Some four years ago, when the then candidate Bola Tinubu felt hemmed in by friends and foes alike and saw his political ambition to become the President of the country slipping away, he made the famous ‘Emi l’okan’ statement at a gathering of APC faithful in Ogun State. It was a statement which bewildered many people, including, […]

With the current leadership deficit facing the country, Abia State governor, Dr. Alex Otti believes the best way out is for competent people to jump into the murky water of politics instead of crying buckets over non performance. Otti was a banker, rising to the enviable position of Managing Director before veering into politics. So far, he […]

Without good faith, democracy is a scam. An electoral process governed by arbitrariness rather than fair play is every drug cartel’s dream. The police, electoral officers and judges are groomed and planted, part of the syndicate. Election riggers triumph. Judicial decisions are bought. Those who bought the elections sell political offices. The hopes of the poor in […]

Listening to Kenyan President William Ruto diss Nigerians with a smile from faraway Italy, one would think he had taken a page from Amos Tutuola’s The Palm-Wine Drinkard. It was obvious that Ruto assumed Nigerians spoke that variety of unconventional English rendered by Tutuola in his story of magical realism from Yoruba mythology.  Yes, Tutuola’s English […]

May Day! May Day!! May Day!!! The desperate calls from Chicago, United States workers in 1886, taken up by workers of the world, now sounds more desperate. But the world seems to have gone deaf with the May Day calls becoming almost inaudible. In fact, the US, the country from which May Day emanated, does not […]

THE week ending today began with a harvest of horrific incidents: Three persons have been killed and two others abducted after armed men attacked mourners returning from a burial in Sati-Ikov council ward of the Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue State; while in neighbouring Plateau State, two persons were injured in  a fresh terror attack; while […]

To several Nigerians, Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, should not run for president next year. Some cite age, others zoning. On the first, the general view is that, at 80 years old by the time of the next presidential election in January 2027, Atiku would be too old to run for president. On the second, […]

No one left the auditorium of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs on Thursday, April 23, 2026, unsure of what Abia State Governor Dr Alex Otti said at the 2026 TheNiche Annual Lecture with the theme, “Governing the Economy: Choices, Trade-offs, and National Priorities.” He spoke loud and clear. In a country where political leaders have […]

Dear readers, Last Tuesday, I watched a promising young professional nearly destroy her reputation in 47 seconds. She was on a Zoom call with her team—camera off, as usual. When her manager asked for an update on the quarterly report, she responded with what she thought was casual confidence: “Yeah, I’m handling it. It’s not that […]

The past two weeks have been hectic. Some issues of life related to  growing up and expressing deserved final greetings to those who have done well and have undertaken that ultimate journey for the well-deserving. And for the young ones starting the journey of life, to begin to look at a future full of promises unperturbed […]

When ADC politicians of the David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola faction held their so-called summit in the name of Nigerian opposition parties in Ibadan last week, one prayer that must have filled their hearts is that their legal battle at the Supreme Court with the Nafiu Bala Gombe’s faction of their party should turn out in […]

“The price of greatness is responsibility”— Winston Churchill The late Alhaji (Uncle) Waziri Ibrahim, leader and presidential candidate of the Great Nigeria People’s Party, GNPP, once campaigned around the memorable theme “Politics Without Bitterness.” The slogan captured the imagination of Nigerians across generational and regional divides. It evoked the promise of a politics anchored in decency, […]

Former Vice President and Waziri of Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar, will never be President of Nigeria, unless some unforeseen miracle happens. Having tracked his political odyssey as a reporter and columnist since his 1992 debut under the tutelage of the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua’s People’s Democratic Movement, PDM, I have isolated two terminal character flaws […]

On May 27, 1967, the then Head of State, General Yakubu Dan-Yumma Gowon (91), said: “The main obstacle to future stability in this country is the present structural imbalance in the Nigeria Federation”. No doubt, the General’s statement is as true today as at when he made the broadcast. It was in the broadcast that he […]

By Dele Sobowale One of the paradoxes of economics is threatening to create a food crisis later during the year. Last year January, escalating food prices dragged headline inflation towards 35 per cent. A 50 kilogram bag of rice was going for N80- 100,000 – depending on location. Governor Bago of Niger State was contemplating placing embargo […]