It was not enough for the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Aisha Alhassan, to say that she has pitched her political tent with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 presidential election race that has, for all practical purposes, been declared open; she also had to rub it in that even if President Muhammadu Buhari decides to seek re-election, he would not get her vote. I cannot see a better vote of no confidence in a leader than that passed by the still-serving minister. But at least she has the courage of her conviction, given what many of her…

Mama Taraba is Senator Aisha Alhassan, the current Minister of Women Affairs in the Muhammadu Buhari cabinet, and arguably the most influential female politician in Taraba state today. She did something shocking and unusual in Nigerian politics during the last Eid-el-Kabir holidays. While paying homage to former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, she addressed him as follows: “Your Excellency, our father and our President by the grace of God, come 2019…” Members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have been on a war-path with her since then. They have labeled Mama Taraba a traitor, and an ingrate and have…

Though it is now being hotly contested by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the recent decision of the Kenyan Supreme Court nullifying the controversial August 8 presidential election of that country and ordering a rerun, is proof-positive that all hope is not lost for the Black Continent.It is also, however, a sad reminder of the parlous state of justice delivery in Nigeria, the putative giant of the continent. With Kenya thrown into turmoil after the much-disputed Presidential election results were announced, the aggrieved opponents of President Kenyatta turned to the judiciary for succor. It is heart-warming that they received the succor that…

President Emmanuel Macron of France is liberalism’s new poster boy. Hailed as the answer to Europe’s populist tide, he has brought a buzz back into French diplomacy by facing down President Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. “The Macron method,” a leading European think tank gushed recently, is the new Third Way, threading the needle between technocracy and populism. At home in France, it’s a very different story. A recent poll found that Mr. Macron’s popularity fell by 14 points in August, after a fall of 10 points in July. Only 40 percent of respondents said they were satisfied…