Perspectives
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Onyeka Onwenu: The Elegant Stallion’s final performance, by Tosin Brown
Forty-three years after releasing “For the Love of You,” her debut song and album in 1981, Onyeka Onwenu, widely known as the “Elegant Stallion,” has passed away doing what she loved best—singing and performing. Unknown to many, Onyeka Onwenu’s sterling performance at the 80th birthday ceremony of Chief (Dr.) Stella Okoli on Tuesday, July 30, was her last. The 72-year-old…
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Protests: Not everything legal is expedient, by Tim Akano
N700 billion! KSH 6 billion! The former is the amount Lagos, Nigeria lost in the first 10 days of the #ENDSARS protest, according to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), while the latter represents the losses incurred by the Kenyan government in the early days of the ongoing Gen-Z revolts. Even more alarming, the total number of lives…
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Windfall Tax: Getting the economy to work for all, by Femi Otedola
I write to express my strong support for the implementation of a windfall tax in Nigeria and to highlight the critical role this measure plays in fostering a fairer and more equitable economic environment. This endorsement aligns with the ongoing efforts to reform the Nigerian banking sector, aimed at enhancing economic stability and integrity within our financial institutions. Windfall taxes…
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Protest: What exactly do Nigerians want? By Ismail Omipidan
In June 2024, specifically June 9, I bought a small basket of Irish potatoes for N20,000. However, by yesterday, I bought the same quantity for N6,000 at the Asokoro Extension Market. This contradicts the long-held notion that whatever goes up in Nigeria hardly comes down. The reason for this sudden economic twist, I reckon, is government intervention in the face…
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Hidden agendas behind the protests, by Faruq Atofarati
Suddenly, Asari Dokubo despises them. The Yoruba’s Afenifere does not want them on their lands. The Emirates do not like them. Soludo admonished them, reminding them of the importance of unity. They ignored his advice and found a father figure in Alex Otti, who, like Obi himself, is lost. They haven’t gotten over their loss at the polls—or maybe they…
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Tinubu’s reforms will save Nigerians, not policy flip-flops, by Uche Nnadozie
If you are reading the Financial Times article titled “Shock Therapy Alone Will Not Cure Nigeria’s Economic Ills,” you might think the publication is a disgruntled political party’s media unit or the sore losers of Nigeria’s 2023 general election.This pessimistic piece, filled with conspiracy theories, cherry-picking, confusion, half-truths, and shameless anger-baiting, suggests that Nigeria’s best path forward is backward. Our…
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The Tale of Nigeria’s Dangote and India’s Ambani, by Yushau A Shuaib
The politics of monopoly and oligarchy are familiar phenomena in Nigeria and beyond. During General Sani Abacha’s military rule in the 1990s, while working at the Federal Ministry of Finance, I witnessed the plight of a retired military officer turned entrepreneur. His product was threatened by a competitor who crashed the price of his goods to make that of the…
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Open Letter to the President
July 29. 2024 His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed TINUBU (GCFR), President, Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Aso Villa, FCT, Abuja. Your Excellency, Nationwide Protest: where are the Federal Ministry Of Information and National Orientation Agency? Following the determination of the sworn enemies of democratic order and agents of darkness to unleash violence, pandemonium and chaos on the…
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Protest: Head or tail, we may all end up losers, by Tunde Rahman
All hell has broken loose in Kenya over the tax revolt that has been ravaging the country since June. In the wake of the crisis, part of the parliament building was set on fire by arsonists, and several public buildings were damaged while numerous companies and shops were looted. Emboldened by their relative success in forcing the government to cancel…
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Defense of the indefensible, by Salihu Moh. Lukman
There is a saying in Hausa – shure shure bai hana mutuwa, which literally means ‘struggling to survive does not stop one from dying’. This, perhaps, is the reality facing the government of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. With a protest scheduled to take place on August 1 – 10, 2024, the government is desperately mobilising opposition to the protest.…
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