Opinion

By SHEHU USMAN IYAL It is not unusual in parts of Northern Nigeria, for a new child to be named after his place of origin, by the parents. It was a way of imprinting the very home address of a child especially when he begins to mingle with the broader society. This explains why we've had dignitaries like Nigeria's Second Republic President, Shehu Usman Shagari; former Inspector General of Police, (IGP), Ibrahim Gambo Jimeta, and one-time Minister of Works, Major General Mamman Kontagora, christened after their aboriginal domains. The case of General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, is slightly different, however. He…

*Agenda For The Incoming Administration Of Peter Mbah By SHEDDY OZOENE In his inaugural address on May 29, 2015, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi roused the state with the promise that his tenure would be defined by the development trajectory he would diligently pursue. Of the many facets he reeled out, two stood out. The first was the promise to pay special attention to Nsukka by giving the area a face-lift befitting a university town. He also told the people that “Ninth Mile is an economic hub that we need to harness to enjoy the benefits of our newly-acquired status as a…

By VICTOR ANAZONWU Prof Wole Soyinka said so many right and proper things in his recent and now controversial Channels television interview which aired on Monday, April 3, 2023. But quite clearly, the Nobel laureate is unaware that his barometer for reading the atmospheric pressure is now cranky and needs a fix. I say that because Kongi uncharacteristically erred in labeling the Labor Party VP candidate, Dr Yusuf-Datti Baba Ahmed, as "fascist." And he stumbled again when he suggested that the conduct of Obidients cost Peter Obi a (deserved) victory at the polls. In his heyday, Soyinka himself could have…

By TUNDE OLUSUNLE It's truly, very sad to recall that Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Nigeria's second democratically elected president of the fourth republic, set aside History from the curriculum of second school education, in 2009. The alibi was that students were avoiding the subject because there were few jobs for history graduates, and a concomitant dearth of instructors. He might have been correct about the challenges that graduates of some courses beyond history, encounter in a world gravitating towards science and technology. I was in the university at the same time with two brothers. We all graduated together, completed the mandatory…

People And Sources Of Their Fortunes BY ISAAC NWOYE People are said to be made when they exhibit a level of wealth, affluence, influence, authority and control to the extent that specific and ordinary people recognise and defer to them in the society. They come at different levels, some rising to dizzying heights that global entities like Guinness books, Forbes and other reference authorities captures their worth and publish them periodically. Some are done monthly, others yearly and generally to form references for records and academic studies for students and researchers. Laudable as this feat may seem, the process of…

By Anayo Agu The beauty of democracy lies especially in its ability to give the citizens a choice in electing who governs them and a voice in the decisions that impact their lives.  As a system of government, democratic power is vested in the people, who exercise it directly or through their elected representatives. That is why in an election year such as 2023, the Nigerian electorate, grossly neglected over the past three years suddenly became a target of opportunity, a beautiful Bride desperately wooed by political actors who hitherto could care less about their welfare or wellbeing.  As a…

By TUNDE OLUSUNLE For his famous zeal, stamina, energy and verve, Nigeria's former President, Olusegun Obasanjo had to learn when to draw the brakes. There were those times his spirit was willing, but his body weak. He had to succumb to the body clockwork to catch some rest. If he still desired to drag his body, he was tactfully restrained by his aides. I know a bit about Obasanjo. I served as his campaign media officer, a job I was enlisted into, even before his formal declaration to contest for the nation's top job. He threw his hat in the…

EXPRESSO 》》》By Steve Osuji It may be uncharitable to call the mission dead on arrival, but the campaign is already as wonky as it can get. Call him Icarus man, rich in hubris and ambition, daring to fly even through the sun. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, BAT, the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), may well be described as the Icarus candidate. Remember Icarus in Greek mythology whose father makes him a contraption of wings using beewax to beat an escape. Father warns him never to fly too low nor too high lest he comes to a certain…