Perspectives
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No flowers for Obaseki’s afterlife, by John Mayaki
I stumbled upon several posts by a few disgruntled apostles of Godwin Obaseki saying the unpopular ex-governor deserves his “flowers”. Some even said months after leaving office, Obaseki is still governing Edo state. They also declared, “You can never steal Ematon’s glory,” boasting that “Obaseki, Triple A, InfraCorp, and APP, as equity partners, signed the N228bn agreement for the reconstruction…
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Beyond rhetoric: Lagos State’s bold steps towards a cleaner, sustainable future, by Babajide Fadoju
The recent wave of criticism targeting Lagos State’s environmental efforts is not only misleading but dismissive of the substantial work being done to transform the city. It is one thing to critique; it is another to acknowledge real progress. A recent statement from Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour portrays Lagos as an environmental disaster, suggesting that the state has failed in waste…
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Imagine Rivers State without a state of emergency, by Bayo Onanuga
Imagine a Rivers State where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hesitated to declare a state of emergency. The political standoff between the State Assembly and Governor Siminalayi Fubara could have continued and degenerated into violence. Impeachment threats might have spurred attacks on lawmakers by the governor’s supporters, while militants in the creeks—primed to sabotage critical oil infrastructure—could have plunged Nigeria’s oil…
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On the origin of blacks’ underdevelopment, by Baba El-Yakubu
By any reasonable standard, black race is at the bottom of human development pyramid. In any field of human endeavor – material possessions, literature, culture or ability to organize into purposeful society – today, the race is at the lowest level of any scale. It is part of human nature to crave for more and better. All sensible humans aspire…
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Abandoned by wives, how men become bachelors in old age, by Tinuade Ogunlesi
I visited a friend somewhere in Ibadan and in the course of driving me round on a sight-seeing spree, we got to an area with stretches of modest buildings. It was a typical civil servant arena: the houses were beautifully designed bungalows built in the British architectural patterns interspersed with occasional storey buildings. Notably, most of the buildings had attached…
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Natasha and lessons of history, by Omoniyi Ibietan
Natasha is about to be recalled because there’s no organised counterpoise from her side or on behalf of the idea she represents (not on her behalf). Let me clarify right now, that I used the word ‘Natasha’ for convenience and not in solidarity with the uncivil movement that thinks she should be stripped of the title ‘Senator’ because she has…
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Why I am the way I am: Acknowledging Nigeria’s progress, by Kayode Adebiyi
I never meant to write about this, but I decided to after reading a post Olajide Abiola shared, written by Eketti about how you can become a sponge soaking in everything you expose or surround yourself with. Without realizing it, you lose yourself to the extent that you begin to act like what you continually gaze upon. After reading many…
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The imperative of emergency rule in Rivers, by Tunde Rahman
As the leadership crisis rocking Rivers State escalated into the destruction of vital oil and gas infrastructure amid looming impeachment threats against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy Ngozi Odu, President Bola Tinubu wielded the big stick last Tuesday imposing a state of emergency on the oil rich state. He suspended the governor, his deputy and the inflexible state House…
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Tinubu still burning midnight oil-By Kunle Oyatomi
The heights by great men reached and kept/Were not attained by sudden flight,/But they, while their companions slept,/Were toiling upward in the night.-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) American poet. Ex-Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State tells an old story of how he and Wale Tinubu, in their younger days used to trouble Bola Tinubu for money each time they were broke.…
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Prof Niyi Osundare: Celebrating a writer so great yet humble and humane, by Nehru Odeh
Emeritus Distinguished Professor of English, Niyi Osundare is a man of many parts. He defies a single description too. Many describe him as a multiple award-winning poet, writer, academic, activist, scholar, essayist, columnist, public intellectual and playwright who has over the years been the conscience of the nation, speaking truth to power, dialoguing with the country and fighting for the…
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