Politics

BY ABRAHAM OGBODO . The one that is already in and seated is called APC. The one that is outside and itching to be admitted to unseat the one that is seated is called ADC. The difference is in the displacement and replacement of letters P and D. On the surface, this distinction lacks the firmness to affect a clear choice. This means that either of the entities can go or stay, and nothing significant will be lost in content. It is the same as saying that if, per adventure, ADC replaces APC in 2027, it will look like replacing…

FESTUS ADEDAYO Power politics in the animal kingdom could be as intense, deceptive and selfish as it is in the human kingdom. An ancient African allegory whose patent cannot be credited to a particular tradition, illustrates this. It is the fable of an old forest warhorse, the lion. After years of feasting on animals, his mane soaked in their innocent blood, Old Lion became too senescent to haunt for games. Stricken with old age, diverse infirmities and unable to put food on his own table, the King decided to get food by subterfuge and trickery. Always by himself and soaked…

BY ABRAHAM OGBODO There are a few idiomatic expressions around the Catholic Church and the Pope. And that is because the Catholic institutions have endured long enough to constitute part of global folklores. For instance, when cause and reaction are disproportional, there is a description for it that touches on Catholicism and the Pontiff. This is when the man or woman involved is advised not to be more Catholic than the Pope. Listeners will understand at once that the fellow is seeking to be more concerned than he or she that is actually concerned in the matter under review. The…

BY ABRAHAM OGBODO There is something in theology called anthropomorphism . It happens when God assumes the attributes of a human. I can supply an instance right away. Turn to Chapter 3 of the Book of Genesis and read from verses 8 to 10. It says God came down from heaven to the Garden of Eden and was pacing about the beautiful garden in the cool of the evening searching for Adam who was nowhere to be found. Having tasted the forbidden fruit, Adam, the only man that came by the direct creation of God, realised he was naked and…

By SHEDDY OZOENE This is a season of political divorces, that strange separation of godsons from their godfathers and the end to political alliances between people of like interests. The events of the last two weeks were quite revealing, from the rift that blew open in the political relationship between Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu and the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu Lagos in Nigeria to collapse in the political romance between US President Donald Trump and billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk in the United States.  The former is more of a godfather and godson relationship, while the later is/was…

BY ABRAHAM OGBODO Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has a way of saying the right things to court public attention. He talks as if he is one of us and not one of them. He was President Muhammadu Buhari’s minister of transport for eight years. Before then, he had been Governor of Rivers State for eight years too. Altogether, he had been very lucky. He had never been short-changed in the serial partisan transactions in the ongoing Fourth Republic. He knew how to create the right alignments and realignments to secure his due. Even as a rookie, he had started very high.…

By SHEDDY OZOENE Since leaving office in May 2023, former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has evoked all manner of sentiments. While his die-hard supporters idolize him for his perceived integrity and simple mien, most Nigerians write him off as, perhaps, the most inept to ever lead Africa’s most populous Black nation. Indeed, very few people look back at Buhari’s tenure for inspiration or with any nostalgic feeling, not necessarily because the present administration has done substantially better, but because the systemic rot in the nation’s economy assumed a worse dimension on Buhari’s watch.  Buhari sunk so low in the estimation…

Will Fubara return as Rivers Governor? Anyone who believes that after six months, Tinubu will recall Fubara must be living in a fool’s paradise. That is definitely not Tinubu’s plan and it won’t happen unless he sees fire in the eyes of the people. If the idea was for Fubara to come back after six months, then there would have been no need for the state of emergency in the first place. By IKECHUKWU AMAECHI The question that continues to agitate many minds in Nigeria today is: Will Siminalayi Fubara return as the governor of Rivers State after serving out the…

That the 10th Senate has become a theatre of the absurd is an understatement. What is worse, the situation is getting more bizarre by the day, a situation which the theatre critic labelled “the absurdity of the absurd.” Truth be told, Akpabio has done terrible damage to the law making arm of government by his unreasonableness. It is high time he stopped being silly. By IKECHUKWU AMAECHI My March 13, 2025 column titled, “Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension: The joke is on Akpabio, Senate,” elicited diverse comments. I would have been surprised if it didn’t. The roforofo between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and…