I am chatting online, via zoom, with Zeinab Badawi, the Khartoum-born doyenne of British broadcasting and President of London University’s School of African and Oriental Studies. We are discussing her book – AN AFRICAN HISTORY OF AFRICA FROM THE DAWN OF HUMANITY TO INDEPENDENCE – which became an instant bestseller when it was published in the UK […]

I am still reeling from the death of Chief Edwin Clark, the great Niger Deltan who went to meet his Maker earlier on this week. He was 97; and the last time I saw him, the grand old man was fading; and I knew that his end was nigh. But despite expecting it, I was […]

On Wednesday, I attended a valedictory session in honour of the late Stanley Shenko  Alagoa JSC, OFR, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court…which is where the ceremony took place. I was invited because I am close to some of his relatives and I felt immensely privileged to be there while the Chief Justice (Madame Kudirat […]

My most loyal VIP friend and dearest brother, the amazing Dr Kayode Fayemi, former Governor of Ekiti State, is turning 60 this weekend and kindly invited me to a commemorative birthday symposium he hosted in Abuja yesterday. The venue was jampacked with excellencies and other dignitaries, including ex-President Yakubu Gowon, the current Vice President Kashim Shettima, the […]

Last week, I was invited to the presidential villa to meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA). The reason given was that I am an “important Ogoni Stakeholder” and I was really surprised to have received such a flattering summons because I have been a vocal opponent of Tinubu since […]

Chi Lael, the United Nations, UN, World Food Programme, WFP, spokesperson for Nigeria, addressed journalists last week and shared some alarming statistics. She said that she would normally only speak for her own programme but had decided to make a joint statement on behalf of the WPF and two other UN agencies that also have responsibilities related […]

After reading Peter Obi’s thoughtful New Year’s Day statement, Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary of the ruling APC, accused him of being an extreme pessimist and doomsayer who “has crossed the line of truth so many times” and “deserves whatever comes his way”. Like many other onlookers, I am appalled by the obvious threat, deeply puzzled […]

Before I start to immerse myself in 2025 matters, let me briefly look back at a few individuals who excelled in different areas of endeavour in 2024…and bestow my own special awards on them. HERO OF THE YEAR Dele Farotimi, the fearless and uncompromising activist lawyer. He regularly launched verbal and written attacks on powerful […]

Last week, I appeared on Arise TV to complain about the docility of opposition parties and urge Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi – whose presidential candidacies I vigorously supported in 2019 and 2023 – to quit making life too easy for Tinubu and become more aggressive. Mr Obi was kind enough to visit me at home to […]

On Monday night, I appeared as a guest commentator on Prime Time, the popular and thought-provoking Arise Television show that is hosted by the inimitable Charles Aniagolu. We talked about National Assembly legislators who recently defected from the Labour Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. I disdainfully described them as rats deserting a sinking ship, […]

Europe and the United States are full of white folks who resent foreigners – especially black and brown ones – and want to put a stop to both legal and illegal immigration. This is why I don’t understand why a significant number of Nigerians voted for Donald Trump or cheered him on from afar. Given that he […]

I first met Professor Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu in 2018 when he was daring to dream and trying to become the President of Nigeria. His razor-sharp erudition did not prevent him from being friendly and down-to-earth. He somehow managed to combine being a proud native of Anambra State and patriotic son of the Naija soil with being […]

I was in London when Kemi Badenoch, a British politician of Nigerian extraction was running against a white man called Robert Jenrick in a bid to become leader of the British Conservative party. At the same time and on the other side of the Atlantic, Kamala Harris, an American politician of Indian and Jamaican extraction, was running […]

My friend,  Ambassador Okey Emuchay MFR, Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, spoke for many of us (my mother was Igbo) when he penned this heartfelt lament and tribute to the most recent past President-General of the respected organisation.   It is addressed to Mr Jide Iwuanyanwu, the PG’s eldest son: “It is with a deep […]

By Jonas Odocha  Let us not delude ourselves; we need to come to terms with the real essence of governance. It encompasses various aspects of laws, policies, processes and management of resources which focus on the people and on development. Development, by itself, is predicated on value addition, failing which we either stagnate or retrograde. Please […]