IN Nigeria, law has become the most dominant profession because many lawyers have managed to portray themselves as the only ‘learned’ people, and denigrated professions like Estate Management. Many lawyers are stupendously wealthy because they are able to compromise standards at the expense of their profession.

By Owei Lakemfa WHEN I was an undergraduate in the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, one of our teachers (not lecturer) was the famous Ugandan writer, Okot P’Bitek, author of best sellers like ‘Song of Lawino’ and ‘Song Of A Prisoner.’ We had two Nuns in the class and quite often, P’Bitek who came to class, […]

I GREW up in Obalende, one of the tough neigbourhoods on Lagos Island where the struggle for survival was a daily challenge. There was a tall, handsome boy who was older. He was the architect of a lot of schemes which got boys into trouble. But somehow, he was never caught. So he escaped punishment. As he grew into full teenagehood and expanded his territory of operation to other areas like Ikoyi and Lafiaji, he, to the best of my knowledge, escaped arrest unlike many of his collaborators. I no longer recall his name, because he became better known by his nickname, Escape.

ON the one hand, Africa is the foot mat of the West and United States,US. When going out or coming in, they wipe their feet on Africa. On the other, Latin America is their backyard where they play games including hide and seek.

HONOURABLE Oladipo Olatunde Adebutu, 57, is a wealthy Nigerian. He seems to have everything going well for him. He was elected into the National Assembly  in 1992, at 30. A Commissioner in Ogun State from 2007 and currently a member of the National Assembly from which he is aspiring to become the Executive Governor of Ogun State. His chances seem quite bright given the fractious state of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

GEORGE Jackson was in 1960, an 18-year-old American youth accused of robbing a gas station in Los Angeles and stealing $70. A wrong legal advice saw him pleading guilty ostensibly for a light sentence. But he was given a one year to life sentence. Which meant he would be eligible for parole in one year? 

By Owei Lakemfa I WAS at a friend’s place in Lagos in December. As I arrived, I overheard him having a discussion with a mutual friend. As I entered, he turned to me and asked: “Owei, what is the difference  between the truth and what is factual. I replied off hand: “The truth can be subjective, […]

AFRICA this Tuesday, January 15, scored a stunning victory at the Hague against the International Criminal Court, ICC,  a contraption  of the West to maintain a neo-colonial strangle hold on the continent. On that day, the ICC like hot potatoes, dropped the contrived charges against Lauren Gbagbo, the anti-imperialist politician and immediate past President of  Cote d’Voire, and ordered his immediate release.

AS a former newspaper Editor, I would not have published the Daily Trust lead story of January 6, 2019 titled: Military prepares massive operation to retake Baga, others, which led to the newspaper’s invasion by armed soldiers. My editorial judgement would not have been based on the army’s fairy tale that the story violated national security, but because it was primarily, a rehash of information that was already in the public space. I would have asked the reporter to provide fresh information or a new angle to the story.

THE United States (US) like a country under bombardment, scrambled its National Security Adviser, John Bolton and Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo into the air. Their flights are taking them through the Middle East primarily to reassure their allies that they are still committed to the fight against the Islamic State, ISIS, a Frankenstein monster they collectively reared and nurtured.

THEY were not advised visits. But the Pro-Democracy Movement had become badly depleted. The Abacha regime had forced quiet a number of activists underground. Some, like our leader, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti and Shehu Sani had been given life jail sentences, Ken Saro-Wiwa had been executed with eight other Minority campaigners, some activists had fled into exile and a number were in detention without trial

IN March 1952, three months before general elections, soldiers in a small country, Cuba, overthrew the government. The coup was led by a candidate and former military dictator, Colonel Fulgencio Batisa. Cuba itself was essentially a gambling and tourist country for fun-loving Americans whose mafia led by Charles Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky also ran the gambling and prostitution rings. The coup which enjoyed the approval of America seemed a settled matter. But some young Cubans, including students and young ladies, decided  enough was enough; no longer would their country be played around like football. They decided to arouse the populace to an insurrection.

By Owei Lakemfa BROTHER Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State  has made a call on President Muhammadu Buhari  to set the tone for a debate on  restructuring in the country. I don’t know why people like teasing the President who had said he does not know what restructuring means even when it was in his […]

AMERICAN President, Donald Trump was four when the Korean War broke out in 1950. In three years, the war sucked in more than 40 countries, most, under the United Nations, UN, banner. Two and a half million people died in the war. America suffered 36,568 dead and  103,284 injured. All the countries returned home except America which today, maintains 23,468 combatants in Korea. This is 68 years later.

IT was like a coup announcement when on December 4, the Nigeria Army broadcast  it had ousted the  United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF, from the North-East where the country is flushing out Boko Haram terrorists.