Senator Abdullahi Adamu at 80: A life of service, wisdom and grace (2), by Usman Sarki
“Salus populi suprema lex esto” (“The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law”), Roman maxim The first part of this series reflected upon the life, character and formative influences that shaped Senator (Dr.) Abdullahi Adamu, CON, Turakin Keffi, into one of the foremost public figures of his generation. It suggested that the enduring measure […]
Dr Ado Bayero: His illustrious life and times (I), by Usman Sarki
“A great man is one who leaves others at a loss after he is gone”— Paul Valéry To do justice to the life and times of so illustrious a personality as the late Alhaji Ado Bayero, CFR, Emir of Kano, would require the pen and erudition of historians of the calibre of Ibn Khaldun, Edward Gibbon […]
Genocide, infanticide and regicide: Rethinking the moral foundations of the global order, by Usman Sarki
“Between the strong and the weak, it is liberty that oppresses and the law that sets free“— Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire My sustained engagement with questions of sovereignty, strategic autonomy and global order is shaped not only by my background as a career diplomat, but also by a lifelong study of world history. In “The Martyrdom of […]
Trump and the myth of strong American institutions, by Usman Sarki
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other“— John Adams Few observations capture the enduring dilemma of democratic governance as succinctly as this warning by John Adams. Long before the modern age of mass democracy, Adams understood that constitutions and institutions, however carefully […]
Western values after Iran: Power, principle and the crisis of legitimacy, by Usman Sarki
“The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children“— Dietrich Bonhoeffer A complex and peculiar crisis is facing the international community today. This is the erosion of ethical norms in countries that should provide leadership to the world through example. For norms to retain their authority, they […]
From the Abnormal to the Post-Normal: The Trumpian New World (Dis)Order, by Usman Sarki
“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters”— Antonio Gramsci I recall vividly that I was in New York City when Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were locked in their historic contest for the American presidency in 2016. Within diplomatic circles, media houses, academic institutions, […]
