Author: People&Politics

Aug

16

2026

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By People&Politics

Uche Nnaji: Running Against The Odds

Column

(As published in New Telegraph newspaper, Sunday 16th August, 2026) By SHEDDY OZOENE For over six weeks, the certificate controversy involving former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Enugu State, Chief Uche Nnaji, threatened to derail his determined effort to contest for the governorship of the state. The controversy took a more serious turn on July 1, when Nnaji was arrested in Abuja and detained by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). He was subsequently arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, July 13, on a…

Aug

16

2026

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By People&Politics

Osun: The Mourning After

Column

By FESTUS ADEDAYO (Published by the Sunday Tribune, August 16, 2026) Speaking after an infrastructure inspection, Governor Ademola Adeleke openly backed President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid. He warmly referredto him as "our own son, father and leader." He went further to declare: "I am the governor of the ancestral birthplace of Mr President. How can I have my own in the saddle and think twice before embracing him?" Yet, even as those words echoed, in the election that held yesterday in Osun State, Governor Adeleke’s fate and that of Osun State were being systematically framed, for better or worse.…

Aug

12

2026

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The Storm In FIFA’s Tea Cup

Column, Opinion

By SHEDDY OZOENE It is still an unfolding story. If you like, it is only the kick-off of a football match that could go the full 90 minutes, into extra time and perhaps even a penalty shootout. As we say in such contests, a winner must emerge between UEFA and a coalition of continental federations on one side, and FIFA President, Gianni Infantino on the other. Fresh from the successful 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, FIFA has found itself in the middle of a major controversy over plans to restructure the commercial ownership…

Aug

09

2026

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Osun: EFCC And The War This Week

Column, Opinion

By FESTUS ADEDAYO Midnight was just shyly unfolding its grim loneliness over the Coal City. I nudged the nose of my blue Peugeot 504 Saloon out of my apartment’s driveway opposite the Fire Service Office. I then turned into the dark, quiet embrace of the main road at Otigba Junction. Otigba is a vital transportation hub located on Ogui Road in Enugu. Known for its bustling activity, connecting various parts of the beautiful city, from there, I engaged gear and drove down Bisalla Road. I barely saw a soul. Then, connecting the New Haven area, the car headed towards the…

Aug

02

2026

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Bishops’ Refusal To Endorse Tinubu Leaves Him Really Angry

Entertainment

By IKEDDY ISIGUZO NOTHING has left President Bola Ahmed Tinubu floored like his meeting with the Conference of Catholic Church Bishops of Nigeria. Tinubu is still on the floor. He expected endorsement. He was confronted with the truth of his three years of mismanagement of Nigeria. The bishops spoke for Nigerians who Tinubu expects to be silent or have no big voices to speak for them. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has no business running for a second term after wasting the opportunities that he had in his first term, chiefly proving to Nigerians that he would not pull Nigeria back…

Jul

26

2026

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Did Abacha Actually Die On Top Of A Woman?

Column, Opinion

By FESTUS ADEDAYO The Yoruba establish a direct causal relationship between tragic news and emotional grief. They observe that if the ears are not fed with rotten news, the mind will not be consumed by grief. Whatever his motive for publishing his book, DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield, retired Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) Dennis Amachree has reawakened an unpleasant yet momentous chapter in our national history. In doing so, he proves right the ancient adage that a twenty-year-old pounded yam can still burn one's fingers as though it were fresh off the mortar.…

Jul

23

2026

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SENATOR IKEJE ASOGWA: Celebrating A Man Of Destiny @ 57

Opinion

By SAMSON EZEA It is often said that some people are born great, while others achieve greatness. In the case of Distinguished Senator Ikeje Israel Asogwa, he exemplifies both. Endowed with the potential for greatness from birth, he has, through diligence, resilience, vision, and unwavering determination, continued to attain even greater heights. Born over five decades ago, the signs of his destined greatness were evident from an early age. His name, Ikeje, is derived from the Igbo expression "Ike eje ọgụ be ndị mmụọ," which conveys the profound belief that no earthly power can prevail against God's will. It symbolizes…

Jul

19

2026

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By People&Politics

Sanwo-Olu Is Special Guest As Odion Akhaine Delivers 2026 Jakande Memorial Lecture In Lagos

News

A professor in the Department of Political Science, Lagos State University (LASU), Sylvester Odion Akhaine, will on July 23, 2026 deliver the 4th Lateef Jakande Memorial Lecture in Lagos. The lecture holding at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, from 11am, has the theme: "The Media, INEC, Voters and Path to Credible Elections." Akhaine, a former human rights activist, will be remembered as one of those who fought for return of democracy in Nigeria during the military era. He variously served as general secretary of the Campaign for Democracy and the United Action for Democracy Holder of PhD in Politics obtained…

Jul

19

2026

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Akpabio, Oshiomhole, Umahi: How Sex Threatens the Nigerian State

Opinion

By FESTUS ADEDAYO Did you listen to last week’s broadside from Senate President Godswill Akpabio against former Edo State governor,Senator Adams Oshiomhole? If you did, you must have caught a glimpse of how sex threatens the Nigerian state. Historically, libido has always been a threat to governance. Psychoanalyst Robert Michels summarized this Freudian reality cleanly: “Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.” To him, life is driven by sex, and sex itself is an expression of power and aggression. Often misattributed to Oscar Wilde — likely due to the Irish poet’s own fatal fall…

Jul

19

2026

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By People&Politics

There’s Nothing ‘Strait’ About Hormuz Anymore

Column, Opinion

By SHEDDY OZOENE The conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States has become one of the most needless and damaging wars of recent times. It has killed thousands of people, forced families from their homes, shaken the global economy and reminded the world that military power, no matter how strong, can never replace diplomacy. The roots of the crisis go back many years. Israel has long seen Iran's nuclear programme as a direct threat to its survival. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly argued that diplomacy only gave Tehran more time to move closer to developing nuclear weapons. With…