TODAY, I wish to salute my fellow compatriots, hapless, ordinary Nigerians who are somehow still finding ways to remain aboard as the nation’s economic ship flounders in stormy waters occasioned by just two single events — removal of subsidy on petrol, and flotation of the national currency, the Naira. As prices of basic goods and […]

TIME flies! And very fast too. In this space on September 24, 2021, the column carried a piece with the headline: “The attenuation of integrity.” Those who read between the lines would have discerned that it was a commentary directed at the nation’s head honcho at the time, a retired general known to the rest […]

THERE is a point you get to talking about the problems facing our dear nation that you just get tired. This is because the problems seem endless — from insecurity to unending rise in the prices of goods and services, especially food items, to the parlous state of our infrastructure, especially roads and electricity. In […]

LAST week the video of a man seen crying in front of a market stall where he had gone to buy foodstuffs trended heavily on the internet, as it was widely shared across many platforms — chat groups on WhatsApp, on Facebook, and others. The man was seen in front of a shop where common foodstuffs like […]

LOOKING out the window of the Conference Room at Vanguard’s head office today, a sight struck me. From that window you get a very good, panoramic view of the Kirikiri Canal, and buildings and activities on the shore on the side of the canal. What attracted my attention was the steady rumble of a powerful diesel engine; […]

THE Yoruba people of South-Western Nigeria have an anecdotal saying that is applicable to the present state of insecurity in Nigeria. “Ti naninani ba nna ni, ti gbanigbani nworan lai daa l’ekun, a je wipe gbanigbani lo ni ki naninani maa ni.” The nearest equivalent of this saying, when translated is: “If someone is beating you, and […]

Problems are like plants, they have roots — Obafemi Awolowo (1909-1987). The text I am reproducing below is not original to me, but copied from one of the numerous platforms where I am a member. The text, rendered in italics is from an unknown author, and is not new in the social media. In case you don’t […]

A fortnight ago, I started this column lamenting that we always have one issue to contend with all the time. I had wanted to vent my anger on power supply providers, the ones we call DisCos here, following weeks of uninterrupted blackout in many parts of the country. Then news of the well-choreographed killings in […]

FOR many Nigerians, especially in the Northern part of the country, the Christmas season was not merry. At all. It was a period of wailing and gnashing of teeth as terrorists laid siege to many villages in Abuja FCT, Niger, Nasarawa and Plateau states, killing, maiming, and burning houses. Entire local governments and towns and villages in […]

ONE day, one trouble, wahala no dey finish is a saying that has gained currency in the last few years as Nigerians battle the headwinds buffeting them daily as they pursued happiness. I had wanted to vent my spleen on those in charge of providing electricity in this country, starting from the Minister of Power, […]