THE government of President Muhammadu Buhari could hardly contain its excitement. Professor Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations was going to be elected the President of the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA. It appeared a major diplomatic achievement. Like a groom stretching its neck to find out when the bride would step into the registry, the government  strained its neck to look into the UNGA.

The Nigerian political system is characterised by lack of mass participation, a mainly unaccountable leadership, violent elections lacking in credibility, and political parties that parade programmes without the input of those they want to govern.

A NIGERIAN genius, Odia Ofeimun asked me a rhetorical question: “How does a minority, which takes control of the majority, retain power?” He answered: “By force or falsehood.” I added: “Or both.” Although he raised it within  the context of the ethnocentric power relations in Nigeria, it is also true of Britain.

There is a pretence of a debate over the practice and funding of local governments in the country. The Federal Government, putting up a facade of defending local governments, rolled out new guidelines on their expenditure, including a maximum daily N500,000 cash withdrawal.

GOVERNOR Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State is a learned lawyer. He meant well for the state. One of the most laudable steps he took was signing into law the bill establishing the Public Property and Funds Recovery Tribunal 2017 aimed at recovering all stolen public assets and funds. The Tribunal has the mandate to recover state assets, including properties and monies stolen by past government officials, civil servants, companies, individuals and also prosecute looters.

IT was Sunday, May 12 near the port of Fujairah, in the Gulf of Oman, United Arab Emirate, UAE, when four commercial ships were bombed. Two of them, Amjad and Al Marzoqah are tankers owned by Saudi Arabia, the third, A. Michel, an UAE flagged fuel bunker barge and the fourth, a Norwegian tanker, the Andrea Victory.

IN my first year at the University of Ife (now OAU) a ‘National Sailing’ by a secret confraternity was scheduled for the campus. On the eve, the local branch held a procession at midnight. The procession stopped an ambulance conveying a student to the hospital asking it to switch off its lights. Tragically, the student later died.  A mourning student populace was enraged when news filtered that the confraternity had stopped the ambulance, even though it was for a few seconds.

WE came in from various parts of the country. The venue was the national offices of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in Abuja on April 13, 2019. Presiding was NLC President, Ayuba Wabba. This was the Nigeria Movement of Solidarity With Cuba, announcing Nigeria as the host of the sixth African Meeting of Solidarity With Cuba holding from September 23-25.

FOUR years ago, the Nigerian  social media had two major groups. ‘The Wailers’, so called because they were said to be wailing the loss of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the general elections. The other group was called the ‘Hailers’ because members hailed all that was good, bad and ugly in the new ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

THE world is getting richer and the poor, poorer. This was a major lamentation in May Day commemoration in many countries as workers marched across the globe egged on mainly by old, weary trade unions, many in need of rebirth. One of the most combustible places this May Day was Argentina where massive protests, some quite violent, blew out on the eve. The people said enough is enough, and took matters into their hands.

THE 2019 May Day is on Wednesday. May Day is both a distress call and a battle cry by workers. This year’s commemoration also marks the centenary of the International Labour Organisation, ILO, which has become the universal symbol of Labour. But just as May Day was born in the quite bloody circumstances of the 1886 state murder of American labour leaders, so was ILO born in the bloody peace treaty of the First World War; a war with 40 million casualties, including 19 million deaths.

UKRAINIANS who went to the polls last Sunday and elected the 41-year-old comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, as President over the billionaire incumbent, Petro Poroshenko, are not looking forward to comic shows. The state of their beloved country is not even tragi-comic; it is a tragedy. But having sought solution through professional politicians like former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and being disappointed; and having looked up to otherwise serious-minded business moguls like Poroshenko and found comedy, in desperation, they turned to a professional comedian, hoping for serious results that will extricate their country from its present quagmire.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari was Petroleum Minister from 1976-78 and  Governor of North-Eastern State, comprising  today’s Bauchi, Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Taraba and Adamawa states. He was also Head of State for 20 months from December 31, 1983. So when as a presidential candidate he told the country in 2011 that the much touted fuel subsidy is a fraud, it was assumed he knew what he was talking about. He asked the basic question: “Who is subsidizing who?”

AS part of international delegations, I met Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir thrice when he was President of Sudan. At the first meeting, the gate had opened and there was a land rover-like jeep with a handful of soldiers. I had reflected that the State House seemed lightly guarded.  Even state governors in Nigeria seemed far better protected. We were ushered into what I thought was a waiting room. We chatted and were waiting to be ushered to the president’s presence, only for him to appear.

IN an unprecedented and meaningless step, the United States President Donald Trump this Monday designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organisation. It is like designating the American Marines Corps a terrorist organisation. Some of the implications are that economic and travel sanctions would be imposed on the corps, and organisations that maintain ties with it will be sanctioned.