Remaining sane in an increasingly insane world, by Owei Lakemfa
It appears the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of world oil passed before the US–Iran war, was one of the most urgent tasks of humanity. The United States has, for six months, been unable to re-open this vital artery, which handled 100–140 commercial ships daily. Then, like magic, Oman and Iran reached […]
Conversations in Beijing
WE gathered at the Communication University, CUC, Beijing. We were media and Communication scholars from a dozen countries. Eleven from Africa, and host China. It was for frank discussions on how Africans and the Chinese perceive themselves, and how to advance mutual interests. The gathering this Saturday, November 10, 2018 chaired by Professor Zhang Yanqiu, the CUC Director of African Communication Research Centre was not primarily concerned about the misinformation peddled by other countries and institutions worried about the growing cooperation between the African and Chinese people.
Understanding China from the Great Wall
I STAND on the Great Wall of China. Not for the first time. This time on Monday, November 5, peering down at sprawling Beijing, and literarily, the whole of the country. Trying to understand this gigantic dam almost going burst; whose waters of over production, full financial rivers and fast rapids of technological leaps and knowledgeable labour, is being systematically, released on the world.
We can hold politicians accountable outside their manifestoes
WITH the approach of the February 2019 elections, we are back in the season when the political class, like Father Christmas, come with packages. But while the latter comes with gifts, the packages of the politician are promissory. They are promises which in many instances are not kept after the votes have been secured.
Human Caravan: Poverty anywhere is danger to prosperity everywhere
A BEAUTIFUL looking lady, perhaps in her mid- twenties, smiles into the camera. The chubby-cheeked child she is carrying is wearing a cap, but he is shirtless. They are part of the over 7,200 Latin Americans who embarked on an estimated 17-day walk towards the United States, US, border.
A country that exports jobs, imports poverty
THIS period has been a sobering one for me even as the country appears gripped in the excitement of politicking leading to the general elections next February. I am not excited about whether incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari will be returned or be flushed out of office. I am more preoccupied by the unquantifiable damage our leaders have inflicted on us especially since the 1980s by their incomprehensible, illogical, slavish and criminal de-industrialisation of the country and the attendant massive job losses that has turned our once promising country into the world’s capital of poverty.
