Arrogance Personified, by Donu Kogbara
Mary Habila, a young nurse on secondment from a federal teaching hospital named after him, was found unconscious on June 27th in a building owned by the Minister of Works, David Umahi. According to eyewitness accounts, she was naked, blood was oozing from her nose and mouth and she died en route to the hospital. The […]
But why are we not bothered?
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 […]
Ridiculous multiplication, by Donu Kogbara
Senators have just fast-tracked a bill to establish a new South-South Development Commission, SSDC, despite the long-standing existence of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. Yesterday, the SSDC Bill passed second reading on the floor of the Senate. Lawmakers also proposed amendments to the new North-West Development Commission, NWDC, and South-East Development Commission, SEDC, Acts […]
Primitive attacks on women, by Donu Kogbara
Senator Adams Oshiomhole recently took it upon himself to taunt Mrs Betsy Obaseki, the Edo State Governor’s highly accomplished wife, for being childless. On the other side of the world, in the United States, JD Vance, Donald Trump’s motor mouth running mate, has also taken pot shots at women who have no children…women such as Kamala […]
A tale of two types of convention, by Donu Kogbara
Last week, I watched the American Democratic Party’s National Convention on TV. It took place in Chicago and was so uplifting. A clutch of famous Democrats – Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton included – took to the vast stage to deliver stirring speeches and warm endorsements of presidential hopeful, Kamala Harris, and […]
Two great losses to Kalabariland, by Donu Kogbara
This is not the first time that a major tragedy has struck the Ajumogobia clan. In 1996, its paterfamilias was killed in a plane crash, alongside 143 other passengers and ADC Air crew members.
Protest Postscript, by Donu Kogbara
After vacationing in the UK and US for a few weeks, I returned to Nigeria when the EndBadGovernance protests had been ongoing for four days…and were expected to run for an additional six days. Friends who expected the worst had urged me to stay abroad till the protests were over; but prolonging my stay would have […]
Oh bitter irony! By Donu Kogbara
I spent the second half of July in the UK and was booked to return to Abuja at the beginning of August. But almost everyone I spoke to urged me to stay put because the #EndBadGovernance protests were due to kick off nationwide on August l; and violence and general mayhem were expected. Long story short, hardly […]
GOODBYE, DEAR, by Donu Kogbara
In February 2022, I interviewed Onyeka Owenu for The Africa Report, a foreign magazine. Onyeka died this week, so let me share that interview with you as a small tribute to a late great friend. The last two lines, at the end, make me weep. We are sipping Gold Blend Expresso coffee in Onyeka Onwenu’s apartment […]
The long goodbye, by Donu Kogbara
Dementia humiliates and robs sufferers of joy and dignity. Dementia kills slowly and silently and relentlessly; and because my mother was semi-comatose for ages and completely lost her mind, her mobility and the power of speech nearly a decade before she actually passed away on July 22, 2023, I describe her gradual departure from her […]
Tribute to a heroic Auntie, by Donu Kogbara
When my dear friend, Professor Philip Efiong, told me on May 21 that his mother Josephine had just passed away aged 88, I was consumed with sadness and regrets…not just because we had lost a wonderful mother and sweet auntie, but because we had lost yet another Biafran leader. And soon, there will be none left. Mrs […]
