Internationalist Segun Osoba, reunites Nigerian radicals, by Owei Lakemfa
The internationalist, intellectual, radical historian and generally accepted leader of the Nigerian Left, Olusegun Osoba, left on May 14, 2026, at 92. What followed the exit of a man who greatly influenced and led three generations of Nigerian radicals was a twenty-six-day programme of celebrating his life, times and works. It was as if a father […]
Tunji Bello: In the flight of youth
By Owei Lakemfa The early 1980s were the furnace in which the activism that gave birth to radical student unionism, anti-military rule and the pro-democracy movement were forged. In 1978, the military regime had smashed central student unionism, expelled principled student leaders and lecturers across the country. In December 1980, the remnants of the student leadership […]
Challenging Spanish-Moroccan contempt for African sovereignty
By Owei Lakemfa IT is incredible, but true. A serving African Head of State had COVID-19 infection. He could not be treated in his country. A sister African country which came to his aid, concluded he needed specialist treatment which was available in an European country. It contacted the latter which agreed that the sick African President could be sent […]
Aviation hardly gives passengers a second chance to survive
By Owei Lakemfa Nigeria is leadership-challenged at all levels, including an inability to regulate basic sectors. While the effects will be slow to manifest, the failure to properly regulate the aviation industry is quite frightening. No, I am not referring to the frequent crashes of military aircraft. I am talking about large civil passenger airlines. […]
Chinese Communist Party Centenary: Remoulding the world in its image
By Owei Lakemfa IT was Monday, November 5, 2018. I was engaged in my favourite past time whenever I visit China; climbing the Great Wall. Below it, the country sprawled and you could have a bird’s eye view. As I write, I have the feeling that as the compass Communist Party of China, CPC […]
Exorcising Twitter and other witches
I blame the handlers of President Muhammadu Buhari for leading him into the Twitter nest. In the first place, how could they have allowed the President of the largest Black nation in the universe to be chirruping like a bird? Worse still, he would have been lured to tweeting any time of the day like […]
Standing the world on its head
SOME years ago, as Secretary General of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity, OATUU, I had diplomatic immunity provided directly by my host, Ghana; my country, Nigeria and the African Union which extended to me the privilege of its diplomatic passport. With the AU passport, I entered and exited countless African countries without visa […]
The Battles of Ibadan in the June 12 Uprising
By Owei Lakemfa The bloody five-year pro-democracy uprising that forced the military back to the barracks after a cumulative 29-year military dictatorship began on Monday July 5, 1993. Hundreds of lives were lost. Some of the bloodiest battles were fought in Ibadan on Tuesday April 14 and Friday May 1, 1998. Ibadan is the traditional […]
Perpetrators, apologists and heirs of genocide
By Owei Lakemfa They were five days that began to reset the world. Days in which significant steps were taken to redress years of senseless and mind boggling genocide against hapless peoples while the rest of humanity watched unconcerned. The five days of May 27 to June 1, 2021 provided some relief, and assurance that humanity […]
Aregbesola and Africa’s problematic search for leadership
By Owei Lakemfa Abdulrauf Adesoji Aregbesola, the Minister of Internal Affairs is an enigma with a knack for attracting youths and maintaining a devoted followership. Since his days as the chief mass mobiliser in Alimosho-Lagos, Works Commissioner in Lagos State, berthing in Osun State with his ‘governance unusual’ and current station, his work and charisma […]
Shifting Nigeria’s foreign policy despite its unconstitutionality
By Owei Lakemfa ON the eve of Africa Day, this Monday, May 24, 2021, soldiers went to Malian President, Bah Ndaw, not to salute him, but pick him like a chicken. They did the same for the Prime Minister Moctar Ouane. The duo was taken to the Kati Military Camp, Bamako. The soldiers were carrying […]
Nigeria’s full of cracks that need fixing not negotiations
By Owei Lakemfa A country, like a multi-storey building, may not collapse of a sudden; it starts with cracks. The cracks maybe a symptom of greater magnitude that might not be immediately visible. They may be due to improper structural design and specifications, structural stress, poor construction or poor maintenance. The solution is not to […]
The beatification of a coup plotter
By Owei Lakemfa Mahamat Idriss Deby, 37, bedecked in the military fatigue of a four-star General spotting a red beret and some decoration on his chest, was seen at the Nigeria Aso Rock Presidential Villa on Friday, May 14, 2021. He had at least two other four star generals in similar fatigue in red and […]
Poor Hadiza Bala Usman, forced to grow too quickly
By Owei Lakemfa HADIZA Bala Usman, politician and social activist, was until last Thursday, May 6, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA. But on that day, President Muhammadu Buhari yanked her off and ordered an investigation of her stewardship in the agency. As in almost all such cases, the report of the […]
Celebrating Eddie Madunagu: International revolutionary at 75
By Owei Lakemfa Many in my generation first encountered the name Eddie Madunagu when we started actively reading newspapers. He was a passionate Nigerian the Gowon regime threw into jail from January to May 1975 for fighting to end military rule and injustice and enthroning a Nigeria free of exploitation, poverty and want. In fact, […]
Bob Marley’s first 40 years of leaving us
By Owei Lakemfa One day I shall always remember is May 11, 1981. Nigeria was in turmoil. There were protests across the country while some cities were deserted. Factories were closed as were offices. There was hope in the streets and fear in government houses. The country was in the grip of a general […]
