The Nigerian Army recently sent a task force to the South-East to hunt for recruits. The team led by Brigadier-General Chima Ekeator was in Enugu State where he lamented that out of the 200 slots given to the state, not up to 100 youths applied. He contrasted it with Kaduna State from which over 3,000 applications […]

Jungle justice is ugly. It is not only a sickening sight to behold, it is also wrong because the victim, who most of the time is innocent, misunderstood or framed up by his enemies, is denied justice under the law. That said, I must express my utter disgust at the kneejerk reactions of some highly-placed individuals […]

Why always Multichoice and DSTV? This is the question on the lips of Nigerians who find it difficult to stomach the digital television provider’s penchant for tariff increases. No other service provider has been dragged around in the chambers of the National Assembly, the law courts, media, civil society circles and the open public as Multichoice […]

The state of emergency President Bola Tinubu imposed on Rivers State is like bringing down fruit and force-ripening it for consumption. Since the All Progressives Congress, APC, was born through the merger of legacy political parties of Muhammadu Buhari (Congress for Progressive Change, CPC), Bola Tinubu (Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN) and others on February 6, […]

Thirty years ago, the Ogoni people’s struggle finally pierced through the iron curtain of the international community’s attention. It took the spilling of blood and emasculation of the Ogoni elite for the world to take note. In April 1994, I had the privilege of encountering foremost author and Ogoni activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, at a seminar in […]

The complaint over the “disrespectful” dressing of Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, to the Oval Office last week was an irrelevant but sensational aside to the clash between the visitor and his hosts, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other US officials. Trump had remarked: “You are all dressed up today” while welcoming Zelensky at […]

The first time I set my eyes on Alex Otti was on a sunny Saturday in 2005 at Surulere, Lagos. I was visiting a bosom friend, Otisi Ndukwo Kalu, best known as Abbott or Achinagbara Oha. A young man drove into the compound in a brand new Rover jeep, dressed in jeans and flying shirts. Abbott […]

We are discussing the current political power structure under President Bola Tinubu, and the chances of the North possibly mobilising regional resources to push him out in 2027. Our argument is that it is a herculean task, almost a mission impossible. To be sure, there is always the “X” factor in human affairs, especially when it […]

In exactly four months, those elected in 2023 will be celebrating their second year in office. Shortly after, the politics of 2027 will increasingly occupy the attention of politicians and Nigerians as a whole. Such is the dialectic of politics and government in a democracy. I was prompted to address this topic by the utterances of some […]

Newly sworn in President of the United States of America, Donald John Trump, is a man the world will never forget in a hurry, both for what he intends to do and what he has already done. He is like the legendary leopard whose enigma, charisma and reputation move ahead of him. We Igbo call […]

Today, January 15, 2025, marks the 55th year of the official end of the military aspect of the Biafra-Nigeria War. I was just a boy when we were told the war was over. Today, I am old enough to be a granddad. In his “victory” speech to the nation, the wartime Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, […]

There is something we call omehaa kachie enya in my Abiriba dialect of Igbo. It means a shameless or defiant offender. When a person is caught red-handed while committing an abomination, he is supposed to show remorse or contrition. But if such a person adopts a bold face, displays impertinence and opts to brazen it […]

There are two public figures who still tell truth to power, irrespective of insults by government hirelings. One is former President Olusegun Obasanjo. We’ve written quite a bit about him of recent. When Obasanjo speaks, many of his critics ignore the message and attack the messenger. That’s fair game. He occupied our lives for eleven years […]

ABOUT a month ago, I wrote a two-parts serial titled: “A Tale of Two Puppets”. General Yakubu Gowon had just celebrated his 90th anniversary, and General Olusegun Obasanjo, who has always opposed him, made a rare appearance in solidarity with him. It gave me an opportunity to comment on why I thought they were puppets during […]

IN Mass Communication education, we are taught that the newsman or mass media practitioner, is an impartial reporter of newsworthy events. In a democratic society, media is a social trust and arbiter between the people and the government. In Nigeria and other democracies, the media is given a constitutional role to uphold freedom of information […]