Opinion

  By Grace Yussuf News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) After the just-concluded party primaries, many stakeholders are at loss as to why the participation of women in politics this time around has been abysmally low. The stakeholders, especially women activists, have decried the decline in women’s political fortune and their …

He started out as Biyi Bandele-Thomas, and shocked the literary world with his amazing precocity. He was admitted to my alma-mater Great Ife (University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University) after I had graduated from the school where Prof Wole Soyinka was our Head of Department. The fire of creative …

turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533 Last week we featured the intervention of the immediate past vice-chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede, on the lingering crisis between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government, which began on February 14 this year. As an insider, Ogunbodede, …

On the eve of his 66th birthday on July 13, I quickly scribbled a tribute to Bart Nnaji, the internationally engaging engineering professor who has been, among other things, the Minister of Science & Technology as well as the Minister of Power. The article was well received by the traditional …

Monday, 15 August, 2022 Like graceful, snowy egrets basking in the afternoon light, the Pyrates Confraternity sailed out last week on the streets of Lagos. In white and scarlet, they did it with much noise and got lots of shrieks from owls and bats of the night. It was their …

I have in the past stumbled across several publications in the media that questioned the leadership approach of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, over his collaboration with the Executive arm of government, but none has attracted my attention as the distasteful publication in the Sunday, August 14, 2022, edition of …

It is not always that an election in one part of the world can function as a mirror in another part of the globe. Societies differ in demographics, political and historical evolution, and the general economic issues that shape elections. The general election in Kenya that took place on Tuesday 9th August …

turnpot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058 In my primary and secondary school days, it was common to see someone run to the staffroom to gleefully announce to the hearing of teachers: “Two fighting, Sir/Ma!” And teachers would send the reporter back to the errant students to report with automatic alacrity. On occasions …

Our attention was drawn to an article titled: “Wike, a Governor Possessed By Spirit of Flyovers” published by Yemi Adebowale. It was in his ‘RingTrue’ column of the ThisDay Newspaper of August 6, 2022. The writer exhibited distasteful notoriety with his recluse to illogical offerings in public space of what …

To be troubled in trouble is to have your trouble doubled, so goes a saying. And for Hassan Usman, a lawyer, it didn’t just rain on March 28, this year, it poured. He was not only onboard the Kaduna-bound train attacked by terrorists, his wife, Amina, was also there. They …

When a proud Oluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan climbed the podium in faraway Eugene, Oregon in the United States, as the World Champion in Women 100m Hurdles, not a few equally proud Nigerians mounted with her in spirit. She had just set a new World Record at 12.12s breaking Keni Kendra Harrison’s 27-year …

He is one of the finest gentlemen of the press that I have ever encountered. A courageous, fearless, humane and humble Editor, Mallam Yusuf Alli has come a long way in redefining investigative journalism from his decades of experience in the coverage of various beats in the Nigerian media. Born …

turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533 Wednesday, August 10, 2022 Started on February 14, 2022, the ongoing strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) is six months old – and with no end in sight yet! Last week, the union further extended the strike by another four weeks. …

Rome is burning, and Emperor Nero and Roman elites are busy revelling in gladiator rendezvous and despicable hocus-pocus with the empire’s future. The leadership in Nigeria is playing Nero, and the Nigerian elites are side-tracked by the macabre dance of preparing for the next elections. Whilst neglecting the harsh truth …

turnpot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058 In Gov. Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu’s Ondo State, wonders, it seems, will never end! Thrice within a space of two months, terrorist attacks were reported in Owo, the governor’s home town. This is apart from such attacks in other parts of the state. Is Ondo State slipping …

  Monday, 8 August, 2022 “I did not mention it to you. The lady that was among the trio recently freed from the Kaduna train hostage attack is my sister-in-law. She was released after payment of (a huge) ransom…She spent about 80 days with the demons. Look at her picture …

To understand the profligacy, indiscretion and misplaced priority in the purchase of N1.14 billion ($2.7 million) worth of 10 luxury vehicles by the Muhammadu Buhari government for neighbouring Niger Republic, ostensibly to shore up that country’s security, at a time when there is excruciating hunger in the land and terrorists …

turnpot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058 The supposedly Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has ended the registration of (new) voters despite the fact that there were hundreds and thousands of would-be or intending voters trooping into and milling around voter registration centres or points all over the country. We saw pictures of …

WITNESS to history. Animated discussions. Banters. Back slapping. Roaring laughter. Seeming riot, but orderly. Various groups, including the elderly and children. Then the crowds burst into songs and dances. They herald the arrival of the host. He is clad in white with a traditional white dog-eared cap. He flashes his …

*N24 billion disbursed to States, 732 water facilities, 494 health facilities, 616 schools built, yet some people say Buhari is not working By FEMI ADESINA It’s an eternal battle between light and darkness, truth and falsehood. In fact, they are in mortal combat, and at times, there are fears that …

These are not the exact words of any of the headlines on this issue. But this is basically what the former Edo State Governor said on the matter. To appraise Tinubu and his support to Buhari, let’s refer to the Catholic Church’s doctrines of venial and mortal sins. A venial …

turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533 My path and Michael Awe’s crossed after I was appointed editor of The Punch newspaper in 1992. He was one of the brilliant chaps I head-hunted from other newspaper houses with the sole aim of turning around The PUNCH newspaper and positioning it as the flagship …

I have read a number of rejoinders to Mr. Sam Omatseye’s insane and hate-filled diatribe driven by the mental cacophony of a man likened to a slave abruptly invited to dine and wine on his master’s table because of his master’s intention to send him to a self-sacrificing mission, but …

In 2018, as the news started sinking in that incumbent Lagos state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode would not be backed by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for a reelection, there was a kind of tension across the state. In the middle of all that, a relatively unknown name, Babajide Sanwo-Olu was floated. Announced …