Opinion

  Let’s give it to Buhari and his advisers. Whoever suggested making June 12 the country’s ‘Democracy Day’ (rather than May 29, which it has been until now) gave the Daura General a master stroke. It was a decision that especially excited the sensibility of the South-west– even more than …

  An old Chinese proverb says: Do good, reap good; do evil, reap evil. This short proverb sums the intensity of attacks against President Muhammadu Buhari, not leaving the ratcheting up of violence in some the States after a period of relative calm, in the wake of the political tsunami …

  This piece was inspired by avideo of the Kenyan National Prayer Breakfast, which recently went viral.  In that video President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga publicly offered apologies to each other over the contentious and acrimony-laden 2017 presidential election in the country. Uhuru Kenyatta, 56, is the …

  What was meant to be a “triumphal entry” for Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the APC candidate in the July 14 Ekiti governorship election, to Ekiti state to start his campaign last week turned awry as a result of a shooting incident that left many seriously wounded. Mercifully, attempts by APC …

  One area in which the Nigerian economy visibly suffered in recent years was the drawing down of its foreign reserves, at a time of plenty. When oil prices hit over 100 dollars per barrel, and stayed there for many years, the immediate past administration inherited the reserves from President …

The trip to the grotto was smooth, except that there were rainstorms and windstorms followed by lightning during a downpour.  I set out 6pm on Thursday, May 31, and, shortly before midnight, I was sitting by the cave, waiting to hear from the ORACLE.  My mission?  Last week, this column …

  On Wednesday, May 30, 2018, I slipped out of Nigeria. Where to? Beijing, in China, to attend an international seminar on National Governance for Presidential Advisers from Developing Countries. The two weeks seminar is under the auspices of the Graduate School of the University of Chinese Academy of Social …

  On Tuesday, May 29, 2018, the Buhari/Osinbajo led government will clock three years in office. With elections less than a year ahead, this period of people-oriented governance has been a great success. The administration has fared very well in various policy fronts. There is a long list of achievements …

The evolution of the global energy sector provides opportunities as well as challenges for countries whose economies are largely dependent on fossil fuels revenue. For most mono-product economies (like Nigeria) budgets are based on revenues from those commodities; and as such, are exposed to price volatility in the international commodity …

  Top opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members have been granting press interviews and addressing zonal political rallies talking about “CHANGING THE CHANGE” in next year’s general elections, without defining what exactly that means. As the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) gears up to celebrate the completion of three years …

  A recent report by the World Bank was to the effect that Nigeria has not eased, in real terms, from the deep recession that gripped her economy from 2015 to 2017. It pointed out even though she has to spend massively through investments in capital-intensive projects, to push back …

The political haze is clearing in Ekiti. The men are already being separated from the boys. On Tuesday, May 8th the people’s Democratic Party chose the deputy governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola Eleka, as its flag-bearer in the July 14th governorship election. Four days later on Friday, May 11th, the Chief …

For domestic natural gas utilization to increase significantly, the International Oil Companies (IOCs) will have to meet their domestic gas supply obligation (DGSO) targets. The Nigerian Gas Master Plan (GMP) stipulated a revised transitional pricing structure for gas to power projects in 2010, and ultimately a price of $2.50 per …

The wall separating urban and rural communities is collapsing fast. What makes a community urban except for availability of power, piped clean water and paved roads?  These amenities are present in a majority of our rural communities today, but they are lacking in some cities. As I write this in …

    The nationwide ward congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC), held on Saturday, May 5 2015 was largely marred by crises, violence and accusations and counter -accusations of attempts to illicitly influence its outcome. Apart from a few states like Katsina where the exercise was relatively peaceful, in …

Timi is about 27 years and hails from a rustic community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. He is not a lazy Nigerian youth (if you catch my drift). Since he left secondary school, he has fended for himself, having lost his parents early in life. He …

   All was going smoothly during the APC gubernatorial primary elections in Ado-Ekiti until thugs disrupted the otherwise peaceful process. Watching live television coverage by TVC and the reactions by sponsored individuals present at the election venue showed an organized agenda (given the vituperations) against Dr. Kayode Fayemi, known to …

A reliable source has told me what he believes is the reason the National Assembly has yet to pass the 2018 budget. Our lawmakers, he said, have been expecting chunks of money they would use to fight the next election but have been disappointed by a “frugal” presidency. I don’t …

  Rosalyn Carter, a former United States First Lady once said: “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” Thus, the hallmark of a great and true visionary leader is his ability to …

  This note is written by one who is mindful of the fact that there are Nigerians, I mean the opponents of this administration, who have prayed and prayed very hard that our President in the course of his historic visit to the White House on Monday, April 30, 2018, …

  The looming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, whose party primaries are already in full swing in Ekiti but gathering momentum in Osun, promise to re-define not only South-West politics but the 2019 General Elections. So, the elections are dress rehearsals for 2019 and its outcome will foretell …

Many have held their breath since penultimate week when the US, Britain and France bombed facilities allegedly housing chemical weapons in Syria, and Russia promised there would be consequences for that action. I too have been restless, for I’ve not forgotten a remark Ronald Reagan once made about “that evil …

 The Allure of the Humanities  By Chuks Iloegbunam “Our history strongly suggests that we need to moderate strength and power with discretion and diplomacy, not only among our leaders but also among the generality of our people. It is not weakness to recognize the value of discretion. It is foolhardiness …

  Journalism is one profession that every Tom, Dick and Harry pretends to know how to practise; so was Festus Keyamo, SAN appointed Director, Strategic Communication (whatever that means!) for President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid. Their good grief! But in trying to explain why he took up the appointment (as …

As I drive today along Faulks Road, passing Ariaria to the Enugu/PortHarcourt end of Faulks Road,  on a well-paved road, with good culvert and median, I remember an encounter with a strange native on this road some years ago. A true story:   Dateline:  Ariaria International Market; August 2013. It …