Perspectives
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Cardinal Onaiyekan’s abuse of clerical privilege — By Temitope Ajayi
There is something fundamentally inappropriate about Cardinal John Onaiyekan granting a television interview to offer his own account and interpretation of what transpired during the private meeting between the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and President Bola Tinubu. It is, in my view, an abuse of clerical privilege. The bishops requested an audience with the president. He granted the audience…
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Chidi Amuta’s ‘Abuja Gangster Chronicles’ and the mind of an incurable cynic — by Fredrick Nwabufo
A principal ingredient of participatory governance is the robustness of views. No government is a monolith of knowledge; hence, a plurality of opinions, thoughts, and criticisms must be welcomed with avid and dispassionate interest. In fact, democracy by its very conception is a theorem of divergence—divergence of thoughts, beliefs, pursuits, persuasions, and backgrounds. Wholesome debates and criticisms enrich governance; they…
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Electricity tariffs: What the minister said and what the minister didn’t say — by Gaffar Tunde
Do we really have the interest of our country at heart or are we hell-bent on seeing them fail? News reports have been fraught with inaccurate details regarding an alleged plan by the Federal Government to increase tariffs and remove subsidies. Many people have been reporting misleading information rather than the facts. Here is an account of the true state…
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Alimi AbdulRazaq at 70: A life of purpose, principle and enduring legacy — by Bashir Adigun
For Dr. Muhammed Alimi AbdulRazaq at a remarkable milestone of seventy years, it’s a fitting moment to celebrate not merely the passage of time, but a lifetime devoted to justice, scholarship, public service, philanthropy and nation-building. Some people accumulate titles; others build institutions. Some pursue success; others create opportunities for succeeding generations. Dr. Alimi AbdulRazaq belongs to the rare class…
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$40bn net reserves, record wealth, relentless poverty: Who is Nigeria’s economy serving today? — by Blaise Udunze
No doubt, it was a welcome announcement that Nigeria’s net foreign exchange (FX) reserves have surged by an astonishing 1,233 percent from about $3 billion to over $40 billion. This would ordinarily be the kind of economic milestone that inspires optimism, coupled with gross external reserves of about $52.52 billion, which are sufficient to finance roughly 11 months of imports…
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The architecture of rebirth: An open letter to Chidi Amuta — by Sunday Dare
I read your recent piece, “Abuja’s Gangster Chronicles,” with the deep reflection I reserve for those who have spent decades in the sacred vineyard of Nigerian commentary. You wield a sharp pen, and your prose has long captured the imaginations of those who debate our national destiny. But as I absorbed your vivid metaphors—of Hollywood scripts, criminal syndicates, and a…
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Atiku’s journey towards infamy, by Kola Amzat
Four months ahead of the 2027 polls, Turaki Adamawa’s presidency bid is already in tatters. The much vaunted long-term aspiration to rule the country might have once again gone up in flames. All indications point to a crushing defeat for the ex-vice president during the forthcoming presidential polls. Suddenly, Atiku has found himself in limbo, literally operating in his own…
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FIFA and Gianni Infantino: A masterclass in how not to win stakeholder votes? — by Victor Oladokun
Football is the world’s most universal language. It doesn’t care about your passport, your bank balance, or your politics. A kid kicking a battered ball in the backstreets of Maiduguri, Nigeria shares the exact same dream as a kid in a top notch academy in Munich, Germany. That is the magic of FIFA. It has always made dreams possible. But…
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The poverty merchants — by Folorunso Adisa
Every economic crisis creates its own predators. In Nigeria, one of the most dangerous is not found in a backstreet office or an unlicensed financial institution. It sits quietly inside millions of smartphones, promising instant relief in moments of desperation. With a few taps, money lands in a borrower’s account. The process is swift, collateral-free and remarkably convenient. However, for…
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The fertiliser crisis that did not quite arrive — by O’tega Ogra
There is a particular kind of Nigerian scarcity that does not announce itself as scarcity at first. It starts with a farmer saying he will wait one more week. Then another week. The rains come properly, and the fertiliser has still not arrived, or it has arrived at a price that changes the entire calculation of the season. A man…
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