IT should be clear to anyone who cares to know that the media, human rights and social advocacy groups will never lie low over any legislative or executive threat to the democratic and constitutional rights of Nigerians to lawful free speech. We as a newspaper are firmly on this page. We, therefore, call on all […]

THE Operation Safe Corridor, OPSC, of the Federal Government is ostensibly designed to encourage “repentant” Boko Haram Islamic terrorists to surrender and accept the De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration, DRR, a programme of the Nigerian Army. President Muhammadu Buhari administration created it in September 2015. At least, three batches numbering over 1,000 have been reunited with […]

WE are glad to note that gradually but surely, the political leadership in the North has started making bold moves to eradicate street begging, especially by the Almajirai pupils of Islamic schools. A 2014 report by the United Nations Education Fund, UNICEF, indicated that Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children (13.2 million) in […]

NIGERIAN lawmakers must check their penchant to annoy the public with bills which shrink the democratic space and block elected and appointed officials from public scrutiny and accountability. They must align themselves to the realities of the political economy in which they operate. Enough of obnoxious bills such as those attempting to regulate the social […]

FORMER Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed, was a profound example of governors who failed to provide the counterpart funding of the Universal Basic Education, UBE, scheme. The state was unable to draw down N7.1bn worth of the UBE funds during his eight years tenure. The UBE facility was created by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration […]

FORMER Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi’s call for prayers for our unemployed youths is not the answer to the dire situation the idle young people of our country are facing. Obi had tweeted on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at the onset of this year’s 40-day Lenten period observed by most Christian groups towards […]

NIGERIA is, unfortunately, a country that operates a reactive government. While other progressive countries plan and sustainably implement policies to develop, give their citizens better life and make their countries attractive to the world, ours most of the time only swing into action when things have gone wrong. This same ludicrous attitude showed up in […]

NIGERIANS have received with mixed reactions the Bill which seeks to rehabilitate “repentant” fighters of Islamist terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, Islamic State in West Africa Province, ISWAP, and others currently waging insurgency wars against the country. The Bill entitled: “National Agency for the Education, Rehabilitation and De-radicalisation of Repentant Insurgents in Nigeria” is […]

EFCC: SINCE President Muhammadu Buhari assumed power in 2015 with his anti-graft policy occupying a prime position in his Three-Point Agenda, his government has been severely criticised for deliberately sensationalising the effort. The regime was accused of emphasising the recovery of stolen funds and targeting officials of the former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, administration while […]

THE good times are here – at last! – for Nigeria’s Eastern ports. The Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, shipping companies, stakeholders in our maritime sector and the economy at large have had enough of the choking situation in Lagos and have decided to look eastwards for relief. In January 2020 international shipping giant, Maersk Line, […]

THE wealthiest man in the world today is a stingy man. Jeff Bezos, the amazing owner of Amazon, tops the list of world’s richest persons with a net worth of over $130bn. Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, the most charitable billionaire, has given away a total of $45.5bn of his wealth since 1994 (a lot of […]

IT has been years since President Muhammadu Buhari came under intense pressure to get rid of the current crop of Service Chiefs: General Gabriel Olonishakin, Chief of Defence Staff; Lt-General Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff; Vice Admiral Ekwe Ibok-Ette Ibas,  Chief of Naval Staff; and Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff. The […]

  NORTHERN Nigeria, fondly referred to by its people as “Arewa”, is heavily challenged by mass poverty, destitution and a cocktail of ethno-religious-related violence. Both the elite and the masses live in fear for their lives. Though the situation is not limited to the North, it is this region, the largest and most powerful political […]

It is unfortunate that the continued attacks and killings of innocent Nigerians by armed herdsmen all over the country are gradually becoming “normal” items of everyday news in Nigeria. The Federal Government does not seem sufficiently outraged by their murderous exploits. The Federal Government and the military authorities have studiedly refrained from recognising the reign […]

SINCE he assumed power some eight months ago, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, the Governor of embattled Borno State, has continued to strike the posture of a leader on a messianic mission. He has put the interests of the common man above partisan niceties and often found himself at odds with the Federal Government and the […]