‘Eat the Oil Money; We Take the Crude’, By Olusegun Adeniyi

When you live in a glass house, as they say on the street, you don’t walk naked. But that conventional wisdom must have been lost on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, despite his considerable experience in politics spanning decades. In a viral video a day after the party’s primaries that nominated former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the PDP presidential candidate […]

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Sleepwalking to Sri Lanka, By Olusegun Adeniyi

Last Saturday, thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka stormed the presidential residence in Colombo. It was a scene reminiscent of Bamako exactly one decade ago when Malian protesters invaded the presidential palace to give the then Interim President Dioncounda Traore the beating of his life. Only God knows what the angry protesters would have done to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had he not escaped […]

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Tinubu’s School Record and Matters Arising, By Olusegun Adeniyi

“The committee invited editors of THISDAY newspaper because of the prominence which they have given to the publication of the allegations. The editors of THISDAY visited us informally, refusing to oblige our invitation and informing us that they would rely on their publications.” The excerpted quote is from the ‘Report of the ad-hoc committee set up on […]

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Palace ‘Coup’ at the Apex Court, By Olusegun Adeniyi

Justice Tanko Ibrahim Muhammad, who resigned as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) on Monday, is a living proof that it’s always difficult for anybody in the public space to get a second chance to make a first impression. Right from the unfortunate spectacle of his Senate confirmation hearing on 17th July 2019, many Nigerians had […]

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APC Guinea Corn and Buhari’s Rain, By Olusegun Adeniyi

Yoruba people warn that one should be wary of planting guinea corn with rainfall that comes from certain individuals. The message is that a promise made by that person can never be relied upon. This is the lesson many of those who aspired for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket failed to heed. At the end, each of them wasted not only the […]

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For Atiku, it’s Now, or Never!, By Olusegun Adeniyi

I cannot remember how many times former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has contested to be president of Nigeria. Or the number of party platforms he has crisscrossed over a period of three decades in pursuit of his ambition. But I do remember his first attempt in 1993 when I witnessed the high drama in Jos as a young reporter covering the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) […]

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‘I Want to Be a Party Delegate’, By Olusegun Adeniyi

I have a friend who is forever seeking trending jobs. He once wanted to be a petrol attendant. None of us (his friends) understood why someone with a master’s degree could set his sights so low until he told the story of how a petrol attendant had ‘oppressed’ him by snatching his girlfriend during a fuel scarcity in the country. Last week, our guy scaled up by […]

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Where Life is Two for One Kobo!, By Olusegun Adeniyi

Expectedly, condemnation has trailed last Thursday’s lynching of Miss Deborah Samuel by her College of Education, Sokoto colleagues for alleged blasphemous post on WhatsApp. As I commiserate with her traumatized family, I hope this unfortunate killing does not degenerate into another Christian versus Muslim crisis, because it is not about religion. The issue is also not […]

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2023 and Obiano’s Worthy Example, By Olusegun Adeniyi

I was among friends who hail from the southeast when the Anambra State gubernatorial election result was officially declared on November 7th last year. Not surprisingly, the outcome provoked considerable excitement in the room. One said, “I can bet that Segun’s next column will be on Soludo”, and turning to me, he added, “I know you like Soludo a lot.” […]

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Jonathan and the 2023 Shoe Lenders, By Olusegun Adeniyi

President Goodluck Jonathan rode to power in 2011 on the strength of popular national support, particularly from younger voters. But barely eight months in office, then presidential spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati had concluded that Jonathan was being unfairly harangued by the media and certain stakeholders. He located these harsh criticisms in “the circumstances of President Jonathan’s emergence: how […]

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Indeed, The Road Never Forgets, By Olusegun Adeniyi

Memoirs can help negotiate the complex and sometimes tricky relationship between individuals and their communities.  Students of politics also find these recollections useful for interpreting events in their country. The memoir of Dr Ifeanyichukwu Oluwasegun Opeyemi Ogunbiyi being presented today in Lagos to mark his 75th birthday not only speaks eloquently to the Nigeria that […]

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Blood and Horror on the Railway, By Olusegun Adeniyi

The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have issued statements mourning the death of their members. But it may take a while for Nigerians to get the complete picture of Monday’s horrific attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train. My heart goes out to families of the victims who will find it difficult coming to terms with their loss, especially given the tragic circumstance. This attack […]

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Nigeria and the Billion Dollar Dirty Slaps, By Olusegun Adeniyi

My sister, Dr Oby Ezekwesili could not have been more apt when she said Nigerians like to major in minors. Ever since the inauguration of Prof Chukwuma Soludo as the Governor of Anambra State ended on a slapping note, there has been no bigger storyline in Nigeria than the humiliation of an errant (now former) […]

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Umahi: The Cost of Political Harlotry, By Olusegun Adeniyi

On 17th April 2015, the Supreme Court ordered Ifedayo Abegunde, representing Ondo State Akure South/North federal constituency in the House of Representatives, to immediately vacate his seat. What was the offence? His defection to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) from the Labour Party (LP) under which he was elected. The ACN has since morphed […]

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100 Crucial Days in Nigeria, By Olusegun Adeniyi

Regardless of where one stands on the animosity between Russia and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), leading to the invasion of Ukraine by President Vladimir Putin, reports of the human tragedies are heartbreaking. Sadly, many of our nationals are also caught in the middle of this disaster. Ukraine and Russia have in recent years become […]

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Tinubu, Aregbesola and Loyalty, By Olusegun Adeniyi

“The concept of loyalty is a very strange one. My prayer is, may our loyalty never be tested.” That famous quote was from the Works and Housing Minister and former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, during his senate confirmation hearing on 14th October 2015. But few remember the context. A hospitalized woman who […]

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