Opinions

This essay is part of a special edition being published in partnership with Foreign Affairs, titled “African Farmers in the Digital Age.” This anthology explores the future of African food systems and the role that digital solutions can play in overcoming the isolation of smallholder farmers and speeding up rural development. Look for it at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/anthologies on […]Read More

If further proof was ever required that the change-promising APC government of President Buhari does not understand let alone start work on its much vaunted change agenda, one needs look no further than the 2016 Appropriation Bill before the National Assembly. Reports that the 2016 budget went missing, compounded accusations that the Presidency submitted two […]

One of the things I have had to do in recent times was to renew my driver’s licence. This took me to the headquarters of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Abuja. The procedure requires the applicant’s presence: forms to be filled, fees to be paid, fingerprinting to be done, and so, that was […]

January 15 every year is Nigeria’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day: wreaths are laid, statements are made, soldiers, government officials and the Nigerian Legion attend parades, pigeons symbolizing peace are released, a dinner is organized for widows of fallen soldiers and there is so much talk about death and dying for one’s country all in honour […]

By re-stating his commitment to developing the solid minerals sector, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, was ironically pointing at the government’s own inadequacies at identifying what is good for Nigeria and mustering the will to promote it. Fayemi’s latest commitment, expressed during his inaugural press briefing on the activities of the […]

No doubt, the 2015 election in Nigeria will remain one of the most discussed political events in many years to come. This is because a lot of surprises sprang up in its wake and thereafter. Nobody would forget in a hurry the telephone conversation between the two political heavyweights which saw President Goodluck Jonathan conceding […]

Given the deeply entrenched monetary and fiscal policy somersaults that have attended operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for which the Nigerian economy has been thrown into a tail spin, it is almost futile to expect anything good from the apex bank. Given the rash of contradictory policies in the wake of the […]

2015 was a year of defining challenges for Nigeria, and so will be 2016. Of the many momentous events that marked 2015, the general elections and the democratic change that ushered in the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the ruling party and Muhammadu Buhari as President, is one event that would not be forgotten in […]

Just as 2015 was drawing to a close, the world was drawn to Nigeria through the Security Budget revelations which is presently christened Dasukigate in Abuja. The ills as revealed has been to say the least, very mind bogging. For purpose of definition, dasuki here is defined as”receving huge fund meant for a specific purpose, but disbursed to several […]Read More

Since the inauguration of the current government, it has become clear that Nigeria has been under siege for decades, vacillating from one corrupt government to the other with leaders who either lack patriotic commitment for the collective interests of the country or came into office with a deliberate intention to heartlessly destroy the country. It […]

If there is anybody I can vouch for in Buhari’s Cabinet, it is Senator Udoma Udo Udoma. I have known him, and his best friend Keem Bello Osagie, for 30 years. All three of us are graduates of Oxford University, England, although I was there before him and Keem. Udoma is as sharp as a […]

Mr. President, you will recall that I wrote you an open letter on December 28th, 2015 which I sincerely hope that you found most gratifying, illuminating and helpful. That was two days before your Presidential media chat which took place on December 30th. I hereby humbly crave your indulgence to add an addendum to that […]