

Violence was expected last Friday, July 28, 2023 when the Shia population in the country marked the Ashura Festival held worldwide by the Shiites. The prediction almost did not come to pass but for a last minute duel near the Wuse Market, Abuja when as usual, armed security men engaged the Shiites, and bullets flew. […]

EXACTLY 70 years separate the July 26, 1953 suicidal attack on Moncada Barracks by Cuban youths who wanted to remove the military from power, and this Wednesday’s coup in Niger Republic which removed elected President Mohamed Bazoum and restored military rule. The coup plotters, styling themselves as the National Council for the Safeguarding of the […]

Four female students of the Zamfara State College of Arts and Science, abducted by bandits six months ago, may know their fate this week. Their abductors have given the parents of the young ladies, one week within which to pay N12 million ransom or the victims will be married off. This may be an euphemism […]

I HAVE attended a few African Union, AU, Heads of State Summits and always came away with the impression that the agenda is always overloaded. But three things struck me about the July 16, 2023 meeting in Nairobi. First, its modest three-point objectives; fast-tracking the integration process in Africa; examining the Division of Labour among the […]