I went to a meeting in Abuja with the visiting Western Sahara –Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic- Foreign Minister. It was arranged by Ambassador Brahim B. Buseif, the country’s ambassador in Nigeria. I was received by Buseif and a friend, Mohammed Yeslem Beisat. Since 2020, he had been Sahrawi Ambassador to South Africa and Lesotho, and for […]

The world is full of parallels. But some parallels are stranger than others. Where, for instance, are the similarities between Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, and Elon Musk, the world’s richest man? On the surface, there’s clear blue water between them: one is a modestly successful technocrat, administrator and politician in Nigeria; the other is […]

Picture this: You’re crafting an important email to your boss. Do you write “Can you review this proposal?” or “Could you review this proposal?” That tiny difference might seem insignificant, but it could determine whether your request is received warmly or creates unintended friction. Welcome to the fascinating world of modal verbs, where “can” and “could” wield […]

Time was when the refrain, “See Paris and die,” reflected the global view that Paris, the capital city of France, was so magnificent that once you have seen it, you can happily die, having experienced the apogee of life’s splendour. It was a refrain that also echoed the Italian saying “Vedi Napoli e poi muori” – “see […]

Kola Oluwawole – Ekiti State (October 2018)   In October 2018, Kola Oluwawole, then Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, was abruptly impeached. The reasons for his removal were not clearly articulated in public discourse, a situation that underscores a recurrent theme in Nigerian state politics—lack of transparency. Seventeen members out of the 26-member assembly […]