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Blame God, Nigeriana! By Leonard Karshima Shilgba Our Nigerian way of life is the way of plenty of rituals of religion and very little of deeds to match our religious professions. It is public conduct and confessions that are divorced from personal responsibility and rather attached to “faith”. It does not matter what the outcome of our “faith” may be. Our most convenient escape route is to “pray” or to urge people to “pray harder”. Details
Pension And Pen-Shun In Nigeria. By Nweke Obinna Innocent Finally, nothing lasts forever, employment status, strength, age, salaries etc. all drift away with time. When the time is against a worker and retirement sets-in, the worker should be safe in the knowledge of having a properly managed retirement benefits. Those who retire without pensions are worse off because they will solely depend on their savings and given the poor saving and investment culture in Nigeria, a worker who retires without pension is retiring to farmland, or reside within the urban centres and to become alms-beggars, destitute and ultimately another social problem. Details
Voodoo-Mized Corruption: My Rogues Are More Noble Than Yours. By Farouk Martins Aresa Ask the world what they know about Nigeria; almost everyone is convinced that billions are lost every day to corruption. What the Nigerian elites, educated, cronies and the privileged cannot agree on is how many of them deserve punishment or the highest honors of the land. As far as Nigerians are concern, my looters are better than yours. They cannot even agree on whose money is stolen with this idea that a man can steal from himself or from his own backyard. Details
Why France Backs Boko Haram. By Muhammad Hassan-Tom One story that could only be brushed off at Nigeria’s peril was captioned “Don Raises Alarm over France’s Plan to invade Nigeria” published in the Vanguard of 15th February 2014. The report quoted Professor Olaghere, President of the United African Diaspora States (UADS) saying, “I want to use this platform to let Nigerians know that France is ready to come and invade Africa and Nigeria is the target. They are right now training Cameroon. France is fighting you and it is going to throw you out of your home and it is your duty to defend Nigeria at all costs.” Details
Sanusi: Whistleblower or hypocrite? By Tochukwu Ezukanma The feverish disputation over the suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigerian (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, by President Goodluck Jonathan dramatizes a major problem of Nigerian politics. Nigerian political parties lack ideological and philosophical anchors. Without ideological and philosophical differences between the parties, Nigerian politicians skirt profound political discourse. They bicker over petty political questions and politicize every issue, no matter how trivial. The suspension of Sanusi Sanusi is an example of a national concern politicized to a nauseating extreme. Details
Farewell to Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (Danmajen Kano). By Ibrahim Muye Yahaya The suspension of SLS and immediate nomination of his successor has once more picture the administration of been managed by poor advisers, sycophants, and strategists. The ill-timed sacking of the apex Bank Governor who has for the past a year raised alarm for unaccounted missing Billions of Crude sale and subsidies by the Presidency, NNPC, Finance and Petroleum Ministries and of recent for not accounting to the tune of over $20 Billion dollars has exposed the administration that it condone, nurtured, fed, water and breed corruption. Details
The Internal Dialogue Before the National Conference. By Ogwu Paul Okwuchukwu As for the no go- areas of the dialogue, we should all understand that there is strength in unity. We are great because of our collective contribution as a country. Nation building is a gradual and continuous process even for countries that have existed for centuries. Details
Stella Odua Was Not the Problem. By Tochukwu Ezukanma My gripe with her is her poor performance as Aviation Minister. It was during her time as Aviation Minister that the country experienced the tragic Dana Air crash of 2012 that led to the death of 153 people. According to the Flight Safety International, it was the worst air disaster of 2012. The crash was a direct consequence of the failure of government (aviation) agencies to enforce quality and safety standards in the aviation industry. Details
Dwindling Oil Income May Sober Us Into Brothers Again. By Farouk Martins Aresa No amount of crude oil is worth the amount of bad blood it has generated between brothers, sisters and within families. Someone put it best in Warri when he exclaimed that my people are killing my people. Families that have existed in peace for centuries, married one another are killing and maiming one another over the control of oil income, allocations, wells and ferocious foreign religious fatalism. It may not stop until the oil income fueling all these fires, runs dry. Details
Some Perspectives on the Alleged Unremitted $10.8 Billion Oil Revenue. By Dr. Emmanuel Ojameruaye There are at least two important lessons which political appointees like the Governor of Central Bank, Ministers and Heads of Federal and States Agencies in Nigeria must take away from the suspension of SLS. The first lesson derives from the proverbs which state that “those who live in glass houses should not throw stones” and “When you point one finger, there are three fingers pointing back to you”. Details
Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk Dance and the National Conference: The Parallels. By Nwike (S) Ojukwu While some Nigerians have characterized President Jonathan in unprintable and disparaging patois, others have questioned his academic credentials. I resent the disrespect for his office (although I will defend the right to the exercise of free speech), which a section of the polity seems to revel; I have particularly been concerned with the quality of his advisors. Details
We are Boko Haram. By Fredrick Nwabufo Besides, while Boko Haram is waging a Jihad against the country, churches in Nigeria are waging crusades against the pockets of their adherents. Nigerian churches employ mind-bending strategies to keep their faithful mass of penitents under a regimen of compulsory and thankless giving. Nevertheless, that is a subject for another day. Details
Of Defections and Political Prostitution. By Anthony Akinola The ease with which our politicians change political party support clearly suggests that ideology is of little relevance in our politics. Our politicians are divided by their greed and selfish interests than by anything else. Where there is commitment to ideology, a politician will not transfer his or her loyalty for the fear of competition by potential rivals. Details
Recurrent Expenditure and the Rest of Us. By Ogwu Paul Okwuchukwu The current staff strength of the various ministries and agencies of government are over bloated. The government should be able to rationalise the staff and identify those relevant to the organisations they serve. They should also engage in massive retraining of some of the trainable staff members to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. Details
APC Membership Registration Drive: The Preparation for Scientific Rigging. By Taofeek Ramat By the way, the Judiciary abracadabra that led to the conduct of that election, at the time, December, is still not fully demystified. I heard tales of some head boy in Aso Rock and his wife wanting to do away with some pesky and ungrateful fellow at helms of affairs in Bayelsa. They got judiciary pronouncements that set 3 governors packing. So much for the judiciary contribution to destroying a democracy won by blood and sweat of patriots! Details
Inequity in Nigeria’s Party Politics. By Ado Umar Muhammad As former governors of Kano and Sokoto states, Shekarau and Bafarawa were among leaders of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) which lost its registration certificate to pave way for the emergence of APC. With no party to return to, they were therefore forced by circumstances to seek refuge in the PDP against their perceived personal and political convictions. Details
Sheikh Albani: Legacy Beyond Dying. By Mahmud Yabo Nigeria is ironically a country presently not trapped in war but whose internal security situation has, largely due to institutional collapse and dearth of competent leadership, grossly deteriorated to the extent that criminals like kidnappers, armed robbers and murderers have turned its once serene and peaceful cities and towns in to a terror-stricken population. Details
Made in Nigeria Vehicle: Regulatory Compliance and Safety Concerns. By Ritchie Ejiofor I have pondered since I stumbled on the web, the “Made in Nigeria vehicle "by an indigenous manufacturing company, based in Nnewi, Anambra State. I was initially excited and elated at the prospect of having a vehicle DNA, originating from Nigeria in my lifetime. Details
Jonathan’s Yea Sayers In The North: Same Old Crooks. By Babayola M. Toungo While Sanusi and El-Rufa’i are undergoing their separate mental and physical ordeals in the hands of Jonathan’s kinsmen, a senile old man was inaugurating what he called Northern Elders Council (NEC). Tanko Yakassai, a man who have been in the political field since the days of NEPU in the first republic, is embarrassing himself in public by denouncing all those having beef with Jonathan on how he is running the country. Details
Ngozimycin-Penta-Nairate. By Ahmed Garba Remember when ex-convict Obasanjo was catapulted to presidency, thanks to Babangida, Aliyu Gusau, Danjuma? Well, that was the first time voodoo lady Iweala brought her sham medicine to Nigeria. In that first coming, quack doctor Ngozi pushed Nigeria to pay off debt that some experts still contend was, at best dubious. Details
As the Igbo Become a Minority in Nigeria. By Fredrick Nwabufo The Igbo today are groping in a labyrinth of confusion; a labyrinth that they have knitted together out of humongous morsels of selfishness, avarice and ignorance. And as they waltz in the ball of anodyne confusion their status or place in the Nigerian entity magnanimously tapers off. Details
National Conference: Resource Control, Derivation And Tiv Interests. By Leonard Karshima Shilgba President Jonathan has called a national conference to discuss important issues that are connected to the interests of all ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria. Those interests are many and variegated. I am a Tiv man with a Nigerian nationality. In this essay, I shall attempt to articulate an issue of utmost importance to my people with respect to the national conference. I also seek to shed some little light on the issues of Resource Control, Derivation and Land Ownership. Details
The Ejigbo Pepper Sodomy & Murder Case: When Violence Must Be Curbed. By Raheem Oluwafunminiyi It is most disheartening that on a daily basis and across the country, the wanton bestiality that had characterised Nigeria’s inglorious military past continues unabated in a country which prides itself as a giant of a divisive continent. At every corner of the country and even in open spaces, all kinds of savage acts are perpetrated either by the wealthy against the poor or sadly, the poor against the poor, leaving in its trail sorrow, tears and blood. Details
When Small is Not Beautiful. By Dr. Aminu F. Hamajoda The real issue is how we collectively react to our colonial experience and the modern challenge of globalization. It will be negative if we accept the colonialist concept of Africa as consisting of primordial ‘tribal’ entities fighting each other, and positive if we reject the above colonial construct by striving for a truly African identity that is multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural. Details
Mu’azu And The Task Of Repositioning The PDP. By Theophilus Ilevbare As we approach 2015, the ambition of President Jonathan to pursue another four-year term in office will continue to generate tension between the presidency and arrowheads of the north’s quest for power return to the zone at all cost. This is one issue that is capable of exposing the fault lines in the party. For Mu’azu, blind loyalty to the presidency even when the party’s interest is at stake is a super highway to sliding further down the slippery slope of the PDP’s descent into crisis. Details
The Politics Of Ethnic Nationalism. By Babayola M. Toungo The campaign of hate and the popularisation of hate speech in Nigeria is a legacy of Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign tactics which many people failed to see it for what it was because we were blinded by one sentiment or the other. It first reared its head in the final days of the late Umaru ‘Yar Adua, his former principal. After the death of ‘Yar Adua, it became Jonathan’s mantra – with his no shoes slogan saturating the airwaves and the print media. Details
Dear President Jonathan, Corruption Is The Problem Of Nigeria. By Theophilus Ilevbare The present administration has embarrassingly failed to realise that the root cause of the present wave of terrorism ravaging the north east is the result of decades of corruption and impunity of perpetrators coupled with the failure of successive government to provide quality, affordable education to Nigerian children. Graft goes beyond misappropriation of public funds. Details
Emerging Markets: Foxes Teach Chickens How To Survive. By Farouk Martins Aresa Do you know how much it cost to attend Lagos State University? Prices are so high in Nigeria, if you travel to Benin Republic, Togo or Ghana, your money would buy more. You can buy enough for yourselves and some left over to sell. Indeed many take their vacation in highbrow locations in Ghana and Benin Republic before submitting to hustle and bustle rat race in Nigeria. Details
2015: Why There Will Be No Free And Fair Elections. By Godwin Onyeacholem No matter the promises made by Jega or anybody, Nigerians will not witness free and fair elections in 2015. However, unlike Nasir El-Rufai, one would not speculate on what would happen afterwards. Interestingly, not even the INEC boss’ brain wave, which ensured only his professor-colleagues in the universities are returning officers in most of the elections, has lent any credibility to the voting process. Indeed when next another professor is introduced as chairman of INEC, Nigerians must not forget to allow some degree of distrust. Details
A Battered Presidency. By Ogwu Paul Okwuchukwu Had the Yar ardua presidency not killed the leader of Boko Haram, we would not have witnessed the level of blood- letting and devilish manipulation of some unknown forces that are bent on creating mayhem and disunity. He did well with the Niger-Delta amnesty but in the long run that would be a disaster. Details |