Okey Ndibe: The Press and NIGERIA’s Unfinished Democracy
BY COLLINS OPUROZOR The first time I saw Professor Okey Ndibe was in June 2011. He had come to deliver the First Dr. Onuma Onwuka Oreh Memorial Lecture at the…
Category: Opinion
Beyond The Primaries: Uncertainty And Confusion
by Reuben Abati “Thank God it is over” “Yes oh. Now, Arsenal players and their fans can now allow all of us to rest. They have their Premier League trophy.…
The Shettima Danger for Tinubu
By Farooq A. Kperogi Sometime in January this year, a senior Lagos-Ibadan journalist called my attention to a news story in which Hannatu Musawa, President Tinubu’s Minister of Art, Culture,…
Bola Tinubu: the man who took the bullet for Nigeria to survive
By Bayo Onanuga With politicking intensifying ahead of the January 2027 election, opposition politicians have escalated their campaign of misinformation and calumny to diminish the impact and achievements of this…
Africa Day, President Ruto and the ideals of Pan Africanism
By ETIM ETIM Every May 25, Africans from different walks of life and peoples of African heritage across the globe celebrate Africa Day Africa Day. The day represents the collective…
Terrorism in Oyo and Tinubu’s Yoruba Test
By Farooq A. Kperogi For more than a year, a conscientious, cosmopolitan retired senior military officer from the North has told me that his worst fear for Nigeria is the…
Disheartening. Heartbreaking. Difficult to process
By Senator Babafemi Ojudu For days now, I have lived under a cloud of depression since the news broke about the abduction of those innocent schoolchildren and their teachers in…
Eid And The Epidemic Of Empty Pockets
By Reuben Abati Ileya Festival is the Yoruba word for the Eid al-Adha or Eid al Kabir festival which falls on May 26 – May 27 this year, 2026, in…
2027 election: Will 1979 reincarnate next year?
By ETIM ETIM Senator Aminu Tambuwal made an audacious projection Friday night, claiming that the 2027 presidential election will be a replay of the 1979 race in which a fellow…
Tinubu’s Baffling Northern Exclusion Strategy
By Farooq A. Kperogi The late Muhammadu Buhari wrested power from Goodluck Jonathan in a never-before-seen political upset of an incumbent in Nigeria precisely because of the northern establishment’s strategic…
Nigeria: Whither the Fruits of 2026 Crude Oil Windfall?
By Marcel Okeke It’s really a serious irony that at a time that Nigeria is expected to be literally swimming in the ocean of humongous unplanned foreign exchange (FX) inflow,…
Mayhem at UUTH, an eye witness account
By Dr. U. N. Anderson Professor Eyo Effiong Ekpe is the Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (D-CMAC) of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Uyo. He is a Professor…
May Day 2026 and President Tinubu’s National Emergencies
By Marcel Okeke The similarity between the highlights of the International Labor Organization (ILO’s) May Day 2026 message and the focus of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Workers’ Day address is…
War Against Nigeria’s Academic Title Fraud
By Farooq A. Kperogi The federal government’s decision to prohibit recipients of honorary doctorates from prefixing “Dr.” to their names is one of the most unexpectedly sensible things to come…
The Coalition That Became A Collision
By Reuben Abati The most remarkable incident in Nigeria in less than a week, is all things considered how a political coalition has turned out as a collision, literally…
The Ibadan Summit, Opposition Politics And 2027
by Reuben Abati “What a country? “Which country? “What other country do you think I could possibly be talking about? Nigeria of course” “Baba Gbeborun. Community Radio! O ya, shoot.…
Nigerian English and President Ruto’s blunders
By Prof Lawrence ETIM How can Kenyan President William Ruto stoop so low? A few days ago, while addressing his people in Italy, President Ruto stirred the hornets’ nest by…
A Coup Trial Without Precedent
By Farooq A. Kperogi I came of age in Nigeria during absolutist, totalitarian military regimes and was shaped by the anti-military rhetoric and activism that surrounded me. Although democracy hasn’t…
El-Rufai: Is the Yoruba-led FG Keeping Records Before the Tables Turn?
By Mohammed Bello Doka In the hallowed chambers of Nigerian jurisprudence, a foundational maxim holds firm: he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. As the dust settles…
Tinubu’s Yoruba Agenda Risks Deep Rupture in Kwara
By Farooq A. Kperogi Intra-state cultural and subregional tensions are building up in Kwara State ahead of the 2027 governorship elections because of credible worries that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s…
Amupitan should step down
By Celestine Mel If I were appointed Chairman of INEC today, I would discharge the mandate of that office with unimpeachable fidelity, delivering a credible election without equivocation or compromise.…
Party primaries: A preview of the race in Lagos and Akwa Ibom
By ETIM ETIM By INEC timetable, party primaries that would nominate candidates for next year’s election will commence nationwide Thursday next week. They’ll last six weeks – From April 23…
Amupitan’s Past Tweets Show an APC Sympathizer
By Farooq A. Kperogi Several verifiable past tweets by INEC chairman Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan from his time as a professor at the University of Jos unmistakably reveal partisan sympathies…
This look like 2015 all over again
By: Celestine Mel A chill runs through me as I write these words. The air feels heavy, thick with déjà vu — the same creeping dread, the same gathering storm…
Can Seriake Dickson be another Tinubu?
By ETIM ETIM Senator Henry Seriake Dickson has formed a political party known as Nigeria Democratic Party (NDC) and he has resigned from PDP and taken up the role of…
THE “IGBO KING” CONUNDRUM: A Call for wisdom
Prof Lawrence ETIM SUMMARY After South Africa, where will the next “Igbo King” protest take place? There is no need answering this question because the answer will be conjectural. Nevertheless,…
Nasir El-Rufai’s Release
By Reuben Abati The release of Mallam Nasir el-Rufai from the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), on temporary, compassionate grounds, on Friday, March 27, following the death…
No Tears for El-Rufai and Malami
By Farooq A. Kperogi Nasir El-Rufai and Abubakar Malami are suddenly the objects of public pity in some corners of Nigeria’s political commentariat. Yes, my default ideological temperament is to…
Tinubu And The Glory: Who Benefits?
by Reuben Abati President Bola Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s recent state visit to the United Kingdom, March 17 -19 on the invitation of King Charles III, and his wife, Queen Camilla…
Tinubu’s Abacha Tactics Against Opposition
By Farooq A. Kperogi Although structural, political, and economic conditions appear to constrain any credibly concerted impediment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 reelection chances, at least from my admittedly…
Nigeria’s Oil Reform Taskforce: Unsolicited Memo from Concerned Nigerian
By Marcel Okeke It remains undisputable that Nigeria is a mono-product economy; having crude oil (and some gas) as the mainstay of its economy for several decades. Consequently, the fate…
Operation Epic Mistake
by Reuben Abati “Bros, looks like President Trump’s Operation Epic Fury in Iran is beginning to look like an Operation Epic Mistake. Three weeks after, Iran is still standing strong,…
Jimoh Ibrahin, in broad day light
By Sonala Olumhense I have spent time on the Third Floor of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where the press corps works. It is not a gentle place.…
Obituary for the PDP
By Farooq A. Kperogi The diminution of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reached a symbolic pinnacle this week when a wave of defections swept through the National Assembly. Several PDP…
Cross River vs. Akwa Ibom: Assignment For Tinubu
By Reuben Abati There is an urgent assignment for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It is the need to intervene and seek to resolve the festering conflict between Cross Rivers State…
Daniel Bwala’s Al Jazeera Humiliation
By Farooq A. Kperogi I barely know Daniel Bwala. He came to the forefront of national media attention in 2022 because of his impassioned opposition to the choice of Kashim…
Governor Otti: Of Bricklaying And Journalism
Steve Osuji Last Friday, the well spoken Abia State governor caused a ruckus. Gov. Alex Otti barred his teeth at a journalist he considered impetuous and irresponsible. Mr. Otti’s public…
Middle East Crisis: Is Nigeria Ready for Another Crude Oil Windfall?
By Marcel Okeke While the entire world remains on edge following the United States of America-Israel military strike on Iran last weekend, one of the upshots of the incident has…
While Arewa Is Bleeding, Its Leaders Are Fighting
By Kadaria Ahmed Let us start with what we know. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, former FCT Minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo, and one-time Director-General of the…
History and Psychoanalysis of El-Rufai’s Troubles with Ribadu
By Farooq A. Kperogi Given the depth and intensity of the friendship they cultivated over decades, many people are befuddled by why the personal conflict between former Kaduna State governor…
How on earth has Gov. Umo Eno offended Premium Times?
By ETIM ETIM From every indication, Nigeria’s online newspaper, Premium Times and its editors seem to hold a grudge against Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, and will stop…
The Recent Elections in FCT, Kano and Rivers
By Reuben Abati The elections, held over the weekend, Saturday, February 21, were interesting for the obvious reason that they were clearly the litmus test cases for the Electoral Act,…
Nigeria’s Declining Oil Output and Soaring Foreign Portfolio Investment Inflow
By Marcel Okeke It is most intriguing that at a time Nigeria’s capital importation (hence, external reserves) is rising in leaps and bounds, the country’s crude oil production (output) remains…
How Akpabio’s Leadership Secured Nigeria’s Electoral Future
By Rt Hon Eseme Eyiboh mnipr In the evolving story of Nigeria’s democratic consolidation, few issues have provoked as much intensity as electoral reform. The signing into law of the…
EL RUFAI’S PUBLIC CONFESSION ON TELEVISION AND THE BURDEN OF PROOF: Why a Conviction May Not Follow
Prof Lawrence ETIM EL-RUFAI agreed on TV that he illegally listens to Ribadu’s phone calls, but he may not be found guilty: Here is why. 1) BELOW ARE ASPECTS OF…
Welcoming The American Troops
By Reuben Abati It should come as no surprise to anyone that American troops are now effectively on the ground in Nigeria to assist the country to fight Boko…
El Rufai’s Mind Game with Ribadu
By Farooq Kperogi Nasir El-Rufai claimed in his interview with Arise News that someone intercepted and recorded his former friend Nuhu Ribadu’s phone call in which Ribadu allegedly instructed El-Rufai’s…
Senate and the Electoral Act Amendment
By Reuben Abati The Senate returns from a two-week recess today to attend an emergency plenary session at noon to address the lingering and vexed matter of the ongoing amendment…
Okoiyak is where Umo Eno demonstrates leadership
Iboro Otongaran Since 2021, Okoiyak (aka, Stubbs Creek Forest) has been a metaphor for leadership failure. Okoiyak is a swathe of land that is home to 10 villages in Akwa…
76 Oil Wells: Akwa Ibom Must Pull Every Stop to Avoid High Jump
By Akpandem James I have a sneaking suspicion that the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) is not decidedly intent on reallocating the controversial 76 oil wells situated in…