Last week, I made a “theoretical” case for the return of former President Goodluck Jonathan to power in 2027. It was an unusual intervention. Unusual because I was very critical of the Jonathan presidency and strongly condemned his barely disguised attempt at a comeback in 2023 after his re-election defeat in 2015. However, the intervention was […]

My recent visit to China, which I wrote about in this column two weeks ago (See China and live), opened my eyes as to what it takes to build strong nations. I have been privileged to travel to many countries globally, and in terms of development, China takes the cake. While here in Nigeria we continue […]

In our fast-paced and hyperconnected world, silence has become an endangered species. We live in a culture that worships the quick comeback, the instant response, or the rapid-fire exchange. In different spaces, be it in boardrooms, classrooms, newsrooms or buka shops, we’ve convinced ourselves that thinking time is wasted time. But what if we’ve got […]

Education to an ordinary person means no more than the process of passing across and imbibing or learning the practices, ways of life and arts of one’s fore-bearers usually orally or through observation and imitation. History tells us that every generation, since the beginning of human existence, somehow passed on its stock of values, traditions, methods and […]

The camp of the Nigerian opposition parties, made up largely of a mix of disaffected and/or expired politicians, has been in a ferment of excitement in the last few days after they came together under the umbrella of the African Democratic Congress, one of the lesser known political parties that make up the country’s political landscape. […]

“Intolerance begets intolerance and injury breeds injury” — Sir Richard F. Burton There were moments in history when the idea of international law was discarded in favour of unilateral acts that were conceived to advance the interests of certain classes of people in some countries. Law, legality, morality and justice, are inconvenient facts that have stood in […]

In many advanced democracies like the USA, Britain and even our regional neighbour, Ghana, elections are very competitive. A ruling government can be easily voted out. Opposition parties know their day of glory will come if they can get the people on their side. But here in Nigeria, to be in the opposition is akin to being […]

I wasn’t rooting for Chelsea to win the Club World Cup Quarter Final game against Palmeiras. Not me. It wasn’t just because my daughter supports every Brazilian team with the belief that Brazilian footballers are very good, using Neymar as an example, which carries some truth; but for other personal reasons.  Chelsea troubles Arsenal too much in […]

Pause a moment and wrap your mind around the revelation that Nigeria might not have had to borrow one kobo – if only its national oil company had been managed by honest citizens from the Chairmen of the Board of Directors to the gatemen.

The moment of revelation came unexpectedly on a high-speed train leaving Beijing, where a screen showed that 36 per cent of the train’s traction power came from wind energy. Outside, rows of wind turbines turned gracefully under the sun. For someone familiar with Nigeria’s unreliable grid—where diesel generators hum through the night and candles are often […]