In search of the ‘detribalized’ NigerianThursday, October 19, 2017
Nigerians love buzzwords - slogans that are repeated frequently enough, (and imbued with assumed values), that they begin to sound like established facts or self-evident truths. One of the favourite mantras in Nigeria today is the notion of the lsquo;detribalized rsquo; Nigerian. Depending on t ...
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Between Ohaneze, Northern Elders, Afenifere and Nnamdi KanuThursday, August 31, 2017
The move by the Federal Government to re-arrest Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) is, as expected, generating interesting conversations, grandstanding and competition for the moral high ground. The Federal government on Friday August 25 2017 asked the Federal High Court ... |
‘Restructuring’ is just another empty buzzwordThursday, July 27, 2017
Restructuring is currently the buzzword in the country. But it is justan important-sounding but empty technical word, which means little other than to give false impression to ordinary folks that one holds the magic wand that will make all the problems in the country to vamoose overnight. Buzzwor ... |
The mantra, ‘Nigerian unity is not negotiable’, is pseudo-nationalismThursday, July 20, 2017
Nigerians love mantras - statements or slogans repeated frequently enough that they begin to sound like established facts or self-evident truths. Recently in this column (on June 22 2017), I interrogated the mantra of lsquo;generation shift rsquo;, which was renewed with vigour following the victor ... |
End of right-wing populism?Thursday, June 29, 2017
The outcome of the recent elections in several European countries - Austria, the Netherlands, Britain and France - is raising question about whether right-wing populism has peaked. The possibility that this ideology has run its course is further strengthened by the several challenges Donald Trump is ... |
The new ‘generation shift’ mantraThursday, June 22, 2017
Since the election of Emmanuel Macron, 39, as the youngest President of France, several Nigerian writers have suddenly rediscovered an old mantra: lsquo;generation shift rsquo;. With Buhari rsquo;s official age at 74, these writers warn that Macron is an emphatic indication that the lsquo;old order ... |
What if Buhari does not want to continue...?Thursday, May 18, 2017
Secrecy as they say, creates confusion and opens up the space for wild speculation and conspiracy theories. Nigerians believe fervently in the adage that nature abhors a vacuum. So the more secretive the government becomes about President Buhari rsquo;s health status, the more some Nigerians move in ... |
Lessons from Nnamdi Kanu’s Detention and ReleaseThursday, May 4, 2017
There are important lessons to be learnt from the detention and recent release of the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), a breakaway faction of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra. MASSOB was formed in 1999 by Ralph Uwazurike, an Indian-trained lawyer o ... |
Why Speaker Dogara Is Only Partly Right On 2018 CensusThursday, April 27, 2017
The recent call by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara for the postponement of the planned 2018 national census received mixed reaction from Nigerians. In a statement through his spokesman Turaki Hassan, the Speaker reportedly said: ldquo;I won rsquo;t advise anyone ... |
Obasanjo’s Corruption NarrativesThursday, April 13, 2017
Obasanjo rsquo;s recent treatise on corruption in Nigeria is a must-read for policymakers because it essentially bought into what several academics and public intellectuals have been saying over the years about the endemic lsquo;war against corruption rsquo; in the country. In a lecture i ... |
Waiting On Donald TrumpThursday, January 19, 2017
Tomorrow, Friday January 2017, Donald Trump will formally assume office as the 45th President of the United States. At 70, he will be the oldest person to be elected the President of the United States, beating the record set by Ronald Reagan who became President at 69. The billionaire businessman ... |
As Obama Readies To Bow Out...Thursday, January 12, 2017
Barrack Obama, the 44th President of the United States and the first African American to hold the top American job, delivered his farewell address to Americans yesterday (January 10) from his adopted home state of Chicago. Speaking in front of a crowd of thousands in a speech he entitled: ... |
Who Is A ‘Patriotic Nigerian’?Thursday, December 8, 2016
In garden talks and beer parlour political conversations, one often constantly hears one side charging the other: ldquo;Please let rsquo;s put sentiments aside and be patriotic here rdquo;. Such admonitions are fairly common when Nigerians of different political, ethnic and religious persuasions ... |
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