“Open Sesame, Open!” Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves In the folklore of the Middle East,  as chronicled in the “One Thousand and One Nights Tales”, the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves has endured through generations as a parable of greed, deception and organised banditry. The story revolves around a secret vault hidden […]

“Constant in nothing but inconstancy”— Marcus Aurelius In an earlier installment of this essay, we established the urgency of Northern Nigeria’s predicament and the necessity for strategic engagement. The logical next step is to define the principles upon which such engagement must rest. For without a clear doctrine guiding its political choices, the region will repeat […]

 “A people can never rise from low estate as long as they are engrossed in the painful struggle for daily bread”, William Winwood Reade The evolution of politics in Nigeria has now reached a critical juncture where the question of Northern Nigeria’s interests and priorities can no longer be deferred or treated as an inconvenient distraction. […]

 “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”, Mahatma Gandhi If the first task of Nigeria’s post-colonial elite was to secure independence, the unfinished task of our time is to complete nation-building. That task has remained elusive largely because the ruling class has failed to evolve into a […]

“The price of greatness is responsibility”— Winston Churchill The late Alhaji (Uncle) Waziri Ibrahim, leader and presidential candidate of the Great Nigeria People’s Party, GNPP, once campaigned around the memorable theme “Politics Without Bitterness.” The slogan captured the imagination of Nigerians across generational and regional divides. It evoked the promise of a politics anchored in decency, […]