LAST Friday, I logged into my Facebook account and saw some old September 2015 FB messages that had been posted by friends who were rejoicing that I had just been released by kidnappers.

I’m sharing this article with you because it is educational and thought-provoking. Titled “Fighting COVID-19 In Africa Means Improving General Health Systems”, it was written by my friend, Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo…who teaches Public Health courses at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. Dr. Obasanjo got her Ph.D in Epidemiology, with a minor in Immunology, from Cornell, an Ivy League American university.

THE Federal Executive Council, FEC, this week approved N722.3 million that will fund the activities of eight field forensic auditors who have been hired to shine their torchlights on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC…as in seriously investigate over 12,000 abandoned projects.

According to the World Bank, thanks to the oil price collapse and COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria is likely to plunge into a severe recession – the worst economic decline we have experienced since the 1980s.

OLUMIDE Akpata – fondly known as Olu to some of his friends – is the new president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA; and I am absolutely delighted – not just for him but for the legal profession.    

A FEW weeks ago, a friend of mine adopted a very sobering new WhatsApp profile picture – a plaque on which the following words are inscribed:

By Duno Kogbara LAST year, a landmark anthology to which I contributed was launched in London. Titled “NEW DAUGHTERS OF AFRICA” and edited by the British-Ghanaian cultural icon, Margaret Busby, the book celebrates the work of 200 women writers of African descent and, as its publisher Myriad puts it, “charts a literary landscape as never […]

By Donu Kogbara SOCIAL media – defined as websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or participate in networking – is under constant attack from those who regard Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc, as hotbeds of lies and libellous material. It is certainly fair to say that social media platforms are full […]

I FELL in love with Classics – ancient Greek and Roman literature, history, philosophy and mythology – as a child. Latin was my favourite subject at school; and I’ve never forgotten the following question, which appeared in the Satires of Juvenal, the Roman poet who made his mark in the first and second centuries after the birth of Christ:  “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” It means: “Who will guard the guards themselves?” or “Who will watch the watchmen?”

WHEN it was announced, two days ago, that Mrs Opunimi (or Nimi) Akinkugbe was the Governor of Ondo State’s ambassadorial nominee, some Ondo indigenes got miffed and decided to kick up a huge fuss.