Electoral umpires in Nigeria have a long history of dalliance with academics so much so that it has almost become a rule for a professor, the discipline notwithstanding, to be appointed chairman. Granted, some non-academics sometimes find themselves in the saddle, but that is more of an exception. So, the 1959 federal election, which preceded […]

It was Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, the French critic, journalist, and novelist, who, in 1849, coined what has become an enduring proverb: plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose – the more things change, the more they stay the same. In matters of governance and power in Nigeria – military or civilian – nothing can be […]

Omoyele Sowore’s recent visit to Aba, the South-East commercial nerve centre, is creating a buzz. The politician, who doubles as an activist and social crusader, was in Enyimba City to lead a protest demanding freedom for the imprisoned leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who hails from Umuahia, the capital city […]

Last week, I lamented that President Bola Tinubu has hollowed out Nigeria’s democracy. The article generated interested reactions. A regular reader of this column accused me of Tinubuphobia. How is it that you don’t see anything good in Tinubu, he asked. Another sent me a cryptically worded text: “Sour grapes from name-calling!” Some kindred spirits, nonetheless, […]

I am gravely worried about the 2027 elections. Other well-meaning Nigerians, who want the best for the country, are worried too. And this is not about being an alarmist. No! It is realism. The augury is too stark that one needs not be endowed with the gift of clairvoyance to read the handwriting on the wall. […]

It is no longer news that the U.S. and Israel, on Saturday, February 28, launched blistering attacks on Iran, an operation Donald Trump dubbed “Epic Fury,” thereby putting the Middle East on tenterhooks. The biggest irony of the tragedy? It is orchestrated by a man who vowed that under his watch, the U.S. seemingly insatiable appetite […]

A common African adage says that “if a witch cries in the night and a child dies in the morning, we do not go to the soothsayer to ask what killed the child.” Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, is very much aware of this truism. In July 2025, he declared, quite unreasonably, that the presidential candidate […]

When TheNiche, an online newspaper, exclusively reported on February 13, that a few hours after announcing the 2027 elections timetable, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was set to tinker with the schedule due to pressure from some Muslim groups, many were incredulous. Earlier that day, INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, after waiting endlessly for the […]

Nigerians love clichés to bits. More often than not, you hear them regurgitate the famous “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried” quip by former British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. The idea that democracy is the best form of government is a widely held principle in […]

In the past decade, I developed a habit: whenever Nigeria confuses me as it often does, I visit one of the country’s elder statesmen to help me get a handle on otherwise senseless situations. No protocols. All I do is visit, most times unannounced. The cathartic experience from such discussions is always profound. Sadly, many […]

When President Bola Tinubu stumbled and fell on Tuesday as he walked alongside the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a welcome ceremony in Ankara, his spin doctors went into overdrive in explaining away the incident. That was expected. But in doing so, they lied. His Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, […]

To say that Yakubu Mohammed was a good man is an understatement. He was respectful to all despite one’s station in life. And this is in spite of his huge personal accomplishments, which, again, are grossly understated. He was honest to a fault. In a country where truth is an anathema, he paid a dire price […]

When the Benin Bypass was commissioned in 2002 in the first term of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency, the idea was to make the life of motorists less harrowing. Before the road, built at a cost of N10.2 billion, was opened for public use, cutting through the Benin City traffic gridlock was always a nightmare. The 24-kilometre […]

Former governor of Rivers State and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is  an aggressive person, always exhibiting hostile behaviour in his relationships with others. At every point, he wants to dominate, harm or violate others’ rights without any iota of regard for their feelings. But it is worse now. Today, he is lashing […]

Today is January 1, 2026 and if you are reading this, it means only one thing: you are alive, one of those who survived 2025, a year that turned out, to borrow late Queen Elizabeth II’s Latin phrase, an “annus horribilis” (horrible year). Last year was dreadful for many Nigerians – a year of significant personal and […]