Opinion

Last week this column focused on the legacy of elected political office holders as we wind up a political era and transit to a new one. This week, we will focus on political appointees. After nearly three and seven years respectively of service to the nation, it is time to …

His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, PhD, GCFR, the former Military Head of State and former democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria celebrated 85 years on March 5, 2022. The event took place within the facilities of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State. The epoch-making event …

I have often been asked whether I am a Pastor. Some ask based on the work they see and/or hear me do and some in a derogatory sense. Either way, I can’t be bothered. I just remain focused on the greater work the Lord God Almighty has placed under my …

March 4, 2022 “Sir, I want to walk away from my marriage now before something tragic happens. I had wanted to quit February 2021 but people mounted pressure on me to stay back. They said I should try and pray more saying the situation was not beyond remedy. I agreed …

It’s obviously not the easiest of times in our country currently, what with severe fuel scarcity exacerbating the other existential challenges we have been coping with. In some areas, there’s no fuel, no electricity, thus translating to severe energy crisis. Yet some other people have children, wards, dependents, relations in …

turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533 (Published in the TREASURES column on the back page of the New Telegraph newspaper of Wednesday, 2 March, 2022). Now that the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retired), has signed the Electoral Bill into law, it remains to be seen whether the new law will be the …

28 February, 2022 Kabiyesi means ‘we dare not question him.’ The nearest to its meaning is what my Hausa friend does with effusive ‘Ranka dede’ at the feet of his lord. The above headline should actually be ‘Nigeria’s Kabiyesi politics.’ That is what the Nigerian president plays. He is big …

The beauty of democracy lies in the transient nature of political power. The fact that power is contested periodically and those who wield power submit to such a contest in a free and fair election, where other candidates struggle for power with them, is the essence of democracy. This mechanism …

turnpot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058 February 27, 2022 First, let us consider the cause or causes of the first two world wars that our world has witnessed. The immediate cause of World War I was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary but historians are agreed that there are at …

By the time Local Government Areas (LGAs) constitutionally become a Tier of Government, can Nigeria still be rightly described as a “Federal Republic”? Will this aberration not legitimise the unjustly skewed LGAs in favour of a particular section of the country to the detriment of others and by extension, the …

In classic study of politics and its science, the last year to any nation’s general election is, in the words of Mao Tse Tong, “war without bloodshed…” Ipso facto, this is the state of the Nigerian nation today. All things being equal, in the next twelve months, the government of …

February 25, 2022 A foremost Christian faith father expressed his grave concern about the dangerous trend of increasing rate of divorce in the society, and in particular, among Christian couples which is the consequence of bad marriages. In a tone depicting a deep concern, the popular clergy believes that both …

A man with empathy for the poor, the weak and the vulnerable. He loves them deeply, and they also love him to bits. That is President Muhammadu Buhari for you. It is often said that the man already has at least 12 million votes waiting for him in different parts …

turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533 Wednesday, 23 February, 2022). Celebrated English writer, William Shakespeare, said all’s well that ends well; so it is with the Olubadan chieftaincy succession row now that the impasse that submerged the age-old succession process has been broken – seemingly! Crowned the 41st Olubadan on March 4, …

turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533 Wednesday, 23 February, 2022). Celebrated English writer, William Shakespeare, said all’s well that ends well; so it is with the Olubadan chieftaincy succession row now that the impasse that submerged the age-old succession process has been broken – seemingly! Crowned the 41st Olubadan on March 4, …

As the All Progressives Congress (APC) fixed March 12, 2022 for Zonal Congresses and March 26, 2022 for National Convention, I hereby plead with the members, leadership and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to please close ranks and unite to sustain the nine-year old political party that has …

Ekiti State Governor John Kayode Fayemi has remained an ever-present at every stage of Nigeria’s democratic drive. He was on the frontline in the fight against military rule. Unlike the activists who stayed away from jostling for power when civil rule arrived, the man fondly called JKF dared and damned …

Monday, 21 February, 2022 There was a man in London 300 years ago called Jonathan Wild. He lived at a time robbery and violent crimes were rampant in the city – day and night. The people were helpless and the police were largely absent. And because nature abhors a vacuum, …

The debate about politicians being among the best actors on earth is as old as humanity. What makes acting in politics so attractive is its subtle nature, emotional appeal and the interplay between human perception, real-life challenges, and human vulnerability. At the centre of all political drama is symbolic and …

  turnot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058 February 20, 2022. After a two-day meeting at the University of Lagos, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) backed down on its threatened total, till-Armageddon-comes, strike action and has, instead, announced a one-month warning, roll-over strike. A news medium reported the story thus: The …

February 18, 2021 The reality is staring at us in the face about complicated marital issues bedeviling many homes these days. In the ages gone by, divorce was nearly a taboo. It was like a stigma which was considered a dent on the family name and as an aberration against …

This year, the long wait for Godot will come to an end. The second bridge over the River Niger will be commissioned, and put to use. And what a dream come true it would be. Last December, a friend had traveled from Lagos to the South East for the Christmas …

To mark the participation of Nigeria at the ongoing 6th EU-AFRICA summit in Brussels, Belgium, President Muhammadu Buhari today, Thursday penned an opinion article to coincide with the opening of the meeting in the Politico, an online/offline magazine which is the biggest/ most influential publication for the EU/ in Brussels. …

Our attention has been drawn to the latest offering by Dakuku Peterside in the public space, titled: “Wike Seizing, Dashing Off Rivers’ Property To Friends, Cronies.” One cannot help but wonder, not for the umpteenth time, how low, petty, jaundiced and begrudgingly spiteful Mr. Peterside has sunk, in his unbridled …

turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533 Wednesday, 16 February, 2022 It was in April 2021 and the occasion would ordinarily have been innocuous but for the fact that the star actor was former two-time Head of State and newsmaker par excellence, General Olusegun Obasanjo (retired). Obasanjo was being inaugurated as a trustee …