Africans have a lot to learn from some of the fall-outs of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prominent among these is the total and unblemished outpouring of empathy towards the victims of aggression by a military superpower neighbour. After weeks of intimidating dress rehearsals and propaganda red herrings that they were merely having military exercises […]

ANYONE coming into Nigeria through Abuja or Lagos (the political and economic capitals) this passing week would know that something is seriously wrong with the country. The two marquee cities, like other parts of the country, were in darkness. From the air, there were only few and far between patches of light, obviously from the […]

THE “dividends” of incompetent and corrupt governance in the petroleum sector by successive governments have really caught up with us on all fronts. We are now the laughingstock of our own people and the international community. Nigeria is the only major oil-producing country that lacks indigenous refining capacity. Successive governments have failed to address this […]

LIFE in Nigeria has assumed the status of Nollywood movies. Even in the most serious business of governance, we see the Petroleum Minister (President Muhammadu Buhari) jetting off to the United Kingdom on medical tourism while Nigerians languish on long fuel queues, paying through their noses and unsure when normal supply will be restored. Things […]

THE introduction of the Islamic hijab headdress for female police officers by the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali, is a display of provocative bigotry and impunity. It must be reversed. A statement issued on Friday, March 4, 2022 through the Force’s spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, claimed that the dress code was approved “for optimum […]

THE level of destruction already recorded in just two weeks of intense fighting in the Russian invasion of Ukraine shows how nasty war, particularly modern warfare, is. Ironically, the traditional roundtable talks which should have taken place to prevent the conflict, also commenced almost from the day the first shot was fired. Warnings by Western […]

Though some critics have blamed the President Muhammadu Buhari government of starting late in efforts to get trapped Nigerians out of embattled Ukraine, we opine that government has been above average in its responses so far. Apart from arranging for Nigerians in Ukraine to gather in Poland, Romania and other nearby countries for eventual evacuation […]

DESPITE the last-minute storming of the National Assembly by the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha; and wife of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Dolapo; the affirmative action bills to create special seats for women in the legislative and executive arms of government at federal and state levels flopped. Sponsored by Nkeiru Onyejeocha (APC, Abia), the […]

MOST Nigerians have not fully addressed their minds to the latest effort to amend the 1999 Constitution. This is because every session of the National Assembly has always taken it upon itself to tinker with the Constitution, yet the major pillars of the nation’s grundnorm – centralised federalism – remain unchanged. One issue which the […]

The walkout by Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, from a meeting with protesting students last Monday was unbecoming and immature. He did not act with the necessary restraint and dignity that befit his high office. The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, led by its President, Mr. Sunday Asefon, had visited him in his […]