The bazaar  of  partisan politics is in open swing. The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC,  which has been attracting opposition politicians to itself like magnet, held its National Summit  on May 22, 2025 inside the Aso Rock Presidential Palace. The venue is symbolic of the President’s powers and could not  be a conducive atmosphere for free debates […]

One of the memorable moments from the presidential campaign ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 elections featured then ruling party candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the Chatham House in London in December 2022 allocating to leading members of his entourage responsibility for answering various questions from members of the public.

I have made this point at various points in this column, that for a nation to claim “independence,” or legitimacy, it must have sovereign control of its state institutions. It should never be a transactional or “contract state.” Is Nigeria a sovereign state? I do not think so, because, currently, Nigeria does not seem in […]

Exactly three (3) weeks ago, that is, Sunday May 11, 2025, this column predicted that “Nigeria’s judiciary was set to rescue itself.” The article made several fundamental points. First, that Chief Justice Kudirat Kekere Ekun had chosen to depart from the course of timidity to which her predecessors had put themselves. Oh yes; rather than […]

“A precedent embalms a principle” – William Scott, 1745-1836, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 198 “Politicians are their own grave diggers” – Will Rogers, 1897-1935, VBQ p 191. I clocked 81 last month; and, if asked to list ten things which provide me with the most satisfaction, watching the gradual death of the People […]

He didn’t react. Not because it didn’t hurt but because men have been conditioned to absorb moments like that without flinching

Asa performed at the opening ceremony of the Games. Her rendition of the National Anthem was the best I have ever heard

In 2023, I cast my vote for Tinubu, eyes wide open, heart half-hoping. Yet now, I confess— he has let me down. I knew it wasn’t the Yoruba’s turn. I saw the arrogance in Emilokan — a brazen affront to equity’s call. Still, I backed him. I backed him after rooting for Amaechi in the […]

The whole world, not just the Catholic or the Christian faithful, welcomed the announcement of the new Pope with joy and possibly expectation. The euphoria that surrounded this announcement as captured by the media, cut across race and religion. It was the joy of a world searching for a true, non-partisan, non- sectarian leadership. In […]

When Senator Orji Uzor Kalu sought out reporters last Tuesday to admire his new dress sprinkled with President Bola Tinubu’s second-term campaign insignia, it only reminded one of the fervour little children have for their Christmas or Sallah clothes. For Orji Kalu, it was certainly not Christmas. The last genuine Christmas festivity for him was […]

President Bola Tinubu must task the Vice President with the job of making Borno State calm again. Professor Babagana Zulum deserves commendation for braving difficult conditions in search of normalcy. We all need Maiduguri to be peaceful, like in the past. The problem I have with Kanuri leaders is that they have not been able […]

In June 1990, the then military government awarded the contract for the dualisation of the Benin to Effurun road to Daewoo E and C Nigeria Limited. The 149.1 kilometer road was completed in December 1992. It was one of the best roads in Nigeria then. The road was so good that a journey from Effurun/ […]

The world has never been short of demagogues and fools, but the remedies have often matched the supply. In 1990, during President Nelson Mandela’s thank-you tour of the world, he was asked at the City College of New York, Harlem, NY., why he remained friends with Muammar Gaddafi, Yasser Arafat, and Fidel Castro. He replied that […]

APOLOGY Please bear with me. The past couple of weeks have been really tough for all sorts of personal and professional reasons. I didn’t write this column last week and can’t write anything this week. So let me please leave you in the highly capable hands of my uncle, Jonas Odocha, who recently penned this […]

TODAY’s edition is the second instalment of the conversation with the above headline. I assert again that our country is currently witnessing a barbarian invasion. As a student of strategic intelligence, I construe a barbarian invasion as a siege laid to a people or group of peoples with distinct, thriving cultures in their territory by armed bands […]