Election without political parties: outlook towards 2027, by Usman Sarki
“Political parties created democracy, and modern democracy is unthinkable save in terms of the parties.” — E. E. Schattschneider I sometimes wonder if Schattschneider would review his opinion on the centrality of political parties in a democratic dispensation if he had anticipated the situation in Nigeria today. In 2022, I was invited to serve as […]
2016 Olympics: Team Nigeria, Failure Foretold
Jamaica. Bahamas. What happened to us? We became rich, and foolish? Before our athletes started running for inconsequential countries like Qatar, our teams at international meets had started having more officials than competitors. We once dominated the sprints and gunned for boxing medals. Now, we are in Brazil with one real sprinter , and only one boxer. Prayers are good.
Oil Rally: Flash in the Pan
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rallied between US$43 andUS$46.62 a barrel in the last one week. It gave hope that glimmered in our hearts of a positive signal that the market may witness a bullish run in the low fifties in the fourth quarter, Q4 of 2016. It might have been cheering news for some countriesthat have been threatened by depressing oil prices. Some that have devalued their currencies and forced to austere economic measures may contemplate adjustments in higher benchmarks as they prepare for the 2017 fiscal year.
The fool in his heart
The fool has said in his heart that there is no God. He has therefore no basis to believe that God would be speaking to anyone. By the same token, anyone who says God speaks to him is a liar and there is no truth in him. To aver that the belief in the Deity is an inheritance of falsehood, and trickery even, has been a mark of knowledge, though not discernment, that men of letters have always ascribed to themselves, and the astuteness of their intellect, down the ages.
A soluble problem?
We keep receiving conflicting and confusing information about the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, the militant group that has been waging war on the Nigerian Government and inflicting huge losses on the oil industry for the past few months.
Guantanamo: Ode to impunity
They usually die young; the prophets of their generation. Patrice Lumumba in Congo; Franz Fanon, Algeria; Ernesto Che Guavera, Cuba; Thomas Sankara in Bourkina Faso and Bob Marley of Jamaica. Some live long like Fidel Castro who on August 13, clocked 90, decorated with medals of an unprecedented 600 attempts on his life by the United States. But why will a civilized country set out so many times to kill the President of another country?
