At best, Nigeria’s democracy in this Fourth Republic has been wobbly, standing, as it were, on feet of clay. And a quarter of a century thence, rather than getting better, things have got worse as the politicians are busy dismantling all the guardrails of democracy – civic participation, which undergirds every genuine democratic project; the rule […]

How time flies! Five years ago, about this time, I wrote a column titled “At 60, my life and undying passion for Nigeria” (Vanguard, July 23, 2020). It was on the glorious occasion of my diamond jubilee, which this great newspaper, Vanguard, covered with special features, including a two-page birthday interview. Five years later, I’m celebrating […]

I must finish this report tonight” carries a very different weight from “I have to finish this report tonight.” Both express obligation, yet they reveal fundamentally different sources of motivation and authority. Understanding this distinction can change how you communicate leadership, manage relationships, and present yourself in professional settings. These two expressions of necessity might appear […]

Nigerian politicians thrive in chaos and take pleasure in gaining the unfair advantage. They would sooner violate extant conventions, regulations and laws that guide electoral contests than abide by them. There’s hardly any aspect of Nigeria’s electoral practice that is not spelt out in the guidelines provided by the Independent National Electoral Commission and these guidelines […]

“The formulation of a question is its solution”- Karl Marx It is little wonder that the “revelations” by the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, on the “mind-boggling” corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, that he revealed during a hearing of the Public Accounts Committees of […]

Many Nigerians expressed their shock that the late President Muhammadu Buhari, despite his  extremely nepotic rule, still attracted so much outpouring of eulogies at his graveside. I want to remind such people that even the Devil itself has admirers and fanatical devotees. That deranged people can strap themselves with explosive devices and detonate to kill themselves […]

Effect of education on the process of Independence   Prior to the coming of the missionaries to Nigeria and other African countries the continent had become a major attraction for explorers and merchants who were in search of new frontiers for trade. Eventually the scramble for Africa began ultimately culminating in the colonisation of Africa by the […]

Just when you think you have seen it all, something happens to convince you very strongly that all that journey is a circlical movement which has not taken you far from the point of departure at all. Like peddling away on a stationary bicycle at a fitness centre. Or expending so much energy and achieving very […]

“Only the thing for which you have struggled will last” — African proverb Two groups invited Nigerians to a wide-ranging summit in Abuja last week on a new constitution which may address some of the most basic problems we face as a nation. The Nigeria Political Summit Group and the Patriots joined their intimidating profiles to […]

Walk into almost any public school in Nigeria, and you feel the weight of history pressing down on the desks. Much of the system still operates to the rhythm of colonial-era regulations and syllabuses, which were conceived for a world that no longer exists. The design, the assumptions, the teaching style—all of it points backwards. Students […]