We welcomed 2024 with dancing, high-five, kisses, hugs, and singing amidst blinking red lights everywhere, worldwide. On the left hand, the world carried a hamper of chaos into 2024 with frightening contents, while on her right hand, a briefcase of HOPE. From the start of the year, there was a convergence of chaos in the Middle East: Hamas ‘’no gree’’ for Israel, Pakistan dared Iran, Houthis opposed America and Britain in the Red Sea, and Syria opposed Turkey. Now, both Iran and Israel are on the brink, at a critical tipping point with far-reaching global consequences- economically and geopolitically. On…
Author: Tim Akano
The unthinkable happened on 7/10, similar to the earth-shaking event of 9/11: the world tilted dangerously, leaving a permanent dent in the world’s civilization. To achieve equilibrium, the world order stands on a tripod: cooperation, competition and conflict. However, the Middle East makes use of only one pillar: conflict. Before the event of 7/10, serious covert efforts were being made regarding the normalization of the relationship between Israel and her Arab neighbours, especially the Sunnis, led by Saudi Arabia. Then, from the Blue Hamas managed to pull through an audacious unimaginable attack on Israel. IDF’s statement that “animalistic behaviour requires…
Ask President Barack Obama, he will confirm to you: ultimatums are serious business. Obama got his fingers burnt in Syria, causing the scar on his index finger to become raised and lumpy. The noun ultimatum has Latin roots meaning ‘’final’’. Despite ECOWAS’s ‘’final’’ warning, Abdourahamane Tichiani remains the President of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), a military junta established following a coup that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on 26th July, 2023. ECOWAS, no, sorry, Nigeria, is in the midst of the blackest storm: scary sounds, conflicting signals and disturbing noises. Sounds are used to communicate,…
Kasala don burst! WE HAVE BEEN here before. And now, WE ARE BACK here again as casualties of progress in a sorry state of dense gloom. A while ago, there was a national uproar when we noticed a dangerous decrease in lift of the nation’s aeroplane as a result of un-accelerated stalls under captain M.Buhari- the nation’s aeroplane escaped sinking by a whisker. Today, under captain BAT, symptoms of aerodynamic accelerated pre-stalls are beginning to manifest, which happen at a higher than normal air speeds due to abrupt and/ or excessive control application. Meanwhile, aviation experts tell us that accelerated…
‘’Chugga, chugga, chugga, choo, choo, choo’’: the sound of Nigeria’s 16th train wheels bumping over the tracks as it departed the station on 29 May 2023 at exactly 10:28am. The travel time is 35,040 hours. But with newspaper headlines like the following: ‘’government wasted $19 Billion on refineries’ TAM in 8 years’’, ‘’$25Billion oil contract awarded without proper authorisation’’, ‘’N200 Billion wasted on Census 2023,’’N85Billion wasted on Air Nigeria scam etc., one is bound to ask: What is Nigeria? A country or a company, a caricature or a comic? All the past 15 Train Captains fell into track buckling that…
Of all the many diverse and stomach-churning challenges facing Nigeria, the most intense and urgent is multidimensional poverty. Poverty is the foster father of insecurity, youth unemployment and other vices. But there is a window of opportunity: the world is at the intersection of a revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we work, live, socialize and create wealth. In its scope, scale, size, speed, and possibilities, the fourth (4.0) industrial revolution is completely unlike anything humankind has experienced in history. There are profound paradigm shifts globally, underscored by the emergence of new business and governance models: the disruptions of…
Click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click is the loud, weird, grinding vroom reviving up the engine as the in-coming class captain turns on the ignition key of Nigeria’s bus, in readiness for his May 29 voyage. Another voyage, another time, different driver, same old bus. By any reckoning, this May 29 is different: eight years ago, on May 29, 2015, there were massive expectations and excitements in the air, a Cathedral -size hope inspired by the 63-point agenda of the outgoing captain. Many Nigerians are now feeling conned that politicians took them to cloud 9 by an airborne parachute and dropped them in the middle…
Now, Nigeria is without form and void. Darkness covers the face of the deep and the unquiet Spirit is hovering over the land. Africa’s most populous country is at a fresh dangerous crossroads. At the beginning when darkness covered the earth, God said: ‘’Let there be Light,’’ and there was light. Now, Nigeria needs a leader who will command light to outshine the country’s darkness and exorcise the unquiet spirit. Once a country returns to factory-reset mode or Hobbes’s state of nature: Optimism, Peace and Hope disappear, none of our important human needs is reliably realizable in such a milieu.…
Nigeria is in a sorry state of political, economic and social flux that lies beyond the powers of Autocorrect algorithms. The paragraphs below x-ray the seven myths shredded by the February 25th presidential elections, the seven lessons learned, the seven must-win battles and the seven quick wins for the incoming president if he truly desires to bring HOPE back home. ‘’Why were there no jubilations or demonstrations on the streets across Nigeria when INEC handed over certificate of return to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ( A-BAT) as President-elect in the wee hours of March 1st 2023, as it happened in…
Finally! Will it be eureka for Nigerians the Day after, or will the hopes, expectations and aspirations of February 25th turn to frustrations, disappointment and disillusionment in the weeks ahead? First, will the election be free, fair and credible? Will the results stand or will we have another June 12 fiasco on the horizon? Who will win between Nigeria and the politicians? Will the outcome beget peace, unity in diversity and wholesale transformation? Highly unlikely. What, then should be the agenda of the incoming president, if the country is to witness a step-change? That is the exam that this piece…
“I am eager to go, it has been tough ruling Nigeria’’…. President Mohammed Buhari. “We don’t want money. President Buhari knows what our demands are’’ Terrorists, the Abuja-Kaduna train (April 7th 2022) “Boko Haram & Fulani Bandits are Northern Nigeria FREEDOM FIGHTERS’’- Adamu Garba, Youth Progressive Party “2023 Elections may not be held in Nigeria due to heavy tension”….. The UK “Terrorists are planning to attack FCT, Lagos and 3 other states”… NSCDC “President Buhari was not aware of the terrorist plan to kidnap him until I told him”… El-Rufai “I cannot implement the 2014 Constitution Conference report due to…
By Tim Akano Here are today’s quizzes: Should America fall, who of the following is most likely to take over as the new world’s class captain? (A) Europe (B) China (C) Russia (D) Globalists/ World Economic Forum (E) None of the above. Answer: Pick your choice. 2 What will a globalized, nuclearized, digitized world without a Class Captain or with multiple Captains look like? (A) Likely more stable (B) Likely more unstable (C) Certainly stable (D) Certainly unstable (E) Hobbesian- state-of-nature Answer: pick your choice. Or read till the end. 3 Talking of parallels, will…
