Opinion

I’ve seen him address the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Seen him speak at AU (African Union) summits. Seen him address the European Parliament at Salzburg, France. Watched him speak to the world a number of times at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). And on Tuesday, July …

*FG promises protection of intellectual property, investment For two days, American investors and chieftains from the technology and entertainment sectors of the US and indeed global economies took turns to listen and actively interact with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, and the Nigerian delegation drawn from the public and private …

  Generally, two sets of factors affect the outcome of elections in Nigeria: The negative and the positive. The looming governorship election in Ekiti state will be no different.  Negative factors include election rigging: Thuggery and violence, ballot box snatching and stuffing, multiple thumb-printing or voting; falsification of election results; …

The Chinese conceived  the grand Road and Belt Initiative(RBI) as a strategic agenda to change developmental politics of the world. Almost five years after, the RBI is yielding results that even the worst of critics are now acknowledging. RBI is truly disruptive of existing order; it was a daring subtle …

 A Communique from a forum on the Nigeria Petroleum Industry Reforms: Understanding the elements of the Petroleum Industry Governance (PIGB) Bill held recently at the Auditorium of Emerald Energy Institute (for Petroleum & Energy Economics, Policy, and Strategic Studies), University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.    Preamble The oil and gas …

  It is sad to receive another news of massive killings and destructions of over 200 lives and millions worth of properties of Plateau state citizens. I understand similar attacks are ongoing in parts of Taraba, Adamawa, Zamfara, Kaduna and Benue States amongst others. I have been inundated with calls …

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been depicted by its implacable critics as a cesspool of corruption and for a good measure too. Over the years arguably, no agency has the axiomatic Nigerian strand of sleaze been more manifest than the state owned Oil giant whose reputation has been …

 FACT: The Federal Government’s programme of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of former agitators in the Niger Delta region of the country as part of the Amnesty Programme brought calmness to the country at its commencement. It floundered and wobbled due to irregularities until the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari put …

  In this column last week, I applauded and defended the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) to honour the late MKO Abiola and his vice presidential candidate, Babagana Kingibe for their victory in the June 12, 1993 elections, a victory which had been denied in the last 25 years. …

  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 …