Mr Peter Obi recently repeated his firm promise that he will serve for only one term if elected Nigeria’s president in 2027. And there have been divided opinions, especially in some parts of Northern Nigeria. Politics in Nigeria unfortunately has earned a reputation for deception. Campaign promises are often treated as ladders to power, abandoned … [Read more…]
By Abdul Mahmud These are not the best of times for Nigerians, and no honest observer of our national condition can pretend otherwise. Across the length and breadth of the country, fear has settled into daily life, shaping decisions, shrinking freedoms, and altering the meaning of home. To live in Nigeria today is to negotiate … [Read more…]
By Sammie Echi-Agbo His Excellency, Dr Jim Nwobodo, means different things to different people for different reasons. For some, he is remembered for rural development projects encompassing healthcare, water supply, electricity and empowerment. For others, his legacy lies in industrialisation, sports development and philanthropy. However, a common perception of Jim is that of a charismatic … [Read more…]
By Abdul Mahmud The killing of two Nigerians in South Africa is not an isolated outrage that can be explained away with the tired language of criminality or spontaneous mob action; it is part of a disturbing pattern of violence that has taken root in a country whose freedom was once nourished by the sacrifices … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud What does one say to citizens who already live each day under the heavy weight of Nigeria’s iniquitous politics, who do not need lectures but only clarity, and who have learned from experience that power rarely yields to persuasion but often bends institutions until they begin to resemble instruments of private will … [Read more…]
The political season is upon us again, and with it comes the familiar fever of democracy. Across our wards and local governments, across party offices and private homes, consultations have begun. Aspirants are making calls, elders are receiving visits, supporters are counting delegates, and the marketplace of ambition is alive once more. This is proof … [Read more…]
There is a familiar refrain that surfaces whenever Nigerians in the diaspora are discussed, or when professionals at home are urged to “give back”. It is often delivered with a tone of moral certainty: Nigeria trained you. Nigeria made you. You owe Nigeria. It sounds persuasive. It even feels patriotic. But it is not entirely … [Read more…]
By M.O Ene The 1983 Nwobodo v. Onoh contest was crude, rude, and brutal. Parents were not spared. It was vile and violent, as in the Ikemba Front v. Jim Vanguard shootout at Nkpor Junction. As a young JJC been-to, I detested calumny in partisan politics. I thought that was the lowest, until Uche Ekwunife … [Read more…]
By Tai Emeka Obasi Your Excellency, I write to you, once more, at a defining moment in your life and in the history of our nation. Moments like this are rare, and how they are handled often determines whether a man is remembered for what he achieved or for what he chose to give up … [Read more…]
By Oseloka H. Obaze In the summer of 2011, two unconnected op-ed pieces appeared on the same page of the New York Times. They pertained respectively to challenges confronting two different nations; the United States that was then suffering from governance paralysis. The other nation was Libya, which was about to implode from NATO bombings … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud There is a certain comfort in blaming leaders. It absolves us of responsibility. It allows us to stand at a moral distance from the foolishness of our own choices. But every now and then, a harder truth insists on being heard. A nation is often a reflection of the people who choose … [Read more…]
By Isaac Edoboh Recent remarks by HE Atiku Abubakar in his interview with Charles Aniagolu on Arise Television have once again brought to the fore a critical issue in Nigeria’s political evolution: the question of principle, consistency and credibility in leadership. In that interview, Atiku made reference to the 2005 National Political Reform Conference, where … [Read more…]