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Along with a few others, you have assumed the mindset that you are branded as being against the struggle to free Nigeria from corruption, when you take up a position against EFCC. With due respects, Sir, there are many who dot the Nigerian political and human rights landscape that do not necessarily agree with all that the EFCC does and they make their stand, motives and objectives known. Details
Awaiting Trial Endlessly in Nigeria; A National Shame! By Paul I. Adujie Why is it, that we hear hypocritical preachments of the rule of law and due process, when it comes to serving corrupt governors and other politicians their just deserts in legal penalties and consequences, but everyone seem silent regarding the wasted and ruined lives of poor Nigerians citizens, who are falsely arrested, falsely accused and falsely detained endlessly? Details
Sullivan Chime and the Massacre of Kogi Varsity Students. By Atâyi Babs Opaluwah As an experienced, keen legal analyst and observer of long-standing expertise and exercise in such matters, if I were to advise Mr. Andy Uba and his political camp and handlers about this latest, dare devil political and legal adventure of Mr. Uba, I'll sternly advise them to be sure to leave those expensive Champaign bottles they've stacked in the refrigerator in anticipation of some victorious moments at the Nigerian Supreme Court soon, right where they are to keep cooling off. Details Amaechi Vs Omehia: The Next Big Thing In Rivers State. By Senior Fyneface Somehow, the Omehia/Amaechi case is not entirely new to the Supreme Court. Aspects of it had reached the apex court for interpretation within the last seven months. Twice the Supreme Court directed the Court of Appeal to hear the matter expeditiously and on its merit. Now, on September 25, it would be the turn of the Supreme Court to hear the matter also expeditiously and on its merit. Details
Minister Andoakaa SAN, AG, Nigeria’s Public Enemy Number One! By Paul I. Adujie A comparison of corruption devastation on Nigeria with the effects of terrorism on America will show that the impact of corruption on Nigeria, is more catastrophic and cataclysmic, across the land, whereas, terror attacks physical damage on America is localized and limited to three cities; vide New York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC. Details
From Blunder To Blunder: Yar’adua Appointment Of Lobbyist In DC. By Francis Adewale The news on the front page of This Day Newspapers on Friday October 5, 2007 enthused as follows: “Yar’Adua engages American lobbyists.” This somehow innocuous news item might have passed unnoticed but for the second paragraphs of the story which reads “It was learnt yesterday that the Federal Government signed a deal with a consultancy firm in the US in a bid to win global support for his administration in the face of allegations of irregularities trailing his election.” My first reaction is to scream out loud, “not again!” The first question on my lips is why should we use our national treasuries to launder the image of this regime? Why can’t People’s Democratic Party pay for this service. Details
Combating Breast Cancer in Nigeria; the need for Comprehensive Screening Programs. By Taiwo o Fasoranti MD It is obvious that modern technology cannot be made available to all women in Nigeria in an effort to increase routine Breast Screenings; however, Health Education encouraging our women to conduct routine: “Breast Self Examination” (BSE).a simple step that will reveal any changes that might require the attention of a qualified professional to determine if it is indeed Breast Cancer or not should be our approach. Details
Toward Religious Tolerance in Northern Nigeria. By Ahmed Joe For the uncountable time riots broke out again during the holy month of Ramadan this time in a rural area that was once Zazzau and by colonial cartographic error now Kano. As usual there will be the normal hurried compensation and mutual recriminations on how it all started. The rapid occurrence of these riots doesn’t seem to embarrass Northern leaders because they are part of the problem in the first place. Those with any iota of conscience left will appeal for calm (and not justice) and an uneasy one would normally prevail before the next one. Details
Death of Nigerian Soldiers Peacekeepers; Hold Sudan Government Accountable. By Paul I. Adujie Murdering Nigerians, soldiers or civilians, must be turned into unaffordable and exorbitant luxury, too expensive for Sudan, Spain, Turkey and everywhere else. There must be consequences for President Omar Bashir and his other riff-raffs in Khartoum, for the senseless and gruesome murder of our soldiers in Darfur-Sudan President Bashir and his gang of dictators should be held to account for the murder of seven Nigerian soldiers, peacekeepers who were selflessly, gallantly and heroically protecting harmless Darfurians who have suffered death and deprivations from agents of death funded and supported by the Sudanese government in Khartoum Details
Who Needs Etteh’s House? By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye By their actions and utterances, what is clear is that Etteh and her supporters are blissfully unaware of the depth of public disaffection and resentment this scandal has attracted to the Speaker and her House, and so are still fighting with all their strength even after the battle had been lost and won. For her, it is all about surviving and clinging on to the privileges of an office she is pitiably ill-equipped for, despite the heavy, crippling moral burden that now go with it. Details
Matters Arising: War Against Corruption Revisited. By Akintokunbo A Adejumo Why this lady (if she’s really a lady) is still hanging on to power beats my imagination. I know that the singular and dignified act of Nigerian leaders resigning in the face of very strong opposition, ineffectiveness and criminal indictment is virtually unknown, but this is going too far. Until most of them are disgraced from office, they can never bring themselves to resign. Details
Can Mere Words Stop Election Fraud? By Kabiru Muhammad Gwangwazo All were agreed there is hardly anything anyone could do about election fraud. That didn’t stop them from making suggestions and pontificating that it wasn’t right. That in Nigeria electoral fraud peaked at the 2007 elections. That it was not only at the level of the central government or with the PDP rigging machine or INEC that electoral fraud started and ended. That even states held by parties other than PDP were as guilty; just as all parties were guilty of running closed primaries. Details
Governor Andy Ubah's Removal: The Imperative of Reversal. By Emeka Oraetoka The time tested maxim that “injustices anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” as espoused by Martin Luther King, is probably relevant in Andy Ubah’s case today; for the simple reason that the resultant Supreme Court judgment that ousted him was delivered without jurisdiction to start with. Details
Kaccima, and the Graying Kano Merchant Class. By Abdullah Musa Kano State wants to pride itself as centre of commerce. This implies that it occupies an eminent position once the issue under discussion is commerce. However, since the advent of Shekarau administration, if there is one word that seems to symbolize the government, that word is ‘help’. In Hausa language, this translates to ‘taimako’. Nearly all classes of the citizens of the state have entered into the category of those desirous of being ‘helped’ from the treasury Details
Gumi's Partisan Fatwa: A Teacher's View. By Baba El-Yakubu Have ever wondered who may belong to the coveted class of Ulamah? They are knowledgeable Muslims who suppose to guides the rest and be the heirs of the prophets? Knowledge is a necessary requirement. But it is not sufficient. There is something else. Perhaps, this is a missing link that led to the Gumi's controversial Fatwa on the April Elections. Details
Dr. Gumi’s Blunders. By Muhammad Bashir However, even if it were not Dr. Gumi who told a mammoth congregation he was ready to lead a street protest to Abuja in the event of rigging the 2007 polls during his previous Tafsir, there are at least three logical and intellectual grounds on which to refute his fatwah. Details
Between HIV and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. By Clarius UgwuohaRecently Mallam Mohammadu Nuhu Ribadu of the EFCC has come under scathing public searchlight because he dared to unmask some of the mysteries of the Economic Immunodeficiency Virus (EIV) long diagnosed in our polity without cure. Before we blunt our vision with jargons like ‘due process’ and ‘rule of law’, it is important to note that grassroots impact of the activities of the EFCC is phenomenal. Details
Playing The Tribalism Card: Labellings And Misconceptions. By Mazi Ogbonna and Akintokunbo A Adejumo Following one of the authors’ article about the problem between the Attorney-General of Nigeria and Nuhu Ribadu’s EFCC, there was an inundation of protests from persons who purported, judging from their indignation, to come from the same state of origin as the AGN. Please, we are not casting aspersion on any state or tribe in Nigeria. That is not our way and upbringing. Normally, if these people had tried to defend the issue or throw more light on it, rather than to throw the charge of tribalism, that would have been the end of it. Details
Nigeria’s Independence and the US Embassy Terror Alarm. By Ahmed Joe The recent terror alert by the US Embassy in Nigeria is a typically leviathan reaction to the singular ability of the newly installed Yar’adua Presidency to politically rein in the mainstream Niger Delta militancy and militarily contain its criminally cultist offshoot. Details
Yes, a Nigerian is so desperate to "cheek out" of her country to the extent she violently believes that whatever happens thereafter would be a storm bearable. In that moment of despair, she often mistakes foolhardy for bravery. Anyone that storm bound her plane or ship instantly becomes enemy – enemy of her progress. This Nigerian often beats her chest saying, "If I can weather bad patches in Nigeria, I am ready for any house of weathered shingles abroad".Details
Pauperization of Zimbabwe. By Babatunde Adenodi My generation got inspiration from the likes of Robert Mugabe, Abel Muzorewa and Joshua Nkomo, the Zimbabwe trio that fought Ian Smith to a standstill. Before these was Nigeria’s trio: Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Ahmadu Bello. Not to talk of Nelson Mandela, the greatest of them all! There was the dare-devil Wole Soyinka who would confront a sub-machine gun with a mere pen. He dared the usurpers in an adventurous confrontation at the WNBS studios in Ibadan in 1965.Details
English Premiership Craze: Underdeveloping the Underdeveloped. By Ademowo Adeyemi Johnson Today, everyone including my neighbour’s five-years-old son, David, is simply crazy for the English premiership and to some extent the Spanish La Liga and Italia Serie A. However, the one enjoying the craziest of followerships is the English premiership. From Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Morocco, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Seychelles to the ‘tiny’ islands, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principle, Africans are simply madly in love with the premiership! Details
The Price Of Bread And The House Of Representatives At 47. By Prince Charles Dickson The entire National Assembly sits and conducts its business in a 'holy' manner but I beg to say that all the deceit do not remove the fact that today this nation is faced with high unemployment, and high bread prices. Talking about high bread prices, that prompted this reflection, the price of bread was a major factor in the French revolution. Details
Ettedoakaa: Stealing and Abetting Unlimited in the Nigerian Polity. By Ademowo Adeyemi Johnson There is wisdom embellished in the Yoruba wise saying which says “Ohun to ko da, ko loruko meji, koda lonje” (meaning ‘what is bad has no other synonym than not good’). This saying shares synonymic affinity with the timeless popular Margaret Thatcher’s statement “what is bad, is bad, is bad!” And in fairness to both vis a vis the teleological experiential effects of certain actions, one cant but agree that truly regardless of popular beliefs and assumptions, what is bad is deontological bad, is surely bad. The question then is: What am I driving at? To ask such question is to incur my wroth for the title of the essay itself says it all: Ettedoakaa Scandal! Details
Lagos And Abuja: A Tale Of Two Cities By Zayyad I. Muhammad Transportation system in Abuja and Lagos are two pole-apart matters, Abuja bus-fare is higher compared to that of Lagos, but taxi-fare is far lower than that of Lagos. Though, Lagos taxis are more organized and reliable, in the sense that, almost all taxis in Lagos are painted with the golden-yellow paint, almost all Lagos taxi drivers are responsible elderly men; but in Abuja, private cars ‘kabu kabu’ control greater percentage of taxi business, the Abuja-green-cab and London taxi are few and very expensive. Abuja ‘kabu kabu’ drivers are mostly young men; if one is not careful, you can fall into the hands of criminals masquerading as taxi drivers. Details
Nigeria’s Population is a Silent Killer. By Ben Oghre Nigeria may be rich in terms of natural resources and income but an out of control population will not ensure quality of human life if resources are over stretched. With an out of control population there are additional resources to be considered, such as medical care, employment, the environment, money, education, electricity, sewage, waste management, and transportation. Details
Yar’Adua as a Potential Liability. By Mr. Sabella Ogbobode Abidde There is something about Mr. Yar’Adua and the company he keeps. There is something about him that makes me wonder, makes me suspicious. Has Nigeria just exchanged an apple for an orange? Both are fruits, and fruits have a way of going bad. There is something about the president’s style, nature, and mien that make me uncomfortable. I repeat: there is something about the company he keeps that makes me wonder. It is difficult for me to think of him and not be reminded of events and personalities that dotted Middle East and Latin American politics of yesteryears. It was a time and a place where more than a few personalities disguised themselves as saints. Details
The North, Our North. By Ndiame Ba-brik As usual the Northern part of Nigeria was in the news again in the past weeks. First it was the northern union with a report which puts the North 20 years behind the South educationally. Then come UN reports on illiteracy in Nigeria which estimated that 60 million Nigerian adults are illiterates while 10 million children fall into that group. While it was almost predictable, the report further said that 40 million of the illiterate adults are from the North. Just again we woke up on Friday 28st Sept to hear yet again of religious crisis of cause in Kano State. Details
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Letter to Minister of Information on Image Project.
Let’s start from the ministry’s headquarters. You may be surprised to learn that staff of the ministry prefer to be posted out than to remain in the headquarters. If there could be a Ministry-of-Do-Nothing, many would not mind to be there than stay in the Ministry of Information. The reason is not far fetched. Some staff presently have not received their salaries for months due to the introduction of online payment process called IPPIS. Details
There is nothing wrong with Ekiti State's desire to celebrate Sani Abacha for what they believe he has done for them. What I think is wrong and unethical, is doing it for the wrong reasons. Yes, Sani Abacha chose to create Ekiti State by carving it out of Ondo State with a stroke of the pen, not only to appease Ekiti people per se, but to also consolidate his divide and rule propensity, and to find a little island of support and understanding for himself and his policies in an ocean of opposition and resentment in the rest of Nigeria but more so in a unit of the wild wild West that has demonstrated, time and again that it does not take nonsense, and they had the scars to prove it. Details
Security: Any Use for Common Sense? By Abdullah Musa In a bank in Zaria, many customers lost their lives; the robbers escaped. Many years back, when things were a bit normal, a policeman guarding the then entrance to a bank at Ciromawa along Zaria-Kano road was shot dead, and the bank robbed. Same type of failure keeps occurring, yet no solution. Details
Please Stop Distracting Governor Nyako And His Family! By Ihas Idriess So the please Lagos/Abuja based newspapers if you cannot report the achievement of our governor please stay away from him and his family ‘there is no news in his house but development in the state that is touching all the ordinary men/women of our state. Details
Why Barrister Rafindadi is Wrong on Gumi. By Bala Dan Adoro Five, since the commencement of this year’s tafsir, Dr Ahmad did not talk about Christians or Christianity in any negative way to arouse the anger of Christians. When he realised the criticisms his comments on Christians generated, he doused the tension by hosting Christian leaders to dinner during that year’s (2006) Ramadan. Details
Ogun State Governor and his obsession with Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro. By Michael O. Folorunso Why will an African State Governor in 2007, in a modern African Country, Nigeria not know how to improve upon what the CIA plus the Ford Foundations have done? This man is perhaps one of the most “bozo” looking human being I have seen. Everything about him fits well with the typical Idi Amin like image of an African statesman. Details
Servant-Leader President Yar’Adua’s Nigeria Meets the World. By Paul I. Adujie Money budgeted for crime fighting and for protection of lives and properties in Nigeria, is in the private pockets and bank accounts of Tafa Balogun the disgraced inspector general of police. It is against this background that the average Nigerians are tired and truly frustrated with these preachment of the rule of law and due process that is elitist and never extended to the more than 100,000 prisoners and detainees in Nigerian prisons and detention centers Details
Dr. Gummi’s Satanic Remarks. By Barrister Rafindadi Mohammed Since he started his annual Ramadan tafsir, Dr Gummi’s utterances have been inciting and inflammatory against the Christians in Kaduna state in particular and the country in general. The authorities, particularly security agencies, Kaduna state government among others need to keep their eyes on him before it gets too late. He needs to be stopped before he wreaks havoc on the now peaceful Kaduna state. Details
Between Gumi and Nigerian Politicians. By Nasiru L. Abubakar My aim in this piece is not to pass judgement on what the Islamic scholar (even though respected writers like Adamu Adamu will rather call him a mere Ramadan preacher!) said concerning Buhari’s ongoing case before the Presidential Election Tribunal. No! What I intend to do here is to try to explain to Dr. Ahmad the workings of the mind of the average Nigerian politician. This I believe will give Gumi the opportunity to re-examine his stance about the nation’s politics. Details
Forever Bowing To Massa. By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye And as Ribadu, like a newly appointed “Senior Prefect” of some village Grammar School, continues to bask in the enormous “sovereign” powers which such a state of affairs now confers on him over state governors, is there any possibility we would soon stop bowing to Massa? Would we be condemned to a situation whereby our leaders would continue to intone by their actions, like a typical colonial era steward before his proud master, Oh, I like Massa too mush! Details
The North – Nigeria’s “Niger Delta” of Renewable Energy Resources. By Abubakar Atiku Nuhu-Koko Therefore, northern Nigeria has the potential of becoming Nigeria’s “Niger Delta” (but minus the violence) of renewable energy sources and by extension, a major source of revenue savings and catalysts for sustainable developmental transformations of Nigeria. Moreover, the development of these renewable energy resources will help rapid development of the rural economies of the region and by extension, the country as a whole. Details
American Race-Relations Regressing. By Paul I. Adujie In the past ten days, we have learnt or have been reminded of the double standard in the criminal justice system in America which appears not to have changed from Jim Crow laws of yesteryears as Jena, Louisiana prosecutors informed African American High School boys, that he could ruin their lives with a stroke of his pen and he does with the help of a judge. Details
Nigeria and the Phantom Terror Threat. By Kabiru Inuwa Not long ago, America issued a warning to her nationals living in the country to be extra careful about the possibility of terrorist attacks in Nigeria! A similar warning followed, this time by Australian governments reminding her citizens to always be mindful about their safety while conducting their businesses. Details
Lamido as Epitaph for a Monument to a Successful Protest! By Adagbo Onoja There is an intriguing consensus on one issue that must set us thinking about social progress in Nigeria. That consensus is the way divergent forces are endorsing Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido’s redistributive politics. Details
AGF, EFCC, And The Rule Of Law. By Max Gbanite Mr. Nuhu Ribadu as head of EFCC, though a lawyer and policeman by training, has done more harm to the Constitution of Nigeria than the military. I say this without equivocating. Whereas the military could be pardoned -- after all, theirs is government by decree -- Mr. Ribadu should not be forgiven because he is operating under a democratic setup where the rule of law is essential. Details
State Administration and Acrimonious Party Politics. By Victor E. Dike Nigeria’s politics has been, and remains dominated by crooks whose stock in trade is corruption; and that is one of the reasons for Nigeria’s wasteful and ineffective governance and acrimonious party politics. For these crooks and their political parties a state could better be destroyed if they are out of political power. Details
Memo to Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State. By Mr. Sabella Ogbobode Abidde My Dearest Governor, Your Excellency, HRH, Chief-Dr. Timipre Sylva…Thanks for your recent visit to the DC/MD/VA area of the United States of America. It was so nice of you to grace us with your saintly presence. We are especially grateful that this is your fourth visit to the United States since you became the governor of Bayelsa State. I think it is your fourth visit, but a colleague is saying it is your sixth. Details
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