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

The Federal Government is about to begin the implementation of the Stephen Oronsaye report,  12 years after it was first compiled. It should help slash the cost of governance and I heartily approve of its recommendations, including the scrapping and merging of 220 out of 541 government agencies, management audits of 89 agencies and discontinuation […]

I MAKE no secret of my anti-government tendencies. I was born with a rebellious, iconoclastic, outspoken streak; and even when Obasanjo (the best president we’ve ever had, in my opinion) was head of state, I occasionally lobbed verbal and written missiles at the authorities. Now, with Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the hot seat, I am almost […]

One of the hats that Reno Omokri wears is social media influencer; and he recently made an interesting point on X (formerly known as Twitter) that really appealed to me (not least because it was devoid of the disappointing and seriously depressing anti-Igbo sentiments that he frequently shares with anyone who cares to listen. Since I have […]

Ex-Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State was recently quoted in various WhatsApp groups as making the following comments: “Nigeria cannot break up because members of the elite are united in preserving their advantages over the masses irrespective of their differences of tribe and religion. Nigeria is too weak to break… “…Who will break it? The […]

Tomorrow, Ambassador Judith Sefi Atta will receive an award in Abuja from the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria, ARCAN. It is an honour she richly deserves.   I first met her when, in a blaze of Catholic enthusiasm, I got married in Rome in 1993. I was based in London in those days and […]

I recently came across this catchily-titled article from The Conversation Africa, an excellent independent source of news and views from the academic/research community. The Conversation project started in Australia and now has branches in many other countries. It aims to promote understanding of – and encourage quality public discourse about – complex current affairs issues. […]

Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, the distinguished lawyer and former Nigerian Bar Association President who became Governor of Ondo State, died on Wednesday. Of prostrate cancer in Germany. I have discussed Akeredolu with people who knew him. I’ve also checked out some of the online fora in which his passing is being discussed by people who didn’t […]

So, Christmas is here again; but millions of Nigerians have nothing to celebrate, thanks to alarming inflation, insane exchange rates, constant power cuts, widespread insecurity and various other woes. Then there is the fact that my home state, Rivers, is embroiled in yet another huge, toxic and immensely depressing political drama. Nyesom Wike, our former governor, has […]