-By Abdul Mahmud Just recently, photos of deep erosion gullies cutting through Auchi began circulating on social media. They are terrifying images. Stark. Stark enough to jar the conscience of any public official in Edo State with an ounce of duty. But, unsurprisingly, they haven’t. Auchi, the northern Edo town, one of the most important … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud When Ashleigh Plumptre pulled on the green jersey of the Super Falcons, she was not just representing our country. She was performing a deeper act: an act of cultural reimagination. She was constructing a new identity. One that defies borders, blurs categories, and reclaims ancestral memory. Her decision to play for our … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud Two weeks ago, Joseph Boakai, the Octogenarian President of Liberia, stepped into the White House, the symbolic heart of American power, to meet Donald Trump who had literally summoned five African presidents from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal to a landmark summit on trade, investment and security. It was supposed to … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud The phrase, “Africa is a cemetery for Africans,” falsely credited to Vladimir Putin, has long taken a meaning that goes beyond the dubiety of its source. But, whoever couched it and pushed it into the virtual space, acquiring its virality in the process, must have seen further than most of us. It … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud In a country starved of dignity, the conduct of members of the political class becomes akin to the conduct of wayward sailors staggering on the deck of a sinking ship. Call it the Titanic. They stagger through public spaces, like the character, Juda Pesa, the self-proclaimed market philosopher in the Kenyan writer, … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud I must begin with a confession. I write two columns weekly. One for this magazine and the other for the People’s Gazette. After finishing my piece for the People’s Gazette, I found myself staring into that graveyard of silence familiar to writers: the sudden and barren wasteland of the mind, the dreaded … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud “I couldn’t reach Yelawata in Benue State due to bad roads”, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This sentence captures the spirit of Tinubu’s presidency. Aloof. Detached. Cold. Inconsiderate. Leadership without compassion. Governance without sacrifice. Authority without empathy. How did Mandela once describe compassion? He said, “Our human compassion binds us the one … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud The war among Nigeria’s political elite has been renewed. It is not a war for ideas, nor one fought over the soul of our country. Rather, it is a petty battle over ego, and personalised struggle for who becomes the capo di tutti capi- the boss of bosses – of the State. … [Read more…]
-By Abdul Mahmud Childbirth is a death sentence in our country. It shouldn’t be. But it is. Our country loses a woman every seven minutes. That’s not a statistic. That is not just a scream in the dark, it is a cry searing the blinding daylight of a country that has grown numb to both … [Read more…]
By Abdul Mahmud A 20-year-old housewife, Fatima Abdullahi, was docked before a Sharia Court. Her offence? Stealing foodstuff and N250,000 from her employer. The Sharia Court sits in Kano. The Sharia law will take its course. She is already shamed. The punishment for her crime is visible in the Qur’an. But, her trial will not … [Read more…]
By Abdul Mahmud The democratic experiment in West Africa, once heralded as a beacon of postcolonial hope and civic renewal, is now teetering on the edge of collapse. A sub-region praised for its cautious embrace of multiparty systems, free press, and constitutional governance is increasingly defined by military coups, rampant kleptocracy, eroding civil liberties, and … [Read more…]
By Abdul Mahmud A few days ago, opposition leaders gathered in Abuja. They called it a national political summit. Their mission was clear: to take back political power in 2027. In speeches laced with urgency and ambition, they signaled the start of a political war to win the hearts of the electorates. At the heart … [Read more…]