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…]
Coach Fidelis Ilechukwu has steadily carved a reputation for himself as one of Nigeria’s most astute and hardworking football tacticians, and his current dual role speaks volumes about his growing influence in the game. Serving simultaneously as an Assistant Coach of the Super Eagles and the Head Coach of Rangers International of Enugu, Ilechukwu embodies … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud Grief arrived quietly in Maiduguri, but it has not left. It lingers in the home of Dr Jibril Khalil, the Director of the Heart Center and Head of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), where his daughter should have been planning her future, not being laid to rest. … [Read more…]
By C.V.C Ozoaniamalu Nwando had woken up and felt dizzy, dragging herself to the bathroom. A softness in her knees, as though her body had begun, without warning, to withdraw from her, to practice lifelessness. The tap in the bathroom ran unchecked. Steam rose from the heater in slow, deliberate spirals, climbing upward until it … [Read more…]
…How the Iran-Israel-US-Gulf Conflict Could Shake Nigeria’s Economy, and Why Africa May Pay the Hidden Price By Ikenna Igwe War usually feels distant until it shows up in your fuel bill, your transport fare, the price of bread, or the cost of fertilizer on a farm hundreds of miles away. That is why the conflict … [Read more…]
By Ikechukwu Amechi It was Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, the French critic, journalist, and novelist, who, in 1849, coined what has become an enduring proverb: plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose – the more things change, the more they stay the same. In matters of governance and power in Nigeria – military or civilian … [Read more…]