Opinion

Monday, 19 August, 2024 How rich is Vice President Kashim Shettima? I ask because twice last week, the big man from Borno described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lion of Bourdillon, Jagaban Borgu, Asiwaju of Lagos, as “this poor man.” To prove that the president is poor, Shettima said since he …

[email protected] 0705 263 1058 Nigeria’s second arm of government, the Legislature, is in the eye of the storm again! Tongues keep wagging the National Assembly basically on two issues that keep recurring. The first has to do with its salaries, allowances, emoluments and perquisites, which many believe are out of …

Every story has two sides, but when a country’s reputation as  a sovereign and an investment destination comes under threat, it calls for immediate concern and action from its citizens and leaders. The recent unfolding of a concerning development has significant implications for Nigeria’s global standing as an investment hub. …

August 17, 2024 God’s Will As I reflect on my life’s journey, I have come to realize that it has been shaped by both the perfect and permissive will of God. Today, I understand that my life’s arc began with God’s perfect will, but circumstances led me into His permissive …

Sunday, August 18, 2023 Skits literally crack ribs with laughter. The line separating fact from fiction or faction (fact and fiction) in skits is paper-thin. An instance was a skit cobbled together in Addis Ababa on January 11, 1976 at an OAU Extraordinary Session on Angola. This high-octane skit was …

The art and practice of good governance and nation-building is not for the apathetic, shortsighted or presumptuous. Only focused, selfless, visionary, adaptive and transformative leaders end up being great leaders and nation builders. For sixty-four years, Nigerian leaders have respectively offered platitudinous intent to make Nigeria great, and to restructure …

“He didn’t make it.” That was what Pastor Dickson Anyanwu quietly whispered to me as he came out of the Accident and Emergency ward of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) that Saturday morning of September 6, 2014. My head simply vanished! Have you had that feeling before, when on …

August 15, 2024 God Desires to Reveal Himself to Us in Our Lives Introduction: God’s ultimate desire is to reveal Himself to us, His followers, in a deep and personal way. He longs to demonstrate His strength, wisdom, resources, and miraculous power in our lives, making us witnesses to His …

The Paris2024 Olympic Games cannot be forgotten in a hurry, especially as the Giant of Africa ended up winning no medal at all. Yes, Nigeria won nothing, as in nought, nil, zilch – ah, my Thesaurus has just started crying in lexical exhaustion. A tear for the old-new anthem, “Nigeria …

Recently, Nigeria’s high school prom scene has been making headlines for its extravagant displays of wealth, with students arriving in high-end cars, reminiscent of American-style proms. While this trend may be seen as a symbol of success and aspiration, it also raises concerns about the values and priorities of Nigeria’s …

[email protected] 0807 552 5533 Last week, in the middle of the #ENDBADGOVERNANCE protests, an assemblage of eminent Nigerians visited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential villa in Abuja with propositions on how to move the country forward. Quite expectedly, they were well received by the president who acceded to …

Gradually, we are approaching the end of the Civil War, fifty four long years after General Philip Effiong took the bold step of formally surrendering and renouncing Biafra before his erstwhile junior, General Yakubu Gowon at Dodan Barracks. The signing into law of the South – East Development Commission (SEDC) …

The lady who publicly tore her husband’s Nigerian Standard Passport at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, Nigeria over the weekend has been identified as Mrs. Favour Igiebor. This is according to a Press release by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) Public Relations Officer, on August 11, 2024. The …

 12 August 2024There is evidence that government has refused to learn lessons from the anti-hunger/EndBadGovernance protests. That much is perceived from responses of government and security agencies. The authorities are yet to repent from over-reliance on propaganda and indifference as ways and means of communicating with citizens.They’re yet to own …

Monday, 12 August, 2024 The king in pre-colonial Oyo had power over everything. He determined who lived and who died. At a point in time, there was this street drummer in Oyo metropolis who moved from one point of the town to the other plying his trade. And, he was …

Monday, 12 August, 2024 Some 200 years ago, someone could whimsically deport someone from a part of this country to another. It happened to Madam Efunroye Tinubu in 1856. She was given 24 hours to leave Lagos for her hometown, Abeokuta. This is 2024. You can’t have tasty mutton-mushroom sauce …

Nations, diplomacy, and sports are interwoven. Sports persons and sports teams are, in a sense, representatives of and mirrors of their countries. It is no coincidence that most great nations are also leading sporting countries  because it is a significant tool of soft power projection. Nations demonstrate their might either through ‘Fight’ …

Sunday, August 11, 2024 Undoubtedly, the political matrimony between President Bola Tinubu and Northern Nigeria is at Talaq stage. Talaq is the Islamic unilateral repudiation of a marital union. There are no sobs, no wails. No dabbing of the face with a handkerchief. But, the dusts provoked by the matrimonial …

The terrifying videos were not from Hollywood movies but scenes from Northern Nigeria during the #EndBadGovernance protest. The so-called protesters invaded a Government House, vandalised public facilities, looted an ICT training centre, carted away a Police station signpost, invaded banks, destroyed a mosque, hijacked a Personnel Armour Carrier, flew foreign …

[email protected] 0705 263 1058 Yesterday, the #ENDBADGOVERNANCE protests ran its full gamut. In the days, weeks, months and years to come, pundits, critics and analysts will continue to discuss, review, critique and draw useful lessons from it. Did it fail? Did it succeed? Have lessons been learned on both sides …

The benefits of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in agriculture for sustainable food production and improved food security came to the fore at the recently concluded International Conference on Biotechnology 2024 (ICoB24) in Abuja. The conference, which was held from July 15th to July 19th, had experts from various fields of …

Almost everyone thinks they know what is wrong with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government, except Tinubu himself. And to show that it’s not just bellyaching, there are plenty of examples to beat the president over the head. Headline inflation has risen from 22.2 percent in April 2023 to …

Zenith Bank Plc, in a significant move to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new minimum capital requirement of N500 billion, is offering its ongoing hybrid rights and public offers at the bank’s lowest price range, locking in about 32 percent gain in potential immediate return for existing shareholders …

[email protected] 0807 552 5533 The story you are about to read is an abridged version of the true life experience of Yusuph Olaniyonu, communications strategist, journalist, lawyer, public affairs analyst and former Information Commissioner in Ogun State. I say without equivocation that Yusuph was one of the finest writers that Nigerian …

Gratitude, But So What? As I entered my seventh decade of life in 2022, I felt an overwhelming sense of triumph and gratitude. Seventy years, a milestone promised by the Psalmist, had finally arrived. Psalm 90:10 states “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures. …