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Opinion

Monday, 27 March 2023 03:34

Rigged elections and the moral burden of illegitimacy - Hope Eghagha

Adamu: A man who rigs his way to power carries a moral burden!Orezime: A moral what?Adamu: You heard me, didn’t you?Orezime: I’m not sure I heard you right. Moral what you said?Adamu: A moral burden, I said!Orezime: Hahahahahahaha! You make me laugh! Are you from the moon?Gani: Or Mars? Emeka: In which country? In Nigeria? That principle does not apply in Nigeria! There is no moral burden on anybody in this country! The election which produced Bubu in 2015 was rigged. Where are the two million voters from Kano State who voted in 2015? Was an INEC official not burnt…

Monday, 27 March 2023 03:32

Artificial idiocy - Slavoj Žižek

There is nothing new about “chatbots” that are capable of maintaining a conversation in natural language, understanding a user’s basic intent, and offering responses based on preset rules and data. But the capacity of such chatbots has been dramatically augmented in recent months, leading to handwringing and panic in many circles. Much has been said about chatbots auguring the end of the traditional student essay. But an issue that warrants closer attention is how chatbots should respond when human interlocutors use aggressive, sexist, or racist remarks to prompt the bot to present its own foul-mouthed fantasies in return. Should AIs…

Sunday, 26 March 2023 04:11

The CJN on wheelchair - Festus Adedayo

“If you are unlucky not to have a representative in the judicial council, even if you are innocent, you can be found guilty – B’eyan o l’eni ni’gbimo, bo ro’jo are, ebi lo mi a je.” This very profound saying of the Yoruba, translated into a pithy musical line in one of the tracks of Ayinla Omowura, late Yoruba Apala musician, point unmistakably to the fact that corruption and favouritism predate colonialism in Africa. When you jointly read this line and D. O. Olagoke’s 1962-written play entitled The Incorruptible Judge, you will understand why it is almost an impossibility for…

Sunday, 26 March 2023 04:09

Walking In the realm of wonders - Taiwo Akinola

From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? ~ Mark 6:2b. Introduction As we think about the life of Jesus Christ, we stand all amazed in every way! For example, we can’t mistake the uniqueness of the circumstances surrounding His coming to earth — His conception and His birth. All the works He did, and is still doing, both for us and through us, are simply wrapped up in absolute wonders. Indeed, Jesus Christ performed wonders without number! He defeated evil…

Sunday, 26 March 2023 04:08

Article of faith: Salvation from life (2) - Femi Aribisala

If we want to live, we first must die. Are you saved from life or death? Would you like to be saved from happiness? Would you like to be saved from riches? Would you like to be saved from the pride of life? Have you ever seen a man who was saved from happiness before? Men are usually saved from adversity. But in his case they said please save him because happiness is going to kill him. What exactly does he need? He needs a little bit of suffering. He needs a little bit of affliction. And so, many are…

Friday, 24 March 2023 03:15

Louis Odion: The matter of ‘Capacity’ - Azu Ishiekwene

Sometimes it feels like we have been childhood friends. That we have known each other forever. For over 30 years since our paths crossed, I can’t remember how many times I’ve called him “Louis,” much less “Louis Osaretin Odion.” Even now, it feels awkward to write it. I call him by the name that the closest circle of his friends has come to know and call him for nearly three decades: “Capacity!” And that’s what he calls me too, even though he retains the proprietary right to the moniker. He earned it from the odysseys of a life of sailing…

Friday, 24 March 2023 03:14

The dangers of ethnic profiling in Lagos - Pelumi Olugbenga

It was a warm July 2018 evening in Pittsburgh. People from all around the world gathered in an apartment to discuss careers, dreams, and global issues. We introduced ourselves to each other. It was my turn: “Hi, I am Pelumi. I am from Nigeria”. My friend from the other side of the world suddenly developed cold feet. I wondered why until when he brought up the issue of the “Nigerian Prince”(meaning: ‘Yahoo Boy’ in local Nigerian parlance). I know that being a Nigerian can sometimes feel like a full-time job and the Nigerian Prince conversation ruined my entire evening on…

Thursday, 23 March 2023 02:56

Ubuntu and Omoluabi: Kindred spirit or what? - Bola Bolawole

Babafemi Badejo is not a stranger to this column; today, he x-rays the Yoruba “Omoluabi” and the “Ubundu” ethos taking firm roots especially in Paul Kigame's Rwanda, after its horrendous genocidal war of 1994. What are the similarities between both and where do they part ways, if at all? Hear from Badejo: “The first part of my Zimbabwe experience was titled 'Quick Visit to Zimbabwe: My Case for the Rekindling of the Ubuntu spirit in Africa'. I got diverse reactions, including some on the meaning of 'Ubuntu' itself. I think I should share an interesting exchange that arose from my…

Wednesday, 22 March 2023 03:47

Sanwo-olu has lost the plot - Ayodele Adio

As the results of the 25 February presidential election filtered in, it shocked many, especially the political elites in Lagos, that Bola Tinubu (now president-elect) had lost his home state to the candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi. Although the All Progressives Congress (APC) also failed to pull a win in Kano, Osun, Katsina, and the FCT, Abuja, losing Lagos seemed to cut deeper. A post-mortem of the shocking result in Lagos yielded two significant conclusions. The first was that the ruling party in Lagos had lost the support of young voters – a critical demographic in the 2023…

Tuesday, 21 March 2023 05:46

2023 Lagos gubernatorial election and the weaponisation of bigotry - Ahmed Olayinka Sule

At the recently concluded Lagos State Gubernatorial election, Babajide Sanwo-Olu secured the mandate to govern Lagos for the next four years. With the election over, now is an excellent time to carry out an election post-mortem. Before I continue, let me declare my bona fides. My name is Ahmed Olayinka Sule, and I am a Yoruba. I am a scion of the Balogun Kuku family of Ijebu. I am neither a BATified, Obidient, nor Atikulated supporter, as I believe that Nigeria's solution does not lie with a messianic political figure, especially one who is an exponent of neo-liberal ideologies. For…

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Monday, 20 March 2023 03:36

Open letter to incoming governor - Hassan Gimba

Your Excellency, this is unsolicited advice, of course. You got elected presumably for your ability to convince the electorate that you will serve them better than those you contested against. No doubt you promised to make the lives of the people better than they are at the moment; that at the end of your tenure, they would look back and acknowledge that you have taken them to a higher level. Your Excellency, have you sat down to ponder why every round of election is just like the last? That the issues never change? That an incumbent always struggles to return?…

Sunday, 19 March 2023 02:05

Buhari’s legacy - Hakeem Baba-Ahmed

He who has never learned to obey can never be a good leader —Aristotle If you had to list similarities between presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, you will be hard put to go beyond two or three that will not be violently disputed. For instance, you will get a nod if you mention that, like many politicians, their personalities are basically driven by outsize egos that drive them to insist they must be the fulcrum around which the nation revolves. You will also be correct if you mention that as military men, they overthrew democratically-elected governments in the past,…

Sunday, 19 March 2023 02:03

Memo to their Excellencies, the Governors-elect - Festus Adedayo

In 1953, Honourable Member, Western House of Assembly, Samuel Ladoke Akintola, left a word for today. “I can understand the heaven of acceptance and the hell of rejection. I cannot conceive of a purgatory between acceptance and rejection,” he had told his fellow parliamentarians of the opposition bloc, the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). It was in the thick of a tempestuous debate on a motion on the floor of the House. The motion was on introduction of Education and Health Levy for taxable adults in Western Nigeria. The debate was charged. Emotions were high. The man,…

Sunday, 19 March 2023 02:01

His Word, our wonders! - Taiwo Akinola

He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions ~ Psalms 107:20. Introduction We are in an amazing time for technology throughout the world today. Think of the robotics, the cyber networks, the space invasions, the brain and the open heart surgeries, the test-tube fertility programs, the cloning technology, the guided missiles and a host of others. Certainly, most of these simply bespeak stupefying wonders. However, amazing as they may sound, they could be dubbed as near to nothing when compared with the incredible wonders that God has in store for the believers in Christ Jesus,…

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