Thank God I am back at my duty post! I returned to work today, Wednesday, August 5, 2020 after several weeks away, battling the monstrous Coronavirus. It began with a… Continue Reading

                        His decision to exit the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] for the All Progressive Congress [APC] could not have come at a more convenient time. A time when the current Speaker of the House of Representative Rt. Hon. Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila mandated the Federal Minister of Niger Delta Affair to put his mouth where his money is – and… Continue Reading

There are eerie similarities between Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and Icarus, the son of Daedalus, the famous craftsman in Greek mythology. As the story goes, Icarus and his father attempted to escape from prison using wings that the older man constructed from feathers and wax. Icarus’ father warned him about complacency and hubris and asked that he flew neither too low nor too high so that the sea’s… Continue Reading

                        The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruption for the global health and development community. Patients, especially those with underlying health issues that require continuous management, have found their lives complicated by challenges of access, safety, supply chain logistics, and financial stress like never before. The short-term implications of this global challenge are evident everywhere, but the long-term consequences… Continue Reading

The evolution of cameras has made the public court one of the most reliable sources of undiluted justice for the common man, and has also provided unimpeachable opportunities for proper analysis of controversial events. Festus Keyamo, SAN, the Honourable Minister of State for Labour, has been a leading beneficiary of justice from public courts for over two decades – from the sensitive cases he had handled as a young lawyer… Continue Reading

                                  Let us not talk about any causative relationship between the 5G technology and Coronavirus.  We cannot afford to be as injudicious as the promoters of the idiotic narrative.  But if anyone thinks of possessing a monopoly of silliness, they should also consider the fact that the human mind was forced into civility by education… Continue Reading

On Monday, April 27, 2020, British oil and gas giant, BP, became the latest in a growing number of energy firms to declare a massive quarterly loss. Their loss was in the region of $4.4 billion dollars. Bear in mind that this was a conglomerate that posted a $2.6 billion profit in the corresponding quarter of 2019. The challenges that are already engulfing the oil and gas sector will continue… Continue Reading

    Before the novel coronavirus pandemic hit the globe, Nigeria spent 42% of her earnings on debt servicing. We have arrived at a new reality today: even if we devote 100% of our income to rebuilding our economy, it still will not be enough. COVID19 has wreaked such damage to the world’s economy, and this is now very evident in the West. But we should not take solace in… Continue Reading

Fellow Nigerians, as much as I tried to resist the temptation of offering any advice whatsoever to President Muhammadu Buhari, let me apologise, that because of the recent global crisis that the world faces I will have to do a volte face. It is therefore with a heavy heart that I confess that I’m unable to keep the promise I made recently that I won’t bother about our dear President… Continue Reading

                            Fatality rate across the globe since the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Chinese town of Wuhan on December 31, 2019 has signalled that this is not the best of times for humanity.  With about 8, 988 deaths and 220,877 people infected in 176 countries since the first death was recorded in China on January 11,… Continue Reading

By Igboeli Arinze   What largely appeared to be a family affair has now taken the garb of national prominence becoming one of the enjeux majeaurs in the nation’s public sphere. Trust Nigerians, such drama at best beats any of the soap operas be it local or international. In the cause of such drama truths and half truths are couched side by side, and of course there is the ludicrous… Continue Reading

  Fellow Nigerians, please permit me to start, uncharacteristically, with several preambles, rolled into one today. You will discover why in a jiffy. I’m out to establish some principles that drive and guide me. I hate any form of oppression regardless of who is concerned or affected. One of the reasons Nigeria has been in this monumental mess is due to the wickedness and vindictiveness of our leaders. Lest I forget,… Continue Reading

Let me declare ab initio that I am an interested party in Osun educational matter although Ondo State is my home. All my schooling was done in the then old Oyo State which included today’s Osun. From St. John’s Primary School, Ikire, to Ajangbala DC Primary School, Iwo, down to Akinorun Grammar School, Ikirun and ending up at Cherubim & Seraphim High School, Ilesa, I lived my dawn learning at the feet of… Continue Reading

Just a few days ago, the apex court in Nigeria upheld the disqualification of the Deputy Governor-elect of Bayelsa State who came on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Consequently, the court voided the election of the party’s candidates in the gubernatorial election on the simple ground that no valid ticket existed at the time of the election by the ruling party. The electoral jurisprudence is settled for… Continue Reading

‘If you care about the security of Lagos State, support your Governor on the restriction of Okada and Keke.’’ This was the submission of the former Governor of Lagos State and current Minister of Works, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola at a recent interaction with newsmen in Lagos. I have followed news reports, commentaries, opinion articles and street reactions for and against the restriction on the commercial operations of Okada and… Continue Reading

Yesterday on my Twitter handle, I announced that my response on the disengagement from Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) shall be the subject of discussion in my column today. So, where we are! Tuesday, December 10, 2019, my tenure as the chairman of AMCON would seem to have expired upon the nomination of Mr. Edward Adamu as the new chairman of the bad loan vehicle. News about this development… Continue Reading

By Dele Momodu Fellow Nigerians, as much as one is tempted to gloss over the hullabaloo inside the seat of power in Abuja, it is virtually impossible because there is always one drama or the other emanating from the place too frequently these days. Indeed, the melodrama has since become one day, new scene. Despite endless denials on both sides of the divide by spokespersons for the principal dramatis personae,… Continue Reading

“The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.”                      … Continue Reading

For a financial institution of FirsBank’s pedigree, it is not uncommon for its top managers to be creative and constantly innovative. Indeed, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank, attributes the Bank’s consistent growth in the past 125 years to innovation and reinvention of its products and services aimed at satisfying customers’ needs and aspirations. An elated Adeduntan recently said the Bank was driven by the desire to put… Continue Reading

From 6:30am up to about 9:30am, and most times, till noon, motorists plying the ever-busy Lekki-Epe Expressway from Ajah axis inward Victoria Island and other parts of Lagos, now have a daily ordeal of traffic snarl to contend with. Arguably, the axis is the busiest not only in Nigeria but in Africa on account of the fact that it houses the headquarters of major multi-national corporations and other organisations, including financial institutions, oil companies,… Continue Reading

A “technically” incompetent Chief Justice of Nigeria By Farooq Kperog A trending video clip of the senate confirmation hearing of Chief Justice of Nigeria Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad where he betrayed mortifying ignorance of the meaning of the term “technicality” aggrandises the point I made in my April 20, 2019 column titled “Atiku’s Citizenship and Buhari’s Illiterate Lawyers” about Buhari’s love affair with incompetence and mediocrity. I noted that, “The law… Continue Reading

I ran for the Senate with a determination to qualitatively represent the magnificent people of Kogi-East. I had prepared well ahead for any of the two credible outcomes but there was, to be, a third and a even a fourth: The third is the “middle-of-the-road” outcome wherein you are neither the victor nor the vanquished and the fourth, to have to accept and answer to congratulations for a ‘conflict’ which… Continue Reading

The Economist reviewed the first term of President Muhammadu Buhari and concluded that Nigerians became poorer during his first four years in office. The magazine, in the publication, which was posted on its website on Thursday, said while the Nigerian economy was “stuck like a stranded truck,” average incomes fell during the four-year period covering 2015 to 2019. Opposition parties led by the Peoples Democratic Party agreed with the magazine’s… Continue Reading

Dear Chief Tinubu, The backpage of your The Nation of Tuesday 12 March where one of your Rottweilers under the FORGED name “Segun Ibirogba” wrote “Odumakin’s anxiety over vanishing feeding-bottles” has un-paused the button on this serial. I have always wondered why these intellectual almajiris around you always attack me under fake names.It is either they are afraid of me or they don’t believe in you to risk their names… Continue Reading

One would have thought that a recent strong-worded rebuke by a moral authority and erudite professor of law, Itse Sagay, would serve as a cautionary tale to Mr. Yinka Odumakin, to turn a new leaf. In the article under reference, Professor Sagay dismissed the self-styled spokesman of Afenifere as the very opposite of the high principles that the Yoruba socio-cultural organization founded by Obafemi Awolowo is supposed to stand for. He… Continue Reading

Here is yet another account of what I saw in the politics of Ogun State and Nigeria. One of my early teachable moments was the realisation that you are required to dress like the people whose votes you are looking for, and operate at that level, be like them, connect with them. When the 2019 political struggle began, I used to attend meetings wearing suits. Party members looked at me… Continue Reading

I am concerned as a democrat who believes that with faithful and diligent practice of democracy, we can get over most of our political problems and move steadfastly and surefootedly on the course of stability, unity of purpose, socio-economic growth and progress for all. Democracy becomes a sham if elections are carried out by people who should be impartial and neutral umpires, but who show no integrity, acting with blatant… Continue Reading

By Dele Momodu Fellow Nigerians, despite the open and brazen braggadocious posturings of the ruling party, things seem to be fast falling apart within the All Progressives Congress (APC). The arrogance of power probably must have misled some of the powerful gladiators in the party that they are invincible and infallible. But unwarranted arrogance and pride go forth before a calamitous fall. There seems no doubt that the APC also… Continue Reading

My column on the back page of the Nigerian Tribune on Saturday. My column will no longer appear in the Daily Trust. I’ll write about that when I get a moment. Snippet: “In my October 6, 2018 column titled “Three Reasons You Should be Worried about 2019 Elections,” I pointed out that “You don’t need special prognostic powers to know that the 2019 elections will be fraught with frightening fraud.”… Continue Reading

By Dele Momodu Fellow Nigerians, today’s epistle was inspired last minute by an encounter I had last night with a Buharideen. I had been contemplating what to write about this week when I ran into a staff of Indomie Noodles, the most popular noodle-processing company possibly in Africa, at a restaurant in Ikeja, Lagos. The gentleman had walked up to me for a quick chat, which was perfectly in order,… Continue Reading