General Lucky Irabor, CFR,Nigeria’s immediate past Chief of Defence Staffis 60 today. Not much of the usual glamorous celebration was arranged for the worthy soldier and most famous Commander of the popular Operation Lafiya Dole – a Nigerian military counter-insurgencyoperation against Boko Haram and other extremist groups in the Northeast of the country. Two days earlier, […]

“Upon assumption of office, our administration ended the corrupt fuel subsidy regime… Our armed forces and security agencies are working tirelessly against terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping. Boko Haram/ISWAP in the North in the North-East IPOB/ESN in the South-East, in the North-West are being degraded. We salute the gallantry and sacrifices of our security operatives” – President […]

Today’s headline is taken from a South African newspaper, Sowetan. It derived its name from Soweto, an abbreviation of South Western Townships, suburbs in southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. In the 20th century, the Townships housed Black workers for the gold mines and eventually became a major symbolic center of the anti-apartheid struggle.  No wonder […]

Ikunle Abiyamo (The kneeling of the mother) That is what the Yorubas call it when women prepare to give birth It can be literal or figurative Whether the birth takes place as you push on your kneesyelling yourself hoarse Or you lie with your feet spread wide apart  while a new being almost splits you apart […]

Democracy returned but remained shallow. Institutions were rebuilt but corruption endured. Nigerians felt hopeful yet skeptical