By Olu Fasan AS a Nigerian, I would be extremely concerned and embarrassed if Bola Tinubu became Nigeria’s next president. As a Yoruba, I would be deeply disappointed and ashamed. Why? Well, as a Nigerian, I would be concerned and embarrassed because a Tinubu presidency would devastate Nigeria internally and demean it externally. As a […]

By Olu Fasan SO far, my interventions ahead of this month’s presidential election have focused on the critical issues of integrity, character and honesty, and wider existential issues about Nigeria’s unity and stability, which would be threatened if power didn’t shift to the South and, crucially, the South-East and if the pernicious Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket […]

By Olu Fasan IN the end, my view may not matter. In the end, most Nigerians may not see what I see. In the end, they may elect Bola Tinubu as the next president this month. But this is a patriotic stance and I’ll be on record for making it: for saying unequivocally, even vociferously, […]

By Olu Fasan NO politician ever became Nigeria’s president on pure deception except Muhammadu Buhari. Everything Buhari claimed to represent—and was perceived to represent—before 2015 has turned out to be a sham. “Sai Baba”, that saintly and incorruptible Buhari, the one who, as military ruler, jailed politicians for hundreds of years for corrupt practices, now […]

By Olu Fasan IF I had a vote in next month’s presidential election, I would cast it for Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate. Sadly, I don’t, as I live overseas. However, I have a view, and I have been unequivocal in this column, that a victory for Obi would be the best outcome […]

By Olu Fasan NYESOM Wike, the maverick Rivers State governor, is a toxic influence on Nigerian politics. Like all narcissists, he thrives on applause and adulation from sycophants and praise singers. His outsized presence in Nigerian politics is fuelled by the oxygen of publicity he constantly receives from the media even for his most infantile […]

By Olu Fasan THE phrase “make or break” is often used with little meaning and consequence. But if there’s any time the phrase is consequential, it’s this year as Nigeria elects its next leader. Make no mistake, the outcome of February’s presidential poll will determine whether Nigeria’s chronic and acute rut will start to reverse […]

By Olu Fasan THIS weekend, on December 25, Christians worldwide will celebrate Christmas to mark the birth of Jesus Christ. In every country with a predominant or substantial Christian population, the president or vice-president, the head of state or prime minister, will be a Christian. However, in Nigeria, where Christians account for nearly half of […]

By Olu Fasan ABOUT two months ago, I received a call from a loyalist of Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC. The caller, an old acquaintance, asked if I could advise on how Tinubu could secure a meeting with the new British monarch, King Charles III. I was flabbergasted, stunned! Okay, I […]

By Olu Fasan FOR most of his seven-and-a-half years in office to date, President Muhammadu Buhari ran Nigeria with such insouciance that suggested he didn’t care about a legacy. However, as the inevitability of leaving office on May 29 next year hits home, Buhari has shown a minute-to-midnight desperation for “legacy projects”. Two such “projects” […]

By Olu Fasan PROFESSOR Charles Soludo, governor of Anambra State and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is a first-class economic technocrat. When he was elected governor, I hailed him in this column as a philosopher-king. However, I argued that while he had the skills of a successful applied economist, the jury […]

By Olu Fasan AHEAD of the 1993 presidential election, General Ibrahim Babangida, the then military head of state, made a profound statement. He said: “I don’t know who will succeed me, but I know who will not.” Sadly, that statement panned out with the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. Yet, in principle, […]

By Olu Fasan STATE governors in Nigeria are probably the most imperious yet ineffectual sub-national politicians in the world. They treat their states as personal fiefdoms andbehave like tin gods. Delusions of grandeur and a ferocious sense of entitlement blind them to the transience of power. Above all, they are utterly unable to improve people’s […]

By Olu Fasan BOLA Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, always has the extraordinary capacity to split Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-politicalgroup. He has the uncanny ability to wrap Afenifere and some of its leaders around his finger and twist them as he wishes to serve his purpose. Tinubu rode on Afenifere’s coattails […]

By Olu Fasan AISHA Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, is an outspoken woman, who has strong political and social consciousness. Unlike the fawning Buharists, who whitewash her husband’s administration, she doesn’t suffer fools gladly and has often criticised his government. However, as President Buhari’s administration winds down, Mrs. Buhari is now apologising for its […]