Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State must, at this time, mean different things to different people. For those like the PDP national leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George, who believe in Wike’s cry for justice within the main opposition party, governor is a hero and a voice that must not be silenced but should, instead, …

The unfortunate incident of building collapse at 11, Oba Idowu Oniru Road, Oniru Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos on Sunday, 4 September, 2022 has again exposed the inaccuracy and lack of understanding in the use of the terminology, ‘STOREY’ in this part of the world.  The collapsed building was referred to severally in the media as a seven- storey building, while …

During these first few days of September 2022, two gentlemen dear to my creative side, and diametrically opposed in many ramifications, marked landmark dates on the calendar of life’s intractable journey towards an inevitable destination. One on the first day of the month, is a man who now luxuriates in the intangible perquisites of his sterling contributions to Nigerian television …

I never met Prof. Akin Mabogunje, neither did I have any relationship with him other than reading news reports about him and some of his interventions on topical issues. His image, however, loomed large over our horizon. He was one of the titans of our time; an academic of no mean repute and a gentleman with sterling qualities fast becoming …

Recently, Professor Akinjide Osuntokun, the eminent historian and former ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, sent me a quotation of Nelson Mandela, the Wise One of South Africa. Said Mandela: “The world would never respect Africa until Nigeria earns that respect. The black people of the world are looking up to Nigeria to be a source of pride and …

In six African countries the heads of government have been in power for 20 years or more. Attempts to replace them by ballot have either been stalled, frustrated or crushed. In a few, like South Africa where the ruling African National Congress has been in power for 28 years, new heads of government have been produced more by incest than …

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom took a break from high octane political engagements to honour his wife, Eunice Erdoo Ortom the other weekend. The First Lady of the state, which prides itself as the “food basket of the nation,” Mrs Ortom marked her golden birthday on that occasion. And Governor Ortom pulled all the stops to celebrate and honour a …

More often than not, government business in Nigeria is akin to monkey business. “The more you look is the less you see”; like the reggae artiste, Max Romeo once crooned. What appears legit elsewhere is patently taboo here. Governance here looks more like voodoo practice. What works elsewhere worsens our plight. And the fault, like Cassius told Brutus, is not …

Avid followers of Nigeria’s sociopolitical trends and developments must be very familiar with his name and his multifarious endeavours. Indeed, if there were medals or plaques to reward bluntness and no-holds-barred interjections and interventions in public discourse, he will, rightly, undoubtedly and deservedly, be a frontline contender. He is consistently vocal, irrepressibly fearless, typically pointed, notably bold, pulls no punches. …

In my upcoming debut book, ‘Fellow Nigerians, It’s All Politics’, which will go on sale in October 2022 (you heard it here first), you will find a familiar thread in my contributions to the debate on the Nigerian project over the past two decades: that the progress of the country is hardly at the heart of leadership. Although the most …