Viewpoint

Police brutality: He-of-the-springy-steps

Police brutality: He-of-the-springy-steps

By CHETA NWANZE Two events I came across yesterday captured the state of Nigeria’s police-public relations with unsettling clarity. In Port Harcourt, angry youths blocked Agip Road to protest the killing of Anthony Obodo, a 22-year-old University of Port Harcourt graduate murdered by a police officer. The youths’ anger is not hard to understand. The […]
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The one-man-one-vote controversy

The one-man-one-vote controversy

THE 2010 Electoral Act in Section 53 subsection (1) states that: “No voter shall vote for more than one candidate or record more than one vote”.

Who is Boko Haram?

Who is Boko Haram?

NIGERIA revels at copying. We copy a lot and add our own dimension to things. Sadly, one of our latest imported craze is the phenomenon known as Boko Haram. Some of our young men have allowed themselves to be turned into terrorists and stone cold killers.

National confab and delusion of Northern elders

National confab and delusion of Northern elders

THE leaders of the North, or those who say that they are leaders of the vast North, that supposedly includes the Igala, Tiv, Idoma, Nupe, Gbagyi, etc, gathered recently in Kano and indulged in what can best be described as an exercise in deception all in a desperate attempt to get power to return to a region which has been balkanised because of the natural tendency of some people to think that power belongs to them.

Abia: Airport as catalyst for development

Abia: Airport as catalyst for development

WHEN Abia State’s Chief Theodore Orji announced his government’s plan to construct an airport of international standard in the state before the expiration of his second term in office, some armchair critics and cynics did not take him seriously.

Cloud in Africa: the next big disruptor

Cloud in Africa: the next big disruptor

The disruptive nature of cloud computing will have far-reaching effects across all continents and industries as global players in the industry scuffle for market share in emerging opportunities for small to medium (SME) enterprises.

Empowering women: The Jonathan approach

Empowering women: The Jonathan approach

SATURDAY, March 8, 2014, was this year’s International Women’s Day, the first of which was celebrated in 1911. The celebration is a reminder of the plight of women all over the world while it marks their economic, political and social achievements. In history, even among the most socially advanced nations of the world, the status of women was always seen as inferior to that of men. Not only were women’s roles secondary, women were, in several cases, totally excluded from participation in certain activities.

WEF Nigeria and the Davos outing

WEF Nigeria and the Davos outing

THIS year’s World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos Switzerland confirmed that the annual WEF meeting remains the foremost gathering to contemplate and shape global economic agendas. The prestigious gathering captures in all ramifications the anxieties global business and finance are currently contending with and highlights the crisis of trust facing both public and private institutions.

Sanusi: Whistleblower or hypocrite?

Sanusi: Whistleblower or hypocrite?

THE feverish disputation over the suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, by President Goodluck Jonathan, dramatises a major problem of Nigerian politics.

Give service, get support

Give service, get support

NIGERIANS are a good people – no matter what the critics say. They are law abiding, hard working and obedient. That is the true characterisation of the average Nigerian man, amongst our various ethnic groups.

Crisis in Ukraine, Referendum in Crimea

Crisis in Ukraine, Referendum in Crimea

Nigeria may feel a long way away from Ukraine and Crimea. But matters of international principle are at stake.
On Sunday, the people of Crimea will be asked to make an impossible choice: to vote to be controlled by Russia; or to vote for independence – with no guarantee that Russia will show any more respect for the sovereignty of an independent Crimea than she did for the territorial integrity of an independent Ukraine.

Katsina: When a governor became traditional ruler

Katsina: When a governor became traditional ruler

Saturday, January 25, 2014, was indeed a memorable day in the history of Katsina State. It was a day people from all walks of life trooped to the state to honour an illustrious son, Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema, who was turbaned as the Sarkin Fulani Katsina 1 by the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman.

Jonathan and the burden of national unity

Jonathan and the burden of national unity

These days, several important national issues are competing for attention in the polity, but at the centre of it all is the question about the unity of Nigeria which has been given a fresh spark by the centenary celebrations to mark the amalgamation of the country, as well as the upcoming National Conference. During the preparation for the centenary celebrations, the debate was whether it was important or not for us to mark with so much pageantry the 100th years of the formation of Nigeria at amalgamation. In 1914, the British colonial administration under Governor Lord Lugard merged two different entities, the Southern and Northern Protectorates, and named it “Nigeria”. This was how the journey of the chequered history of Nigeria’s unity began.

2014 National Confab, the new opportunity

2014 National Confab, the new opportunity

THE need for a national conference to address all the nagging issues and the attendant problems or challenges confronting this nation in order to avert the collapse of the country seems clear to all now.

Saraki: Kawu Modibbo’s fantasy

Saraki: Kawu Modibbo’s fantasy

PUBLIC commentators are remarkably good listeners, great learners and very humble species. Usually driven by objectivity and never assuming to know everything, the public commentator will never dabble into a matter where he or she is bereft of the basic facts.

Is Ndokwa the best place for Delta 2015 governorship?

Is Ndokwa the best place for Delta 2015 governorship?

OVER the last few weeks I have seen increasing claims and calls by Ndokwa leaders agitating for power shift to Delta North and at the same time calling that the next governor should under the powershift arrangement come from Ndokwa land of Delta North.