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Achebe versus Obasanjo, Danjuma, Agbese. By Okachikwu Dibia ... Obasanjo insisted that “our number one problem was corruption... In the same vein, General T. Y. Danjuma (rtd) argued that “the greatest challenge facing the country was corruption” .... Dan Agbese, ... formulated a hypothesis that: “wherever public institutions fail the people, there you find the ubiquitous ‘C’ word”. I believe ‘C’ represents corruption. Consequently, to him, corruption is the bane of Nigeria. Details
Northern Nigerian Muslims and their Addiction to Doctrinal Controversies. By Muhsin Ibrahim The North is stasis largely because of our doing. We are too disorganised, unorganised, divided, and disenchanted with one another. Almost everything is either sectionalised (remember the Northeast Development Commission saga?) or interpreted based on one's sectarian or political affiliation. Details
On Need to Revive Monolithic North. By Ado Umar Muhammad That was the golden age of the legendary ‘monolithic North,’ which was greatly feared by its powerful political foes. Luckily for them that feared North gradually became a shadow of its former self after the creation of states and the civil war. This was because through extraneous instigation and sustained media campaign, elites of minority tribes began to complain of neglect and abandonment by their fellow Northerners, particularly leaders of military regimes that succeeded General Yakubu Gowon who was ousted in a bloodless coup in 1975. Details
Nigerian Fast, Heresy, and Common Sense. By Leonard Karshima Shilgba “Fasting and prayers” are also taken by Nigeria’s ignorantly religious to be substitutes for obedience, patriotic deeds, or principled living. It is simplistic to ignore your necessary duty to society, and then think that you can “pray” and “fast” your way out of the consequences. Negligence of government responsibilities is often shrouded by “prayer and fasting”. Besides, there have been reports of governments in Nigeria spending public funds on “prayer and fasting”. Details
Nigeria and the Winds of Political Power. By Leonard Karshima Shilgba In Nigeria, it appears that many people are too carried away by the winds, earthquakes, and fires of political movements or forces to pay attention to the still small voice of conscience, knowledge, and revelation. This weakness is a reason for the recurring mistakes the mainstream news media, opinion column writers, the electorate, and the perpetual critics, who hardly vote in elections, have been making. Details
Notes on Leftist Politics in Nigeria. By Edwin Madunagu Recently, a young man who teaches English at Abia State University phoned to inform me of an impending conference on the bicentenary of the birth of Karl Marx. But what the call provoked in me was not the remembrance of Marx and his enduring legacy but anger over the fact that some people still regularly irritate me with chants of “death of communism” and “disappearance of socialism”. Details
Triumph, CTV: Rimi’s favorite media twins. By Ado Umar Muhammad Wednesday, April 4, 2018, marked the eighth anniversary of the death of Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi, the first executive governor of old Kano state (Jigawa state inclusive). He died as a result of an attack by armed bandits close to Darki town in Takai LGA while on his way back to Kano from Bauchi state. Late Rimi is generally acknowledged as one of the two best governors of Kano state who laid the solid foundation for its development, the other being Alhaji Audu Bako. Details
The State of Education in Nigeria (Part 1). By Leonard Karshima Shilgba There are Nigerian critics who agree that Nigeria is offering “expired education”. The foundation of college or university education is primary/secondary education. Many of our secondary school graduates that have been admitted to study in some of the best universities in the world are not first “quarantined” in programs code-named: “detoxification of Nigeria’s expired education” before they start as freshmen in their choice degree programs. Details
Nigerians, Foreign is not Always Better. By Professor Leonard Karshima Shilgba Last Saturday, a friend forwarded to me this headline: “Nigerians are receiving expired education, says US Varsity VC.” The story was published in a mainstream national newspaper. He and I have studied and worked in countries that supposedly do not offer “expired education” to their citizens and foreigners that study in them. Without wasting precious time, I sent him this reply: “Education does not ‘expire’. Besides, let the ‘US varsity VC’ provide the curricula for the programs the US universities offer, and compare with Nigerian universities’. Details
On Nigeria’s Regional and Religious Affiliations. By Professor Leonard Karshima Shilgba Let me address Nigerian militants. Why are you angry with Nigeria, but not with your State of origin, Local Government Area, your State governor or Local government chairman? Do you know that out of every N 100 that goes into the Federation Account your States and Local Government Councils take about N 48? And from the N52, the Federal Government should provide across the country all the services that the constitution requires it to provide. Details
Role Of Advocacy In Budget Tracking. By Otive Igbuzor, PhD Several scholars have argued that one of the greatest problems confronting Nigeria is corruption. It is well known and documented that corruption is widespread, deep and endemic in Nigeria. Nigeria has been consistently rated among the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International in its Corruption Perception Index. In 2011, Nigeria was ranked 143rd out of 183 countries. In 2012, Nigeria was rated 139th out of 176 countries and in 2013, Nigeria was placed at the 144th position out of 177 countries. Details
Nigeria’s Public University Education: Reducing Burdens and Raising Quality. By Professor Leonard Karshima Shilgba The time is now to work toward saving Nigeria’s college education from under-funding, inadequate carrying capacity, unreliable quality assurance that is heavily based on National Universities Commission (NUC)-commissioned evaluations, and merit-abused admission and employment criteria. We cannot continue this way, and hope to build a great society. We must change course. Details
Can I Trust Your Electoral Choice? By Professor Leonard Karshima Shilgba In 2015, after President Buhari's electoral victory in the presidential election that year, I listened in to an interactive listeners' program on a radio station in Bayelsa State. The discussion was on expectations from Buhari government. A caller said, "I would like Buhari to construct Yenagoa-Ogbia road." The host correctly told him that the road construction was the business of the Bayelsa State government. Similar wrong expectations are entertained by many Nigerian voters who may sincerely not know enough, while some may just be plain mischievous. Details
We are All Together. We are all Together. By Owei Lakemfa The politicians are in bloom with the 2019 General Elections knocking. One colourful politician I am yet to hear from is Pastor Chris Okotie, the Founder and Head Pastor of Household of God Church International Ministries. In almost all contemporary elections, he tells Nigerians that God had instructed him to run for the Presidency as he has been anointed the next the President of the Blackman’s most populous country. Details
Nigeria in Need of Leaders. By Leonard Karshima Shilgba More than ten years ago, in an essay, I asked who spoke for Nigeria. Every so often, we speak for our “tribe”, “religion”, or “geo-political zones”, which we must, but quite rarely do we speak for Nigeria. And this also is our problem. It cannot be denied that the most prominent qualification for the Nigerian citizenship is our respective ethnic nationalities from which we have our divine origins. Details
Divorce: Best Mom Even In A Slum May Not Be The Best Wife. By Farouk Martins Aresa The areas in old African cities like Monrovia and Freetown may look like ghettos now, they were the place we were very happy. We had soccer fields close by and where there was none, we created ours on the streets. When cars came, we made way for them and as soon as they drove away, we resumed our game. Today, with so many people, you cannot even see Lagos roads, full of people. Cars make their way through like a divided sea that closes as cars move away. Details
Kannywood, a Film Industry in Need of Revaluation. By Muhsin Ibrahim As I wrote elsewhere, the relationship between cinema and the orthodox religious institutions is often marked by uneasiness if not outright hostility. From its very beginning, the Puritans see the raison d’ętre of visual art as only to entertain, which means to distract people from their duty to God and ethical undertakings. Until today, the accusation is all the more raging. How filmmakers handle the questions of morality, culture and spirituality is under censorship. Kannywood, the Kano-based, up-and-coming motion picture industry of and by the predominantly Muslim Hausa speaking people in northern Nigeria, is not an exception. Details
Budget 2018: Issues for Advocacy. By Otive Igbuzor, PhD The budget is crucial in allocating resources and delivering services to citizens. But there are a lot of blockages to the budgetary process in Nigeria. Previous advocacy efforts have led to some improvement, but a lot still needs to be done especially in terms of process, content and implementation issues. There is the need to promote citizens engagement in the entire budget cycle from selection of projects through implementation to monitoring and evaluation. Details
Africa and the Age of Hate. By Aminu Hamajoda The rising ethnic and communal tensions in Africa especially in Central Africa, Congo, South Sudan and Nigeria should be stopped, analyzed and resolved immediately before the middle of this year, 2018. Leaders in Africa must gather without resort to UNO or any non-African institution to appraise the current conflicts in Africa without fear or favour. Details
Yoruba Ladies Are The Ultimate Wives. By Farouk Martins Aresa However, if you have made it, if you do not have a Yoruba as a wife, you have failed to clinch the ultimate lady. It does not matter which ethnic group you belong to, Yoruba lady is it. Go to other cities or towns, once they know you have a Yoruba wife, you are entitled to a chieftaincy title and they brag about it too. One reason is what most of us know: Yoruba ladies do not marry down except when certain circumstances demand it. Details
Fulani “Herdsmen” and the Way Forward. By Professor Abdussamad Umar Jibia Like on every issue, Nigerians are divided. First, since the issue has to do with Fulani, a tribe closely associated with Islam, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Southern press took their side. It is an opportunity to pour out the anti-Islamic venom on an issue that is purely criminal. As a regular reader of online newspapers I always find the headlines of southern newspapers and the comments revealing. They have a regular pattern. From the headline you would know the side taken by the newspaper. Details
Complexity of the Quintessential Artist. By Abdulwarees Solanke The archetypal artist is often a completely complex personality, usually misunderstood, an unpredictable character given to impatience, mood swings and brain waves. Yet, he has an unusual inner beauty and absorptive capacity of all experiences. He appreciates the beauty of nature to fertilize his vivid imaginations; he has utopian dreams and aspirations that confound the average man. You may find him totally a recluse or an unapologetic introvert. He could be weird, and sometimes be called mad or unreasonable. He could be boring, colorless, or unattractive. He or she could look a small rat you will consider him inconsequential; you may see him a "stingo", thin as broomstick or anopheles. He could be physically challenged: blind, lame, deaf or dumb. Because we often cannot gauge his strength, values and virtues, we are likely to underrate him. Because he is sometimes short of words, we cannot find happiness in his company. Details
Process Reform: If Nigeria Must Break Through. By Abdul-Warith Solanke With the efforts at the executive arm of government to inspire CHANGE in all ramifications in Nigeria, there is a silver lining of a breakthrough in the country. The notion of a breakthrough is reaching the desired destination from a torturous journey, not by magic or miracle but by a definitive and systematic process that requires careful planning and patience. This is the gist of President Muhammadu Buhari’s thesis on Process Reform instead of restructuring obsession while addressing the nation on Monday. So, in what way must we reform our processes or must we act to achieve that systematic breakthrough? Details
Businesses & Inter-Ethnic Marriages May Suppress African Self-Hatred. By Farouk Martins Aresa Businesses have always contributed a haven where you find people of different ethnic groups in pursuit of economic salvation. Any business that wants to expand its market share must expand to gain more people to patronize its goods and services. They need retailers to market services and goods. Africans have now come to realize that they have to patronize one another through the Continent. South and East African businesses now operate in West Africa and vice versa. Details
Ethnic Economic Sabotage Brewing. By Farouk Martins Aresa Yoruba and Igbo youths have been involved in internet war for a while. They can easily predict who is involved in rituals, drugs or 419 at home or overseas. Yoruba youths became sensitive to a financial institution within them being cheated and may be dragged into liquidation by no other than some businessman relocating back home. They are grabbed by fear of those taking it all but giving little in return. Guarantee Trust can go under if others acquire such bad loans. Details
New Year Reflections on Nigeria. By Abdul-Warith Solanke What must we IMPROVE? In any reform initiative, it is inevitable that that some vulnerabilities and negative externalities will arise. They are the price we must pay if reform must be productive. We must therefore improve on our social security deliverables to mitigate the impact of reforms and widen the arena of dialogue and communication to imbue trust and confidence that the evidently harsh and painful decision is temporary. Details
What is Politics? By Okachikwu Dibia The import of this article is to remind politicians that Politics is for the common good and that any attempt to make it for personal gains is a crime against society. It is this understanding that can lead to Politics seen as service for good society and Politics for private gains as moral crime punishable by Nature. Details State Of Origin: Double Dip Causes Resentment. By Farouk Martins Aresa We have to find ways to reduce resentments that have nearly reached a combustible stage. Creation of states is to give most groups a say in running their own affairs. Unfortunately, people still cry marginalization if northern part of that state is getting a bigger pie than the central or the southern part. In order to relieve most of these resentments, more states were created. Some of these states are not only unviable, they are glorified local governments. Details
Hausa Are The Most Marginalized Nigerians. By Farouk Martins Aresa Despite leadership from the North, the Hausa remained the most marginalized based on past history with the Fulani that captured their City States and replaced their Emirs with only those that can demonstrate their Fulani blood. Unfortunately, the obvious exclusion of real Hausa has gone beyond religious power and made it into political power. The hierarchy established by Usman Dan Fodio radical Islam replaced prior established Muslim and their indigenous beliefs. Details
Maryam Sanda: Kannywood is not to Blame. By Muhsin Ibrahim Kannywood is a phenomenon which our “armchair” criticism and condemnation cannot tame. We had better wake up and truly do something towards making it better, or keep quiet. Oftentimes, the more the industry generates controversy, deserving or otherwise, the more popular it becomes. The human mind is set in such a way that out of curiosity, it desires more to see what it is denied or warned from seeing. I, thus, believe that the best way to deal with the industry is not to blame it for all our socio-religious, moral and cultural ills. They are not to blame in entirety; we are, to a large extent. Let’s go back to the drawing board. Details
Nothing Wrong With Crooks Probing Crooks. By Farouk Martins Aresa In short, Buhari is trusted to be stronger against corruption than anyone else, despite his faults. We are yet to see the impunity other heads of state displayed on corruption, from Buhari. If we had to repeat that election, Buhari would still win. The amount of corruption under Jonathan was simply obscene. They were so bold, they came out with the slogan that it was their money and they could steal it anyway they wanted. What about “corruption is not stealing”? Details
Must Explore Excavate & Create Arts & Sciences End Products. By Farouk Martins Aresa Ghana should not at this point be depending of the Chinese to mine its gold, Nigeria should not be depending on the British to refine its oil and Congo should not be depending on Americans to refine its diamond. Instead of going it alone or trading everything individually abroad, each African country should be assigned a technology based on the amount of resources it produced, by African skilled experts to be enticed home or other formula deliberated by African Union. Details
Girl-Child, Poverty and Our World this Century. By Muhsin Ibrahim The government, as you might have guessed, must shoulder some responsibility, too, for not doing much (if anything!) to alleviate the poverty millions of its citizens live in today. Poverty is a disease that leads to despair and death. As representatives of a philanthropic organisation, we visited the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano in late August this year. The unhealthy, impoverished living condition of the patients in the ward we toured moved some of us to tears, wallahi. About two or three patients died in the span of 24 hours, one of them a few minutes before our arrival. Although it is, religiously speaking, their time to die, their deaths were not unconnected to their lack of money. The story is long. May Allah rest their souls, amin Details
Africa Explosive Population Growth By 2050. By Farouk Martins Aresa Make no mistake about the fact that politicians similarly swindle poor people in developing and developed countries whether they vote or not. Indeed, poor people in both worlds are very religious, so they do not believe in population control. They think climate change is a hoax or the makings of the gods. But in each case, it is the poor that suffer the consequences. Desert encroachment in Tropical countries, hurricanes devastating vulnerable poor in rich countries. Details
Youths Tasked R.I Yoruba Elders On Africa Arrested Development. By Farouk Martins Aresa Nigerian businessmen go to other African countries asking for virgin land. They provide the road in and out of the forest, create electricity to power their plants, hire workers and still; they sell cement cheaper than they do in Nigeria! But when they create the same business at home, they claim they cannot sell their cars cheaper than imported ones. Businesses that should be making foreign money for African countries are draining us. We can be good at home as we are outside. Details
Ritualists Turn Churches & Mosques Into Business Centers. By Farouk Martins Aresa Every church and mosque have their rituals which they follow or adhere to. While some do not worship image of any kind, others pray to their images of saints. The United Nations and the so called “civilized” world were disturbed by the reckless destruction of historical statues in Iraq; and Afghanistan where Taliban militia supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar issued a decree ordering the destruction of all statues including ancient pre-Islamic figures. These objections were not based on religious grounds but on historical preservation of the past. Details
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