Category: Opinion

If we were Christian in my family, Christmas would have been for us a mixture of joy, mourning and remembrance. But still, it is. When others celebrate Christmas, I mourn my mother. We call it celebration of life; it is a forever act that undie the dead. She died just before dawn on December 24, 2005. But she lived long enough such that even I, her second to the last child, enjoyed her nurture for over forty years. She died happy and fulfilled. She was extremely lucky; she even knew…

“Beware the quiet man; for while others speak, he watches. And while others act, he plans. And when they finally rest, he strikes.” Not all quotes have the fortune of being attributed to an inventor; the above is one of them. Author known or author not known, the quote is fit for my use and I use it here, guardedly. Reticent Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, packed a punch last Tuesday with a media chat that landed like a cluster bomb.   Exactly like America’s missile strike of Thursday, lethal…

This article was first published in December 2020. In light of recent U.S. airstrikes targeting terrorist groups linked to transnational extremist networks and the renewed focus on international counterterrorism efforts in Nigeria, I find this write-up highly relevant to current developments. God willing, next week we will continue the Trending Events Amidst Governor Buni’s Yobe Achievements series, which began last week. March 2020 was a sad one for Chad. There was an attack on its Bohoma army base by Boko Haram terrorists. They killed more than 92 Chadian soldiers in what army…

In Nigeria, on Tuesday and Thursday last week, two precision airstrikes hit targets. As similar as the pains the airstrikes brought, they were also marked by dissimilarities. While one hit the country’s northwest target against ISIS terrorists on Thursday, Christmas day, earlier on Tuesday, the other hit the heart of state capture in Nigeria. But localities of the strikes were miles apart. The Donald Trump strikes were launched from maritime platforms domiciled in the Gulf of Guinea but the one that exposed the rump of one party rule in Nigeria…

It is unfortunate – though pleasant surprises can occasionally ‘crop up’ – that Zacch Adelabu Adedeji is unlikely to be among the recipients of the ubiquitous ‘Man of the Year’ awards. These accolades, jocularly referred to by the mischievous as being showered like confetti at a wedding, are often a poor reflection of true impact. That Adedeji – a modern reincarnation of the Biblical Zacchaeus – might be overlooked speaks volumes about the judgment and hidden motives propelling many of these awards.   A vantage strategist and fiscal architect, the…

For the first time in Nigeria’s modern history, the United States has carried out a direct military strike on Nigerian soil under the pretext of fighting terrorism. This troubling development follows earlier threats by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly alleged a so-called “Christian genocide” in Nigeria and hinted at possible military intervention.   What makes this incident deeply alarming is not merely the involvement of a foreign power, but the grave misrepresentation of Nigeria’s security realities and the reckless choice of targets allegedly hit during the operation.…

Nigeria’s agitation toward a fully digitized and citizen-focused public sector took a center stage yesterday at the international 4- Day Study Tour on e-Governance, Innovation and Resilience held in Swiss – Belinn, Nairobi, Kenya as experts Brainstormed on challenges, gaps, realities and pathways to modernizing public institutions across Africa. Presenting a well detailed and researched paper with titled: “Modernization of Public Institutions: Gaps, Realities and Pathway to Enhance Effective e-Governance,” Dr TPL Bassey Ita Etim-Ikang, PhD who is also a developmental expert and analyst urged for immediate reforms driven by…

The referenced jaundiced reportage purporting to analyse proceedings at the Court of Appeal in the matter connected with the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is a glaring example of speculative journalism, factual distortion, and advocacy masquerading as news. It is necessary, in the interest of accuracy and the integrity of judicial reporting, to set the record straight. The report is gravely flawed in its presentation of the factual posture of the appeal. It falsely suggests that Senate President Godswill Akpabio personally suffered a “major blow” at the Court of Appeal…

During the Kiriji War of the nineteenth century, a grim parable of war came and became a subject of racial slur and morbid joke. An Oyo-Ibadan warrior, disarmed and cornered by an Ijesa fighter, collapsed to the earth and begged for his life. The Ijesa man, scornful of pleas, mocked him with a cruel logic: he threw his machete at the captive and ordered him to beg the blade, not the man. “Ada lo a bè; èmi kó a bè.”   The unarmed warrior rose, took the weapon, and killed…