Political Notes

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Obasanjo At 89: The Pan-Nigerian Dreamer, by Emmanuel Aziken

Obasanjo At 89: The Pan-Nigerian Dreamer, by Emmanuel Aziken

At 89, Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo remains one of the most compelling figures in Nigeria’s political history, a leader whose presence still commands attention across the country and the African continent.  Decades after he first stepped into the national spotlight, Obasanjo continues to stand as a symbol of the enduring quest for a pan-Nigerian identity, a […]

Walida and Her DSS Man: When love becomes a national crisis, by Emmanuel Aziken

Walida and Her DSS Man: When love becomes a national crisis, by Emmanuel Aziken

The uproar over the alleged love tangle between a Department of State Services operative and a young woman from Jigawa State has once again exposed the fragility of Nigeria’s religious equilibrium. What should ordinarily have been treated as a private, if troubling, matter between consenting adults has spiralled into a combustible public controversy — not because of […]

Two new absurdities of the Akpabio Senate, by Emmanuel Aziken

Two new absurdities of the Akpabio Senate, by Emmanuel Aziken

An associate once claimed that Senator Godswill Akpabio initially aspired to be a comedian before fate and fortune nudged him toward law and eventually politics. If that early ambition ever existed, one might argue that the comedic streak never entirely left him. As presiding officer of the Senate, he often peppers proceedings with humour, laughter, and playful […]

Remi Tinubu’s breakfast with Trump: Symbolism and substance, by Emmanuel Aziken

Remi Tinubu’s breakfast with Trump: Symbolism and substance, by Emmanuel Aziken

Oluremi Tinubu’s presence at the National Prayer Breakfast, an occasion that gathers leaders of faith and influence from across the world, projected a rare positive beam on Nigeria’s seriously darkened international image. At a time when global headlines about Nigeria often revolve around insecurity, economic strain, political tension and ethnic fault lines, the optics of the country’s […]

Decoding Mutfwang’s move to APC, by Emmanuel Aziken

Decoding Mutfwang’s move to APC, by Emmanuel Aziken

When Governor Caleb Mutfwang formally stepped into the fold of the All Progressives Congress (APC) last Tuesday, it was more than a routine defection ceremony. It was a calculated political signal. And by the time he sat before a select team of visiting editors and declared that Plateau State had become the “crown jewel” in the political […]

The lies from Kaduna pulling Nigeria down, by Emmanuel Aziken

The lies from Kaduna pulling Nigeria down, by Emmanuel Aziken

There are moments in a nation’s life when tragedy does more than wound bodies and break families. There are moments when tragedy strips a country naked, exposing the rot in its institutions, the poverty of its leadership culture, and the moral hollowness that has quietly become normal. The mass abduction of worshippers in Kurmin Wali, Kajuru Local […]

When Sons Defect: Inside Tinubu’s precision strike on Atiku, by Emmanuel Aziken

When Sons Defect: Inside Tinubu’s precision strike on Atiku, by Emmanuel Aziken

The defection of Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, son of opposition leader and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, is the latest and perhaps most symbolic precision strike in President Bola Tinubu’s methodical dismantling of organised opposition.  This was not just another politician switching parties. This was intimate. Psychological. Almost theatrical.  A son of the man who wants […]

Wike’s Politics of Gbas-Gbos, by Emmanuel Aziken

Wike’s Politics of Gbas-Gbos, by Emmanuel Aziken

Wike’s politics of gbas-gbos — the brand of raw confrontation that blurs party lines, intimidates institutions, and thrives on public spectacle — appeared, until recently, immune to political boundaries. For years, Nyesom Wike operated in a space where allegiance to party mattered less than allegiance to power. He fought PDP leaders while funding APC victories. He governed […]

Chris Okafor and the untold story of American bombs over Sokoto, by Emmanuel Aziken

Chris Okafor and the untold story of American bombs over Sokoto, by Emmanuel Aziken

For many Nigerians, it came as a surprise—almost a cultural jolt—that a Trinidad-born, United States-based rapper and global pop icon, Nicki Minaj, would emerge as one of the most prominent Black voices amplifying claims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria and openly aligning with the rhetoric of President Donald Trump on the issue. Beyond reposts and […]

Peter Obi and the elephant he must shoot, by Emmanuel Aziken

Peter Obi and the elephant he must shoot, by Emmanuel Aziken

It may appear superfluous to once again warn of the existential threat confronting Nigeria’s continued existence as a multiparty democracy, especially given the manner in which the All Progressives Congress (APC) has continued to ride roughshod across the political landscape. Yet what remains disturbingly underappreciated is not the threat itself, but the striking ill-preparedness of […]

Omokri’s Mockery of Akpabio’s Senate, by Emmanuel Aziken

Omokri’s Mockery of Akpabio’s Senate, by Emmanuel Aziken

For a Senate that has not only in herited but arguably worsened its predecessor’s reputation as a rubber stamp, the scene that played out during the screening of President Bola Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominees was bound to be bewildering. Yet, even by Nigeria’s increasingly elastic standards of legislative conduct, what unfolded in Senate Committee Room 211 last […]

Renewed Hope Or Renewed Hypocrisy: Tinubu’s risky politics of redemption, by Emmanuel Aziken

Renewed Hope Or Renewed Hypocrisy: Tinubu’s risky politics of redemption, by Emmanuel Aziken

At a time President Bola Tinubu has chosen to nominate some of Nigeria’s most controversial personalities as ambassadors to represent the country abroad, the emergence of his so-called Renewed Hope Ambassadors—appointed to canvass support for his second-term aspiration—has shaken the polity in a manner that many did not expect but which, perhaps, should no longer surprise anyone […]

Southeast APC leaders and Nnamdi Kanu: The failure of courage, by Emmanuel Aziken

Southeast APC leaders and Nnamdi Kanu: The failure of courage, by Emmanuel Aziken

When Senator Orji Uzor Kalu recently paraded himself in an attire emblazoned with “Tinubu 2027” insignia and Governor Hope Uzodimma became a regular sight at the Abuja Airport waving goodbye to President Bola Tinubu or welcoming him back from foreign trips, a certain impression was created. Their public performance of loyalty suggested that the Igbo […]

PDP: The betrayal of Lamido as Mutfwang, Kefas weigh options, by Emmanuel Aziken

PDP: The betrayal of Lamido as Mutfwang, Kefas weigh options, by Emmanuel Aziken

One of the most astonishing acts of political absurdity in recent Nigerian politics is the report that the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, loyal to Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State produced only one set of nomination forms for the now–disputed national convention scheduled for Ibadan today. By this […]