Opinion

Nigeria’s three main political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Labour Party (LP) – are in turmoil. They have been infested by little foxes that threaten to damage and, potentially, destroy them. I know that discipline is not a virtue of political …

The story has often been told in tech circles of how a relatively unknown Nigerian female student became a sensation of sorts among the international student population back in the early 80s in India owing to the unusual course of study she was undertaking. Electing to study Mathematics at Bachelor’s …

Rep. Donald Payne Jr., representing New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District in Washington, has died, aged 65, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. From Newark, New Jersey, Payne Jr., who was, in 2012, first elected into the office he held till his demise, replaced his highly respected father, Donald Payne Snr. who …

Monday, 22 April, 2024 “When you reach home, tell my mother, Say it was a boa that his son transformed into And never returned home.” The actor comes on the stage singing and dancing, his troupe festive around him. He invokes his powers and turns into this and that. Everything …

Two days after I started taking the medication prescribed by Dr Heba, I could lift myself out of the wheelchair and walk about. By the fifth day, I walked into the hospital, gingerly, but surely, and came face to face with Dr Heba, who was not even surprised to see …

There is no disputation that Naira abuse or more specifically the act of spraying money at social events has become an acceptable  norm or cultural practice in Nigeria. Nigerians have a cultural affinity for lavish social gatherings. Many people regard these occasions as a means of displaying social status  and …

April 21, 2024 Native Brazilians arrest monkeys with what is called Cumbuca. They make a hole in a gourd that is big enough to accommodate the hand of a monkey. The gourd is then affixed to the ground of the place monkeys infest. Placed inside the gourd is usually a …

turnpot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058 To begin with, let me ask whether you knew that abusing the Naira is a worse offence than stealing or embezzling the Naira? You can steal billions of Naira and walk away free. But abuse the Naira and end up in jail with automatic alacrity! Worse …

The practice of not making judgments about others is essential for maintaining good relations and avoiding negative effects of theories on interpersonal communication. Judgments can be harmful or beneficial, and stereotypes in society are a result of theories about others’ actions. Refraining from making judgments allows for continuous adjustment of …

This was the question a friend of mine in his late 20s asked me when we woke up on April 14 to the news that Iran had launched over 300 drones and missiles towards Israel. Apart from video war games, the young man has not seen any wars. Nigeria’s civil war ended …

Public relations as it concerns the media has received a much needed breakthrough in the just published book Media Relations Playbook: 25 Proven Effective Hacks by Chido B. Nwakanma. Contemporary developments in media relations in Nigeria and much of Africa are explored with a mastery that compels attention. The much …

turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533 One question which has always agitated my mind was answered last Monday, 15th April, 2024 by retired Justice Andrew Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye in a keynote address he delivered at the 2024 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association, Warri Branch, whose theme was “Emerging trends in legal …

I never thought I could attend the Eid prayer held on 10th April, a day after I clocked the definitive age of 60: I have now joined the senior citizens’ rank. Not being confident I could attend the Eid prayer seems an understatement; for actually, in February, the way I …

Nigerian corporate influence and that of the West continue to collide. The rationale is straightforward: whereas corporate activity in Europe and America is part of their larger local and foreign policy engagement, privately owned enterprises in Nigeria  or commercial interests are not part of Nigeria’s foreign policy ecosystem, neither is …

April 14, 2024 Whether real or imagined, none of the metonyms for “Lagos boy” is complimentary. The “Lagos boy” moniker once came up in the late 1980s. Commodore Olabode George, then Military Governor of Ondo State, had just been removed from office after spending two years. The African Concord magazine …

It was about 41 years ago that I met Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, a brilliant, self-effacing, and consummate academic, when he was a member of the Board of Directors of Nigercem Nkalagu, now in Ebonyi State. Our friendship remained unbroken and waxed from strength to strength. I am deeply pained that …

During the recent inspection of the ongoing construction of the 132KV Umuchu Substation by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) at Ibughubu village in Umuchu town, Aguata LGA, Anambra State, what struck me the most was the lofty vision that the former leader of the community, Mr. Raphael Iwuejinam Njirika, …

A problem that many of us have in achieving a good balance between work and personal life is primarily the inability to say no. You know you have too much work, but still, you take on more and more duties because you can’t bear to disappoint a colleague who has …

The words of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye were honey to taste. Following the bitter ending of the 12-year rule of Macky Sall, highlighted by the widespread belief that France is at the heart of Senegal’s misery, a forlorn country enthusiastically lapped up Faye’s promise of a future untainted by French …

I speak in the generic sense as a “stakeholder.” (Let no one mourn or rejoice). And I come in peace, write in peace and hope for peace. I have exerted myself in media trenches as a reporter, editor and media consultant; striving for democracy, good governance and development. And I …

turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533 Edo State deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu, has kicked the canvass. He was impeached by the Edo State House of Assembly days ago and a replacement was promptly provided by his erstwhile boss, Gov. Godwin Obaseki. Shaibu was in court while his impeachment was being perfected. …

Monday, 8 April, 2024 In May, 1891, James Richard Jewett of Brown University, Providence, United States, presented a paper on ‘Arabic Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases’ to the American Oriental Society. The paper was eventually published as an article in that society’s journal in 1893. One striking line I picked in …

“It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience” – Julius Caesar On Friday, April 5, 2024, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, Governor of Delta State, exposed what had been hidden in the deep recesses of his …

In Nigeria, many policies that are supposed to catalyse economic growth end up making things worse and complicate matters for the citizens for whom these policies are designed to enhance their quality of life. Recently, two significant policies typify this: The Petroleum Subsidy Removal Policy and the floating of the …

The chickens, the saying goes, always come home to roost. But some people would prefer to be Shakespearean by quoting the insightful words uttered by Marc Antony in William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, “the evil that men do lives after them while the good is oft interred with their bones.” …