Perspectives
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$20.5bn, €1.7bn loans: The noise, the tension and the hidden treasure — by Olabode Opeseitan
By Tuesday afternoon, a section of the country’s media space had worked itself into a familiar frenzy. A routine communication from the Presidency to the National Assembly was recast as a dramatic plea for fresh loans, and within hours the narrative had hardened into something conspiratorial. It was the sort of moment that reveals more about the tenor of public…
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The US midterms: Deeper crisis of American political legitimacy — by Olufemi Awoyemi
The outcome of the 2026 US midterm elections reinforces a proposition I have held for some time. The rise of Trump and MAGA was never simply about one man, his personality or political ideology. It represented something more profound, a rejection of the established political and economic elites and a challenge to the institutional arrangements that have historically sustained American…
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The conspiracy to keep Africa perpetually underdeveloped — by Olabode Opeseitan
If a borrower consistently repays his loans, lenders usually reward him with cheaper credit. That is how finance is supposed to work. Yet when African countries seek to borrow money, they often pay several times more than wealthier nations carrying far larger debt burdens. If Africa’s repayment record does not justify the price it pays for capital, what does? That…
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Inside the Ka’abah: A rare honour and the message from Makkah — by Tunde Rahman
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu arrived in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday for Umrah, the lesser Hajj, it was a private spiritual journey. By Sunday, it had become a moment of national symbolism. In a rare gesture reserved only for visiting Heads of State, monarchs and top dignitaries, the Saudi Royal Court ordered the doors of the Holy Ka’abah to…
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Uzodinma: When Contentment Is Golden, by Kola Amzat
Bizarre things are beginning to take root in the country’s political sphere and it’s an auspicious time the political class, Judiciary, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other stakeholders rise up to declare total war on those obscenity that would continually subject our democratic process to ridicule, scorn and embarrassment. Hope Uzodinma-the incumbent governor of Imo state’s reign as Chief…
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IEA: Nigeria’s LNG deliveries hit six-year high amid Middle East crisis
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says Nigeria’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries rose by around 30 per cent year-on-year between January and October to their highest level since 2020. According to the IEA Global Gas Security Review 2026, released on Tuesday, Nigeria supplied additional LNG to international markets following the escalation of the Middle East crisis and the closure of…
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Utomi’s Laffer Curve misapplication: The right economist, the wrong conclusion — by Segun Showunmi
Professor Pat Utomi, you are invoking the right economist but drawing the wrong conclusion. The Laffer Curve is not an argument against taxation; it is an argument against badly designed taxation. You cannot confuse an inefficient tax system with an efficiently designed one, just as you cannot confuse how much government collects with how responsibly it spends what it collects.…
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In Nigeria, it is turn-by-turn for now! — by Dare Babarinsa
I thank our leaders in the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Ibadan, who have given me the honour of standing before you. Ibadan is an important city. Though it looks old, when you go to Beere, Isale Ofa, Agbokojo and Agbeni, you will understand why John Pepper Clarke described it as “a running splash of rust and gold, flung and scattered…
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Trapped 300 containers: How bureaucratic gridlock left Nigeria in the dark — by Olabode Opeseitan
When Nigerians complain about electricity, they usually complain about what they can see: blackouts, failed businesses, damaged equipment and the steady hum of generators. What they do not see is the paperwork. Sometimes the greatest obstacle to national development is not the absence of resources. It is the inability of institutions to deploy resources already available to them. The story…
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When public institutions respond, citizens regain confidence — by Adisa Folorunso
A few days ago, exhausted from rushing to meet a deadline on a paper I was writing, I decided to take a brief break on social media. The first video that appeared on my TikTok feed was that of a young lady who alleged that she had been sexually harassed by a swimming instructor at the National Stadium, Lagos. Coincidentally,…
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