Month: July 2024

In the Nigerian media space, the term “brown envelope” has become synonymous with corruption and unethical practices. It refers to the practice of journalists accepting bribes or “envelopes” filled with money or other incentives in exchange for favourable coverage or silence on certain issues. This culture of corruption has long been a stain on the reputation of the Nigerian media and has contributed to the loss of trust in the institution.   The history of the “brown envelope” culture in Nigeria can be traced back to the 1980s, during a…

Last Sunday on my X (formerly Twitter) page, I opened a discourse on the animosity that public officials have developed to private citizens visiting their offices coming in with their phones. Today, I believe the topic deserves a broader treatment as I am very much concerned about the rate at which public officials now bar citizens visiting their offices from bringing in their mobile telephone devices. In a rapidly evolving digital age, mobile phones have become indispensable tools for communication, information access and even personal security. Yet, an alarming trend…

It was like magic. In 2006, my wife enrolled for a post-graduate programme in the UK. After getting accommodation, she was informed by the landlady that as a student, she was entitled to exemption from council tax. All she needed was to notify the authorities on her status. My wife and I went to the council office and were attended to as soon as we arrived. We explained what we wanted and we were asked to submit a copy of her admission letter. Two days later, we got a mail…

After twenty-five years of unbroken civilian governments in Nigeria, one can easily imagine that the country is getting settled as a democracy. But whereas a civilian government rather than a military regime is more likely to be democratic, civilian rule in Nigeria and indeed in several parts of Africa are far from adhering to democratic practices. In truth, what obtains in many African countries is authoritarian democracy. The causative factors are many. Poorly organized political parties, prevalent poverty, commercialized politics, election rigging and the tendency for those in power to…

Beyond its outer casing of spirituality, the post of Imam in Yorubaland potentially guarantees prestige, power and prosperity. That is why people fight to be Imam as grisly as princes fight to be king. But when siblings fight to the death, they lose their chest to outsiders. The Yoruba Muslim community is almost always at war with itself. The League of Imams and Alfas of Yorubaland, Edo and Delta in April this year scrambled to douse a fire over who should be their mufti. The mufti is the jurisconsult in…