Opinion

Written by Silas Ezeugwu and James Kwen In the face of constitutional hurdles to the creation of new states in Nigeria’s democratic dispensations, the promoters of additional sub-nationals in the current dispensation remain undeterred. Consequently, there has been a surge in the agitations for the creation of more states, with numerous bills to amend the Constitution currently before the National Assembly. LEADERSHIP Sunday reports that state creation in Nigeria goes back to 1967, when the then head of state, Gen Yakubu Gowon, created 12 states out of the four regions in existence. His successor, Murtala Mohammed, created an additional seven…

BY BAYO ONANUGA The Supreme Court judgment on July 11, granting financial autonomy to the 774 local councils and recognising them as the third tier of Nigeria’s governance architecture, was truly historic. It was perhaps the most remarkable judgment ever delivered by the apex court in recent times, as it used its power to interpret the law to give a different meaning to Section 162 of the Constitution. Since 1999, governors have used this section to withhold and tamper with the funds federally allocated to the councils, using a joint account that has proven to be a honeypot of abuse.…

Among those who insist that truth-telling is an indispensable form of nation building, Professor Wole Soyinka is the greatest. And I don’t mean this merely when he is often telling those in government the truth or only when it is done in public. I mean for all times, seasons and for all purposes. Here is the story of what Soyinka (who is not only to be referred to as Alagba, but also as Baba, not just by his biological children but so many of us), means to me. In 1992 as a Correspondent of The Guardian newspapers in Ibadan, I…

By People&Politics The English dramatist, William Shakespeare, posed the question, “What’s in a name?” That was in one of his celebrated plays, Romeo and Juliet. And he proceeded to answer, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” He meant names per se are mere human conveniences for identification and differentiation; and that names, in themselves, have no special meaning or depth. But one doesn’t necessarily need to agree with him: for we know that there’s much in a name i.e. there’s some depth, weight or mystery about names beyond their surface or…

Who will ever forget Malam Nasir el-Rufai, the great political gambler and the emperor of Nigeria’s contemporary politics? Famous for being adamant of the consequences of his actions and inactions, he is also renowned for perpetrating political shenanigans both at the state and national levels. He is reputed to be the ‘father’ of the ill-motivated Kano inconclusive election of 2019. El-Rufai means different things to many people. He is both the loved hero and the hated villain. He acts both the antagonist and protagonist roles with aesthetic talents and achievements. Arrogantly, he parades himself as a general who requires no…

By Olusegun Adeniyi For almost two weeks, we have witnessed the resurgence of fuel queues across the country. This of course exposes the never-ending mess in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry that has been with us for more than five decades. The main concern now is that the Dangote Refinery, which had been expected to guarantee fuel availability with all the multiplier effects, may not even change the narrative. Although currently producing diesel, jet fuel and polypropylene, the expectation that the world’s largest single-train petroleum refining facility would begin producing gasoline by next month is being hampered by…

By Abadom Lawrence Amechi THOSE who hold the state in trust for our captors: Western oppressive powers, will always enjoy themselves before their assignment life span expires, irrespective of whose ox is gored. According to Senator Godswill Akpabio, “We know that Nigerians are hungry, but that will not stop us to approve a private jet for the president. His life is more important now than ordinary citizens. We have to do that as fast as possible”. What Senator Akpabio was saying is that the president cannot be sacrificed for the people, but the people can be sacrificed for the president.…