2027: Vote ‘right’ or be banished? By Ikechukwu Amaechi
As should be expected in this political silly season, politicians will maximise the window to test wild narratives and launch personal attacks aimed at distracting voters from the substantive issues that confront them. There is nothing particularly wrong with that as long as such antics are within the ambit of the law. But most Nigerian politicians like […]
INEC and its professors of iniquity, by Ikechukwu Amaechi
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 […]
Playing the 1998 Abacha power game in 2026, by Ikechukwu Amaechi
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 […]
Sowore’s self-destructive gambit, by Ikechukwu Amaechi
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 […]
Let’s cut Tinubu some slack, by Ikechukwu Amaechi
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, […]
2027 elections: As politicians hollow out Nigeria’s democracy, by Ikechukwu Amaechi
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. […]
