Can a country flourish without standards? By Usman Sarki
“The power of Rome was attended with some beneficial consequences to mankind; and the same freedom of intercourse which extended the vices, diffused likewise the improvements of social life,” Edward Gibbon Let me begin by stating that for the last forty years or so I have kept close to me the stupendous work of the great […]
“I Remain Loyal”: Nigeria’s Anthem of Political Survival (1), by Usman Sarki
“Warnings are vain, the printed word is futile, experience teaches no lessons”“- Douglas Reed There are certain phrases that never die in Nigerian politics. They reappear like clockwork at critical moments, uttered with solemnity and flourish, yet met with skepticism by the public. Chief among them is the oft-repeated line: “I remain loyal.” It is spoken […]
Nigeria at the crossroads: The politics of 2027, by Usman Sarki
“The over-riding concern of the Supreme Military Council has been the need to ensure good government, orderly progress and harmony of the nation“— General Olusegun Obasanjo, 21 September 1978 How the overriding concern of Nigeria’s current political dispensation aligns with the imperatives of good government, orderly progress and national harmony will be tested—proved or belied—by the […]
China, the Lagos Plan of Action, AU Agenda 2063 and AfCFTA: Resuscitating the Dream of African Industrialisation, by Usman Sarki
“Development is not a gift from the outside; it is the outcome of a people’s own efforts“— Julius K. Nyerere Africa’s quest for industrialisation did not begin recently with China, nor does it depend on China for its intellectual legitimacy. Even before Beijing emerged as a major development partner on the continent, African leaders had already […]
What China wants From Africa now: Wang Yi’s mission and Beijing’s strategic objectives, by Usman Sarki
“Foreign policy is not sentiment; it is interest disciplined by circumstance“—Hans J. Morgenthau Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi kicked off his Africa tour in January 2026 with visits to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, followed by Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho. This itinerary is more than symbolic. It reflects a carefully structured and holistic engagement with the African […]
Social media and the fragile Nigerian State: A growing threat to national stability, by Usman Sarki
“Where there is no vision, the people perish; but where there is no truth, the people turn against each other.” The question of whether social media poses an existential threat to Nigeria may at first seem improbable. Yet in today’s Nigeria, where the political order is strained, where cohesion is brittle, where cynicism is rampant and […]
