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President Jonathan’s 11th Private Jet! By Theophilus Ilevbare It is shocking that the same people who have budgeted millions for this new flying toy are aware that the country has no national carrier as I write. It is shameful that the PAF is about the third largest fleet of aircraft in the country with a total of 10 aircraft, coming closely behind Aerocontractors with 12 and Arik Air, the largest commercial airline in Nigeria with a fleet of 23 aircraft. Nigeria happens to be one of the few countries in the world with such a large PAF. Details
Rethinking the Amalgamation of 1914. By Malcolm Fabiyi There is no question that the amalgamation of 1914 was intended to benefit the British. Its goal was solely to reduce colonial administration costs by consolidating the two civil service operations of the Northern and Southern protectorates into one. Details
Nigeria: My Nation, Our Home. By Muhammed Abdullahi Tosin Nigerians, especially the youth, today have become what Reuben Abati derisively called “collective children of anger,” taking pleasure in blaming others for the country’s woes. This can only increase hostilities. We should each sweep our compound and Nigeria would be clean. It won’t happen overnight, but if I sit up and you do same, others will be inspired and follow suit. Details
Making Sense And Nonsense Of The New Automotive Policy. By Theophilus Ilevbare On January 1, Nigeria will begin the implementation of the new automotive policy. From the stable of the drum beaters of a failed transformation agenda comes a jejune framework that lacks a clear cut direction for our automobile industry. Every New Year is becoming notable for the take-off of all sorts of utopian policies wrapped around job creation to make it fly. The promise of jobs has an instant appeal to the teeming army of unemployed graduates across the country deeming their natural tendency to ask probing questions. Details
Military & Terrorist Presidents Rule By Identical Gun Barrels. By Farouk Martins Aresa Ojukwu said it best to Gowon: that they were all rebels. He was right. My freedom fighters are your terrorists and your freedom fighters are my terrorists. It does not make a difference whose side you are on, Gowon was a terrorist in Biafra killing women and children as Ojukwu was a terrorist in Nigeria killing women, children and looting the Central Bank. Details
2013: Obasanjo’s Letter, Jonathan’s Response And The Transformation Agenda. By Haruna Manu Isah The transformation agenda with a captivating caption “My Covenant with Nigerians” is full of lofty ideals that any president desirous of any meaningful development for his country should have. But let me quickly add, it is one thing to have a sound development blueprint and diametrically different thing to have the political will to actualize it. Alas, ours is an administration that lacks both the political will and the needed brains to move the engine of growth forward. This is more so if the engine room of that blueprint is peopled by weaklings, inept worn-out technocrats and partially transformed thugs as its drivers. Details
A Season Of Open Letters. By Theophilus Ilevbare The General is at it again! When he is not openly criticising the man he facilitated to the ascendancy to Aso Rock with his utterances, he is hobnobbing with state governors eyeing President Goodluck Jonathan’s seat and opposed to his second term aspiration. But his latest offering in the form of a narcissistic missive is a desperate attempt from his moral grandeur to salvage whatever is left of the wreckage of a crashed landed flight piloted by his stooge. Details
Before Ebele Handover: Oil Sector “Sold” To Rightful Owners. By Farouk Martins Aresa Do you love Nigeria as your Country without oil resources or just want your opportunity to loot? As Ebele term ends, no amount of Party and family business distractions will control the oil sector. Nigeria/Biafra War boiled down to control of the oil resources. Issac Boro did not die fighting Biafra so that the rest of Nigeria can hijack oil loot forever. Ebele will “sell” to the rightful owners before Nigeria gets its hands on it again. I swear! Details
South Sudan Crisis: A Lesson For Rabid Secessionists. By Raheem Oluwafunminiyi The Nigeria state is gradually failing if the face-off between a former president and the incumbent is anything to go by. The face-off comes at a time when many Nigerians are deeply worried at the direction the country is going. The industrial strike embarked by most government owned institutions, the massive looting of the treasury, the harrowing insecurity problem, unemployment among others show gloomy signs that all is not well with the country. Details
Is APC the New PDP? By Chido Onumah For me, the last straw was the image that made headlines during the week; the image of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, a man so violently consumed by self-interest, standing shoulder to shoulder with the leaders of the APC. Obasanjo needed that photo opportunity to save face after a scathing public rebuke by his daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo. But for the APC it was a new low for a party still struggling to make an impression on Nigerians. I believe every party worth its salt must have basic beliefs and values that it must uphold at all times. Details
A City in the Grip of Criminals. By Fredrick Nwabufo The woman victim, in between wailings, mutters, “Two boys on Okada at gun point asked for my bag which contained fifty thousand naira and a Blackberry Phone. I resisted at first, and the one holding a gun shot me. They took my bag and sped off.” After her anguished mutterings, comes the climax of a deafening scream, e…wo! e…wo! e…wo! Details
Mandela. By Zents Kunle Sowunmi The first country in Africa to support ANC the rebel turned political party in South Africa was Nigeria at a time the man with the Golden voice, Sir Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa was the Prime Minister of a post-independence Nigeria in 1960, during his visit to United States of America when JF Kennedy was the President, Balewa made it known that the freedom in Africa particularly South Africa, Rhodesia and South West Africa (Namibia) must be seen as very important to the freedom of the Africans. Details
Mandela, Nigeria, and the Agonies of a ‘Baba’sinku’ Wannabe. By Dr. Adeleke Otunuga We Nigerians need to re-chart a course for the future. That future must be devoid of the current persistent penchant for ethnic and religious sororification at the slightest provocation. It is very insane, and clearly anti-progressive, to define any Nigerian by either their ethnic origin or religious affiliation. It is time we start honoring Mandela’s legacy by looking forward. As a nation, we have what it takes to be great. Details
Obasanjo’s ‘satanic’ letter. By Chido Onumah Like most Nigerians, the former president expressed deep concern about the tragic consequences of the current crisis. Unlike most Nigerians, however, Obasanjo has had two glorious opportunities to help turn around the fortune of Nigeria and he squandered both. Of course, it is easy to say we should focus on the message rather than the messenger. But this is one instance in which the messenger can’t be divorced from the message. Details
Obasanjo: Who Has the Moral Right? By Leonard Karshima Shilgba Have I heard some say it is not appropriate for a former president to publicly criticize a sitting president? When the only thing that can move a president who “does not give a damn” to public opinion and private letters from even elders such as Chief Bisi Akande and President Obasanjo is an excoriating public letter from a former president, then the question is unnecessary. See how the presidency did not respond until the content of the letter became public knowledge more than one week after it was written? Details
For Aliyu And Lamido, It Is Time To Count Their Gains. By Theophilus Ilevbare It leaves one to wonder what Aliyu and Lamdo were up to, considering that they were always a part of G-7. Were they spies for the PDP in the nPDP? What kind of battle were they fighting that they couldn’t resolve issues within the party and remain? Was there some secret pact between this two and the presidency? Are they merely acting out a script? Were they ever in spirit and sync with the other five governors? Why did they start the rebellion in the first place if they weren’t ready to jump ship when the going gets tough, knowing there cannot be two captains in a ship. Or were they just fearful? Details
Pension Amendment Bill and Legislative Malpractice. By Bello Muhammad Tsafe Furthermore, a President who so desperately seeks for re-election would not only need to be fair to all and sundry, he also ought to strive to pursue popular policies, and that also includes appointing competent persons who would improve his rating. The same way the appointment of Prof Jega as INEC Chairman in 2010 elevated the hopes of Nigerians. As far as I can see this PenCom palaver is anything but. Details
Igbos In Contemporary Nigerian Politics. By Babayola M. Toungo The Igbos appears to be on the march again on the road to Kigali if the blinking signals are anything to go by. This time around they have a compliant government under their thumbs already in place so there is no need shooting anybody dead. It is a government whose agenda of totally annihilating the north is in tandem with that of the Igbos. Details
Festus Iyayi: Why The Harsh Criticisms Must Not Stop. By Raheem Oluwafunminiyi For as long as those who are supposed to lead the country to an enviable path fail to perform their duties correctly, they leave the people no choice but to complain. However, the lesson of history teaches us that the worst thing one can do to man is to take him for granted. For too long, Nigerians have faced this treacherous path. It is only hoped the leaders would do the right things to make the country a better place. Details
National Conference and “the fierce urgency of now!” By Chido Onumah Like many Nigerians I am suspicious of the national conference or dialogue proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan. But unlike some of those who have expressed their apprehension about the conference, I believe in the imperative of the “fierce urgency of now!” Details
The Outrageous Reason for Dearth of Outrage in Nigeria. By Chidera U. Nwogbo, PhD; JD The exasperating thing about the systemic rot in Nigeria is that at heart, almost every Nigerian is a potential looter of public treasury; they literally pray for a chance to get their hands on public funds. Details
I Better Pass My Country Live Fast And Die Rich Abroad. By Farouk Martins Aresa Let us look into the mirrors. Real African billionaires ignored others’ wealth redistribution call. Their loot is badly needed to fly their corpse home. Not even the new Pope’s call on-dog-eat-dog mentality designed to impoverish in the midst of plenty can change hearts. After all, they’ve already built church or mosque inside their homes. Details
Is it Time to Sack the Nigerian National Assembly. By Nwike (S) Ojukwu One argument against the conference that has been of concern to some Nigerians is the fear that it could lead to a break-up of the country, assuming that Nigeria is currently united. Such an argument is spurious and a superficial alibi for shirking our responsibility to confront the fierce urgency of making tough choices. We cannot afford to defer such an important matter to our children. Details
The Role Of The Media In The Proposed National Dialogue. By Ahmad Sajoh I believe the President got it all wrong in assuming that dialogue will address the identified divisions. Our divisions along Ethnic, Religious and Economic lines are products of a systematic political manipulation by self-centered, unpatriotic and greedy ruling elite. These elites are bankrupt in ideas and not committed to the welfare of the people or progress of the nation and I don’t think a dialogue by them will solve our ills. Details
Are You Ahmad Sajoh; Who Will Save You From Us? By Ahmad Sajoh I stand by that statement. At the beginning of the process we had a 12-hour curfew which affected spiritual activities of both Christian and Muslims even though the suspension of Muslim congregational prayers was more hurtful. I said the State of Emergency distrupted social activities including critical ones like going to Hospitals at night even in situations of emergency. That was really painful. I said the process affected the economic lives of the people in many ways than one. The cutting-off of GSM services, the delays in journeys, the shutting down of businesses especially in the evening, the restrictions in movement and several such actions have severely affected the people negatively. Details
A Prognosis: After The Fall Of Nigeria By Fredrick Nwabufo. By Fredrick Nwabufo The fall of Nigeria is greeted with jubilation, excitement and fanfare in the various ethnic enclaves. All Nigerians have contributed to its collapse by removing bricks from different parts of its structure. Details
President Jonathan’s Confusion About National Dialogue. By Leonard Karshima Shilgba I would not want a national conference that resembles the Amnesty that was granted the militants of the Niger Delta by President Yar’Adua and facilitated by President Jonathan, which has not improved on the quality of life of the people of the region. Rather, a few rogues have been made super rich enough to afford private jets while their environment remains devastated and polluted. Details
Mega Stores, Foreign Investors, the Nigerian Retailer, and the Reign of Compradors. By Ahmed Garba Recently, in a conversation with a friend, it downed on us that slowly but surely, the Nigerian ruling class is definitely hammering the nails on the coffin of what used to be a proud Nigerian class—The Small Business Owners or Retailers. Details
Tinubu Cries Bloody Murder - Nigeria Bans Tax Contractors. By Farouk Martins Aresa No matter how some of us feel about Governor Emeritus Tinubu, the powerhouse of Southwestern Nigerian politics, he may have finally met his match under Okonjo-Iweala. Ban on tax contractors has been discussed and digested only to be forgotten because nobody implemented it. In spite of this writer’s differences with Ngozi, she is dead right on this one. There are different ways to skin a cat; you can also hang it by the balls. Details
Jonathan’s National “Conversation”. By Babayola M. Toungo For Jonathan’s “conversation” to serve the interests of all Nigerians, it must be made sovereign and the basis of representation should be ethnicity or language as Jerry Gana submitted. For any meaningful and genuine political, and even physical development to take place, it must be based the action of men who see themselves as Nigerians, not men who retreat into their ethnic/ religious cocoons whenever they believe it serves their narrow agenda. Details
Realization Time Is Now. By Gbite Martins Fredrick Lugard must be right to say southern Nigerians don’t have the ability to see their future. You can Google Fredrick Lugard. Producing generations of graduates that claim perfection psychologically among each others, enabling continue disconnection between old and new generation, but run to others to be managed is indoctrinations. No country can develop on only book theory. Details
Do We Need A National Conference? No, We Do! By Raheem Oluwafunminiyi Unless we want to deceive ourselves, the decision by the president to send whatever outcome of the proposed national conference to the assembly is already a failed project because when we look at the inherent meaning of a national conference, it speaks much about the desire of different ethnic nationalities, whether major or minor, to agree on how best or well to live in a multifarious amalgam without fear of being seen as a trouble maker or outcast. Details
Stella Oduah’s Indiscretion Spawns Vitriolic Ethnic Exchanges. By Fredrick Nwabufo The disunity among the common people who have been robbed excruciatingly in view of Stella Oduah’s perceived banditry has its provenance in tribalism. Nigerians are torn by tribal sentiments and considerations on this gob-smacking issue. A gross percentage of Igbo people see the self-concocted concoction of troubles of Stella Oduah, the Minister of Aviation as a poisonous potion ladled out to the public by the "venomous" Yoruba media in a bid to pull her down and discredit her for the good works she has been doing because she is Igbo. Details
Andrew Azazi, Yushau Shuaib, Festus Odimegwu And The Rest Of Us. By Raheem Oluwafunminiyi When we look back at the history of the jumbled collection called Nigeria, we would discover that truth has always found no way near our developmental strides and our collective aspirations as a people. It is because we have not yet told ourselves the basic truth about how we have arrived at our particular parlous state of affairs today in this country, hence the reason we are yet to find solutions to where the rains began to beat us. Details
In this writer’s opinion, it is a tragicomedy that members of the law class of 1978 sat through the reading of Alobo’s 53 - page paper and no single one of them had the presence of mind and the kindness to tell Professor Eni Eja Alobo, that Nigeria is estoppeled from bringing up the matter of retrieval of Bakassi, as it is time-barred. Details
North - South Divide: Nwabueze’s Intellectual Sophistry. By Babayola M. Toungo What comes out from Nwabueze’s sorry treatise is no different from what has been attempted in the past through innuendos, boos and even murder in order to destroy the cohesiveness among the disparate peoples of the region. Connotations like Hausa-Fulani, middle belt and core north were the old phrases used in the past. Now Nwabueze has introduced a new one – True North. Details
We Are a Problem to Nigeria. By Yusuff Olayode If you ever dream of a country where her leaders are birds of a feather, where followers pray for their leaders fall – check Nigeria. With different ethnic groups, with many religions and even varying political school of thoughts, our leaders still come together, fashion out ways of looting the country’s treasury. I wonder why people with different religions, diverse ethnic groups, tribes and all that make the differences, connive to rob tax payers’ wealth. Details
Between Notorious ASUU and ‘Incompetent’ FG. By Mahmud Zukogi I dare not call nor see the Federal government as notorious, even if it is notoriously so. I can however stare my union in the face and refer to it as hopelessly notorious, even as it is not. Details
Work Slavery In Nigeria. By Fredrick Nwabufo The damning report of the Australian anti-slavery campaign group, The Walk Free Foundation that Nigeria sweeps the board in mustering the highest number of people living in modern slavery in Africa is not only on the threshold of verifiable truth, but also in the crucible of sordid reality. Details
National Conference - The Pervasiveness Of "Sovereignty". By Bernard DoroTo say that Nigerians are vibrant debaters is to say the least. As expected the recent inauguration of an advisory committee on national dialogue by president Jonathan has engendered debates and lots of discourse in the Nigerian political space. The naysayers have painted gloomy picture and have adduced many reasons as to why the proposal will fail Details
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