Author: Jideofor Adibe

The past few days have been dominated by media headlines about ‘xenophobic attacks’ on foreigners, essentially Nigerians, in South Africa. According to the police five people have died and businesses and properties worth millions of dollars destroyed since the current wave of ‘xenophobic attacks’ in the country. Attacks on foreigners in South Africa are quite episodic and even pre-dated 1994 – the year the country was freed from Apartheid rule and became a ‘rainbow’ democracy. In fact between 1984 and the end of hostilities in Mozambique, the Bantustan homeland of Lebowa  rejected Mozambiquans that fled to the homeland – though…

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The recent news that the United States’ Department of Justice has indicted 80 individuals, 78 of whom are Nigerians, (mostly Igbo), for email scam and money laundering scheme of about $3bn, has expectedly led to the ethnicization of the issue. I had a very light-hearted chat on the issue with a friend who ‘theorized’ that the Igbo indicted by the FBI might have brought the whole thing on themselves by their decision to violate an assumed ‘zoning formula’ among those who operate from the other side of the moral divide. According to my friend,  criminally minded people who want to…

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Alhaji Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu is a Nigerian you cannot ignore – love or hate him. The former Lagos State Governor is credited with having good eyes for spotting and nurturing talents. Certainly for a Governor who had the likes of Tunde Fashola (SAN), Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Pastor Ben Akabueze and host of other respected technocrats in his cabinet, it must be given to him that he had a good measure of self-confidence – even before he became stupendously rich. The common tendency, among many Governors, is to pack their cabinet with lily-livered aides and ‘yes men’, who cannot look…

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Omoyele Sowore, former Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and publisher of the online citizen newspaper, Sahara Reporters, has been dominating the news since the Department of State Services picked him up in a Lagos hotel on Saturday August 3, 2019   for calling out Nigerians for a mass protest on August 5 2019 against the government under the hashtag #RevolutionNow. He was accused of committing treasonable felony by trying to use violent means to overthrow the Buhari government. On Tuesday August 6, 2019, the DSS brought an application before Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Abuja division of the…

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Controversy has trailed the recent decision by the Federal Government to proscribe and designate the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) – also known as the Shiites- as a terrorist organisation. The Federal Government had filed an ex parte application before the court barely 72 hours after a protest by members of the group in Abuja led to a bloody clash between them and the police. In that clash, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Federal Capital Territory Command, Usman Umar, and a Channels Television journalist, Precious Owolabi, died, with many others injured and property destroyed. In her…

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“Otedola has made me, I can play football again,” Christian Chukwu, the 68 year-old former Captain of Enugu Rangers, former captain of the Green Eagles and former Chief Coach of the Green Eagles, reportedly joked when he paid a ‘thank you’ visit in Lagos to Femi Otedola, who footed the medical bill for his treatment at a UK hospital. He was further reported to have said: “If you saw me before I left for London, you won’t believe I’ll be here talking to you. I think I won’t be making a mistake if I say after God, it’s Otedola in…

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In this interview with The News Chronicle, the Anambra State Commissioner for Information, C Don Adinuba talks about his experiences as a commissioner, the quarrel between former Governor Peter Obi and his successor Willie Obiano, the latter’s accomplishments in the educational sector and much more… TNC: First let me congratulate you on your appointment as the Anambra State Commissioner for Information.   What are your experiences so far? And how has the transition from the private sector to the public sector of working for a State Government been? Any regrets? CDA:  Far from regrets. I am happy. And I am proud…

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has once again written an open letter to Muhammadu Buhari – barely two months after another open letter accusing him of harbouring a hidden ‘Fulanization and Islamization’ agenda. Last week’s killing of Funke Olakunrin, the 58-year-old daughter of Yoruba leader, Reuben Fasoranti, and the anger it elicited especially in the South-West, (together with the attendant  claims and counterclaims of ‘whodonit’) , provided the backdrop for Obasanjo’s latest letter. In the letter, which appeared more measured and conciliatory than the ones he wrote in the run-up to the February 23 2019 presidential election, Obasanjo warned that the…

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Following the outcry from the Southern parts of the country and the Middle Belt over plans by the government to set up settlements in 36 states of the country for ‘Fulani herdsmen’, (known as RUGA scheme), the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) gave the federal government a 30-day ultimatum to go ahead with the scheme. It also gave an ultimatum of the same number of days for all Southerners living in the North to leave. Their argument was that the Fulani are today singled out for profiling and denied access to “ordinary grazing lands and the right to thoroughfare in…

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Today is exactly 35 days since Buhari was inaugurated for a second term in office. It is also exactly 127 days (more than four months) since the President was presented a Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission after being declared the winner of the presidential election conducted on February 23 2019. Since Buhari has spent over a third of the first 100 days of his second term, and over four months since receiving a Certificate of Return, it will not be out of place to talk of the journey so far. Well, 35 days into his second…

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Today’s reflection was inspired by Buhari’s recent reiteration of the determination of his government to run ‘an inclusive government ’. Speaking recently when he received a delegation from Nasarawa State, led by Governor Abdullahi Sule, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Buhari was quoted as saying: “In the next four years, I want to assure you that we will remain committed to the change agenda. Our goal of building an inclusive, secure and prosperous Nigeria is achievable.” On June 12, 2019, the country’s new Democracy day, Buhari also declared: “Nation building takes time. But we must take solace in the knowledge…

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There must be something about political power that makes otherwise good men to act contrary to expectations once in power. And it can be very dispiriting.  Let me mention immediately that I do not know Governor Emeka Ihedioha from Adam. But  by reputation, he was one of the politicians  (alongside the likes of Dr Kayode Fayemi,  Dr Datti  Baba Ahmed and Prof Kingsley Moghalu) often embraced by public intellectuals as urbane, who, if given the chance, would help to sanitize the political stage. As Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ihedioha managed to avoid any ruinous scandal –despite emerging…

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In this interview with The News Chronicle (TNC), Dr Biodun Ogungbo, a consultant neurosurgeon, talks about his clinic, Brain and Spine Surgeries Ltd, the use of surgeries to reverse some of the problems created by spinal injuries,  the state of medical training in the country, the food supplement Cellgevity  … and many other issues. TNC: Thanks a lot for agreeing to this interview – despite your obviously very tight schedule. You are a consultant neurosurgeon, with special interest in stroke and spinal cord injuries. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, why you studied medicine and why you…

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Buhari delivered what sounded more like an Inaugural Speech than a Democracy Day Speech, yesterday, June 12. The 3,114 word-speech was essentially his evaluation of his government’s last four years, the successes he felt were recorded and his sense of the challenges ahead. Needless to say, he scored his government very high. As he put it: “When therefore we came to office in 2015 after a decade of struggle, we indentified three cardinal and existential challenges our country faced and made them our campaign focus, namely security, economy and fighting corruption. None but the most partisan will dispute that in…

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In this interview with The News Chronicle,(TNC), Professor Gregory Ibe, founder and Pro-Chancellor of Gregory University talks about his reasons for establishing the University, how he came about the money for setting it up,  his political ambition … and many more! TNC: Let me start by congratulating you for the third convocation of Gregory University. That’s no easy feat for a private university. We also learnt that the University has already started a post graduate programme. I think the University formally started around 2012. One of my friends at the University Of Nigeria, Nsukka, was there for the accreditation of…

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With right-wing populism being mainstreamed across the world – there is a genuine fear that separatist agitations (micro-nationalism) may be mainstreamed in the country if Buhari does not get things right in his second term in office. Separatist agitations around Biafra have tended to drown other putative separatist groups in the country. Among the Yoruba for instance, echoes of separatism come in different forms – from intermittent muffled calls for an Oduduwa Republic, to demand for Sovereign National Conference and its later incarnate ‘Restructuring’. In the North, there are occasional half-hearted demands for Arewa Republic (especially under Obasanjo and Jonathan)…

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In this interview, Professor Kinglsey Moghalu, who contested the March 2019 presidency on the platform of the Young Progressive Party,  shares his experiences during the campaign with The News Chronicle, his evaluations of the Buhari presidency and plans for his political future TNC: First let   me congratulate you for helping to raise the game for ‘third way’ politics in Nigeria. Prior to you, Omoyele Sowore and Fela Durotoye, ‘third way’ presidential aspirants virtually did no campaign and had no campaign offices. They seemed to be in it for their egos and CVs or merely for an opportunity to debate a sitting…

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Muhammadu Buhari made world history yesterday when he probably became the first elected President in the world in modern times to be inaugurated into office without giving an inaugural speech. He gave no reason why he did not deliver an in inaugural speech. Buhari was sworn into a second term in office by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad in a low key ceremony which kept to time and ended by 11:22 am. In the USA (from where we borrowed much of our current democratic practice),  every American President has given an inaugural address both for his first…

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In this interview, Chief Uche Nworah, shares his thoughts with The News Chronicle on his experiences as the MD/CEO of ABS, allegations that the ABS is a mere megaphone of the Anambra State Government, the lesbianism video scandal involving Chidinma Okeke, winner of the 2015 Miss Anambra Beauty Pageant which ABS organized and many more. TNC: First, let me congratulate you on your re-appointment as the CEO and MD of Anambra Broadcasting Service. How would you evaluate your experiences so far? And what will you like to be remembered for when your tenure is up at the station? Thank you…

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Obasanjo has a way of falling out with every government in power – and he has literarily played a role in the making of most of the leaders of the country since he stepped aside from office as a military Head of State in 1979. Since his 16-page letter to Buhari in January 2018 asking him not to seek a second term in office, there has been no love lost between the two retired Generals. Buhari not only ignored the advice, but went ahead to contest and win the election. With that, Buhari became one of the few Presidents of…

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President Buhari’s recent call for ‘true federalism’ has left many people confused and wondering what his real intentions were. At an award ceremony organised by the All Progressives’ Governors’ Forum at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on May 10 2019, the President was quoted as saying: “We remain committed to improving the welfare of the Nigerian people. Your Excellences, it will be belabouring the point to say that true federalism is necessary at this juncture of our political and democratic evolution.” Though Buhari did not explain what he meant by ‘true federalism’ – and many proponents of the term have conflicting…

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Governor El Rufai of Kaduna State, who rarely shies away from controversy or misses an opportunity to showcase his courage, recently, took a very bold step of abrogating the indigene-setter dichotomy in his state. Announcing the abrogation of the dichotomy in his official twitter handle on April 11, 2019, the Governor said: “In Kaduna State, the Indigene/Settler dichotomy has been abolished. Every person resident in Kaduna State would be accorded all rights as citizens and indigenes of the state. The Kaduna State Resident Registration Agency will create a reliable database of all residents in the state, with a view to…

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Walter Onnoghen’s nearly 100-day suspense-packed thriller with the Code of Conduct Tribunal finally came to a conclusion on April 18 2019. He was found him guilty of not declaring some of his assets and removed as the Chief Judge of Nigeria. The tribunal also barred him from holding public office for ten years and recommended the forfeiture to the government of the monies in the accounts which he did not declare to the Code of Conduct Bureau as he should. The former Chief Justice of Nigeria has already filed notice of appeal. It is not unlikely that the case may…

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April 12, the day set aside since 2012 as the International Day for Street Children, has come and gone. In our dear country, with its hustles and hassles, the day went largely unnoticed, barely reported and scarcely celebrated. The International Day for Street Children is meant to call attention to the plight of  children without home – variously called ‘homeless children’, ‘beggars’, ‘juvenile delinquents’  ‘street urchins’ or ‘bad kids’. They are the children, who, while their mates are being pampered elsewhere; rough it out daily with the inclement elements. During the day you can find some  going through trash, begging …

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This piece was inspired by a recent report that the Anambra State House of Assembly has outlawed ‘expensive’ burial in the State. According to the story, the State House of Assembly passed a bill entitled, ‘Law to Control Burial/Funeral Ceremonial Activities’, in which it outlawed the holding of a funeral for more than a day in the State. In Anambra State, and much of Igboland, funerals can last for three days or even longer, with relatives of the deceased expected to entertain/feed visitors throughout the period. The bill also made it illegal for people to deposit any corpse in a…

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The emotions raised by the recent Presidential, National Assembly as well as the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will take a while to settle – especially from those who were not favoured by their outcomes. Elections, across all democracies arouse emotions, deepen divisions and polarize the society along certain fissures and contending fault lines. However as Bernie Sanders, the 78 year old American politician, who recently raised $18 million in just 41 days after formally announcing another bid to be the Democratic Party nominee in the 2020 US presidential election, would say, “[e]lection days come and go. But…

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Shortly after receiving a certificate of return from INEC on February 27 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari promised to run an ‘inclusive government’ during his second term in office, which begins on May 29 2019. He spoke against the backdrop of the rejection of the results of the election announced by INEC, by the presidential candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who has since challenged the results at the election petition tribunal.  Buhari was quoted as saying: “Election is not war, and should never be seen as a do-or-die affair. I pray that we all accept this democratic approach to…

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The Presidential and National Assembly elections of February 23 2019 and those for the Governorship and State Assemblies of March 9 2019 seem to have underlined two points: first is the eagerness of many Nigerians to be part of the processes of leadership selection, with many queuing up for hours under inclement weather – or despite the security challenges in their areas – to exercise their franchise. This will seem to suggest that a significant portion of Nigerians still believe that their votes can make a difference – despite the emergence of terminologies like ‘organic votes’ (actual votes cast) and…

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If there is any consensus among people of different political divides in the elections that were held on February 23 and March 9 respectively, it was that they fell far below expectations. With the outcome of some of the elections set to be contested at the election petition tribunal,    there are lessons from the two set of elections that deserve sober reflections: One, it is time we began honest conversations about the nature of elections in this country. If elections are meant to enable the people choose their leaders, and if increasingly number  of people seem to believe that what…

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The presidential election has come and gone – and as expected the outcome is dogged in controversy. The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared Muhammadu Buhari re-elected, polling 15,191,847 votes to Atiku’s 11,262,978 votes. Atiku and the PDP have vowed to challenge INEC’s figures at the election petition tribunal. This reflection is based solely on the INEC figures: One, though INEC figures show that Buhari defeated Atiku by nearly four million votes, Buhari should not regard his re-election as an endorsement of his policies and governance style. The figures clearly show that the Southern part of the country and the…

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