Category: Opinion

“Where you have a warrior culture, you have heroes.” That is how the unusual character of Ibadan is explained on page 856 of Professor Toyin Falola’s 1,012-page ‘Ibadan’, a history of the city. My eyes caught the line as I watched Saturday’s opposition political summit in the city.   Opposition politics in Nigeria is post-apocalyptic, its script reads like ‘The Last Man on Earth’. The virus of power has thinned the ranks. In a hall full of heavyweights, only one serving governor showed up. He was also the host—Seyi Makinde.…

In Nigeria’s long war against insurgency, bullets have not been the only weapon. Quietly, and far from the theatre of combat, another strategy has been unfolding for some years, one that seeks to separate low risk combattants and offer a second chance to the forcefully conscripted, not to eliminate them as enemies, but to transform them.   This is the story of Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC), Nigeria’s most ambitious deradicalisation and reintegration programme, and one of its most misunderstood.   A War Beyond the Battlefield   When Nigerian troops began…

Have you been following recent events in Kwara state? You don’t know what you are missing. As the 2027 elections draw near, the north-central state is shaping up for another round of the unfinished heavyweight bout between Mr AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Dr Bukola Saraki. I can bet my laptop that both men will throw everything, including the kitchen sink, into the ring. Jabs are already being thrown here and there, and I think we will see uppercuts in the months ahead. I am not ruling out a few blows below…

Yesterday, Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State, rallied Nigeria’s opposition political parties to Ibadan. According to him in his welcome address, the summit was to rescue Nigeria from the stranglehold of Nigeria’s apparent descent into autocracy, “a pattern where the space for real political competition is disappearing.” Ibadan summit’s message is an echo of a famous proverbial phrase and song of late Yoruba broadcaster and actor, Papa Adebayo Faleti, in the classic film, Saworoide. Faleti warned the maximalists of Jogbo country, especially its ruler, Lapite, a corrupt and ambitious king…

The annual NPR Week ended yesterday in Kaduna, re-igniting the glory of Croc City, as a melting pot of learning, culture, industry and civilisational offerings; and re-establishing Nigeria’s imbued capacity to feed itself and export for economic growth. This is not romanticism, neither is it exponential. The Ghanaian economist, George Ayittey, who studied at Manitoba, Ontario and Legon, and was a professor at American University in Washington, in his magnus opus, AFRICA BETRAYED, first published in 1992, had stated matter-of-factly, that Nigeria and Congo Kinshasa have sufficient qualitative lands to…

At Nigeria Public Relations Week Croc-City 2026, held from April 16 to 25, centering on Food Security: ‘From paper to plates’, the major thrust of discussions were not abstract rhetoric, but how governance systems are inadequately demanding practical solutions. The outcome of the Kaduna Food Security Declaration, reflects a convergence of ideas anchored on execution, accountability, and the strategic use of communication as a development tool. For Niger State, whose agricultural potential positions it as a critical contributor to national food supply, the lessons emerging from Kaduna are both instructive…

Tomorrow, Sunday, April 26, Akanni Aqib Iromini marks the milestone of his 70th birthday. Beyond the usual birthday platitudes, this septuagenarian turn offers a fitting opportunity to reflect on a journey that has been as remarkably beautiful as it has been purposeful. Iromini is worthy of celebration, more so as he represents a living embodiment of a forgotten spirit of sacrifice – and even, as many sadly found, of self-flagellation. Born in Iwo, Osun State, the pro-democracy activist was a fierce presence in the struggle to kick the military jackboots…

I watched, like many Nigerians, as the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 was signed into law in less than 24 hours. It was swift, decisive, and reassuring, a demonstration that when the political will exists, governance can move at remarkable speed.   But today, I find myself asking a difficult question: why can’t that same urgency be applied to the Police Exit Bill?   As retired officers of the Nigeria Police Force continue to protest across the country, their message is painfully clear, they feel forgotten. These are men and…

Fresh controversy has trailed the appointment of Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi as substantive Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, with growing scrutiny centred not on his personality, but on the legality of the process that produced him.   The dispute revolves around an alleged breach of clearly defined eligibility criteria governing VC appointments, particularly the requirement that candidates must possess a Doctor of Philosophy Degree, PhD.   The university’s position of Vice Chancellor was advertised in 2025 with explicit conditions, including a PhD qualification and a minimum of 10 years’…

Before you scroll off in anger: calm down. He is real. He has been in Nigeria longer than some of you reading this have been alive. His children go to school here. His grandchildren may well be buried here. The Lebanese community in Nigerian business is not a rumour, not a colonial hangover awaiting apology, and not going anywhere. They are woven into the fabric of commerce in this country. So pour yourself something cold and read on.   I will not name him — that was the price of…