Opinion

In Nigeria, democracy is just a word: The devil in Nigerian elections is in result collation, not voting. Mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results may not be a silver bullet that can prevent the country’s electoral woes entirely, but for now, it is the only plausible guardrail against electoral malfeasance. The Tinubu-led APC does not want that hence the brazen attempt to manipulate the Electoral Act. Nigerians should not be deceived by the ongoing political hanky-panky in the Senate… As an Igbo proverb says, a bird that flies from the ground onto an anthill, which was what the Senate did…

(As published in Sunday New Telegraph on 8th February, 2026) By SHEDDY OZOENE The next time Nigerians reflect on the country’s deeply flawed elections and the persistent ineptitude of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it may be worth pausing to interrogate not only the electoral umpire, but also the role played by civil society and democracy advocates. Today, more than at any other time in our history, their influence on the electoral system, and their own accountability, has come into question. On this issue, I use YIAGA AFRICA as a sampler, chiefly because it has played perhaps the most…

By ABRAHAM OGBODO I have heard about Onitsha Market Literature. I did not know about Onitsha Market Politics until now. The idea has come through Charles Chukwuma Soludo who is a professor of economics and Governor of Anambra State. I shall come back to this. There are a few more things that I know about Onitsha market and Onitsha town. I know, for instance, that everything that holds value is available for sale in the market. What is sellable and buyable that is not available in Onitsha market might very well not exist on planet earth. Such is the character…

By SHEDDY OZOENE (As published in the back page of Daily Times, Tuesday, February 3, 2026) Since the middle of 2025, when rumours first began to circulate that Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, was contemplating a break with the Kwankwasiyya Movement that brought him to power in 2023, many dismissed the speculation with a wave of the hand. Abba was not only the favoured godson of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; he shared a personal relationship with the former governor that dated back more than four decades when both men worked together as civil servants in Kano. That bond was further…

(Also published in Back Page of Daily Times on Wednesday, 28th January, 2026) By SHEDDY OZOENE Since his swearing-in as Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara has faced a cascade of challenges. The state has lurched from one crisis to another—some minor, others serious, and a few outright grave. In most of these crises, public perception has cast the governor—locked in a deadly political contest with his predecessor, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike—as the victim. The heavy hand of godfatherism appears to have tightened relentlessly around his neck. Even as a sitting governor, Fubara has reportedly…

By OREVA GODWIN Before anyone sharpens their knives, let me be clear: I do not support cheating. I have never romanticized infidelity, nor do I excuse men who lack discipline. As my Delta brothers love to joke, “Men don’t cheat; only women cheat.” That entitlement alone is why feminism and I struggle to coexist peacefully with Delta men. There’s also a popular belief that a woman who becomes a side chick will one day “pay for it” when she marries, that karma will hand her a cheating husband. This belief is lazy, misogynistic, and conveniently ignores reality. If karma truly…