Month: May 2024

In my 1994 book, ‘Fortress on Quicksand’, which chronicled the presidential primaries of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC) and profiled the contenders during the aborted Third Republic of General Ibrahim Babangida, I wrote that it was glaring to the discerning that the experiment would not last. I had the same premonition about the current democratic journey ushered in on 29 May 1999.   Although I am now delighted to have been proved wrong, I had reasons to doubt that we would today be celebrating 25…

It was like a joke at first. Nigeria’s national anthem was being replaced with the previous one by a law being passed by the National Assembly. The president served as the inspiration for this somewhat pointless action taken by the national parliament, the logic for which has been looked for to no avail. It couldn’t determine if the bill was an executive or private member bill. However, it is noteworthy and unprecedented how quickly President Tinubu signed it and how urgently the national assembly passed it. Simply put, the Tinubu…

The value of a product or service is not absolute, but rather determined by the market you’re in. Where you buy your wares determines their worth, and sadly, that worth is often only recognized by you, the individual. I experienced this firsthand when I was directed to purchase a prayer chaplet called Tasbih from the central mosque. The vendor quoted a price of N21,000, which I didn’t argue with, trusting my instincts. However, when I visited the next shop, the price increased to N25,000! I was taken aback, thinking, “Do…