Pictures & Patterns

More government, less service, more hunger, by Adekunle Adekoya

More government, less service, more hunger, by Adekunle Adekoya

JUST as I was preparing to write this column, news filtered in that President Bola Tinubu has assented to the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Bill, 2026, paving the way for the establishment of a dedicated economic regulator for Nigeria’s port sector. The news was sourced from a post on the Facebook page of […]
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US/Israel-Iran war: What is our govt doing for us? By Adekunle Adekoya

US/Israel-Iran war: What is our govt doing for us? By Adekunle Adekoya

NEARLY six (6) weeks into the US/Israel-Iran war, the effects are being felt worldwide. This is because fuel energy became an unwilling victim caught in the crossfires of the warring parties. You are abreast of issues, but let me remind us that about 20 per cent of the world’s energy is transported through the Straits of Hormuz, […]

Like water corporations, DISCOs might soon be irrelevant, by Adekunle Adekoya

Like water corporations, DISCOs might soon be irrelevant, by Adekunle Adekoya

THE headline of today’s  column summarises my current thoughts about the status of the electricity sector of our economy, which began last week under the headline: Our electricity conundrum and the Power Minister’s apologies. Yes, it can happen. In the near future, electricity distribution companies, called DISCOs may operate themselves into sterling irrelevance as ever-inventive Nigerians continue […]

Our electricity conundrum and the Power Minister’s apologies, by Adekunle Adekoya

Our electricity conundrum and the Power Minister’s apologies, by Adekunle Adekoya

IT was actually very pathetic reading reports of apologies made by Power Minister, Adebayo Adelabu, earlier in the week. Reading his apology nearly made me puke; they were the words of a politician used to, and schooled in, dressing up inefficiencies in mandate actualisation with rhetoric. For years, since I was a boy (that’s as far back […]

Misplaced tears over Iranian leaders when blood flows in Nigeria, by Adekunle Adekoya

Misplaced tears over Iranian leaders when blood flows in Nigeria, by Adekunle Adekoya

THE war in the Middle East, being fought by the United States and Israel against Iran, is still raging, and its outcomes are being felt all over the world. In the early days of the war which began February 28, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the aftermath of air strikes on selected targets […]

War in the Middle East and our economy, by Adekunle Adekoya

War in the Middle East and our economy, by Adekunle Adekoya

IT is no longer news that the United States, in coalition with Israel has been bombarding Iran. It is also no longer news that the aerial bombardments targeting Iran’s military and defence infrastructure claimed the life of the country’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Again, it is also not news that the conflict has triggered spikes in the […]

On the march towards state Police, by Adekunle Adekoya

On the march towards state Police, by Adekunle Adekoya

LAST Wednesday, the new Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, was formally sworn-in as the 23rd indigenous head of the Nigeria Police Force by President Bola Tinubu. Before going further, some optics. His predecessor, Kayode Egbetokun was said to have been summoned by the President penultimate Tuesday, and in the aftermath of the meeting, Egbetokun resigned. Disu, an […]

Security risks posed by Okada riders govts are blind to, by Adekunle Adekoya

Security risks posed by Okada riders govts are blind to, by Adekunle Adekoya

THAT our nation is challenged on many fronts may be a trite observation; from economic challenges in the form of a cost of living crisis and the growing inability of many Nigerians to afford things they once took for granted to existential threats posed by kidnapping, banditry, insurgency and terrorism, it is obvious that these are not […]

Working to the answer on Electoral Act amendment, by Adekunle Adekoya

Working to the answer on Electoral Act amendment, by Adekunle Adekoya

After weeks of back-and-forth, the National Assembly just passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill into law. We all witnessed the legislative histrionics that attended the legislation, right up to its conclusion with its signing into law by the President. I call it legislative histrionics because it appears that as a collective, the National Assembly, comprising the […]

N600 million job scam as emblem of our corrupt nature, by Adekunle Adekoya

N600 million job scam as emblem of our corrupt nature, by Adekunle Adekoya

SOME readers of this column would be absolutely right if they conclude that writing on corruption in Nigeria is a waste of time. It might be, but what prompted a fresh interest in a national problem that has defied solutions forever are two developments earlier in the week. First one was a report by Transparency International, […]

As terrorists gradually take over Nigeria…, by Adekunle Adekoya

As terrorists gradually take over Nigeria…, by Adekunle Adekoya

What initially began as isolated incidents after the death of Mohammed Yusuf, the late founder of Boko Haram after his death in July 2009 later balooned into full-scale insurgency with which we have struggled to no end for 16 years. Then, the insurgents were trying to establish control over ungoverned spaces in parts of Borno State […]

Getting 100 million Nigerians into the tax net, by Adekunle Adekoya

Getting 100 million Nigerians into the tax net, by Adekunle Adekoya

IN the January 9 edition of this column, I discussed taxation, the new tax laws and the well-being of our country and our people in so far as taxation is concerned. Writing under the headline Government, Nigerians and Taxation, I surmised that a huge chunk of our people will remain outside the tax net and that tax […]

The Kaduna abductions and matters arising, by Adekunle Adekoya

The Kaduna abductions and matters arising, by Adekunle Adekoya

Just few days into the new year 2026, peace was, for the umpteenth time, shattered nationwide and in Kaduna State in particular when on Sunday 18 January, more than 170 worshippers were kidnapped in three churches in Kurmin Wali, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. First, we have become so unfortunate with insecurity that we are […]

Budget absurdities, corruption, and under-development, by Adekunle Adekoya

Budget absurdities, corruption, and under-development, by Adekunle Adekoya

MY fellow countrymen and women are surely in for a very rough ride along a very rough, bad road that leads to nowhere through a wilderness created and sustained by politicians and civil servants. You might like to ask why I’m writing this, or what led me to this conclusion. You see, sometime last year, […]

Government, Nigerians, and taxation, by Adekunle Adekoya

Government, Nigerians, and taxation, by Adekunle Adekoya

LAST week, I discussed here that the governments of Nigeria will have to do more to enable Nigerians pay tax the way the government wants them to pay it. The new tax laws which came into effect January 1, despite the furore over what was passed and what was gazetted is supposed to be a step in […]

Nigerians caught between new tax regime and high petrol cost, by Adekunle Adekoya

Nigerians caught between new tax regime and high petrol cost, by Adekunle Adekoya

HAPPY New Year to all Nigerians, especially those who read this newspaper and this column. The year that ended about 48 hours ago was one hell of a year, by way of experience, particularly for those of us in Nigeria. On the political front, it was as interesting as ever, what with shameless defections from opposition parties […]