Category: Leaders

12.39 pm, Saturday, 3rd April, 2021. That was when I last spoke with my friend, Innocent Chukwuma. My calling him was prompted by the disturbing information I just then received from Dr. Chidi Odinkalu that Innocent was unwell and that his condition appeared to be serious. I was alarmed and wasn’t sure if he was able to speak but I… Read More

Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another. Ernest Hemingway I got to hear of Innocent Chukwuma from Prof Okechukwu Ibeanu back in 2005 when I was on my Master’s Degree program in the Political Science Department at the University of Nigeria.… Read More

Nigeria is a 60-year-old marriage that has produced no good fruits but anger, hatred and sadness. The relationship is so fraudulent and manipulative. Obviously the marriage was not planned for futuristic purpose.  The conjugality of being together in a marriage that has sustained several injuries through perseverance and tolerance in order to avoid a divorce that could coerce the children… Read More

The “Fulanization agenda” has only benefited and further empowered Buhari’s rich and powerful friends. The campaign for secession of the Yoruba people from Nigeria has been intensified over the past few weeks. The proponents of this agitation want an independent republic of the Yoruba nation or as they put it – Oduduwa Republic. Their agitation had been taken a step… Read More

I would never have believed that a day would come when a Nigerian judge would engage in street fighting no matter the level of provocation. It was for this reason that I initially thought the video showing a suit-wearing fellow, referred to as a certain powerful judge kicking and slapping a security guard at the Banex Plaza, Abuja last week,… Read More

Writing this tribute is painful because I had intended to celebrate Innocent Chukwuma with a eulogy when he left Ford Foundation as Regional Director for West Africa in December 2020, but life got in the way and I kept pushing it. The plan was to recognize his pioneering efforts in Nigeria’s civic space and his contributions to entrenching democracy in Nigeria, including his fervent support for civic organizations and young emerging… Read More

Nigeria is at a tempestuous crossroads. It will be a failed attempt at casuistry to play down the multi-pronged encumbrances the country is contending with. All is not well. It appears when attention is turned to one problem, another irritation materialises angling for notice. Nigeria has never been this tried and tested by in situ tribulations since the return of… Read More

Tuesday, March 30, 2021, General Muhammadu Buhari for the 12th time jetted to London, UK for “routine medical check up.” Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu said it was unnecessary for Buhari to transmit power to the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. “He (Buhari) will continue from wherever he is,” says Shehu. We have been here before. Nothing is new in Nigeria, a… Read More

On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari travelled to the United Kingdom for a “routine medical check-up”.  Expectedly, the news generated controversies and outrages amongst Nigerians who believe the President acted immorally and illegally by embarking on a foreign medical trip at a time the medical sector of the country is in a shameful mess. While a good number of Nigerians defended… Read More