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Opinion

Tuesday, 01 August 2017 04:22

A buffoon before, a buffoon after - Tola Adeniyi

We have always had buffoons who found themselves in position of authority. Although they were not many and history did not say mankind had been that very unlucky to have themselves ruled by idiots, we still did have a few dotting the pages of history books and ancient dramaturgy. In recent times however we may start with Joseph Desire Mobutu who having helped the Belgian Monarch and the CIA to murder Africa hero Patrice Lumumba assumed the unmerited leadership of the Congo. And as soon as he found himself on the elevated seat of power he displayed unprecedented buffoonery in…

Monday, 31 July 2017 03:33

So, Restructuring died in Nigeria's Senate! - Martins Oloja

It is indeed gratifying to note that it was in the hallowed chambers of the Senate of the Federal Republic the Nigerian army gave us that the people’s clamour for restructuring suffered terrible reverses last Wednesday (July 26, 2017). In a major setback for democracy and clamour for restructuring, the Senate on that day rejected the constitution alteration bill seeking the devolution of powers, generally believed to be a major factor in federalism that would have shifted some items from the bloated Exclusive List to the Concurrent List in the 1999 Constitution, which would have given more powers and resources…

Friday, 28 July 2017 05:29

Prof Anthony Azubuike Elueze: A tribute - Mohammed Kuta Yahaya

Eminent persons in human history emerge either through a fortuitous combination or by sheer grace of providence to serve a purpose for the good of humankind. This is the class of people to which Professor Anthony Elueze belongs. Prof Anthony Elueze was principled, methodical, service based and a man blessed with profound amiable personality. His numerous accomplishments and contributions to scholarship and human capital development provided these soubriquets, which will indeed outlive him. Professor Elueze, you are gone but your legacies lives on! This medium is so limited to bring to the fore your ebullience and mercurial endowments. Nevertheless, your…

Wednesday, 26 July 2017 17:49

The rebel who paid the price - Dare Babarinsa

Had Dr. Olu Onagoruwa died 25 years ago, his obituary would have been on the front page of the Daily Times. He would have made the front pages of many other national newspapers and the cover of several magazines. With profound pathos, I recall a quotation about Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia for 50 years until he was deposed in 1975. I cannot recollect the title of the book or the author now. The author stated about Selassie, who in his years on the throne was referred to as the King of Kings, Elect of God, Conquering Lion of the…

Wednesday, 26 July 2017 03:57

APC: The obstinate journey to shame via London - Pius Adesanmi

Those interested in the dustbin of Nigeria's history will one day find APC inside the rubble, among the putrefaction, just beside PDP, and bring out her carcass for examination. Such students of the dustbin of history will likely conclude that APC's signature contribution to the Nigerian tragedy is not in the empirical failure to deliver on measurable electoral promises in virtually all areas of national life but in the deadening of the Nigerian mind. A nation's mind is lost when the capacity for ironic sentience dies. And no group of Nigerians, at any moment in our chequered national history, has…

Tuesday, 25 July 2017 03:46

Lunch in London, anxiety in Nigeria - Reuben Abati

“What’s gwan inna wa cwantry?” “What language is that?” “English of course.” “Sounds like Creole to me. Why don’t you just talk straight?” “Nobody talks straight in this country anymore.” “I still talk straight. I can’t start twisting my tongue because some people have lost it.” “Okay, I was asking what is going on in our country?” “Is that a direct question or a sly comment?” “Just answer the question” “What I know is that we are now truly, a country of hyenas, jackals and small animals. A big animal kingdom, but when the First Lady Aisha Buhari drew attention…

Saturday, 22 July 2017 03:08

PMB and the descendants of Shimei - Femi Adesina

There is nothing new under the sun, goes a popular saying. In fact, the more things seem to change, the more they appear the same. From time immemorial, some people have spoken evil of leadership, cast aspersions on them, and generally portrayed themselves as scum of the earth. No matter how a country loves its leader, there will naturally be those that the Good Book calls "filthy dreamers" who "despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities." That is why as spokesman to President Muhammadu Buhari, I never respond to such people. Their type would always be around. President Buhari has…

Friday, 21 July 2017 16:03

Travails of federalism in Nigeria - Gbade Ojo

With my recent sporadic media intervention on the warped form and character of federalism in Nigeria, I assumed I must have contributed to the ongoing polemic vis-a-vis the imperatives of either political restructuring or secession as canvassed by the Biafrans. However, when the babel of voices on the kismet of Nigeria’s federal arrangement now takes a very dangerous dimension, I am compelled to lend my voice again. The snag is the idea that confederacy could save Nigeria; whereas, in the contemporary work no country is organized along confederal structure. Tola Adeniyi, a respected columnist surprisingly exhumed the spirit of late…

Thursday, 20 July 2017 16:00

"Nigerian unity not negotiable" mantra is pseudo-nationalism - Jideofor Adibe

Nigerians love mantras - statements or slogans repeated frequently enough that they begin to sound like established facts or self-evident truths. Recently, I interrogated the mantra of ‘generation shift’, which was renewed with vigour following the victory of Emmanuel Macron, 39, in the recent French presidential elections. In that article, entitled “The New ‘Generation Shift’ Mantra” I tried to show that contrary to what the purveyors of the mantra would have us believe – namely that the problem with the country is because the ‘old brigade’ have refused to hand over to younger elements - it is actually the young…

Wednesday, 19 July 2017 17:22

Buhari as pawn: Denying a gravely ill man his dignity - Bamidele Ademola-Olateju

Led by Tanimu Yakubu Kurfi, they did same thing to Yar'adua. They denied him his dignity until he died. Sadly, the northern political incubi are doing same to Buhari, denying an old, gravely ill man his dignity. When will these power mongers know how to be human beings? How can a people like power so much that they do not respect boundaries and decency? Did they learn anything from Yar'adua's handling? Was that fun while it lasted? Buhari is fighting two grave illnesses that require positive energy, support and prayers from all of us, love from his family and care…

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Wednesday, 19 July 2017 17:20

Home truth from Kaiama - Dare Babarinsa

I love Yenagoa. When you are in the city, filled constantly with the din of new constructions, you know you are in the southern tip of Nigeria, with its white sands and unending potopoto. It is a city of brave men and women, comely most times, but sometimes in bad temper like their ever angry but clever mosquitoes. This is the heartland of the land that gives wealth to Nigeria producing almost 30 per cent of the country’s oil wealth. It is a land that is happy most of the times, but not all the time. There is money in…

Wednesday, 19 July 2017 04:00

Why Buhari is seen to be underperforming – Lawal Idris

Lawal Idris has been an ally of President Muhammadu Buhari for over 40 years. He is the one who reportedly got Buhari to join politics. In this interview at his residence in Kaduna, the 69-year-old political observer and retired businessman said, despite his good intention for Nigeria, Buhari has been hijacked, but that there is still hope. Excerpts: The story is that you are very close to President Muhammadu Buhari, how will you describe this closeness? Personally, I have been very close to Buhari since 1972. But I do not know if he is close to me now. Buhari’s presidency…

Wednesday, 19 July 2017 03:48

If you could be someone else, would you? Todd May

Have you ever looked at someone else’s life with envy, just enough envy that you wish for a moment or two (or longer) that you could be them? Michelle Obama with her combination of grace and passion; George Clooney with his stylish attractiveness and ironic humor; Usain Bolt or Lionel Messi or some other icon of sport. Or maybe somebody not famous, just someone you know who seems to have a charmed life: a challenging and gratifying job, a warm and attractive spouse, a spacious apartment with a nice view (and yes, a habit of getting pre-check when they travel).…

Tuesday, 18 July 2017 03:56

Floods and the rainmakers of Lagos Island - Reuben Abati

“To live in Lagos Island, these days, one needs to engage the services of rainmakers during the rainy season”, a friend who lives in that part of Lagos told me the other day. The job of a rainmaker, as known in our traditional communities, is actually to stop the rain from falling or to divert the rain to other locations, to allow people to hold an event without the threat of a heavy rainfall disturbing guests and participants. In those days when social parties used to be held more on open fields rather than event centres, the rainmaker was a…

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