Blog

NEWS ANALYSIS: Badeggi Radio Closure: A Dangerous Echo From Nigeria’s Authoritarian Past

NEWS ANALYSIS: Badeggi Radio Closure: A Dangerous Echo From Nigeria’s Authoritarian Past

NEWS ANALYSIS By TONY ONYIMA, Ph.D. The recent closure of Badeggi Radio in Niger State by Governor Mohammed Umar Bago has reignited a fundamental national conversation around press freedom and the limits of executive power in a democratic state. The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has condemned the governor’s action in unequivocal terms, describing it as “a blatant attack on press freedom and democracy.” Beyond the headlines, however, the incident reveals a more profound unease with how public office holders relate to independent media, and it raises urgent questions about the protection of constitutional rights under Nigeria’s democratic dispensation. At…
Read More
Crunch WCQ: How S/Africa Is Preparing For Super Eagles

Crunch WCQ: How S/Africa Is Preparing For Super Eagles

*Aside 2010 Hosting, This Is Our Best Chance Since 2002 -Press *Fear FIFA Hammer Over Ineligible Player Ahead of Nigeria's vital World Cup qualifier (WCQ) against Bafana Bafana of South Africa, the press are already ramping up tension among football fans in the late President Nelson Mandela's country. The match is slated for September 9 this year. The first leg in Uyo ended 1-1 in June, 2024. South Africa presently leads Super Eagles' group, Group C , with only the top team in each of Africa's nine groups directly qualifying for the World Cup to be hosted by the trio…
Read More
2025/26 Season: Guardiola Fear Rocks Etihad

2025/26 Season: Guardiola Fear Rocks Etihad

In what may come as music to the ears of some fans of Liverpool, Arsenal and other top tier rivals of Manchester City in the English Premier League (EPL), there is strong fear at Etihad that City manager Pep Guardiola's marriage is heading for divorce. Etihad insiders greatly fear that should this happen, it may negatively impact their celebrated manager's psyche and thus, the team's start to the 2025/26 season. There has been speculation for some time that the relationship between Guardiola (54) and Cristina Serra (52) is over and that the couple is already separated. Spanish media reported months…
Read More
We Are Dying Slowly, Save Us -Gaza Residents

We Are Dying Slowly, Save Us -Gaza Residents

*Starvation Takes Hold After Week Of Appalling Milestones By Malak Tantesh,in Gaza, and Julian Borger The people of Gaza did not need this week’s official confirmation from UN-backed hunger experts that the “worst-case scenario of famine” was unfolding there. For months they have watched as their children waste away. “All my children have lost nearly half of their body weight,” said Jamil Mughari, a 38-year-old from Maghazi in central Gaza. “My daughter, who is five years old, now weighs only 11kg. My son Mohammad has become just skin and bones. All my children are like this. “I myself used to…
Read More
NGE Condemns Closure Of Badeggi Radio By Gov. Umar Bago

NGE Condemns Closure Of Badeggi Radio By Gov. Umar Bago

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) strongly condemn the recent order for the closure of Badeggi Radio by Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State. The Guild, the umbrella association of topmost journalists in the country, considers the governor's action as "a blatant attack on press freedom and democracy in Nigeria". In a statement signed by Eze Anaba and Onuoha Ukeh, its President and General Secretary, respectively, the Guild says the act of censorship and intimidation undermines the fundamental principles of a democratic society, where free press is essential for holding those in power accountable. "Section 39 of the 1999…
Read More
How Killer Herdsmen Took Over My Domain, Are Enjoying Our Assets -Plateau Royal Father Narrates Touching Story

How Killer Herdsmen Took Over My Domain, Are Enjoying Our Assets -Plateau Royal Father Narrates Touching Story

A scary picture of the uprooting of inhabitants of seven villages from their indigenous lands by suspected Fulani killer herdsmen in Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State, has emerged. Not done with forcibly removing the indigenes, with scores allegedly killed in the process and thousands fleeing for sake of their dear lives, the invaders proceeded to occupy the lands,take over existing livestock and generally enjoy the comfort of living on the properties of the original owners. The Wazirin Mushere and community leader in the LGA, Da Yohana Margif, painted the picture in a statement to newsmen. He named…
Read More
Aid Cuts Will Push Nigerians To Boko Haram Militants -UN

Aid Cuts Will Push Nigerians To Boko Haram Militants -UN

Drastic cuts to humanitarian aid in North-Eastern Nigeria could prove a boon to one of the world's most deadly militant groups, Boko Haram, aid agencies have warned. A reduction of funding in recent months has forced the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) to ration its support, and now it has completely run out. "It will be much easier for militants to lure youths to join them and spiral insecurity across the whole region," Trust Mlambo, Head of Operations in the area for WFP, told the BBC . Notorious around the world for kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls from the town…
Read More
I’m Not A Nigerian -Kemi Badenoch

I’m Not A Nigerian -Kemi Badenoch

*'I've No Nigerian Passport' *'My Now Family Are In UK, Conservative Party Is My Extended Family' *Nigeria, A Big Fandango, She Says *'No Future For You In Nigeria', She Recalls Her Parents' Words ​Kemi Badenoch has said she no longer considers herself Nigerian and does not possess a Nigerian passport. The Conservative Party leader, who was born in London, but grew up in Nigeria and the U.S and did not return to the UK until she was 16, said she had not renewed her Nigerian passport in two decades. Speaking to the Rosebud podcast, Badenoch said: “I’m Nigerian through ancestry,…
Read More
Alleged Rape: French Prosecutors Demand Criminal Trial for PSG Star Achraf Hakimi

Alleged Rape: French Prosecutors Demand Criminal Trial for PSG Star Achraf Hakimi

French prosecutors have requested that Moroccan football star and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) full-back, Achraf Hakimi, be put on trial over allegations that he raped a 24-year-old woman in February 2023; a claim the player firmly denies. In a statement to Agence France Presse (AFP) on Friday, August 1, the Nanterre prosecutor's office said it had formally asked the investigating judge to refer the case to a criminal court. “It is now up to the investigating magistrate to make a decision within the framework of his order,” the prosecutor's office confirmed. Hakimi, 26, was initially charged with rape in March 2023…
Read More
Liverpool’s ‘Take It Or Leave It’ £110m bid for Alexander Isak Rejected

Liverpool’s ‘Take It Or Leave It’ £110m bid for Alexander Isak Rejected

By Andy Hunter Liverpool have had a £110million bid for Alexander Isak rejected by Newcastle and do not intend to submit a second offer for the striker in this transfer window. Despite long-held interest in the Sweden international and his desire to move to Merseyside, Liverpool’s first formal offer came in under the £120million suggested when Richard Hughes, sporting director at Anfield, made an informal enquiry over Isak’s availability a fortnight ago. Newcastle value their prized asset at £150million, a British transfer-record sum, but are reluctant to sell the 25-year-old, who was the second highest goalscorer in the Premier League…
Read More