When Nigerians celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Adha next Friday, it will be exactly two weeks since the terrorists, now identified as a faction of Boko Haram, ended the peace of two communities in Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota, both in Oriire LGA in Ogbomoso, Oyo State. There these terror artists abducted about fifty Nigerians, mostly school pupils, […]

“Open Sesame, Open!” Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves In the folklore of the Middle East,  as chronicled in the “One Thousand and One Nights Tales”, the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves has endured through generations as a parable of greed, deception and organised banditry. The story revolves around a secret vault hidden […]

What is the opposition in Abia State really up to? I have never seen such a confused lot. Just a little while ago, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ben Okezie Kalu, postured as the biggest threats to the state’s high-flying incumbent governor, Dr. Alex Otti. After each had […]

The gathering of stakeholders last week in Lagos to look at policy support for the telecommunications industry, suddenly communicated the painful reality that Nigeria has continued to operate the sector with a document of over two and a half decades, whose relevance has since been overwhelmed by the multiplicity of technological developments and nuanced growth in […]

From last week continues the narrative about creation of new states in Nigeria. By the way, talking about Brigadier Ally reminds me of his loyalty and service to this great country. In 1954, the late Brigadier Godwin Ally, who hailed from Ogoja province, was in the first set of young boy soldiers to attend the Nigerian Military […]

By Suleiman A. Suleiman In the first instalment of this series last week, I made three points. First, I argued, against the grain, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent creation of a parallel Special Adviser on “Homeland Security” is not an administrative or operational adjustment. It is, I said, a purely political move that signals […]

Six days after the October 1, 1960 independence of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa stood before the United Nations, UN. The historical mission of Nigeria he said,  is to develop  Africa, the continent which gave birth to humanity and modern civilization.  The date was October 7, 1960 in the hallowed chambers of the […]

There is an African arrives at a new place it stands on one leg proverb which says that when a chicken By so doing, it observes the new environment to observe what goes around there before it now puts the second leg down to compete with other chickens it met on ground. That is the […]

If you want to live long Master the art of counting one to ten whenever someone upsets you If you are still not calm after ten Count to twenty If you want to live long Know where witches and wizards live They don’t live in your village It is not your stepmother or mother-in-law  I […]

In every democracy, there is usually an Election Management Board (EMB) which serves as the electoral umpire to determine the winner of an electoral game. Nigeria’s EMB is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) whose name has challenged severally over the years. At a point, it was known as the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO). It was […]

Genesis 1 vs. 27 (KJV): “ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them”. We all know that the Almighty God created the first man and woman. He created them and provided for them, food in the form of vegetables and animals. […]

“Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori (Latin): Translation: “It is sweet and honourable to die for your country” – Horace, 65-8 B.C. “They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But in the modern day, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You […]

Long before she faces opponents at the ballot box, she is expected to manage perception at home, in public, and in between

The political troubles now trailing Lagos lawmaker and Nollywood actor, Desmond Elliot, may appear on the surface like a local Surulere power tussle. But beneath the noise is a deeper revelation about the way President Bola Tinubu has managed his political empire for decades, particularly in Lagos, where his authority has rested on a careful balance […]

A close friend told me a story last week that was very touching. It was about someone he had helped decades ago but who never lost touch. Every Christmas, every New Year and every birthday, he would send prayerful messages followed by calls. Then, last Easter, he made a request for a physical meeting. My […]