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On October 29, 1974, the Nigerian Ministry of Defence, through the Ministry of External Affairs, wrote to Nigerian missions and embassies abroad that it wanted to buy tonnes of cement to build barracks for its post-civil war armed forces of 200,000 officers and men. The Nigerian Army had just about 8,000 personnel before the war. […]
Continue ReadingTalented filmmaker, Tunde Kelani, recalibrated a popular Yoruba folklore in his famous Agogo Ewo (the forbidden gong) movie. A supremacy battle ensued between Eledumare – God, and Land. The two earthly ancient principalities had gone hunting and jointly killed an Emo rat. When it was time for sharing of the game, both got locked in a duel […]
Continue ReadingNigeria’s now perennial insecurity has been damaged by political laziness. Every two- penny politician has developed a habit of weaponizing insecurity as political language. In the process, very little effort or rigour is devoted to the reality of what we are dealing with. Even those who are paid to keep us safe tend to resort […]
Continue ReadingOne of the most beautiful and inspiring news to come out of Nigeria in recent times is the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership bestowed on our own Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, for his exceptional and patriotic service to his beloved country Nigeria, and indeed Africa. It then becomes a double […]
Continue ReadingSince the conclusion of my ‘missionary journey’ to Aso Rock almost 14 years ago, I have written more than a dozen columns on the need to reform the budgeting process in Nigeria. Notable ones include ‘The Illusion of Budget Performance’, ‘Budget War and Dysfunctional Envelope System’, ‘Buhari and the Budget Palaver’, ‘Nigeria’s 2016 Zero Budget!’ and ‘Of Government and Budget Blues’. The kernel […]
Continue ReadingThere is an Igbo proverb that says: When a woman marries the second husband, she understands the true worth of the first husband. It is the same for a man who divorces his wife and marries a second wife. Usually, the first spouse seems bad until the divorce occurs and another marriage takes place. Some […]
Continue Reading“What is the State?” Louis Blanc, politician and historian in 19th century France, asks himself. He answers: “The State, under democratic rule, is the power of all the people, served by their elect; it is the reign of liberty. “The State, under monarchical rule, is the power of one man, the tyranny of a single […]
Continue ReadingThree weeks ago, maybe even four, I got a message from my mobile phone company asking me to re-register my line and link it to the national identification number, aka NIN, else I would be barred. I murmured to myself: “Here we go again!” How many times will I link my line to NIN? I […]
Continue Reading“The total amount of such advances outstanding shall not at any time exceed five per cent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the Federal Government” – Section 38 (2) of the CBN Act. Every Nigerian now knows that the Buhari government obtained N30 trillion under Ways and Means, W&M, from the Central Bank of […]
Continue ReadingLet us talk about a few foreign coaches since Clemens Westerhof, my friend, the acclaimed best coach in Nigeria’s history, was engaged to coach the national team in 1989. Who was Clemens in the world of coaching when he was hired? Was he a world -class coach? What club or country of renown did he […]
Continue ReadingIf someone says something is ‘gooder’ than the other, the person must be a peculiar user of English language. He can be faintly literate. He can be a comedian, just as he can be drunk. Whatever his situation, the expression is likely to attract a gale of mockery. The reason is that ‘better’ is the […]
Continue ReadingI read a pathetic report last weekend of how the family of the late Second Republic Senate President, Joseph Wayas, was made to pay the sum of £6,710 (more than N13 million) before being allowed to sight his body in a London morgue. Wayas died on 30th November 2021, so I assumed he had been buried. Apparently, […]
Continue ReadingOver the weekend, while Nigerians were mourning actor and comedian John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, a Facebook post by a pastor trended and brought to the fore the growing distorted brand of Christianity being spread in Nigeria. Using the pictures of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, […]
Continue ReadingFrom these words of his message to me, this brother is apparently rethinking fatherhood. “Let me tell you why I don’t bother my head about children again. It has to do with what happened at my brother’s burial some years ago. Their mother left the husband and relocated overseas through the help of a man […]
Continue ReadingI remember, with nostalgia, our secondary school days when the James Hardley Chase novels were such a delightful companion. Even though it was not a recommended text, it was difficult to find a peer or cohort unfamiliar with the thrillers. In the ‘Tiger by the Tail’ Chase told the story of Kenway Holland, ‘a respectable, […]
Continue ReadingWhen Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) retires from the Bench in 2024, upon the attainment of the statutory, mandatory retirement age of 70 years, he would be able to count among his legacies, as CJN, the singular fact that it was under his watch that the Supreme Court achieved the full complement […]
Continue ReadingWise old Tortoise sat his children down. “My dear ones, two things are essential for your growth and wellbeing in life: Always tell the truth, and never ever take whatever is not yours.” The attentive children nodded; they promised to do as their father counseled. They bowed before their dad and left. Four years down […]
Continue ReadingIt is in order to say President Bola Tinubu is actually showing some balls with many decisions he has taken since he assumed power, although the jury is still out on the reforms. Last Monday, he “ordered” (we Nigerian journalists are madly in love with that word, aren’t we?) the implementation of the Oronsaye Report. […]
Continue ReadingIn more sensible places, President Tinubu’s job approval rating is so woeful that he should have been job hunting by now. In the United Kingdom, the opposition would have called for snap elections to test his popularity and probably throw him out of 10 Downing. In the United States, his party faithful would have been so embarrassed […]
Continue ReadingOne of the oft-repeated myths in this country is that when the poor are hungry enough, their final resort will be to eat the rich. But when one considers the Nigerian situation, one wonders just how much more hungry people need to get before they finally combust. Several revolutions in human history have been triggered […]
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