I have often wondered if Nigerians understand the difference between ruling and leading. I said this because, the insults and innuendoes bandied about recently regarding level of education; semi-illiterates, Ph.D holders speak volumes. Nigeria needs a leader not a ruler. We are a democratic country aren’t we?

You cannot be a complete person until you learn to empathise, that is, put yourself in the position or situation of others. I have always loved and respected my parents-in-law since I met them; they are nice people and we are now one family. Moreover they allowed me marry their daughter without any hassles even though I was a complete stranger when I met them.

I love the thought of a New Year. I love the notion that the good, the bad and the ugly of the past year are behind me and I can start on a new slate. It’s a form of closure and I love it. I also like the feeling of having a blank page, a white canvass to play with. I love the energy of the first few days as I try to plan the year and luxuriate on the purity of my vast, virgin canvass. In many ways, it is like a new birth.

I must apologise to my readers for absconding from my weekly assignment without due notice. I went in search of better sight and improved hearing. Though I can now see and hear a little bit better. I must confess that my sight is being blurred by the devastation of Boko-Haram bombs and my ears are blocked by nasty rumours of impending post-election reactions.

Meanwhile, a Fulani friend gloomily informed me two years ago (we were discussing President Goodluck Jonathan’s unimpressive performance and wondering whether he would up his game before he completed his first term) that his people often say that one can tell by Wednesday what kind of weekend one is likely to have. Both statements, though contradictory, make sense. Wilson’s implies that political outcomes can never be accurately predicted because anything – ie, all manner of unexpected developments – can happen during any seven-day timespan. The Fulani one implies that most outcomes can be predicted on the basis of recent occurrences.

Is’haq Modibbo Kawu LAST Tuesday, December 30, 2014, will go down as one of the darkest days in the practice of Nigerian foreign policy. That day, the  administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, BETRAYED the proud history of Nigeria’s support for the rights of oppressed peoples, long regarded as the central core of our country’s foreign […]

AFTER the very successful carnival organized by the Resident Youth Association, RYA, Oregbeni Housing Estate, Benin City, at which this writer was a Guest Speaker, it has become clear that the good life begins from the grassroots. The Oregbeni Community is situated at Ikpoba Hill on the Eastern flank of Benin City. A community that was once at the outskirts of Benin City in the Greater Oredo Municipality is today at the centre of Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area. The very interesting history of this community shall be left for another day.

IN just over a month, Nigerians will be going to the polls to elect a new president. Even though the stakes are quite high it does not look like a presidential election is around the corner. The campaign period seems all too short. More so for President Goodluck Jonathan whose presidency seems to be running on oxygen for the few weeks left, with little room to manoeuvre to say nothing of convincing the alienated voter.

THERE is no denying the fact that 2014 was a year few Americans will be in a hurry to forget. It was a year in which the infamous Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) raised brutality to higher pedestals with the decapitation of innocent Americans and people of other nationalities in the name of religion and other banalities the group claims to represent.

Nothing better encapsulates the pathetic nature of the current re-branding of Muhammadu Buhari than his sudden appearance in a black western suit; something that has not happened before.