Whatever happens in today’s presidential election, the candidacy of Peter Obi already represents a significant, if not seismic, shift in the Nigerian democratic process. Until now, Nigeria’s election cycles have been characterised by a collective resignation of the electorate to limited, and often poor choices, offered by two dominant parties. As a result, the selection process in the dominant parties is always a high stake, desperate affair, in which politicians go to incredible lengths to win the party’s nomination. Unable or unwilling to mobilise and organise, Nigerian voters agonise perennially in vain. In a sisyphean routine, the moaning process is…

With all the predictions of Armageddon and doubt about whether Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly polls would hold it does sound a bit silly to contemplate life after. Even those who grudgingly concede a life after fear it might be worse. Optimism is like playing the Ostrich. Nigeria’s history of electoral violence in the sixties and even in the mid-nineties might justify these concerns. But the last six election cycles in 24 years have proved that in spite of the hysteria about its viability, Africa’s largest democracy defies the odds. Saturday’s election would, yet again, prove the skeptics wrong. Despite…

The news that the Central Bank of Nigeria has made cash available to the Independent National Electoral Commission for its election logistics is gratifying. INEC Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu, was reported to have said during a visit to the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, that they needed cash rather than bank transfers to sort out many of their activities during the elections. It is commendable that the CBN Governor appreciated the need for INEC to have access to cash for the purpose of the election. It is a demonstration of a sense of political reality. However, this is how far the commendation…

The piece you are about to read was written by a former distinguished university professor, former Nigerian Ambassador to a European country, and widower now in his 80's. His name is omitted here because the piece was circulated within a private (though not a small) private chat group but because the issue discussed is topical and again because salient points germane to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Naira colour change were raised, I felt the compelling need to further escalate the discussion. For scripture (Proverbs 11:14) says “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellers,…