-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…]
Over the years, Rangers International Football Club has remained a formidable force in Nigerian football. Its story began in 1970, in the aftermath of the Nigerian Civil War, a period marked by immense loss of lives and property. At that defining moment, Rangers was more than just a football club to ndi Igbo; it became … [Read more…]
By Caleb Johnson In politics, as in nation-building, there comes a moment when ambition must yield to wisdom, and aspiration must bow to history. That moment, for HE Atiku Abubakar, is now. No serious observer of Nigeria’s democratic journey can deny Atiku’s enduring relevance. He has remained a central figure in the nation’s political evolution, … [Read more…]
By Ikechukwu Amaechi Seven days from today, Thursday, April 23, to be precise, Nigerians who value the role of intellection in national development will gather, once again, at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) for the 2026 edition of TheNiche Lecture. This will be the fifth in the series and typically, it promises to be another … [Read more…]
“Insecurity is increasing because election is coming. As soon as the election is over, watch out, the first two weeks you’ll not hear a single bomb blast”. -Godswill Akpabio, Senate President. When the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, spoke about insecurity rising because elections are approaching, and casually suggested that violence would disappear within “the first … [Read more…]