Political Notes

Osun: Three Candidates, One Verdict and a State at the Crossroads, by Emmanuel Aziken

Osun: Three Candidates, One Verdict and a State at the Crossroads, by Emmanuel Aziken

With campaign activities concluded and the electorate voting today for a governor, the contest has moved beyond the noise of rallies, endorsements and political promises. What remains is the hard arithmetic of voter mobilisation and the capacity of the leading parties to translate their structures into ballots. Fifteen candidates are on the ballot, but the […]
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Protests: What Tinubu should do, by Emmanuel Aziken

Protests: What Tinubu should do, by Emmanuel Aziken

The 10-day protest against bad governance which commenced on Thursday, August 1, 2024, is proving to be about the most effective demonstration by the populace against political actors in recent history. The only rage against the government that compares with it may be the demonstrations against military rule, notably the Anti-SAP riots and then the […]

Life after the protest, by Emmanuel Aziken

Life after the protest, by Emmanuel Aziken

Nigeria has all of a sudden been taken over by a debate about protest. The frenzy immediately brings to mind the stinging rebuke on the nation by the president of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne who said that Nigerians love to debate at the expense of the collective good. “You love to debate… But if you look […]

A parastatal worse than a rubber-stamp Senate, by Emmanuel Aziken

A parastatal worse than a rubber-stamp Senate, by Emmanuel Aziken

It is remarkable that two of the most prominent political actors who topped the news this week on account of their blistering attacks on the performance indices of the Bola Tinubu administration were about the most energetic enablers of Asiwaju’s presidential aspiration. Senator Ali Ndume was until this week, the Senate Chief Whip, and Comrade […]

What Tinubu’s ‘Mischief’ means for Nigeria, by Emmanuel Aziken

What Tinubu’s ‘Mischief’ means for Nigeria, by Emmanuel Aziken

To dub the Supreme Court judgment granting full autonomy to the Local Governments as a reset of Nigeria’s democratic order may not be far- fetched. Nigeria’s Fourth Republic era was set on course with the Local Government election of December 5, 1998, which was used to set the benchmark for the parties to be registered […]

Tinubu, Trump and Biden’s burden, by Emmanuel Aziken

Tinubu, Trump and Biden’s burden, by Emmanuel Aziken

Vice President Kamala Harris rushed to CNN early yesterday morning (Nigerian Time) to reassure American voters after President Joe Biden came out from a horrific debate with Donald Trump that saw many gasping over the mental capacities of the incumbent president. The once very articulate Biden was sometimes incoherent forcing his challenger, to mock at one time, […]

Obasanjo and Mrs Tinubu: The untold story, by Emmanuel Aziken

Obasanjo and Mrs Tinubu: The untold story, by Emmanuel Aziken

President Tinubu’s decision to revert to the 1960 National Anthem in the opinion of some was fuelled by the fact that Obasanjo instigated the replacement of ‘Nigeria We Hail Thee’ with ‘Arise o compatriots’ as military head of state

Babangida’s Democracy Day message, by Emmanuel Aziken

Babangida’s Democracy Day message, by Emmanuel Aziken

Many will chuckle at how General Ibrahim Babangida and his enablers celebrated the June 12 Democracy Day holiday last Wednesday. For all those who sought to bury what many regard as the most animated demonstration of democratic expression in modern Nigeria, last Wednesday must have been a nightmare. It is a stain that will forever […]

Jonathan’s shocking judgment on Oborevwori, by Emmanuel Aziken

Jonathan’s shocking judgment on Oborevwori, by Emmanuel Aziken

The question as to whether President Goodluck Jonathan was prompted to rein in the non-descript group identifying itself as the League of Delta Patriots is certainly untenable given the integrity and respect that the former Nigeria leader has continued to garner especially since he left office nine years ago. Also, given that Jonathan has turned […]

Leah Sharibu In Buhari’s Dreams, by Emmanuel Aziken

Leah Sharibu In Buhari’s Dreams, by Emmanuel Aziken

Miss Leah Sharibu turned 21 three days ago in the custody of Boko Haram insurgents six years after the government of President Muhammadu Buhari in one of its most infamous acts abandoned her in the hands of the savage insurgents. She was one of 110 students of the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, […]