People&#38;Politics

Fubara, Natasha And The Season of Reinstatements

By SHEDDY OZOENE Nigerian politics has always been filled with drama, but the last six months could easily pass for a badly scripted series. Nigerians were treated to two running political comedies, from the city of Port Harcourt to the hallowed chambers of the Nigerian Senate. President Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2025, was one leg of the comedy. Tinubu suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the State House of Assembly, justifying his action with claims of a breakdown in governance, threats to national security, and the alleged sabotage…

Sep

2025

My Childhood Trauma

Opinion

By OREVA GODWIN A lot of us have had traumatic childhoods. Some have healed, while others still carry the scars. Trauma comes in different forms, from our parents, siblings, relatives, childhood friends, teachers, and even religious leaders. Many of you know that when I write, I do so with passion, straight from the heart. I try to paint clear pictures that play in the minds of my readers as they read through each story. This is mine. I started school at age two. I remember everything like it was yesterday. You see, I have what is known as hyperthymesia. I…

Sep

2025

Quickie Republic: Short Thrills, Long Pains

Entertainment, Opinion

By FUNKE EGBEMODE It all started with Lux soap. The housekeeper said she bought a pack of six bars for N5, 400. My 92-year-old father gasped. ‘For just soap? Was that for a carton or two cartons?’ I told him, it was for just six bars. ‘Where is this country heading now?’ That is a frequent question my father asks these days. The old man just cannot understand today’s prices of anything. How can he? He bought his brand new Vauxhall Chevette E for N4,800 and now his soap costs N5,000! Of course, he is confused. I told him I…

Sep

2025

Tinubu To Declare 2025 Editors Conference Open

News

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the elite professional body of Managing Directors, Directors of News and Editors of print, broadcast and corporate online organisations, will hold its 2025 All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) from November 3-6, 2025 at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The annual conference has as its theme: "Democratic Governance and National Cohesion: The Role of Editors," while the sub-theme will focus on "Electoral Integrity and Trust Deficit: What Nigerians Expect in 2027." According to a press statement on Sunday by Eze Anaba and Onuoha Ukeh, NGE President and General Secretary respectively, this year's conference will…

Sep

2025

Fubara And The Witches

FESTUS ADEDAYO Three Nigerian “witches” just got beaten by a midnight downpour. They are, Siminalayi Fubara, Nyesom Wike and Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in ascending order. Last Thursday, September 18, 2025, there was an initial apprehension in Rivers State over whether its reinstated governor, Fubara, was “coming home.” An earlier excitedness over the end of emergency rule got momentarily dampened. Apprehension however dissolved when Fubara’s nemesis, FCT Minister, Wike, proclaimed that indeed, Fubara was coming home. The frenzy over Fubara “coming home” was similar to "It's coming home!", a phrase taken out of the 1996 song, “Three Lions”, composed for England…

Sep

2025

Ibas Takes His Inglorious Leave As Fubara Returns

By IKECHUKWU AMAECHI It is no longer a matter of conjecture. As Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, haughtily disclosed on August 30, President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, announced an end to the six-month emergency rule he imposed on Rivers State on March 18. Unlike the emergency rule proclamation which he made via a national broadcast, the president ended the ill-advised political manoeuvre via a statement he personally signed, expressing satisfaction that the inglorious measure had achieved its objectives. Claiming that it would have been a colossal failure on his part not to have made the proclamation,…

Sep

2025

Soludo: A Governor And His Indiscretions

By SHEDDY OZOENE When Professor Chukwuma Soludo indicated interest in becoming governor of Anambra State, there was so much excitement in the air. Here was a globally respected economist, a technocrat of uncommon intellect, and one of Ndigbo’s brightest stars—armed with credentials that promised to redefine governance in the state. His rise from a respected academic to Presidential economic adviser under Olusegun Obasanjo, and later, Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank, put him head and shoulders above other aspirants. When one adds his “Dubai-Taiwan” vision, one would appreciate why the imagination of the people who are famous for their high business…

Sep

2025

That Idiotic Anti-el-Rufai ‘Protest’ in Owerri

By IKECHUKWU AMAECHI As an Igbo, ever mindful of the country’s chequered political history, when the news filtered in on Saturday that former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, a scion of the Muslim North and major opposition politician, had been whisked away from the venue of the Odenigbo Lecture in Owerri, my first reaction was, not again. For maximum effect, the story added that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, was cautioned by the protesters. Not again because of the irascibility of Nigerian politicians and the herd mentality of their minions.…

Sep

2025