On May 17th 2024, this column published a piece with the tittle “An Emperor and His Nemesis”. It was a prognostic analysis of the impending political crisis in Rivers State because of the suffocating hold of ex-governor Wike on his surrogate, Siminalayi Fubara, the incumbent governor of the state. Recent...
COLUMNIST
The Godfrey Okoye University (GOUNI), Enugu has raised minimum qualification for its lecturers to Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from 2025-2026 academic session. The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Christian Anieke, announced on Friday while addressing academic and senior administrative staff of the university during a “Spiritual Retreat” organised for...
The Police Command in Ogun has confirmed that one Lanre Ogungbe, 32, was discovered dead in a hotel room at Soyoye in Abeokuta. the Command’s spokesperson, SP Omolola Odutola, confirmed in a statement on Friday in Abeokuta the incident occurred at 2 p.m. on Thursday. Odutola explained that a...
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia has swore in the 23 newly elected local government chairmen in the state. Alia, during the ceremony on Monday in Makurdi, tasked the new council chairmen with accountability and transparency. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission...
Between 1967 and 1970, Nigeria narrowly escaped the misfortune of going into oblivion. An unnecessary war was raging here. People were dying on an industrial scale, from bullets and hunger. Most of the deaths were unaccounted for. Some inconsequential people emerged from the mayhem as war heroes and illustrious...
It is a sort of sinking feeling. Something like an uncontrolled slide into a dungeon down a slippery slope. You seem trapped as you descend into a hellish pit out of which you are powerless to climb out. The descent is often propelled by a force beyond your control....
It is that time of the year again for our ritual roadside assessment of the state of the nation from the perspective of the common folk . It is the last quarter of the year, that time of the year when nearly every Nigerian household takes stock of their...
Order in every credible democracy is a balance of compassion and hard policy choices. The hard choices, often of a reform nature, which confront new leaders only make sense if they are for the common good. Otherwise, a barrage of crushing reforms with no tinge of compassion can suffocate the...
Perhaps unknown to most Nigerians, the Nigerian government hosted its political opposition in the hallowed chambers of the Federal Executive Council last Wednesday. It was a unique opportunity to hear an opposition perspective on the current state of the nation right in the executive chambers of Aso Villla....
The Nigerian politician is a most futuristic animal. He is above all else a most distractive creature, forever creating political outlets and ventilations. While our civil society remains reactive , our political class is eternally ahead in terms of setting an agenda for distracting the attention of the polity...
By EMMANUELLA ANOKAM, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) When the construction of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery Limited began in 2016, Nigerians were upbeat that it will crash the high price of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as fuel and also stop its importation. The refinery in size of...
The press statement by PROF UDENTA O. UDENTA, a Patriot, Political Thinker and Founding National Secretary of Alliance for Democracy (AD), addresses three significant issues of national concern; the End-Hunger Protests, the overall State of the Nation, and Hon Yakubu Dogara’s inexplicable descent into the Infernal Regions via...
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...
Once more, food insecurity and the hunger crisis have forced Nigeria to face a crossroads. Protests have erupted across the nation, and young people are going on the rampage in numerous states, resulting in sorrows, tears, and blood. At least 20 lives have been tragically lost due to...
In the politics of remembrance and forgetfulness, ‘’it is sometimes convenient to forget. At others it is uncomfortable to remember. To forget is perhaps one of the greatest gifts of nature. But to remember can also be an invaluable asset sometimes. However, so many times, we remember to...
The country’s hunger protests have brought about a great deal of sorrow, violence, and property destruction, which have taken a toll. Over twenty lives have been lost. These tragedies could have been prevented if better coordination and cooperation had existed between the government, security services, and protesters. Sadly, if...
I set my alarm clock for this morning to ensure that I did not miss President Bola Tinubu’s impatiently awaited address to the nation on the current unrest across the nation. His outline of government’s remedial action since inception, aimed at warding off just such an outbreak, will...
The anxiety preceding the hunger protests was palpable. The dress rehearsals on the part of officialdom were warlike. Government unleashed all manner of attack dogs to frighten off the planners of an over popularized nationwide protest wrongly captioned *Endbadgovernment. A nationwide protest without specific demands is doomed to fizzle...
The nationwide End-Hunger Protest, also known as the End-Bad-Government Protest, has officially begun and is sweeping the country, causing deaths and damage in its wake. And there’s the worry that the worst might yet come. Due to the ethnic profiling that a president’s spokesperson brought into it, which...
I should say right away that I am an activist in my own right and have been since I was a student. I’m not against protests taking place under the appropriate circumstances, even though the planned nationwide hunger protest meant to put a stop to hardships may not...