Calypso: Enslaved African gift and its Mighty Sparrow, by Owei Lakemfa
Slinger Francisco, better known as Mighty Sparrow, the “Calypso King of the World”, flew away on September 27, 2026. He was ninety. Calypso music was invented in the seventeenth century by African slaves in Trinidad who had mainly been taken from the Ibibio, Efik and Igbo peoples in present-day Nigeria and Congo. It is generally […]
Our leaders eat on behalf of the people
As a Nigerian, I worry a lot about the army of beggars and the hungry on the streets. I reflect a lot on the saying that if the poor have nothing to eat, they will eat the rich. I reason that hunger is a major feeder of the growing army of kidnappers, bandits and terrorists.
Dribbling Johnson on Brexit and Trump in Syria
By Owei Lakemfa One of the largest religions in the world is football. It is also the most non-sectarian of the lot. At the heart of football are the dribblers; they are the prophets and chief priests of this religion. They are the game makers and changers whose mesmerizing footwork is a primary […]
Sense and nonsense: Thesis on governance in Nigeria
A trite is that there is nothing new under the sun. However, governance in Nigeria demonstrates that a lot of things can be new under the sun. For instance, there were widespread announcements mainly in the ubiquitous social media that 77-year-old President Muhammadu Buhari was getting married to a newly appointed minister. I am sure we all knew it was a joke because it is no joke running a complex country like Nigeria. So, adding another woman to a matrimonial home with a strong matriarch can be quite combustible.
The Kurds as burnt offering
By Owei Lakemfa PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Sunday October 6 disclosed on phone to his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdoan, that America was withdrawing its troops with immediate effect from northern Syria. His tone indicated that America was abandoning its Kurdish ‘allies’ at the mercy of merciless Turkey. Erdogan took the […]
We’ve paid toll before stepping on the road
There is a tradition in Nigeria to pay for services not rendered. Electricity companies refuse to provide pre-paid metres and bill you while supplying darkness. You are made to pay multiple taxes similar to ransom because it is a hostage situation. Apart from spending the petro-dollars, internally generated revenue and foreign loans, our government is ever in need of more money. Don’t ask me what it is used for; I am a patriot. For this, we are made to pay tax on virtually everything, including communication tax, cash withdrawal tax, cash deposit tax, stamp duty on bank account, stamp duty on POS transaction and higher Value-Added- Tax for Tax-Devalued-Life
