Opinion

Nigeria is a land of mysteries with too many unexplained and unexplainable phenomena. It is inexplicable that it has not secured a place in the Guinness book of records on account of socio-economic mysteries. Mysterious social occurrences defy logic and common sense and happen in everyday national life. One of …

turnpot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058 Decades ago, I remember reading a piece by a writer lamenting the sudden but astronomical shooting up in the price of “garri”, which used to be the staple food of poor and down-trodden Nigerians. For reasons which need not detain us here, “garri” shrugged off its …

Monday, 26 September, 2022 In Lawuyi Ogunniran’s Yoruba play, Ààrẹ-àgò Aríkúyẹrí, we see how a happy polygamous family is ruined by the indiscretion of the family head. Ògúnrìndé Ajé, the Ààrẹ-àgò Balógun of Ibadan, man with three wives, throws a party to worship his ‘ori’; he lines up his wives …

“This is the last that we shall dance together,” Wole Soyinka wrote in Kongi’s Harvest. And that was what President Muhammadu Buhari did Wednesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States of America. The President had his last dance, and how dainty and dignified were the …

Suddenly they have become afraid of them after calling them “lazy Nigerian youths”. Just when we were in despair that our entertainment-loving youths would never step up and stand up for their country, the unthinkable happened in October of 2020 as they rose from their deep slumber in unison and …

If this were a compulsory exam question, a number of politicians would simply answer: it depends. On what? On what is at stake. What the opponent does and how. And, of course, how far the resources of the one at the receiving end can go to exact revenge, sometimes in …

turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533 University students under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have begun to make good their threat to shut down the country over the intransigence of the Muhammadu Buhari administration on the strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities …

I am yet to learn Queen’s English and now they have changed to King’s English. The Queen is dead; long live the King! The burial of the Queen was brought home to me when my friend and brother, Reginald Offodile, made a phone call from his Port Harcourt hotel room, …

Monday, 19 September 2022 The story you are about to read was published by the Nigerian Tribune 38 years ago. It was the lead story of its June 5, 1984 edition. Written by Joe Aladesohun, it was headlined: ‘Man commits suicide’ with a rider: ‘frustration at the bank’. The report: …

Autolycus in Ancient Greek mythology achieved fame and notoriety for being a successful robber and trickster whom no one could catch. He was a source of trouble for the king and the kingdom in Ancient Greece. Autolycus, were he to be in today’s Nigeria, would have been a trainee in …

turnpot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058 The news media were awash last week that the North’s governors and traditional rulers have come around to support state police after a meeting they held in Abuja; the reason for their about turn was given as the worsening security situation in the North. These are …

It was not a triumphal entry. It was not designed to be. It was just a duly and legitimately elected President visiting a part of the territory he presides over. President Muhammadu Buhari’s working visit to Owerri, Imo State on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, had no measure of braggadocio, bravado, …

The only thing that compares in recent tweet villainy with the post of US-based Nigerian professor Uju Anya on Queen Elizabeth II, was perhaps the visit of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, to the Windsor Castle. Yet, after her ordeal even Anya is back, recuperating from the injury inflicted …

Monday, 12 September 2022 On Tuesday, September 6, Liz Truss met Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral, Scotland. We saw her with the queen in a warm handshake as she became Britain’s historic third female head of government. The world clapped and congratulated her. Two days later, the Queen was dead. That …

A critical chapter in the history of the British empire was closed on Thursday, 8th September 2022, and a new one opened. Queen Elizabeth 11 died at her holiday home in Balmoral castle in Scotland. Her over 70-year-old reign on the British throne meant no monarch reigned longer than her in more …

The two generals are seen as the best of friends across the political spectrum of the Nigerian nation. In many informed circles, General Matthew Okikiola Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo and General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida are seen as belonging to the rarefied class known as “Owners of Nigeria”. Only the uninformed does …

Have you keenly followed updates on the security situation in the country, particularly with regards to insurgency and banditry? You should, because security is everything. At least, when the evildoers seemed to predominate, people didn’t keep quiet. The singsong was about ‘worsening insecurity,’ in the land. Now that the tables …

New Analysis by Cecilia Ologunagba, New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) The Labour Party flag-bearer for the 2023 Nigeria presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi recently visited six states of the United States of America (U.S.A), consulting and engaging with Nigerians in Diaspora in those states. Obi visited New York, California, Texas, …

In six African countries the heads of government have been in power for 20 years or more. Attempts to replace them by ballot have either been stalled, frustrated or crushed.  In a few, like South Africa where the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has been in power for 28 years, new heads of government have been produced more by incest than …

Monday, September 5, 2022 Speaking at a book launch in Kaduna Thursday last week, Prof Ango Abdullahi, leader of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), accused some unnamed persons of engaging in destructive campaigns to destroy the north. “I have to state here that we are witnessing some of the crudest …

turnpot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058. More often than not, government business in Nigeria is akin to monkey business. “The more you look is the less you see,” like the reggae artiste, Max Romeo, once crooned. What appears legit elsewhere is patently taboo here. Governance here looks more like voodoo practice. What …

A significant chapter of global history was closed on 30th August 2022. On that day, an equally substantive champion of reforms passed and bequeathed us a mixed assessment of his contribution to the new world order. Mikhail Gorbachev is that man. He was not alone in this powerful club. His …

I have had this kind of love and hate relationship with Governor Wike. However, what I will never deny about the Rivers State Governor is that he stands out as one of the most courageous and most outspoken political leaders in current day Nigeria. At a time when it is …

Unless you are the discerning type, listening to public discourse today, you would think the only thing happening in the country is insecurity. Yes, Nigeria has battled, and is still battling grave security issues. But it will win. As sure as night follows the day. In fact, insurgents and bandits …

The presidency of Nigeria is so highly coveted that even expired players want to grab it “by fire, by force”, as the Pentecostals would say. The presidential wannabes are all over the place with their foot soldiers, intent on commandeering all attention. The ethnic card has been furiously highlighted in …