Early morning Sunday, December 7, 2025, while many Beninois slept, hoping to go to church, mosque and traditional places of worship at dawn, some members of their armed forces fanned out. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Paschal Tigri, they planned to bring the people under their claws. At 05:00 they attacked the Presidential Palace and then retreated […]

TWO major ironies are staring Nigeria in the face at the moment, in so far as it concerns air travel. A few days ago,  the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development rolled out the drums to celebrate 100 years of civil aviation in Nigeria. An international air show was organised and held in Abuja, among other events, […]

At the time Lucy Kibaki, wife of Mwai Kibaki, the third President of Kenya, died at the Bupa Cromwell Hospital, South West London, on April 26, 2016, aged 75, she had the unenviable reputation of being Kenya’s grouchiest First Lady. In the ten years her husband was in office (2002-2013), she was, in the words of […]

Twelve years after I last came to Nigeria in 2013, I returned home last month. The purpose? To launch my new book, “In The National Interest: The Road to Nigeria’s Political, Economic and Social Transformation.” The event, held at the famous MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, on Thursday, November 20, 2025, was both memorable and splendid. Indeed, […]

I’ll never forget the Monday morning my supervisor called me into his office. “I’ve reviewed your proposal,” he said, sliding the document across his desk. It was covered in red ink. My heart sank. My face grew hot. Before he could say another word, I heard myself launching into explanations: “I didn’t have enough time,” “The […]

It is so irritating that some mischievous elements in the deservedly dying Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from the Ngwa axis in Abia State have continued to tease the Governor of the State, Dr Alex C. Otti (CON) with the issue of whether or not he is a full-blooded Ngwa person. I saw a recent Facebook post […]

Less than two weeks after the self-orchestrated coup that led to the ouster of then incumbent president of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Embalo, another coup was staged in Benin Republic of President Patrice Talon. It would have been the latest successful coup in the West African sub-region since Mali opened the door that is fast leading […]

“A nation is great not by its size alone, but by the justice it upholds and the ideals it serves”— Jean Juares There is a tendency in contemporary African discourse to reduce France to a set of political quarrels, historical grievances, and present-day misalignments. In the heated rhetoric of the Sahel, France is spoken of only […]

I am obviously excited that the Nigerian government is going to build 4,000 telecom towers in order to boost the capacity of the nation’s telecommunications backbone. A happy Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, informed, last week, that it was one of the decisions taken at the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting.  Good reasons, […]

Continued from last week Economic Reforms As part of the ongoing exercise, there is urgent need for economic reforms. Regrettably, Nigeria is one of the poorest countries in the world. Having regard to the natural resources, including minerals, grassland, savannah, tropical and rain forest region, we should be one of the richest countries in the world. […]

From last week continues the narrative on the emergence of Dr Moses Majekodunmi as administrator of Western Nigeria following the declaration of emergency rule. Dr Majekodunmi had gone ahead to make key  appointments, including Prince Daniel Ademiluyi who served as  Commissioner/Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Prince Adeleke Ademiluyi was elected to the Western House of […]

“A person is a person only because of other people”- African proverb It is unlikely that any appointment made by President Bola Tinubu has generated the levels of interest and mixed reactions like the recent appointment of General Christopher G. Musa did. A few weeks ago, this officer with the fortune to have nine admirers out […]

By Dele Sobowale NNPCL is the only state-owned oil producing organization in the entire world which has become a perpetual drag on the nation’s progress. Last week, just as the nation was celebrating the declaration of Ntn profits from operations last year, Nigerians were once again reminded that very little has changed in the management of […]

The International Press Institute, IPI, Nigeria, part of a global network of editors, journalists  and media executives, on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, blacklisted three serving Nigerian leaders.  It found  Governor Umo Bassey Eno of Akwa Ibom, his Niger State counterpart,  Umaru Bago,  and the Inspector General of Police,  IGP, Kayode Egbetokun guilty of suppressing press freedom across […]

On 26 November 2025, Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, announced in a statement personally signed by him that he had “decided to declare a nationwide security emergency” to be accompanied by some measures, including the recruitment by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Armed Forces of 20,000 and 50,000 new personnel respectively.