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Opinion

Friday, 17 April 2020 04:51

When Lagos State Government self-destructs: Matters arising (2) - Bola Bolawole

As we were saying here last week, efforts by some land-grabbers masquerading as developers to mangle the Lagos State master plan, seize and build a housing estate on the Magodo wetland, thereby destroying the fauna and environment of the area in question, with attendant dire consequences for the inhabitants of the area, especially when it rains, were blown open by an urban planner and advocate of safe and wholesome environment, Mr Yacoob Abiodun. Lagos State House of Assembly was indicted in the affairs; specifically, Chairman of its Committee on Lands. Neither the House nor its Committee has come out clean…

Friday, 17 April 2020 04:50

No matter how you crunch the numbers, this pandemic is only just getting started - William Hanage

There has not been a lot of good news lately. But with the discharge of Boris Johnson from hospitalon Sunday, and statements that the “peak” strain on the National Health Service would be over the Easter period, you might be under the impression that the storm is passing, and the Covid-19 pandemic will soon be a memory. Fueling this mood are reports from studies of communities already hit by the pandemic. At long last we are beginning to see the results of work looking for signs that people have already been infected, through the presence of antibodies against Sars-CoV-2, the…

Friday, 17 April 2020 04:48

Viral authoritarianism - Patrick Gaspard

In the rush to mitigate a public-health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, illiberal governments around the world are testing the limits of civil rights and democratic checks and balances. As history has shown time and again, there is no better moment than an emergency for aspiring strongmen to consolidate power. “God and the people are the source of all power … I have taken it, and damn it, I will keep it forever,” declared Haiti’s François “Papa Doc” Duvalier in 1963. And so he did, remaining president until his death in 1971, whereupon he was succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude…

Wednesday, 15 April 2020 06:22

Turning Covid-19 tragedy into opportunity - Godwin Emefiele

As many people are now aware, the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in China rapidly permeated and profoundly changed the world. While this crisis is first and foremost a public health issue, which has claimed the lives of over 123,600 people worldwide, and counting, the economic damages are unprecedented on several fronts: Crude oil prices declined dramatically to as low as US$17 per barrel by the end of March, even before applying the discounts many oil exporters are offering; Stock valuations for the NSE-ASI, Nikkei, Dow Jones and FTSE-100 declined by an average of 23.8 percent between January…

Wednesday, 15 April 2020 06:21

Coronavirus: Why lockdowns may not be the answer in Africa

Many African countries have introduced lockdowns in order to halt the spread of coronavirus, but, as Alex de Waal and Paul Richards argue, ordinary people have to be involved in choosing the solutions that will work for them. Countries on the continent have learned much from tackling epidemics such as HIV and Ebola that should be put to good use as they face the impact of Covid-19. The most important lesson is that communities must be at the forefront of responding. This is not a pious mantra but fact of life. First, infectious disease outbreaks unfold differently in different communities,…

Wednesday, 15 April 2020 06:20

The WHO v coronavirus: why it can't handle the pandemic

Stephen Buranyi If, like me, you have been confined to your home, glued to the news and nursing ever greater anxiety about the state of the world, you have probably become familiar with the sight of the World Health Organization’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and his daily press briefings. Tedros, as he is known, is a calming presence in the midst of the crisis. Flanked by an international cast of scientists, he always seems confident that if we have hope, listen to the experts and pull together, we will get through this. Watching this reassuring spectacle, it is possible…

Wednesday, 15 April 2020 06:19

Capitalism’s triple crisis - Mariana Mazzucato

After the 2008 financial crisis, we learned the hard way what happens when governments flood the economy with unconditional liquidity, rather than laying the foundation for a sustainable and inclusive recovery. Now that an even more severe crisis is underway, we must not repeat the same mistake. Capitalism is facing at least three major crises. A pandemic-induced health crisis has rapidly ignited an economic crisis with yet unknown consequences for financial stability, and all of this is playing out against the backdrop of a climate crisis that cannot be addressed by “business as usual.” Until just two months ago, the…

Tuesday, 14 April 2020 05:30

Covid-19 and the federal leaking basket - Tola Adeniyi

One must commend the Nigerian Unitary and state governments for their responses to the Coronavirus pandemic. Governments even of the so-called advanced countries did not fare better as evidenced by the ravaging speed and spread of the catastrophic virus in their respective countries. It is our hope and prayer that the Supreme Intelligence who created the earth and the heavens will quickly put to shame the devilish intentions of those who created the wicked virus. Meanwhile, the Coronavirus pandemic has once again exposed the thoughtlessness of many Nigerians especially those whose bags have been filled to the brim with billions…

Tuesday, 14 April 2020 05:29

Covid-19: And what about Nostradamus’ predictions...? - Enyinnaya Appolos

I grabbed my pillow early on Sunday 12th April, 2020 and woke up at about 1am midnight Monday 13th April 2020, and reached out to my phone to get updates on global and local goings-on. There was a WhatsApp message from a friend. The content of the message is about predictable claims or future tellings of Michele de Nostredame, better known as Nostradamus, the 16th-century physician who lived in France. According to the WhatsApp message, which am sure is still circulating, Nostradamus ‘predicted‘ or ‘saw‘ and ‘wrote’ about the 2020 corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic. "There will be a twin year…

Monday, 13 April 2020 05:24

Nigeria: Beware of Greek gifts! - Bolanle Bolawole

“Beware of the Greeks bearing gifts” is an allusion to the story of the wooden horse used by the Greeks to trick their way into the city of Troy. Troy was well fortified and also well defended. Roman poet, Virgil, recorded it thus in his Aenid (Book 2) written in 19 BC: “Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts” John Dryden put it a bit differently: “Trust not their presents, nor admit the horse” Sophocles (496 - 406 B.C) in Ajax put it this way: “Nought from the Greeks…

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Monday, 13 April 2020 05:23

Amid a global pandemic, the Christian story of Easter shows us the power of hope - William Barber and Leah Hunt-Hendrix

In the spring of 1963, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was engaged in a campaign to defeat Jim Crow laws in Birmingham, Alabama. As they approached the Easter weekend that year, no victory was in sight. But Dr Martin Luther King Jr knew there was something in the logic of Easter that suggested the way to victory might be counterintuitive. He decided to go to jail on Good Friday and stay there through the Easter weekend. He would not be free to preach a sermon on the holiest day of the Christian year, but he would pen his famous Letter…

Monday, 13 April 2020 05:19

Outgrowing growth: Why quality of life, not GDP, should be our measure of success

Jason Hickel Mainstream economics still thinks growth is essential, but this blind belief in GDP is just enriching the rich and killing the planet. We don’t need more growth to improve people’s lives. By working less, buying and producing less, and investing in public services, we can improve quality of life – and fight the climate crisis. Economic anthropologist Something big is about to happen on the climate scene. It’s been stirring just beneath the headlines for a couple of years, and over the coming decade, it’s likely to change the conversation in powerful new ways. In the final months…

Sunday, 12 April 2020 05:47

And Mama Igosun becomes police counsellor (1) - Tatalo Alamu

And while one great Amazon departs, another antique one is in excellent if contrary spirit. As the Coronavirus lockdown stalemates into a protracted lock-in, the weariness and sheer boredom appear to be inducing some strange pathology particularly among old people. After enduring the domestic detention for another three weeks, Mama Igosun finally lost the plot. One morning, there was a bang on the bedroom door and there she was fully dressed. “Mama, where are you going? There is curfew in town, you know?” snooper pleaded. “Curfew ko, coffee ni. When did I become your papa’s eleha? (Purdah woman)”, she screamed.…

Sunday, 12 April 2020 05:46

Chad’s Idris Derby as Odogo’s wife, the incriminator - Festus Adedayo

Yoruba people have been serially accused of over-explanation of their world. Perhaps, just like every other tribe in Africa. Chinua Achebe’s explanation of “the word” to the Igbo is that the race regards the art of conversation very highly, to the extent that, “proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten.” Traditional Yoruba society too deployed words, signs, innuendos, folklores to explain its world. So when someone advertently or inadvertently gets the other into trouble, the Yoruba use, among others, the story – real or imagined – of an Odogo and his wife to illustrate its implication. And…

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