When the voice of humanity reverberated in a man, by Owei Lakemfa
Across the world, countries, movements and groups on Thursday August 13, 2026 marked the centenary of Fidel Castro Ruz, the iconic Cuban revolutionary. That was yesterday. But Fidel is not yesterday’s man. Although he marched into the full embrace of history on November 25, 2016, he is a man of today as […]
Nigeria’s debt: The House vs Okonjo-Iweala
In a recent online interactive program with Nigerian youths, the Finance Minister and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, gave the assurance that “Nigeria does not have a debt problem, as the ratio between our debt and our nation’s total output (GDP) is a mere 21%, which, compares favourably with 40 to 60% benchmark for emerging economies and more favourably with the United Kingdom and United States’ debt to GDP ratios of 89 and 90% respectively.
Dreaming Dreams of the Almighty(2)
In September 2012, I had a dream. I was somewhere high up in the mountains and did not know exactly what I was doing there. Suddenly, there was so much pomp and circumstance. A lot of security detail poured into the place and there was no room for me to quickly make my way out of there. I was wondering what all the palaver was about when out came President Barack Obama of the United States.
Educating Nigerian girls would transform our nation
This is one of my favourite quotes and one that holds true today and in every aspects of driving growth and progress for women and men around the globe. Sadly, this maxim is one that many governments, including Nigeria, have not striven to achieve. Last Saturday, March 8th marked the International Women’s Day.
Aviation reforms: Nigeria still too far behind
Exactly one week ago, I left Nigeria for Dubai to attend the annual international broadcast exhibition -CABSAT 2014. Considering that the Dubai Emirate is a rich country, it was easy to appreciate the magnificent difference between Dubai, its main city and Abuja – our own self-acclaimed fastest growing city in Africa. However, some of my professional colleagues could not help discussing some of the structures that were put in use during the exhibition.
Nigeria’s Centenary celebration and its discontents (2)
They point to the big brother role Nigeria has played, and still plays, in the West African sub-region and in the African continent as a whole. One can concede all that and still maintain, correctly in my view, that although the country might be beautiful abroad, she is ugly at home. Even so, Nigeria’s standing in Africa, and in the world generally, has nosedived since the 1990s. For instance, the irritating subordinate status accorded Nigeria during the burial of Nelson Mandela is a telling demonstration that things have fallen apart with respect to her rating by other African countries.
