At the valedictory session of the 9th Senate last Saturday, a ‘Most distinguished’ (as they address themselves) told his colleagues that many owe their stay in the green chambers to the ‘benevolence’ of his wife, a retired judicial officer. Despite the best efforts of the (now former) Senate President Ahmad Lawan to apply the ‘off the mic’ principle to gag the father-confessor, the damage to the reputation of the Nigerian judiciary was already done. Senator Bulkachuwa started by drawing his colleagues’ attention to the fact that his wife, Zainab Bulkachuwa, who retired three years ago as president of the court of appeal, had been very supportive of them. Given…
Author: Olusegun Adeniyi
“…In nearly every one of these gatherings across the length and breadth of this vast, impossible country, active open dissections, and excoriations of the government of the day is on rowdy display, capped often by all manner of hare-brained solutions and scenarios on how best to govern and impose order on one of the world’s most problematic federations. I call this place ‘the land of a hundred million presidents’ without an authentic sovereign because everyone other than the elected president knows what is to be done. In trying to process this cacophony, nothing tangible ever gets done…” The foregoing excerpts…
I was among friends who hail from the southeast when the Anambra State gubernatorial election result was officially declared on November 7th last year. Not surprisingly, the outcome provoked considerable excitement in the room. One said, “I can bet that Segun’s next column will be on Soludo”, and turning to me, he added, “I know you like Soludo a lot.” After affirming that I really do like Soludo, I replied, “But my column will be on Anambra State. I want to write on Willie Obiano.” I could sense the surprise before one asked, “Obiano? You know him?” My response that…
Former Osun State Governor and founding national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, released his memoir, ‘My Participations’ last week in Lagos and I have read it. The 534-page memoir, including an 11-page foreword by Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, was apparently written for two reasons. One, to render his own interpretation of past events in Yorubaland, especially since the return to civil rule in 1999. Two, to warn, albeit in a subtle manner, that President Muhammadu Buhari (who eulogized Akande at the ceremony) has a responsibility not to renege on a certain political agreement that…
In his piece on Tuesday, ‘The Death of Ahmed Gulak’, Dr Reuben Abati attested to the character of the late Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan with whom he worked. He also spoke about the danger his gruesome murder portends, especially at this period in our nation. I didn’t know Gulak as well as Reuben, but I found the deceased politician and lawyer a very friendly man with whom I enjoyed a good laugh whenever and wherever we met. I therefore commiserate with his family as I pray God will offer them comfort at this most difficult period. Of concern…
A three-minute TVC news clip trending on WhatsApp features a notorious 30-year-old gun runner from Niger Republic, Shehu Ali Kachala, who was recently paraded by the Zamfara State Police Command. Caught in the process of supplying arms to criminal hideouts, the suspect claimed he was importing the weapons from Niger Republic through the assistance of unnamed military personnel. He also said he had sold 450 rifles and 8000 rounds of live ammunition to criminal gangs in Zamfara, Kaduna, and Niger States. In what has become a familiar pattern, there is no word from military authorities regarding this weighty allegation. On…
The irony of life is that sometimes we find wisdom in the most unlikely places. And often from the most unlikely persons. That precisely was the point of a tweet last week and two of the responses that followed. First, from @nzesylva: “Cab guy just dropped an epic proverb: ‘This world na standing fan. If e blow you small. E go blow another person small.” As profound as that may have sounded to the hearer, @ChrisVogue looked at it in a different context: “Nigerian fan can’t relate. The rotation button don spoil, blowing the same thieves since independence.” Apparently to…
Last Sunday, the charismatic ‘House on the Rock’ Pastor, Paul Adefarasin told his congregation that no country has survived two civil wars. He warned that if the current situation degenerates, nobody can foretell the consequences. After calling on the government and other stakeholders to come together to address the challenge, Adefarasin then added a controversial statement that has gone viral: ”I bring you greetings from Pastor Ifeanyi (his wife) who is busy taking care of the frontier of our world and preparing our escape route. If you don’t have a plan B… I know you have faith. I have faith…
It’s strange but I actually fell in love with Burna Boy before I even knew his name or what he does for a living. Stranger still is that I was attracted by his promotion of alcohol, which I don’t take. Okay, some of my friends would argue that Star Lager beer doesn’t fall into the category of alcohol because it’s a ‘beverage’. I won’t argue with that. Whenever the ‘shine shine, come to the brighter side’ advertisement featured in the course of the European Champions League football match television broadcast, I would smile and say to myself: I love this…
Last night in Ilorin, Kwara State, I attended the posthumous 72nd birthday of Prof. Mary Ebun Modupe Kolawole and will be at the Wake Keep/Commendation service this evening. The late Professor of Literature and Women’s Studies and her husband, also a Professor but of Microbiology, were my guardians at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in the late 80s. After 28 years at Ife where she became the first woman professor of English in the faculty of arts, Mrs Kolawole retired in year 2000 to join the Kwara State University (KWASU) as a contract professor and later, Head of Department of…
On 16th April 2014, the Northern Governors Forum met in Kaduna to discuss the security challenge facing the region at the time. Three days later, Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd), then Governor of Adamawa State, released a memo he presented at the session titled ‘On-Going Full-Fledged Genocide in Northern Nigeria’. In the poorly written, long-winding memo, Nyako accused the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan of using “mass murderers/cut-throats imbedded in our legitimate and traditional Defence and Security organizations” to carry out ‘genocide’ against the North. It was shocking that a former Chief of Naval Staff, who had also served as governor…
In most countries, including those with high crime rates, men of the underworld avoid killing police personnel because it would bring too much trouble. In Nigeria, criminal gangs not only engage police in frequent combat, they sometimes target them for an attack before carrying out their nefarious activities. The situation is so bad that on 23rd November 2016, the then Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris publicly admitted that “in the past three months, the [police] force has lost 128 personnel in various parts of the country due to (the) activities of undesirable elements in our communities.” Last week in Kogi…
The ‘Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020’ sponsored by the Speaker, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and two other members (Pascal Obi and Tanko Sununu) was last week rushed through first and second readings in the House of Representatives. Rather curiously, members were not provided copies of the legislation until motives of the sponsors were called into question. When eventually members received copies and observed that it contained several contentious provisions, conspiracy theorists went to town. Now, we hear of millions of dollars from Mr Bill Gates (who else?) allegedly being doled out to lawmakers in a bid to foist on our…
As we practice social distancing, it is important to practice mental distancing as well. This means staying away from certain categories of people: Quack doctors who claim they have a cure for coronavirus; fake prophets who tell tales of how they saw this virus coming and can end it; conspiracy theorists who argue that this virus is a result of 5G technology and neurotic friends who spread fear by constantly updating you on the number of corona-related deaths but won’t say anything about the recoveries. With billions of people across the world in some form of isolation, quarantine or lockdown,…
The Verdict By Olusegun Adeniyi, Email: olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com “From 1 January through 9 February 2020, 472 laboratory-confirmed cases including 70 deaths have been reported in 26 out of 36 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory. Of the 472 confirmed cases, 75% have been reported from three states: Edo (167 cases), Ondo (156 cases) and Ebonyi (30 cases) …Fifteen confirmed cases have been reported among health care workers with one death among a confirmed case and one among a probable cause. Lassa fever is endemic in Nigeria and the annual peak of human cases is usually observed during the dry season…”…
While blaming the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for “the problems associated with candidates’ selection process” in the party, the Director-General of the Progressives Congress Forum, Mr Salihu Lukeman added that democracy in Nigeria is now anchored not on the choice of the electorate, but on “what can be regarded as an electoral college”. As he put it, “Citizens can vote but our Supreme Court will eventually determine the winner.” His reaction was to the internal contradictions within APC but he could not have been more apt about what democracy has become in Nigeria today.…
That so many of our professionals are leaving Nigeria for societies where things work and where they believe their families can be assured of a secure means of livelihood is a normal human aspiration. I understand the frustrations arising from government failings and dwindling opportunities pushing this drift, especially for our young men and women. But I fail to understand why members of my generation and those before us would join the chorus that we owe Nigeria nothing. That is not true. It is important we deal with this transferred aggression against a country that has been serially raped and…
In my phone conversation with SaharaReporters publisher, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, shortly after he was released on bail by the Directorate of State Security (DSS) last Thursday evening, he informed me of the court appearance scheduled for the next day. What he could not have envisaged was the unfortunate courtroom drama that has become an international embarrassment for Nigeria. No matter how much spin officials have tried to put on the ugly incident, Sowore’s continued incarceration is not in any way helpful to the administration. On Tuesday, Dr. Reuben Abati dealt with the salient issues in his piece titled, ‘Omoyele Sowore:…
In 2006, Professor Jerry Gana—who started as Minister between 1999 and 2003—served as Political Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo. But during the period when many of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) politicians tried to outdo themselves on the ‘Third Term’ agenda, Gana stayed out of the fray. That did not go unnoticed by the then PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih of blessed memory. At a time like this, it is worth recalling a very instructive conversation between Anenih and Gana which was first published on this page some 13 years ago. Anenih: You cannot continue…
What do you think will happen in Bayelsa and Kogi States this coming Saturday? The question was posed to me last week Monday by a prominent citizen who considered my political opinion to be of some value. “Let’s start with Kogi,” I replied. “If performance in office dictates incumbent election results, Yahaya Bello should lose badly. But we all know this is not the case in Nigeria. Therefore, if I were a betting man, I would put my money on him. The governor has left no one in doubt that he is a politician for whom only the end justifies…
Last Saturday, the emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, stirred the hornet’s nest when he advocated punishment for parents who neglect their children by allowing them to roam aimlessly on the streets. Citing as an example the children recently abducted from Kano, the emir wondered whether this could happen in other parts of the country. “Now, make attempt to abduct a child in Onitsha and see if you will find one available. Is this not true? Do they leave their 3 to 4-year-old children roaming in the street begging?” asked the emir who spoke at his palace during the 2019…
I was in Maiduguri in 1992 with the current Managing Director of ‘The Nation’ newspaper, Mr Victor Ifijeh, then a political correspondent for Concord Newspapers, to cover the National Assembly election under the ‘guided democracy’ of General Ibrahim Babangida. The battle for the Borno Central Senatorial district was between Hajia Kolo Kingibe, wife of then Social Democratic Party (SDP) National Chairman, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe and Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff of the National Republican Convention (NRC). In those days, Kingibe used to describe Ifijeh as ‘the campaign manager of M.K.O. Abiola in Borno’ because the latter had visited the state…
Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest developing regions in the world. Population growth, expanding economic performance and a wealth of natural resources sit alongside dynamic political developments and an increasingly vocal civil society. However, diverse parts of the continent still struggle with dictatorial regimes, omnipresent corruption, and assertive malign foreign influences, sometimes bringing back memories of a colonial past. What are the key challenges Africa faces today? How do Africans view the role of external factors, such as China, Russia, Europe, or the US? How can they deal with the heavy impact of climate change, ocean pollution, drought, land…
In May 2017, my first daughter had just completed her West African School Certificate Examination and was home when I got a message that her siblings were at the National Children’s Park and Zoo on excursion from their school. She decided to accompany me to see them. As we drove into the park, I said, “I am sure you don’t even know a place like this exists in Abuja”, thinking she had never visited the park before. “I have been here several times. Mummy used to bring us here when you were working at the Villa. But the place was…
In 2003 or thereabouts, while still living in Lagos, I was invited to the Bournvita Award for Teachers ceremony to read the awardees citation along with Mrs. Adesuwa Onyenikwe of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) fame. Veteran actor, Mr Olu Jacob, was also there, as he said, to give moral support to his wife, the effervescent Joke Silva, who compered the event. In the course of our conversation about the loss of value in our society, Jacob remarked that in Nigeria today, when a neighbour with no visible means of livelihood suddenly becomes a billionaire, questions are never asked about…
Never in the history of our country have we witnessed the current situation where not only the contents of classified documents are splashed in the media but the bromides of such correspondences as well. In some cases, even before they reach the officials to whom they were directed. Unauthorized leaks pose a serious threat to the security of any nation and given what is coming out from the $9.6 billion judgement fiasco, an issue I am still digging into, I can hazard a guess that the obscure London firm knows everything that was happening on the Nigerian side. That our…
There is only one rational conclusion to draw after watching the shocking video of how three senior police officers of an elite anti-kidnapping squad were brutally executed last week in Taraba State: The soldiers involved in the killing could only have been acting in promotion of some sinister agenda rather than in defence of the national interest. The clear give-away in the video was the question, ‘Where is their service pistol?’ asked by one of the shooters, an indication that they knew their victims were officers of the law. That a most wanted criminal suspect was set free in the…
Last Friday, the Supreme Court sent a strong statement to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as the entire political class in Nigeria. In declaring ‘wasted’ the votes secured by APC candidates in gubernatorial, national and state assembly elections in Zamfara, the message is simple: Only when rules and regulations governing elections are binding on political parties and critical stakeholders can Nigerians begin to repose confidence in the system. Ordinarily, the essence of primaries is to strengthen the democratic process by giving party members the opportunity to have a say in their representation. But over the years, governors…
The most important of life’s battles is the one we fight daily in the silent chambers of the soul—David O. McKay Following the death in March 2017 of a medical doctor who jumped headlong into the lagoon off Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, I argued on this page that because some wounds can easily be covered up, we do not always know what people around us are going through or what action they might take when pushed to the edge. I used a two-minute Youtube clip titled ‘Silent Battles’ to illustrate my point in a piece titled ‘The Silent Battles…
