Category: Opinions

I commend the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association for its prompt response to the court invasion by the DSS. The statement issued is very encouraging and timely indeed. That is what is expected, given that the main objective of the NBA is to promote the rule of law. I suggest the following further steps: 1. A meeting with the… Read More

There are too many civilised “nonentities” in Nigeria that think that they are trendy and classy just because they don’t comment on national developments. I understand if you are satisfied with your salary, three bedroom flat and used SUV and as a result have no dreams for the country of your birth. I personally have a dream for Nigeria and… Read More

On June 12, 2018, Joshua Dariye, former Plateau State governor and senator, huddled in the dock awaiting the verdict of fate for pilfering N1.6bn public funds at a high court of the Federal Capital Territory. Dariye was lachrymal, wiping hot tears from his eyes. Before the senator was handed a 14-year jail sentence by Adebukola Banjoko, the presiding judge, he… Read More

The crucial element that has been missing in the fight against corruption in Nigeria is the absence of a high-profile conviction that will deter offenders from engaging in corrupt acts. And what better way is there to cross that threshold than sending one of the symbols of corruption in Nigeria in the 4th Republic, Orji Uzor Kalu, to prison.  With… Read More

With DSS’ bold outlaw, subnormal intelligence, defective disposition, and outright violation of different court orders, it has become indisputably clear that Nigeria’s democracy has been militarised. The 9th rubber-stamp National Assembly that is supposed to restrain the overreaching extents of the executive has openly obliged to doing the bidding of the executive. Obviously, the legislative arm of government in Nigeria… Read More

Few hours ago, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered the Department of State Services to release Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare within 24 hours. Justice Ojukwu also awarded N100, 000 against DSS for the continued detention of Sowore despite being granted bail by two court orders. In my opinion, the ruling of Justice Ojukwu is too… Read More

I never believed Nigeria was serious about starting a Transportation University until Monday when President Muhammadu Buhari and other government officials commissioned the project in Daura, the President’s home town. The university, according to Transportation Minister, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, is a response to the question of how Nigeria would maintain and manage its railway infrastructure. The reason given notwithstanding, the… Read More

Nigeria’s 2019 elections, particularly the recent governorship contests in Kogi and Bayelsa states, have forcefully brought back a prediction which the late Tai Solarin made about 40 years ago in the aftermath of the 1979 elections. Of course, recalling this prediction is also recalling my response to it at the time. I was then 33. It is appropriate to begin… Read More

It is estimated that no fewer than 25 million people are living with disabilities in Nigeria. This includes millions of children who daily face discrimination and in some cases abuse due to their disability. Earlier in the year, there was the case of seven-year old Imran Kanun Muhammad which was widely reported in the media. As a child with a disability,… Read More

What does one do when institutions entrusted with our very lives betray that trust in one’s most vulnerable moment? Few months ago in Lagos, a young lady, Ruth, was run into by a speeding car. She was rushed to the nearest hospital with hopes that she would be saved. That hospital turned her down, not because she was dead already,… Read More