Category: Opinion

The terrifying videos were not from Hollywood movies but scenes from Northern Nigeria during the #EndBadGovernance protest. The so-called protesters invaded a Government House, vandalised public facilities, looted an ICT training centre, carted away a Police station signpost, invaded banks, destroyed a mosque, hijacked a Personnel Armour Carrier, flew foreign flags, sought foreign intervention, and chanted “Yara Me Kuke so; Wiwi Mukeso!” in Hausa. The latter means, “Children, what do you want? Cannabis (marijuana) is what we want!”   The protest in the North is akin to a coup targeted…

Undoubtedly, the political matrimony between President Bola Tinubu and Northern Nigeria is at Talaq stage. Talaq is the Islamic unilateral repudiation of a marital union. There are no sobs, no wails. No dabbing of the face with a handkerchief. But, the dusts provoked by the matrimonial dislocation hang notoriously in the sky. Even bystanders miles away can see them. The marriage is only 15 months old but the couple’s patience for each other is rope-thin. As our elders say, right in the presence of the kolanut seller, irreverent worms slide…

Reports that the Oyo State government has just created an agency for the enforcement of the rule of law sounded strange to me because I could not appreciate how a subnational entity can successfully implement an assignment that is essentially federal. Although I am aware that some states often maintained federal roads in their states and occasionally got reimbursed by the federal government, I was unsure of the applicability of such to the implementation of a contentious subject like the rule of law. Would it not lead to clashes between…

An American immigration officer caught me unawares with a probing question. I was doing a research on five oil-producing countries on a comparative scale with Nigeria to draw out lessons for our leaders on policy environment, windfall management, upstream-downstream linkages, local content, and operations of national oil companies. I had travelled to Washington, DC to use the libraries of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In my hand was a book, ‘The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Booms and Petro-states’, authored by Terry Lynn Karl who explored why…

This was first written on March 17, 2024, with a different headline. Perhaps we may still find it relevant in these trying times.   Last week, we read how the signs are not looking good for a nation like ours that wants to be reckoned with internationally. We concluded by asking the federal government to look at ways to reduce the cost of governance and the unimaginable take-home pay of political leaders and redirect the excess towards production. And we emphasised that we must become a productive nation that eats,…

Last Sunday, President Bola Tinubu addressed the nation amid #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protests, expressing sorrow over lost lives and urging peace. He defended his economic reforms, highlighted progress and unveiled initiatives for youth empowerment, housing and food security. Nevertheless, his address sparked a range of responses, and indeed, it received mixed reactions, with critics saying he didn’t address root causes and others commending his efforts to tackle challenges. The government’s subsidy removal and allied policies have had a mixed impact. They’ve increased government revenue, attracted private investment, and reduced fiscal burden. However,…

Almost everyone thinks they know what is wrong with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government, except Tinubu himself. And to show that it’s not just bellyaching, there are plenty of examples to beat the president over the head.   Headline inflation has risen from 22.2 percent in April 2023 to 33.7 one year after – and is still growing – while attempts by the government to tame it have been largely ineffective. Food inflation has nearly doubled. The naira has been devalued by 70 percent in one year, and poverty levels,…

For some inexplicable reason, people like to send me ‘accusatory’ messages about journalists and journalism. Even for things that I know nothing about. It is almost as if they feel I should be held accountable for the entire Nigerian media space. Three days to the commencement of the nationwide ‘End Bad Governance’ protests, I received one such message from a highly respected person in the North who is very political despite not being involved in partisan politics. I just scrolled through without bothering to respond. But following how the protests…

When the Dangote refinery controversy blew up, naturally as someone wired to support anyone l perceive to be oppressed, this time, Dangote, l lined up in support of the richest man in Africa. I perceived he was being unduly treated by the Downstream and Midstream regulators, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). For days, l had heated arguments with people with opposing views on this matter. However, Ademola Adigun, one person l respect on this app, cautioned that people should not be too emotive on this matter…

We inhabit a media landscape where falsehoods are skillfully manipulated to masquerade as verifiable facts, unchecked propaganda is employed as a tool for character assassination, and opportunistic individuals like Jackson Ude, notorious for peddling fake news, resort to unscrupulous tactics such as blackmail, mischief, and propaganda to secure financial gain and satiate their self-interest.   These actions undermine the fundamental objective of effective communication, which is to convey accurate information and achieve a desired outcome based on verifiable facts. Instead, they create a false narrative and distorted history, perpetuating misinformation…