No day goes by when I do not feel rudderless and bereft without him. No day goes by when I do not wish that I could be a far better human than I am, in order to live up to the very high moral and intellectual standards he set Wednesday July 3  was my late father’s […]

When I was told that my dear friend and beautiful, brilliant senior sister, Dr Doris Amachree Fisher, had passed away, I was stunned. I simply couldn’t believe it because though she had been battling to overcome a serious, life-threatening health challenge for a while, I had been absolutely sure that she would win the battle conclusively […]

I often remember a song I was taught as a child.  The most memorable line was: “When I point my finger at my neighbour, there are three more fingers pointing back at me”. I recently chanced upon a video interview featuring Dele Farotimi, the radical lawyer/activist. He was talking about colonialism and Nigeria’s relationships with foreign […]

Last week, I told you about my visits to the impressive Genocide and Holocaust memorials in Kigali (Rwanda) and Jerusalem, Israel. Then I asked why our government has not established any museum or exhibition to commemorate victims of the Biafran civil war. I’d like to share a couple of contrasting reactions I received from Vanguard readers, the […]

I returned from Kigali a few days ago. The highlight of my trip was a harrowing visit to a museum commemorating the million or so Rwandese people who were slaughtered during a genocide that shocked the world in 1994. Two hundred and fifty thousand victims of that vicious Tutsi/Hutu conflict are buried on the premises, so it’s […]

On May 30, 1967, fifty-seven years ago, the secessionist Republic of Biafra was declared by Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the then governor of Nigeria’s Eastern region.  My family was personally involved in the civil war because my father was Ojukwu’s ambassador in London. Onyekachi Wambu’s family was also involved.  Onyekachi is a journalist, writer […]

All journalists like to receive articulate and respectful reactions to their articles or columns. Churning out thousands of words week after week sometimes feels like a thankless task. And thoughtful responses from readers who take the trouble to read what we write, then share their views with us (without being too long-winded!), are much appreciated, even if […]

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, was established to deal with the chronic pollution that is undermining human health and economic activity in my native Ogoniland.   I have, on this page and on my YouTube channel, bitterly complained about unscrupulous contractors who take HYPREP for granted.   And I have categorically stated that I […]

According to an article in a Bloomberg publication: “The average government expenditure per capita across Africa is approximately $500. These funds go toward servicing a country’s debt, building infrastructures, developing institutions, paying salaries, defense, security, education, healthcare, and social protection programs. “In France, Norway, and the United States, government expenditure per capita is $24,000, $41,000, and $30,000 […]

I, meanwhile, cannot understand why so many big men in PDP are so lily-livered and so reluctant to disobey or expel Wike, who also is a de facto member of the APC

When Herbert Wigwe, the former CEO of Access Bank, died in February in a plane crash, several VIPs lavished tributes on him as they indulged in public outpourings of grief. Herbert was indeed a colossus who deserved to be eulogised. His outstanding professional achievement aside, he launched so many laudable philanthropic initiatives and helped so many people. […]

His stubborn refusal to cave in to sabotage has enabled him to give Nigerians fair prices and humble foreign airlines that were shamelessly overcharging us for decades.

By this time last year, Tinubu had been declared the winner of the February 2023 presidential election and I was outraged. Peter Obi had been my first choice. Atiku Abubakar had been my second choice and I was convinced that either Obi or Atiku was the real victor because I hardly knew anyone who had voted for […]

I’d like to draw your attention to two comments that caught my attention this week: a sardonic observation that was made by Robert Mugabe, the famously witty late President of Zimbabwe, and an excerpt from a 2023 speech by Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, the famously insightful Nigerian President of the African Development Bank. According to Mugabe: “To applaud […]

Herbert was one of the leading rebels in our Class, yet his strong test scores and obvious intelligence, served as proof of his talent and skills