Guest Columnists

I share Wole Soyinka’s outrage: the roar of a celebrated writer and Nobel Prize winner whose accolades travel ahead of him wherever he goes.   A man who has taught in some of the world’s best universities, and who once destroyed his US Green Card when he felt that country had blundered into irrelevance.   […]

“So, where is President Tinubu, my brother?” “What do you mean where is President Tinubu? He told you and everyone else that he is travelling to France and the UK on a working leave.”  “What else is he doing? What work is he doing? “ “Don’t be rude my friend? Who are you to ask […]

Last Sunday, an interview with former Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Channels Television revealed a lot as he spared no effort in promoting his profile as the new opposition frontrunner against President Bola Tinubu’s comeback bid in 2027.   Sadly, the former governor left many obvious gaps and simply played the ostrich. As the first governor […]

Days after his return from an official trip to Japan and Brazil, President Bola Tinubu last Thursday jetted out on “vacation” to France, his perpetual personal home.   “The vacation will last 10 working days,” a spokesman explained, adding that it is part of his 2025 annual leave.   And for those who are concerned […]

Nigerian leader Bola Tinubu woke up the world last week, declaring he has ended corruption in Nigeria.   But it was Nigerians who were most astounded.   He said, “The reforms I’ve embarked upon since I took over in Nigeria have been very impactful. It was initially painful, but today the result is blossoming…We have […]

I commend Babatunde Fashola, a former Governor and former Minister, for his advocacy of a sports-driven economic model for Nigeria.   Speaking at a book presentation, Fashola said Nigeria’s policymakers had “ignored a solution hiding in plain sight” by failing to fully develop sports as a business and an untapped solution to the country’s youth […]

It is easier to talk if you don’t think but if you think you will think thoroughly before talking, and when you talk, you will work. By now if they have been thinking, it should be clear to the President, Bola Tinubu and operators of his government that ‘Emilokan’ (it’s my turn), is not an […]

Last Friday, August 15, Nigerian leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu departed for the TICAD9 conference in Japan.  Channels TV reported on his interaction with the Loyalty Line at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.   Tinubu’s Airbus ACJ330-200 can typically accommodate 250 to 400 passengers, but may be configured to carry fewer, just like the US president’s […]

The biggest affliction that Nigerians suffer from, individually and collectively, is encapsulated in the common, familiar saying: “Do you know who I am?” It is a statement, a question, rooted in a feeling of superiority towards the other to whom it is directed, a subtle reminder that the person speaking is important, a big man […]

Nigeria’s passport has inched its way up the global mobility ladder, climbing to 88th place in the 2025 Henley Passport Index released this month. The HPI ranks 199 passports against 227 travel destinations; based on the number of destinations a passport holder can access without a visa. The data used comes from the International Air […]

In 2021, Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission published its “INEC Strategic Plan 2022-2026,” the third of the commission’s such plans since 1999.   Introducing it, commission chairman Mahmoud Yakubu described the objective as being “deepening electoral integrity.”   “Recognizing the central role that free, fair and credible elections play in democratic consolidation, the Strategic Planning […]