From last week continues the text of the nationwide broadcast by President Goodluck Jonathan defending his declaration on May 14, 2013 of a state of emergency in three states: Adamawa, Borno and Yobe following worsening insurgency by terrorists groups in the states.  We have a duty to stand firm against those who threaten the sovereign integrity […]

When doctors recommend 16 major surgeries and 21 minor ones for a patient, no divination is needed to tell you the patient is in a grave situation. This is the situation with the Nigerian electoral process where teams of civil society associations have recommended 21 constitutional   and 16 Electoral Act amendments.   These were presented on September 23, […]

It is no longer news that on Wednesday, 17 September 2025, I honoured the invitation by the X-Squad Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, Imo State Command, over allegations of “Criminal Defamation of the Governor of Imo State” and “conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.”

“Life is one long process of getting tired” – Samuel Butler, 1835-1902. The famous English writer lived 67 years and spent about ten of those suffering from very painful gout. I was 32 when his observation came to my attention; and it was immediately included in my collection of quotations. For someone who had known only […]

As the tenure of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman for Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, is about to end, it is time to appoint a replacement. The assignment is a big deal in Nigeria because the country runs a system of strong men instead of strong institutions. In another clime, all that is needed to be […]

Etymology shows that the phrase ‘different strokes for different folks’ has its origin from the US in the 50s. It was however, the boxing legend, Muhammad Ali who is said to have popularised it in November 1966 while explaining his boxing strategy during his many fights. Why am I bringing this here? It is because […]

“…And if you do not have a sword, sell your cloth and buy one”— Luke 22-36 As we approach the 2027 elections, Nigerians must brace for two possibilities: one, a peaceful change of government by democratic means, or two, a resistance to dislodge a sit-tight regime insistent on the control of the levers of power. If […]

Lagos is a bustling coastal city, so its vulnerability to floods is natural. But with a culture of indiscriminate refuse disposal, haphazard building developments, and lousy town planning enforcement, Lagos is the cause of much of its own flooding woes. Often, governments come like pirates or parasites — ravenous and impatient, looking for what and where […]

Much more should be done in memory of all those who died in the military plane crash that claimed over 200 persons in the Isheri Oshun part of Lagos on Saturday September 26, 1992. It is thirty three years since that unfortunate incident. Many of those the officers left behind are still in tears. Some of them […]

A friend of mine reached out to me recently. He needed assistance to pay his children’s school fees. He is not alone. Earlier in the week, I read a news report that “some parents in Enugu metropolis have expressed worry over what they described as `unbearable’ increase in tuition fees and levies charged by most private and […]

Two strong disruptions to Nigeria’s democratic flow in March 2025 were seemingly repaired recently with the dramatic restoration of Governor Siminilayi Fubara to the helm of affairs in Rivers State and the reinstatement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Senate after months of suspension.  On the surface, both restorations may appear as victories for democracy, yet when […]

Humans are created with two legs. We use them mainly for mobility and for balance. Medical Science has since found though, that legs serve a lot more uses than just mobility and balance. Certain ailments for example, can be suspected just by looking at the condition of one’s legs. Healthy legs can therefore indicate healthy hearts and […]

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Nigeria’s lifeline from decades of rot in the petroleum downstream, has to fight every inch for its turf. The fight started 18 years ago, when the refinery was only an idea.  In 2007, those who swore that a refinery – any refinery, public or private – would only work over their dead […]

RIGHT now, the 80th United Nations General Assembly, UNGA is holding in New York, the United States. This year, unlike on previous occasions, our president is not attending. Instead, Vice President Kashim Shettima is standing in for the president and has already delivered the Nigerian national address to the UN body. The key takeaways from the speech […]

President Bola Tinubu, at a meeting in the Villa on Wednesday, conferred  posthumous national honours on the late Ogoni Four – Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, Samuel Orage – and urged the people of Ogoniland to come together after decades of division. He said: “May their memories continue to inspire unity, courage and purpose among […]