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In 2006, Professor Jerry Gana—who started as Minister between 1999 and 2003—served as Political Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo. But during the period when many of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) politicians tried to outdo themselves on the ‘Third Term’ agenda, Gana stayed out of the fray. That did not go unnoticed by […]
Continue ReadingWhat do you think will happen in Bayelsa and Kogi States this coming Saturday? The question was posed to me last week Monday by a prominent citizen who considered my political opinion to be of some value. “Let’s start with Kogi,” I replied. “If performance in office dictates incumbent election results, Yahaya Bello should lose […]
Continue ReadingLast Saturday, the emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, stirred the hornet’s nest when he advocated punishment for parents who neglect their children by allowing them to roam aimlessly on the streets. Citing as an example the children recently abducted from Kano, the emir wondered whether this could happen in other parts of the country. […]
Continue ReadingI was in Maiduguri in 1992 with the current Managing Director of ‘The Nation’ newspaper, Mr Victor Ifijeh, then a political correspondent for Concord Newspapers, to cover the National Assembly election under the ‘guided democracy’ of General Ibrahim Babangida. The battle for the Borno Central Senatorial district was between Hajia Kolo Kingibe, wife of then […]
Continue ReadingOn 15th October, the comptroller-general of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), announced that “all goods, for now, are banned from being exported or imported through our land borders and that is to ensure that we have total control over what comes in”. He added: “We are strategizing on how best the […]
Continue ReadingYesterday in Ilorin, Kwara State, I performed one of the most difficult tasks that life can deal anyone: Burying a younger sibling. I come from a close-knit family of five children comprised of four males: Adeoye, myself, Olaniyi and Agboola (now of blessed memory) and Mrs Abosede Adebimpe Okuneye, the last and only female. We […]
Continue ReadingSub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest developing regions in the world. Population growth, expanding economic performance and a wealth of natural resources sit alongside dynamic political developments and an increasingly vocal civil society. However, diverse parts of the continent still struggle with dictatorial regimes, omnipresent corruption, and assertive malign foreign influences, sometimes bringing back […]
Continue ReadingMotivated by media reports of habitual harassment and abuse of young women over a period of three decades by powerful Hollywood director Harvey Weinstein, Alyssa Milano on 15th October, 2017 tweeted: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted, write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Within a period of 24 hours, the hashtag […]
Continue ReadingSo much has happened in our country in the past one week that speak to the challenges confronting us after 59 years of independence. Last Thursday, following a police raid, as many as 300 boys were rescued from an Islamic Centre in Kaduna State. Many of the victims said they had been sexually molested and […]
Continue ReadingThere is this interesting WhatsApp story of a drunkard who woke up one morning deeply repentant after a bitter fight with his wife the previous night. Intent on ameliorating the situation and turning a new leaf, the man took out the crate of beer he believed was responsible for his character flaw and started smashing […]
Continue ReadingWith tension brewing between the United States and Iran following last week attack on a Saudi Arabian oil facility which removed as much as five percent of global supplies, there has been an unprecedented jump in the price of crude. With that, there is the temptation to believe Nigeria will benefit from the current ‘harvest’. […]
Continue ReadingIn May 2017, my first daughter had just completed her West African School Certificate Examination and was home when I got a message that her siblings were at the National Children’s Park and Zoo on excursion from their school. She decided to accompany me to see them. As we drove into the park, I said, […]
Continue ReadingEven before I began receiving inquiries regarding the controversial $9.6 billion judgement that has become a Sword of Damocles over Nigeria, I was digging to find out what happened. Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, under whose administration the said contract was signed, is not around to defend himself so I felt an obligation to know […]
Continue ReadingIn 2003 or thereabouts, while still living in Lagos, I was invited to the Bournvita Award for Teachers ceremony to read the awardees citation along with Mrs. Adesuwa Onyenikwe of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) fame. Veteran actor, Mr Olu Jacob, was also there, as he said, to give moral support to his wife, the […]
Continue ReadingNever in the history of our country have we witnessed the current situation where not only the contents of classified documents are splashed in the media but the bromides of such correspondences as well. In some cases, even before they reach the officials to whom they were directed. Unauthorized leaks pose a serious threat to […]
Continue ReadingThere is only one rational conclusion to draw after watching the shocking video of how three senior police officers of an elite anti-kidnapping squad were brutally executed last week in Taraba State: The soldiers involved in the killing could only have been acting in promotion of some sinister agenda rather than in defence of the […]
Continue ReadingFLASHBACK, 25TH SEPTEMBER 2003: Rally after elections? That was my immediate reaction to Hon. Farouk Adamu Aliyu, the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) House of Representatives member from Jigawa State who had called to inform me that he was in Kano for a rally to be addressed the next day by Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd). […]
Continue ReadingThe video clips are two. In one, the young man, bleeding and shackled, is in the trunk of a Hilux vehicle as he rails at policemen. In a futile bid to demonstrate he is still in control of the situation, he even threatens them as he scoops his own blood with which he rubbed both […]
Continue ReadingIt was a simple tweet but what followed is a sad reminder of the loss of values that has made our country what it is today as we continue to build what my friend Bolaji Abdullahi described as a “nation of hustlers”. First, the tweet: “I lost my teaching job today (32K) where I teach […]
Continue ReadingWith the suspension last week of the ‘Ruga Settlements’ scheme “because it is not consistent with the NEC and FG approved National Livestock Transformation plan…”, the controversy around it ought to have ended. Sadly, it has only further opened our national fault lines. It should worry President Muhammadu Buhari that those now pushing the ‘Ruga […]
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