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Opinion

Sunday, 23 May 2021 05:46

Mighty help in the name of the Lord - Taiwo Akinola

Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth ~ Psalms 124:8. Introduction: Truth be told, times do come in life when we don’t know what to do. Dark and ominous times when evil reports are rampant, when deadly darts are flying and the sparrows are falling, and yet human helpers are sleepy. Something must be done, and urgently too, but we don’t know what to do. The present situation in Nigeria is a classic example of the kind of time described above. Many things are grossly wrong, and something needs be done, but the…

Sunday, 23 May 2021 05:45

Article of faith: The strange ways of God - Femi Aribisala

When we come to Christ, we must forsake not only our ways but also our thoughts. Isaiah says: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:7).We must also jettison the traditions of men. Jesus berated the Pharisees for teaching: “Man-made laws instead of those from God.” (Matthew 15:9). God says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Therefore, child of God, forget your logic,…

Friday, 21 May 2021 05:39

When the throne itself is under siege - Dare Babarinsa

The year 1966 was an epochal year in Nigerian history. It is the only year in Nigerian history that our country had three governments. In January until the 15th of the month, Prime-Minister Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa was in power. On January 15, 1966, he was kidnapped along with Festus Okotie-Eboh, his Minister of Finance. He was killed by soldiers who staged a coup against his regime. On that day too, J.T.U Aguiyi-Ironsi, commander of the army, came to power. Acting President of the Republic, Nwaifor Orizu, had handed over to him on the recommendation of the remaining members of the Balewa…

Friday, 21 May 2021 05:37

The travails of Nasir El-Rufai - Azu Ishiekwene

The list was long and the contents harsh and threatening. The notices may have been issued separately, but they landed like a packaged digital bomb in my WhatsApp inbox. Eight unions, apart from the central body, had collectively declared war on Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai. The die was cast. The unions were the Nigeria Union of Railway Workers; National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees; Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees; Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions; National Union of Electricity Employees; National Union of Teachers; National Union of…

Friday, 21 May 2021 05:35

‘Chasing’ is love language women enjoy to hear - Michael West

It is not surprising that last week’s topic generated so many reactions such that BECKY OLORUNPOMI, a certified relationship & marriage counsellor, author, conference speaker and convener of an annual Singles' Summit, decided to deepen the topic in her elaborate response. Love language, she argues, is what the ‘chasing' all about. Please read on: In his column of May 14, 2021, Michael West, in a piece entitled: “Why Do Men Stop ‘Chasing' in Relationship?” addressed an issue that often generates suspicion and tension in relationships. Reading the article, I, being a woman, came up with some perspectives to the topic;…

Thursday, 20 May 2021 05:34

Nasir El-Rufai’s courage - Bayo Onanuga

Governor Nasir El-Rufai is fighting a new war that both the Federal Government and other 35 States government and the leadership of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are shying away to confront, choosing instead to cower in fear of the blackmail of labour. How much of state resources should be spent on governance, in paying salaries, pensions and other emoluments of civil servants and political appointees? 40 per cent, 60 per cent, 80 per cent, 90 per cent or even all? Aregbesola confronted this question as governor of Osun State, leading to his innovative formula of paying a percentage of…

Thursday, 20 May 2021 05:32

Just thinking aloud... (III) - Bola Bolawole

As the two lost-but-found friends lap up the remnants of their pepper-soup, washing it down with the last drops in their beer bottle, one of them suddenly went Afghanistan, as it were. He dipped his hand into his bag and brought out a black book saying, as he did, “The word of God is forever settled. It is written: The sword shall never depart from the house of David” And he began to flip through the pages of the black book, which turned out to be a Bible. “Yes, it is in II Samuel 12:10: ‘Now, therefore, the sword shall…

Thursday, 20 May 2021 05:31

Biden and Trump agree more than you think - Charles Lane

Biden has brought a dramatically more decent and professional style to the White House, and changed Trump’s course on climate, taxes and relations with traditional U.S. allies. Meanwhile, Republicans attack his administration as a leftist threat. The two parties are locked in racially tinged battles over the rules of U.S. democracy, from voting rights to law enforcement. The importance of this moment can also be measured, however, by the issues politicians are not arguing about. In several key areas, Biden’s policies resemble those Trump probably would have pursued if reelected. Entitlements: For decades, reducing the long-term costs of Social Security…

Wednesday, 19 May 2021 05:31

Why an ‘international community’ does not exist - Hamza Karčić

When Bosnian Serb forces unleashed their genocidal violence against Bosniaks in the early 1990s, Bosniaks appealed to an "international community" for help. For three and a half years, these leaders sought to marshal the support of said community to their cause to no avail. There has hardly been a conflict, crisis or mass display of violence over the past three decades in which a beleaguered nation or ethnic group did not appeal to the world's community at-large to come to their aid. Who exactly do these persecuted parties appeal to? In appealing to the international community, a suffering party projects…

Tuesday, 18 May 2021 05:34

Keeping discussion free - Peter Singer

Last month, the Journal of Controversial Ideas – of which I am a co-editor – published its first issue. The journal is a response to the shrinking boundary, even in liberal democracies, of acceptable discourse. It is specifically designed to provide a forum in which authors can, if they wish, use a pseudonym to avoid running the risk of receiving personal abuse, including death threats, or of irrevocably harming their careers. There was a time when the threat to academic freedom in democratic countries came primarily from the right. The free speech cause célèbre of the early twentieth century United…

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Monday, 17 May 2021 05:47

Now that the South is stirring... - Bola Bolawole

They say better late than never; and that necessity is the mother of invention. If you push a sheep to the wall, as meek and toothless as it is, it will turn and bite. Napoleon Bonaparte, speaking concerning the then toothless China, warned that we heed the word of the elders and let the sleeping dog lie. The murderous Fulani killers, their sponsors and backers, being audacious, rapacious, and pugnacious, have spurned all wise sayings. They sowed the wind - and will now reap the whirlwind. They dug the pit - and will now fall into it themselves. The evil…

Monday, 17 May 2021 05:45

The end of Israel’s illusion - Shlomo Ben-Ami

The sudden eruption of war outside and inside Israel’s borders has shocked a complacent nation. Throughout Binyamin Netanyahu’s 12-year premiership, the Palestinian problem was buried and forgotten. The recent Abraham Accords, establishing diplomatic relations with four Arab states, seemed to weaken the Palestinian cause further. Now it has re-emerged with a vengeance. Wars can be triggered by an isolated incident, but their cause is always deeper. In this case, the trigger, the eviction of Palestinians in favor of Israeli nationalists in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, touched all the sensitive nerves of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s occupation of…

Sunday, 16 May 2021 05:48

Baba, no tell me dat nonsense again - Tatalo Alamu

After surviving a major altercation at the police station at Okolonbo, Okon was livid with indignation and was in no mood for taking hostage. He had gone to report the theft of his personal items in a commercial vehicle. But the desk sergeant sat him down to a lecture on civic responsibility. “Oga, armed robbery na number one industry for Kontri. Everybody dey do am. Make dem kukuma legalise dem thing. Even dem godogodo man for inside dem Asshole Rock, dem remove even him Tuwo Shinkafi and him Lawani…”, the gap-toothed devil noted. “Wetin dat one get for my complain?”…

Sunday, 16 May 2021 05:47

On the Asaba revolt by southern governors - Simon Kolawole

If you are a keen observer of Nigerian politics, or should I say politicking, you must have noticed many unusual things about the meeting of the 17 southern governors in Asaba, Delta state, on Tuesday. In the first place, that the southern governors met at all — and, mind you, every single governor was present; none was represented by a deputy — is one of the most unusual occurrences since the dawn of this democratic era. While the 19 northern governors meet regularly, the last time southern governors met as a bloc, from my records, was in October 2017. And…

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