1995 was the first year that I travelled ‘abroad’. It was a trip to Paris, for my one-year internship at the Journalists in Europe programme. Apart from riding a Mercedes Benz taxi from the airport to Rue du Louvre, there was nothing remarkable about the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. France was older than Nigeria in aviation (or so …

Congressman Bimbo Daramola respects the rights of EVERYONE in Ekiti North Federal Constituency I as the contest for next February’s House of Representatives election hots up. However, there are more to the fate of the constituency and destinies of the constituents than individual’s rights. He has NEVER said he ALONE can do it. What’s obvious, even to the blind and …

Samuel Ioraer Ortom, the helmsman of Benue State, is human afterall. He had endured a truly torrid season where his ears had been relentlessly barraged by news and reports of cold-blooded killings of his constituents. He had wept his fill, his eyes periodically reddened by grief. In Mchia and Iorja communities in Mbagber in Logo Local Government Area (LGA), a …

Not so long ago, he was the poster boy of what looked like an African renaissance. Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo didn’t only know what to say, he also knew when and how. I still remember 2018. Barely one year after Akufo-Addo was inaugurated, he was on the big stage. He was the first African leader to address the National Governors Association, …

The squabble between two illustrious Yoruba sons over the leadership of the socio-political group called Afenifere and the consequent endorsement of this or that presidential candidate is as worrisome as it is unfortunate and embarrassing. Worrisome because if gold rusts, what will silver do? Unfortunate because it could have been avoided with a little bit of tact on both sides; …

In the face of poor governance and what Prof. Sam Oyovbaire, in a seminal work, called the “retrenchment of the state” in Nigeria, and particularly in the South East geopolitical zone where things have fallen apart, there is the compelling need to ensure that only men of character, imbued with a defining sense of public good are enthroned on the …

Twenty-twenty-three election is four months away. Already, ugly has begun to show its hand — in violence. It is typical. Elections in Nigeria without the spectre of violence is like a hunchback man without the hump. Preparing for election here — at whatever level — is akin to readying for war. And it often turns out to be war; war in all its …

It’s a special day for a special individual who played a significant role in my professional journey. Today, it’s three scores and a half (70 years) on earth for Mr Thomas Odemwingie (better known as Tommy Odemwingie), former Features Editor of The Guardian!!! Our paths first crossed sometime in 1985, but a significant connection happened about a year later. In …

Over the years, international trade has been recognised as one of the major factors in building global economies. Involving the movement of goods and services across national boundaries, it facilitates globalisation. As a vital part of a nation’s economic activity, international trade also improves economic scale and the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Being able to trade on an international …

Mother, mother/Why/Why was I born Black? – Okot p’Bitek in Song of Lawino As I woke up on Friday morning, lay in bed and performed the routine of prayers, meditation, and introspection, it ministered to me that we die every day but also wake up every day, until, finally, we die one day never to wake up again. Or, if …