OBLONG MEDIA GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE is where independent minds meet to dissect politics, society, power, and global affairs without fear or filters. This is not mainstream media.
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Nigeria is not collapsing. Neither is it reforming. What the country is experiencing is something more deliberate, more controlled, and ultimately more dangerous: a managed breakdown. Living standards deteriorate, institutions weaken, and public trust erodes, yet the system remains stable enough to endure. Pain is normalised. Expectations are lowered. And power is preserved. This moment is routinely described as a period of “necessary sacrifice” on the road to renewal. Nigerians are told to endure hardship today for prosperity tomorrow. But the structure beneath the suffering tells a different story. The hardship is not transitional. It is structural. The central illusion…
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An Oblong Media Unlimited Global Situation Report. Written in the spirit of TIME, but without the euphemisms. INTRODUCTION: THE YEAR THE MASKS FELL By early 2026, the world had crossed an invisible line.Not because a single war ended.Not because inflation vanished.Not because leaders suddenly became honest. But because pretence finally became impossible to sustain. The language of diplomacy no longer matches the reality on the ground. Institutions speak of order while chaos spreads. Governments speak of recovery while households count losses. The powerful speak of rules while breaking them openly. 2026 is the year humanity stopped arguing about what the…
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“Instead of politicians, let the monkeys govern the country. At least they will steal only bananas”. That old line lands harder in Nigeria today than when it was first muttered in frustration. It is no longer satire. It is an observation wrapped in laughter to dull the pain. Every election cycle, every scandal, every budget padding revelation, every viral video of a public officer explaining the unexplainable forces a simple question on even the most patient citizens. How did we get here and why do people still defend this madness with religious devotion. We all know that friend. Educated. Articulate.…
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An Oblong Media Unlimited report building on earlier Oblong Media analyses on fiscal federalism and the capture of local government resources. President Bola Tinubu has moved the long running dispute over local government finances into the open, warning state governors that he may issue an executive order and enforce direct FAAC deductions if they continue to frustrate the Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to Nigerias third tier of government. The warning was delivered at the 15th National Executive Committee meeting of the All Progressives Congress at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja. Speaking before governors and party leaders,…
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An Oblong Media Unlimited Report Moscow has introduced a new and highly consequential political variable into the Ukraine war. One that ties military restraint directly to electoral legitimacy. Speaking this week, President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia would consider halting deep strikes inside Ukraine on the very day a presidential election is held, provided certain conditions are met. Chief among them is the participation of millions of Ukrainian citizens currently living inside Russia. This is not a ceasefire offer in the conventional sense. It is a political challenge wrapped in military leverage. The Core Russian Position According to the Kremlin,…
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The Political Year: Power Plays, Personalities, and the Long March to 2027 An Oblong Media Unlimited outlook By 2026, Nigeria will be living inside politics. Governance, policy choices, defections, and even silence will be read through one lens only: who controls 2027. This is the year when masks drop, alliances harden, and ambition becomes open. The Incumbency Factor President Bola Ahmed Tinubu enters 2026 with the full weight and burden of incumbency. His administration frames the year as a consolidation phase, selling reform continuity, economic stabilization, and long term pain for long term gain. Supporters argue that subsidy removal, exchange…
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Before senatorial zones, before zoning bargains, before military shortcuts, oil calculations and administrative gymnastics, territorial identity in Eastern Nigeria followed a clear and logical order. That order was colonial administration with all its known and understandable imperfections. Under that system, Ohaji, Egbema and Oguta sat firmly within the Owerri administrative universe, alongside territories that extended as far as Port Harcourt. Owerri Division and Owerri Province explained plainly. Much of todays confusion flows from a basic failure to separate Owerri Division from Owerri Province. Owerri Division was a local administrative unit used for courts, taxation and native authority control. Owerri Province…
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A Legal and Economic Critique of Systemic Monopoly Power under the FCCPA, 2018. By Charles Ude Esq. Introduction: This paper examines the legal and economic implications of monopoly power and abuse of dominance within Nigeria’s competition law framework. It interrogates the emerging dominance of the Dangote Group across strategic sectors of the Nigerian economy, most notably the downstream petroleum market,through the prism of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), 2018. Particular attention is directed at the recent fuel price reductions announced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. While these reductions appear, at first glance, to offer immediate consumer relief,…
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For more than two decades, Imo State has carried a peculiar political burden. Since the return to civil rule in 1999, no sitting governor has managed to determine who succeeds him. Each outgoing administration has tried, and each has failed. Not because succession is impossible in theory, but because Imo politics has proven uniquely hostile to handovers that appear choreographed, arrogant, or poorly negotiated. From HE Achike Udenwa to HE Ikedi Ohakim and HE Rochas Okorocha, the pattern has been consistent: elite revolt, federal recalibration, party implosion, or popular backlash. In Imo, power does not flow neatly from one hand…
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In Nigeria’s long and troubled democratic journey, one debate keeps resurfacing whenever elections approach or appointments are made: should governance and representation be driven by experience or by character? While experience has its place, Nigeria’s lived reality increasingly shows that character, not experience, is the more decisive requirement for leadership in today’s political environment. Nigeria is not short of experienced politicians. Many of those who have governed at federal, state and local levels have spent decades within the system. They understand how government works, how budgets are passed, how committees function and how power is negotiated. Yet, despite this abundance…
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A Life of Grace, Grit, Wanderings, Reinvention and Destiny On Tuesday, 16 December 2025, I stand on the sixth floor of life. Sixty years, preserved not by chance, not by strength alone, but by the unmistakable, omnipotent grace of the Almighty Architect of the Universe. This is not merely a birthday.It is a testimony. I was born at dawn on Thursday, 16 December 1965, at Whittington / St Marys Hospital, Islington, London, the first of 4 siblings to two exceptional parents: a disciplined, visionary telecommunications engineer and a compassionate, highly trained thoracic nurse. From birth, excellence surrounded me, but life…
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“That his line will continue forever and endure before Me like the sun.”Psalm 89:36 As I stand on the threshold of my 60th birthday, stepping boldly into the sixth floor by the grace of the Almighty Architect of the Universe, this verse resonates with a depth I can no longer ignore. It is not just about a promise to David, it is about heritage, continuity, and the unbroken arc of destiny.It is about a life preserved, guided, protected, and uplifted by divine hands even in the darkest valleys.It is about a lineage that God Himself has sustained through storms, trials,…
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Bienvenue au Sixième Étage. 16•12•2025 On the 16th of December 2025, I, Hon. Duruebube Chima ‘Oblong’ Nnadi-Oforgu, will step boldly into the Sixth Floor. A new chapter. A higher realm. A milestone carved not by mere years, but by battles fought, storms survived, destinies shaped, and divine grace overflowing. This is not just a birthday.It is a celebration of existence.A thanksgiving for a life lived under the unyielding watch of the Almighty God, the Eternal Architect who designed my path long before I took my first breath. MY STORY: FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO THE SIXTH FLOOR I came into this…
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Mobutu Sese Seko’s rise in Zaire was anchored on the construction of a powerful cult personality, where he projected himself as the “Messiah of Zaire,” “The All-Knowing Leader,” and the embodiment of national destiny. Similarly, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s political machinery has cultivated a growing aura of cult worship, symbolized by the “Emilokan” doctrine, mandatory initiation of people with compulsory wearing of jagaban’s cap with its insignia and the deliberate projection of Tinubu as the irreplaceable stabilizer of Nigeria. Both leaders used controlled narratives, loyalist propaganda, and media dominance to elevate personal prestige above institutional legitimacy, thereby shrinking critical inquiry…
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A Testimony of Survival, Discipline, and Divine Mercy (Oblong @ 60 – Lecture Series, as I Approach the Sixth Floor) As I approach my 60th birthday, the sixth floor by God’s grace, I have spent considerable time pondering how best to thank God for sparing my life, and how to give a proper advisory testimony that does justice to His grace, mercy, and quiet miracles in my journey. I eventually came to this conclusion:My 60th birthday is not just a celebration of years; it is an altar of gratitude.A moment to tell my story plainly, truthfully, and reverently, so that…
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HERE IS THE ANALYSIS: Northern Nigeria has 19 states and 19 governors. Out of these, 10 governors are Fulanis, while the remaining 9 governors represent over 300 other ethnic groups in the region. Now, consider this:The Hausa ethnic group, with a population of over 66 million according to World Atlas—that’s over 55% of the entire Northern population—has no single governor. All their states are ruled by Fulanis, who have a population of just 13 million, barely 11% of the Northern population. Nigeria is composed of three major ethnic groups: Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo with Hausas having the largest population. Yoruba…
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INTRO: THE TRUTH NOBODY WANTS TO SAY ALOUD. From the moment Fredrick Lugard forcibly stitched Nigeria together in 1914, one ethnic group has poured its sweat, genius, mobility, enterprise, and blood into keeping this artificial creation alive.Ndi Igbo. While others stood still, we moved.While others debated identity, we built cities.While others feared the new Nigeria, we invested our future into it. And yet, after 111 years of nation-building, the Igbo stand as the single group that has given the most to Nigeria and received the least in political reward, infrastructural equity, and national recognition. This is not sentiment.This is history.This…
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As we grow older, life quietly teaches us a bitter but necessary truth: not every friend you started with is meant to journey with you to the end. Some relationships enrich you. Others drain you. And a dangerous few lurk in the grey zone, smiling in your presence, bitter in your absence, and secretly waiting for the moment your shine unsettles their shadows. Human nature is complex, and nowhere is this complexity more visible than in friendship. The psychology of friendship reveals that envy, resentment, and insecurity are never far away when one person begins to rise, financially, socially, or…
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Politics in Nigeria is a battlefield of perception, where reputation, influence, and propaganda intertwine. Within this often turbulent arena, Senator Hope Uzodinma, the Executive Governor of Imo State, has risen as a complex, consequential figure whose political evolution mirrors the transformation underway in Imo itself. Yet beyond the politics, beyond the battles and rivalries, something profound happened today, something that reminded us of who we are and what truly matters: Imo State is all we have.And for the first time in a long while, many of us felt an unmistakable sense of pride in being Imolite. A Turning Point: Imo…
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Colonial Nigeria was marked by its own policies of racial segregation. Ikoyi was an epitome of this: it was designated as “European reservations” and reserved for white officials and businessmen. Nigerians were not allowed to live there. The MacGregor Canal was built, in part, to separate Ikoyi from the rest of Lagos. Public facilities and hotels were also racially segregated, with native Nigerians unable to access or use them. However, a seemingly minor incident happened at Bristol Hotel, Ikoyi, in 1947. It would spark a protest movement that nipped this evil in the bud and altered the course of Nigerian…
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For years, Nigeria’s spiralling violence, especially in the Middle Belt, has been framed almost exclusively through the lens of religion. Recent assessments by the U.S. Congress amplify this perspective, presenting the crisis as a campaign of Christian persecution. While this interpretation captures part of the truth, it fails to grasp the deeper, more decisive forces driving the violence. Religion is present.Religion is weaponised.Religion shapes the language of terror. But religion is not the engine of this crisis. Behind the scenes lies a far more complex reality: a billion-dollar criminal enterprise centred on mineral extraction, political complicity, and geopolitical opportunism. Until…
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For decades, Nigeria has wrestled with the temptation to frame every national crisis through the lens of religion. Analysts, politicians, and commentators often reach for religious explanations because they appear familiar, emotive, and ready-made. But reducing Nigeria’s escalating insecurity to a “religious war” is not only misleading, it obscures the far deeper, more dangerous forces driving the violence. Behind the smoke of extremist rhetoric and the sensationalism of blasphemy mobs lies a cold, calculated, and highly profitable ecosystem of mineral extraction, political protection, criminal syndicates, and elite complicity. Nigeria’s insecurity is not fundamentally about religion. It is mostly about money,…
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For decades, Nigerians have been deliberately miseducated. Many genuinely believe that anti-Igbo hostility began in 1966.That is false. Extremely false. Historically dangerous. The truth, hidden, buried, and whitewashed, is that the slaughter of Easterners began long before independence, long before the coups, and long before Biafra. Let us pull back the curtain. 1. THE FIRST POGROM: JOS, 1945 Yes, 1945. Twenty-one years before 1966. Easterners, overwhelmingly Igbo traders, artisans, and workers, were attacked, killed, and dispossessed in Jos. Shops were looted.Homes burned.Bodies left on the streets.Survivors fled in lorries back east. This was the first organised, ethnically targeted massacre of…
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THE SHADOW SYNDICATE: How Nigeria’s Governments Became Too Compromised to Name Terror Sponsors, From Jonathan to Buhari to Tinubu Foreword This article is an expanded, updated and heavily enriched version of my earlier investigations dating back to 2017, when Nigeria was drowning under the insecurity, corruption, and internal betrayal of the Buhari administration. Regrettably, more evidence has now emerged confirming that what we suspected then was not conspiracy theory, it was Nigeria’s tragic, documented reality. Today, insecurity has metamorphosed from Boko Haram insurgency into a nationwide cancer of banditry, jihadist expansionism, pastoralist militancy, illegal miner–mercenary networks, arms smuggling syndicates, and…
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“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NKJV) PROPHETIC REVELATIONS AND NATIONAL WARNINGS Trump is displeased with Nigeria’s move toward BRICS because Nigeria is Africa’s largest market; joining BRICS threatens the dominance of the US dollar. He may send deadly mercenaries stronger than ISWAP/Boko Haram—Nigeria will pay the bill. He will push for arms sales to Nigeria. The US embassy already updates Trump daily; he does not rely on Nigerian media. Nigerian Christian leaders living false spiritual lives will be exposed. Many…
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Senator Hope Uzodimma’s trajectory in Nigerian politics has been one of steady ascent, strategic positioning, and undeniable influence, culminating in his emergence as arguably the most powerful and top-ranking Igbo politician in this political dispensation. His latest appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu further cements that status. President Tinubu has named Imo state Governor Senator Hope Uzodimma as the Renewed Hope Ambassador ahead of the national launch of the Federal Government’s Ward Development Programme. This was announced in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday. Governor Hope Uzodimma has…
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Why This article Matters, And Why Now. This article is not merely a narrative of political activism; I have tried my best to break it down as much as I can to aid readability and understanding. it is a chronicle of a people’s trauma, resistance, and survival in a country that has treated them with deep suspicion since 1966. The modern Nigerian state has never fully understood the Igbo quest for dignity. It has instead oscillated between denial, brutality, and propaganda, refusing to acknowledge the legitimate grievances that birthed IPOB and inflamed the Southeast. This work documents, with clarity and…
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There is a slow-burning crisis in Nigeria that rarely makes headlines, yet it is more dangerous than inflation, insecurity, or corruption. It is the frightening tendency of seemingly educated Nigerians to abandon rational thinking and collapse into emotion, sentiment, and ideological indoctrination at the slightest provocation. I first observed it during heated debates about Gaza. Then I saw it again in discussions about Ukraine. And now, in the ongoing discourse surrounding the Nnamdi Kanu issue, it has become undeniable: many Nigerians who appear educated on paper are completely incapable of objective reasoning when confronted with narratives that challenge their emotions…
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How Nigeria’s Internal Failures, American Geopolitics, and Hidden Sponsors Brought Us to the Brink, And Why Vigilance, Strategy, and Exposure Must Be Our Next Weapons There is a dangerous storm gathering over Nigeria. A storm fed by half a century of unresolved injustice in the East, a decade of escalating jihadist violence in the North, a political class addicted to denial, and now a resurrected U.S. posture under President Trump promising military intervention “guns-a-blazing.” But beneath the noise lies a deeper truth, a truth Nigeria has refused to confront and America is exploiting: Nigeria’s insecurity crisis was never just about…
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Nigeria did not wake up one morning to find IPOB on the streets. Nigeria created the conditions. Nigeria watered the soil, planted the seeds, and nurtured the roots of a crisis that has now lasted decades. To understand the burning wounds of the Southeast today, you must first walk through the ashes of yesterday, the betrayals, massacres, military invasions, political manipulations, and a half-century of unresolved trauma. The story begins long before Nnamdi Kanu, before ESN, before sit-at-home, before unknown gunmen. It begins in 1966, when the first cracks of hatred split the country apart. Back then, tens of thousands…
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Why the World Is Alarmed, Why the Center Can No Longer Hold, and Why National Re-negotiation Has Become Urgently Unavoidable. There comes a moment in the life of every nation when reality refuses to be masked by propaganda, by the empty chants of “one Nigeria,” or by the forced optimism of a political class feeding fat on a dying system. Nigeria has reached that point. Not because her citizens suddenly stopped loving their country, but because the structure they were forced into has been collapsing for decades.Not because Nigerians are unwilling to coexist, but because those who insist on “unity…
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A NATION BUILT ON DEMOGRAPHIC FICTION. Nigeria’s census crisis did not begin today. It is not a modern accident. It was engineered, deliberately, strategically, and with ruthless colonial precision, by the British long before independence. Every nation must confront its historical truths. Nigeria, unfortunately, has spent decades running away from one of its most dangerous lies:its population figures. THE COLONIAL ROOT OF THE LIE: HOW BRITAIN RIGGED THE FIRST CENSUSES. Starting from 1911 all the way to 1952/53, the British manipulated Nigeria’s census figures with a singular objective: To manufacture a permanent demographic advantage for the Northern Protectorate. Why? Because…
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Who is really paying for Nigeria’s bloodbath? We talk endlessly about “terrorists”, “Fulani herdsmen”, “bandits”, “unknown gunmen” – as if they are ghosts who appear from thin air, armed to the teeth, fuelled, fed and endlessly resupplied by magic. They are not ghosts. They are funded. And the sponsors are not barefoot militants in the bush – they are people in suits, kaftans and uniforms; sitting in air-conditioned offices in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Dubai and beyond. This is an attempt to pull back the veil. In 2022, the Nigerian government quietly admitted that 96 terrorism financiers had been identified by…
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This article is an edited, expanded and fully updated version of an investigative piece I first published in 2017, at the height of the insecurity, confusion, and national hopelessness that characterised the Buhari administration. At that time, Nigeria was engulfed in violence and uncertainty, and many of the warning signs we highlighted were ignored, dismissed, or politicised. What was then a rising threat has since transformed into a coordinated ecosystem of violent extremism. The unchecked spread of religious fundamentalism, the infiltration of jihadist ideologies into rural and urban communities, and the subtle expansionist drive of armed groups across territorial lines…
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Prof Chidi Osuagwu of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, at this year’s Ezumezu Lecture, a colloquium organized by the Obowu Development Association (Federated), on the 16th of August, in Obowo, discuses identity crisis with its debilitating effects in Africa and Nigeria. In his paper entitled Obowu Identity. Recovery and Rectification in Post-invasion Africa presented before scholars, political leaders, various cultural and professional groups, traditional rulers and government leaders Osuagwu delves into the age long Ikwerre-Igbo identity conflict and the Aro roots of this crisis. He also explains why Port Harcourt and Anioma States were not created in…
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A lot happens in Nigeria that, if you did not witness it yourself, you would swear it was impossible. Some events are so bizarre, so grotesque in their violation of common sense and morality, that even D.O. Fágúnwà’s magical adventures in Ìrìnkèrindò Nínú Igbo Elegbeje pale beside them. Yet these are not tales from another world; they are the lived realities of our republic. From time to time, I feel compelled to share some of these experiences, not to dramatize, but to awaken. Our democracy is sinking, and few institutions illustrate this decline more starkly than the judiciary. We complain…
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When you visit an ECD school in Zimbabwe today, it’s a beautiful sight. You’ll see tiny kids running around in colorful uniforms black and white children, same classrooms, same toys, same lunchboxes. At that level, there is no race, only innocence. Move up to primary school same thing. Black and white pupils still sit together, learning the same alphabet, reciting the same national pledge, and dreaming the same dreams. Go to secondary school the mixture is still there, though the ratio begins to shift. You start noticing that the black students are more in number, but the white students still…
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A Revealing Exposé for Viral Effect – From the Stable of Oblong Media. There is a frightening truth lurking beneath the surface of Ala Igbo, one so uncomfortable, so deeply rooted, and so dangerously ignored that many prefer to pretend it does not exist. But reality does not disappear because a people are afraid to confront it. Sometimes, it sits quietly… waiting. And then, one day, history demands accountability. Today, Ndi Igbo stand on the brink of an existential fracture, one engineered systematically, welcomed foolishly, and fuelled shamelessly by our own elders and politicians, past and present. A people once…
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In every society, leadership carries a sacred responsibility that goes beyond titles and public appearances. True leadership requires speaking boldly when circumstances demand clarity and direction. When leaders remain silent in moments of crisis, their silence does not stay neutral. Silence becomes a message on its own, and often that message communicates approval, weakness, or indifference. In a world where injustice thrives when ignored, silent leadership becomes an accomplice rather than a shield for the people. History consistently shows that injustice grows strongest in environments where leaders refuse to speak up. Oppression does not always begin with loud acts of…
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For those of us that are 50 years old and above and who had the privilege to live in Owerri during our growing up, life in the old school days was sweeter, more secured and more loving than what obtains today. Some times when I take a retrospective look at when we grew up in the “Old Owerri,” I am compelled to affirm the saying that. “Uwa Mbu Kà Nmà Dàà”! (Life In The Olden Days Was Better). It is, of course, ironical to say that life in those days was better than now that you have almost everything, color…
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Good governance is not always loud. Sometimes, it works best in silence. Governor Hope Uzodinma may not have the most likeable personality or the loudest megaphone, but if you take a closer look, you will see his fingerprints on real structural shifts happening across Imo. If sustained, this model could make Imo the economic anchor of the South-East, a model of tech-driven, infrastructure-led, energy-secure, security-conscious development. I am not asking anyone to suspend criticism. I am simply saying: look deeper. Judge not only by perception but by evidence. Reality, quietly, is overtaking the noise. In recent months, debates around governance…
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Nigeria’s political landscape is loud, complex, and often divided along emotional, sentimental and ethnic lines. Yet, in the midst of this fragmentation, one man from the East is quietly stitching together a new national fabric.His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, CON., has emerged as the most strategic bridge-builder the East has produced in recent memory. This recognition does not come from sentiment; it comes from evidence. A Leader Who Understands His Roots, but Refuses Their Limitations For decades, Eastern political ambition has been hampered by historical setbacks and divisive narratives. Many leaders grew weary, retreating into isolationist thinking that limited…
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The Trump administration is dangerously misreading the conflict and its causes. In less than 48 hours, President Donald Trump went from announcing that he would designate Nigeria a “country of particular concern,” a State Department label that admonishes countries that fail to protect religious freedom, to announcing that he was preparing a military intervention to save Nigerian Christians. Policy swings are not uncharacteristic of this president, but the abrupt embrace of a “responsibility to protect” mindset from someone who has long claimed to oppose military interventions represents a remarkable pivot. Christians absolutely are being threatened and killed in parts of…
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The recent Prime Business Africa piece (“ISIS Dares Trump: ‘Act On Christian Genocide!’,” 8 Nov 2025) highlights ISIS propaganda about attacking Christians and tries to box U.S. policy into that frame. It doesn’t provide casualty data or a full victim profile of ISIS violence. Treat it as a rhetorical provocation, not a statistical account. Nigerians, listen: the violence ripping through our towns and villages is not a holy war between Christians and Muslims. It is terrorism, a brutal mixture of criminal gangs, marauding militias, religious extremists, land-grabbers and conquest-driven groups who kill, kidnap and terrorise for power, profit and impunity.…
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Once again, the merchants of moral sermon from across the Atlantic have mounted their pulpit, wagging fingers and quoting scripture about “religious freedom” in Nigeria, as if Washington suddenly found a conscience between its drone strikes and regime-change escapades. Now, Nigeria is being told it’s on the CPC blacklist, accused of “religious persecution.” Oh, how noble! The same America that flattened Iraq for oil under the guise of “Weapons of Mass Destruction” and bombed Libya into the Stone Age in the name of “humanitarian intervention” now wants to save Nigerian Christians from extinction. What a beautiful lie dressed in diplomacy…
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I am not engaging in rhetoric or supporting or opposing, as many Nigerians are doing right now. I want to present the facts I have gathered through research and personal investigation. I spent forty-five years in the political space of Nigeria, serving as an elected member of the Federal House of Representatives, representing Ikeja Federal Constituency under the UPN (2nd Republic), and as a State Commissioner under the administration of H.E. Senator Justus Gbenga Daniel in Ogun State. I was a former Board Member of the National Institute for Policy & Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos (2006-2007). My Doctoral studies…
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When you look closely at what is going on, you begin to see the pattern. The same people who cried “genocide against white farmers in South Africa” are now crying “Christian persecution in Nigeria.” And just like before, the goal is not compassion, it is control. It is about using religion and fear to justify America’s next move in Africa. Donald Trump, now loud as ever, has turned Nigeria into his new talking point, painting a picture of Christians being wiped out by Muslims, while ignoring the real truth: America is once again setting the stage for interference, resource grabbing,…
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In 2015, Sudan’s then-president Omar al-Bashir made a shocking claim, that the CIA and Mossad were behind ISIS and Boko Haram. The Western press dismissed it as delusional rambling from a man accused of war crimes. Yet, nearly a decade later, pieces of that puzzle are fitting disturbingly well. What if Nigeria’s endless insecurity is not merely a byproduct of bad governance, but a deliberate geopolitical chess move? What if the same playbook used in Iraq, Libya, and Venezuela is being quietly applied here under the guise of “fighting terrorism” or “protecting Christians”? The 2014 Wikileaks cables exposed something Nigerians…
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I will continue to sound the warning to Nigerians. Despite the apparent Christian persecution narrative being promoted internationally, what we face in Nigeria today is a national insecurity crisis that knows neither tribe nor religion. It cuts across regions, driven by economics, politics, and power struggles, not purely faith. The tragedy is national, and addressing it demands sober reflection, not sentimental manipulation. The Anatomy of our Insecurity: Beyond the Headlines In the Middle Belt, the crisis is not just communal or religious; it is multifaceted, deeply rooted in the scramble for rare-earth mineral resources, land grabbing, and pastoral criminality. Banditry…
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Politics in Nigeria is a battlefield of perception, where reputation, influence, and propaganda intertwine. Within this often turbulent arena, Senator Hope Uzodinma, the Executive Governor of Imo State, has risen as a complex and consequential figure whose political journey mirrors the evolution of modern Nigerian politics. From Senator to Strategist Before his emergence as governor, Uzodinma had long earned recognition as a skilled political operator in Abuja’s power circles. His tenure in the Senate was not merely legislative; it was a strategic apprenticeship in national politics. Through alliances, negotiations, and committee leaderships, he became a voice that carried weight beyond…
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It is time Nigerians stopped taking every foreign pronouncement as gospel truth and began to read between the lines. Too many times, we have watched the same script play out, only the stage changes. The same voices that now pretend to be saviours were the ones who once stood aside while our people bled. In recent weeks, the United States, has been painting Nigeria as a land where Christians face extermination. Trump has accused our government of complicity, placed us on a so-called “watch list,” suspended aid, and even instructed the Pentagon to prepare for possible “military action.” At first…
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For over a decade, Nigeria has been trapped in a vicious cycle of bloodshed, from the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast, to the farmer-herder conflicts ravaging the Middle Belt, to the killings and abductions now spreading into the Southeast.Yet when one looks beyond the headlines and propaganda, a clearer picture emerges: our security crisis is not fundamentally religious, it is political, economic, and criminal. Religion has been used as a convenient smokescreen to disguise deeper motives, corruption, land grabbing, illegal mining, and geopolitical maneuvering that benefit a few at the expense of millions. The Northern Theatre: An Industry of…
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“The recent U.S. talk of invading Nigeria under the guise of fighting bandits and protecting Christians hides a deeper geopolitical agenda, to roll back China’s influence, check France’s growing presence, and reassert America’s dominance in Africa.” America’s “Nigeria Option”: The Real Agenda Behind the Headlines When the Americans suddenly start talking about “invading Nigeria to stop bandits and protect Christians,” one must “muru anya” pause and ask: why now? Nigeria’s insecurity didn’t begin yesterday. Banditry, terrorism, and mass kidnappings have plagued the North for over a decade, yet only now does Washington sound ready to “intervene.” It bears reminding that…
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Good governance is not always loud. Sometimes, it works best in silence. Governor Hope Uzodinma may not have the most likeable personality or the loudest megaphone, but if you take a closer look, you will see his fingerprints on real structural shifts happening across Imo. If sustained, this model could make Imo the economic anchor of the South-East, a model of tech-driven, infrastructure-led, energy-secure, security-conscious development. I am not asking anyone to suspend criticism. I am simply saying: look deeper. Judge not only by perception but by evidence. Reality, quietly, is overtaking the noise. In recent months, debates around governance…
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For years, Nigerians have been told half-truths about port development, dredging costs, and economic feasibility. But a closer look reveals something more sinister: a deliberate, well-orchestrated strategy to centralize Nigeria’s maritime economy around Lagos, keeping the South-South and South-East perpetually dependent, economically stifled and logistically marginalised. As the multi-billion-dollar Lekki Deep Sea Port surges toward completion, the strategic sidelining of other southern ports, particularly Rivers Port Complex, Onne Port Complex, Calabar Port Complex, and Warri Port, is becoming too glaring to ignore. Rivers Port Faces Imminent Shutdown, a Calculated Economic Blow The Federal Government is quietly preparing to decommission the…
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The shocking testimonies about killings, ritual desecrations, and mass bravado cannot be read in isolation. To understand how young men came to commit such crimes, we must first follow the chain of events that pushed them deep into the shadows. For years a pattern of heavy-handed federal operations, selective prosecution, and public spectacles of arrest, abuse and detention created fertile ground for radicalisation. What began for many as a political movement and an assertion of identity was met with a heavy handed brutal security approach that prioritized force, abuse, humiliation and criminalisation over political engagement and redress. When legitimate political…
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In a world where love and friendship are just a click away, it is easy to forget that not too long ago, the search for companionship required a great deal of patience, creativity, and effort. From pen pals to Facebook, the journey of human connection has taken many forms, each shaped by the technology and culture of its time. The way we seek out friendship and love today is far removed from the handwritten letters and classified ads that once dominated our romantic and social landscape. But at its core, the quest for meaningful relationships remains the same: a desire…
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It is time for Nigerians to confront an inconvenient truth: presidential leadership from the North–Southwest political duopoly has woefully failed our nation. Far from producing a utopia of shared prosperity, unity, and security promised decade after decade, it has instead delivered economic ruin, mass poverty, and social decay. This failure is not because the North or the Southwest lack capable leaders; they have many, but because within this duopoly, a small circle of deeply flawed figures has long dominated the political space. Of the twelve heads of state, both military and civilian, who have ruled Nigeria since the end of…
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The 30th of August 2017 will remain etched in the political history of the South East as a day when a peaceful path was still possible. On that day, statesmen like Alex Ekwueme, former Vice President of Nigeria, and Ben Nwabueze, SAN, prevailed upon Nnamdi Kanu to reconsider his hardline stance on outright secession. It was a defining moment, one that could have laid the groundwork for a new political bargain between the Nigerian state and the Igbo nation. Rather than insisting on external self-determination through secession, Kanu agreed to a temporary suspension of agitation in favour of internal self-determination:…
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Across Africa, the winds of change are beginning to stir. In Madagascar, disillusioned youths have taken to the streets in defiance of a corrupt and unresponsive government, demanding reform, accountability, and a future worth living for. The protests, sparked by crippling water and electricity shortages, quickly transformed into a broader movement against systemic corruption and authoritarianism. Twenty people have already lost their lives, but the fire of resistance burns on. Madagascar’s story fits the pattern of a new age, one where young, urban, and digitally connected populations are refusing to be silenced. Yet, in Nigeria, Africa’s so-called giant, the silence…
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When U.S. Senator Ted Cruz declared that “Officials in Nigeria are ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists,” he did not invent a new accusation, he merely amplified a truth that Nigerians themselves have long whispered, lamented, and, in some cases, publicly confessed. Yet, the fury that greeted his statement from Nigeria’s political class reveals not outrage over falsehood, but fear of uncomfortable truth. Nigeria’s leaders, from Senate President Godswill Akpabio to the Minister of Information Mohammed Idris, rushed to denounce Cruz’s remarks, describing them as “malicious,” “contrived,” and “a mischaracterization” of Nigeria’s complex security…
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Angela Merkel’s recent revelation about how Poland and the Baltic states sabotaged her attempt to negotiate with Russia in 2021 is perhaps one of the most striking confessions to emerge from Europe’s political class since the onset of the Ukraine conflict. It exposes a deep fracture within the European Union and a dangerous undercurrent of war obsession that has consumed the continent’s political elite. Merkel’s admission not only confirms that there was an opportunity to avoid bloodshed but also reveals that Europe, led by its most hawkish voices, deliberately chose confrontation over diplomacy. Speaking to Hungary’s Partizan media outlet, the…
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In the midst of one of the bloodiest assaults on Gaza in modern history, a controversial plan has quietly emerged, one that recasts Gaza not as a homeland under siege, but as prime real estate for global investors. Titled “The GREAT Trust: Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation,” the 38-page proposal envisions the total demolition of the Gaza Strip and its rebirth as a futuristic “smart” Special Economic Zone, a kind of Singapore-by-the-Mediterranean. The plan, backed by powerful U.S. and Israeli interests, appears to have been reviewed at a White House meeting involving Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, Marco Rubio, and…
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There is palpable anxiety within opposition ranks over a chilling possibility, that the 2027 general election may once again be handed to the ruling APC on a platter, not because of superior strategy or governance, but because of the opposition’s chronic disunity, ego battles, and unending internal crises. The sense within the opposition camp is that unless key figures bury personal ambition and rally under a single, credible candidate, history will repeat itself. The fear is real, and justified. The same fractured approach that gifted Bola Ahmed Tinubu a narrow but decisive victory in 2023 seems to be replaying itself…
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Cletus Ibeto’s charge is simple and incendiary: his cement was better and far cheaper than Dangote’s, but envy and political muscle, allegedly routed through President Olusegun Obasanjo, shut his factory down. He says if his plant were still running, no Nigerian would be paying today’s punishing prices; in his words, the market would never have gone beyond ₦2,500 per 50kg bag. That claim speaks to a popular pain point: cement is now a luxury for many aspiring home-builders. Before we take sides, it’s worth unpacking what we can verify, and what it would take to genuinely make cement affordable again.…
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In 1997, General Sani Abacha hosted Muammar Gaddafi in defiance of U.S. and UN sanctions, a daring Pan-African stand that shook Washington and symbolized Africa’s brief moment of strategic defiance. Here’s the untold story of that visit and the mysterious deaths that followed. A Bold Gesture of Defiance In 1997, while much of Africa bowed to Western pressure, one man, Nigeria’s General Sani Abacha, chose a different path. Against the wishes of Washington and the UN, he hosted Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader then under global sanctions.The act was more than diplomacy, it was a declaration that Africa would…
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I came across a viral piece online calling for a permanent boycott of Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines, accusing Allen Onyema and Obiora Okonkwo of “betrayal capitalism.” The argument is simple but incendiary: that these airlines, both Igbo-owned, exploit the desperation of Igbo travellers to return home during Christmas, charging fares six to eight times higher than comparable northern routes. The data presented is staggering. In 2023, a Lagos–Enugu one-way ticket hit ₦135,000, while Lagos–Kano, nearly double the distance, cost ₦55,000. By 2024, Lagos–Enugu had risen to ₦215,000, Lagos–Asaba ₦205,000, while Lagos–Kano was ₦78,000. Now, for Christmas 2025, Lagos–Enugu…
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Sixty-five years after independence, Nigeria continues to stumble under the weight of a federal structure that has become more of a liability than a blessing. With 36 states and 774 local governments, the country spends more on sustaining bureaucracy than on building infrastructure, investing in industry, or ensuring food and energy security. The reality is stark: Nigeria is running a political economy designed to feed politicians, not citizens. Consider this: Nigeria allocates over 70% of its federal and state revenues to recurrent expenditure, most of which goes to salaries, allowances, and administrative costs. Capital expenditure, which should drive development, barely…
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Imo State stands at a critical juncture, facing a crisis of representation where our state and federal legislators, as well as our senators, stand by as silent bystanders, indulging in political correctness while our state burns. These individuals, elected to defend and uplift the interests of the people, have become mere placeholders, contributing little to nothing in the way of meaningful impact. There’s nothing on the ground to show that we have true representatives – no landmark projects, no substantive bills, no meaningful community engagement. All we see is half-hearted, mediocre actions and an unwavering focus on self-gain, with each…
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Sixty-Four Years of Independence from Great BritainWhat exactly is there to celebrate on October 1st? Independence from Britain was secured, but freedom for Nigerians was never actualized. We exchanged an external master for a far more brutal, internal one. The chains of colonialism were replaced by the shackles of kleptocracy. The Giant of Africa is not merely a failed state; it is a state that has successfully failed its people. It is a geographic expression held together by the fading hope of its citizens and the grim determination of those who have no means of escape. The national flag no…
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Sixty-five years after the Union Jack came down, Nigeria marks Independence Day in an atmosphere of fatigue rather than fulfillment. We are long on anniversaries and short on achievements that are felt in homes, markets, and on our highways. If independence means the power to set our own course, then the honest question is simple: whose course are we actually sailing, the people’s, or the networked interests that have captured the state? President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s first two years have been defined by shock-therapy reforms. Fuel subsidy removal and foreign-exchange liberalization were sold as the bitter pill that would cure…
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Nigeria today feels like a nation in a permanent state of siege. The statistics, the headlines, and the government’s glossy brochures cannot mask the grim truth that ordinary Nigerians already live with daily, insecurity is not abating, it is evolving, multiplying, and spreading into every corner of the country. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration boasts about killing “over 13,500 terrorists,” commissioning apps, and patching highways. Yet, beneath the noise of those proclamations, communities across Benue, Plateau, Kebbi, Borno, Katsina, and, closer home for me, the South-East, despite the recent capture of a notorius gang terrorising Imo, is drowning in a…
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In 162 days, the highest court in Nigeria failed to determine the case brought by eleven PDP governors against the Federal Government. The matter was straightforward yet historic: a challenge to the removal of Governor Fubara and the appointment of a sole administrator in Rivers State. The file has remained on a dusty shelf, untouched. This silence is not accidental. It is deliberate. And it is tragic. The Supreme Court has abandoned its role as the guardian of justice. Once, it stood tall as a symbol of fairness, where ordinary Nigerians could expect the law to prevail over power. Today,…
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Only a few months ago, Bola Ahmed Tinubu seemed untouchable. As he basked in the glow of his second year in office, boasting of reforms and consolidating power, the prevailing mood among his allies was that the path to 2027 was clear. The opposition was fractured, the PDP was hemorrhaging members, and his party, the APC, looked more dominant than ever. To many in Abuja, the real question was not 2027 but 2031. Yet politics is never static. The same opposition once written off has found fresh life. Old rivals and recent adversaries are stitching together an alliance under the…
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The shooting of Charlie Kirk, the way the media has reported it, and the FBI’s shoddy handling of the investigation are all reminders of how so-called conspiracy theories take root. When events are managed with such gaps, contradictions, and inconsistencies, conspiracy theories don’t just appear, they thrive. After all, there is no smoke without fire. I have taken time to follow the chain of events closely, and what emerges is troubling. Based on the evidence, the inconsistencies, and the unanswered questions, these are my findings and conclusions. Despite DNA allegedly linking suspect Tyler Robinson to the murder weapon, troubling gaps…
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Benjamin Netanyahu has become a political firebrand whose every move escalates regional instability. He attacks anyone who stands in his way, dragging allies and adversaries alike into his confrontations. In Washington, his influence is unmistakable. The Epstein files, often whispered about in hushed tones, were used as leverage to bring Donald Trump to heel. The image of Netanyahu’s dominance is so stark that if Bibi humiliated Trump openly, Trump might still have called it divine providence. Israel commands; the United States obeys. The most recent assault on Qatar is the clearest proof of this dynamic. What unfolded was a trap…
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A MUST READ. For those above 50, who had the privilege to live in Owerri during our growing up old school days, life was sweeter, more secured and loving. Some times when I take a retrospective look between now and those days, when we grew up in “Old Owerri” I am compelled to affirm that the old days was better. “Uwa mbu kà nmà dàà” ! You may wonder what makes the good old times to be better than now that you have almost everything, color television, telephone handset, money transfer, modern and cosy aeroplanes and cars, tall glass houses…
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PRESS BRIEFING ON THE STATE OF THE NATION. Opening. Gentlemen of the Press, I thank you for honouring this invitation at such short notice. I speak to you today not merely as a loyal party man, but as a statesman, a patriot, and one who has served this country at the highest levels of lawmaking. My concern is Nigeria our unity, our stability, and our future. Hence, this briefing is beyond party politics. It is a call to conscience. After careful deliberation, I have come to a firm belief that our country Nigeria needs to confront certain anomalies…
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Among the peoples of Africa, the Igbo of Southeast Nigeria stand apart for their unique political philosophy. For centuries, the Igbo thrived without kings or centralized monarchies. We built a society in which every village was autonomous, every adult man had a voice, and authority flowed upward from the people, not downward from a throne. We gave the world republican democracy long before Athens knew what a republic means. Yet, in recent decades, a disturbing woke trend has emerged. Communities across Igboland now describe themselves as “ancient kingdoms,” inventing crowns and palaces where none historically existed. Coronations are staged with…
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Why History Must Be Taught – And Remembered. They say those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. But in Nigeria, we’re not just forgetting, we’re sleepwalking into a repetition. Here’s a story you won’t find in your average schoolbook, but it should be there. In 1804, King Yunfa of Gobir (present-day Sokoto) welcomed a wandering Fulani Islamic scholar and his followers. His name? Usman Dan Fodio. That single act of hospitality would change the face of Northern Nigeria forever. What started as a peaceful coexistence ended in bloodshed, war, and the fall of the Hausa kingdoms. By 1808,…
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Interest is the idea of involvement, attachment, participation, drive, inclusion and consumation of a person or group’s intentions to invest in a cause of action, process or project deemed favourable for the advancement of objectives and goals towards growth, development, coexistence, survival and sustenance over time, space, location and agreement or covenant bound on livability, deliverability and assurance of sustainability in rendering service for the good of all. Interests are usually coalesced, condensed and captured in a document called the constitution as the titular grand norm or agreement that binds people’s interest together. But where a constitution becomes deliberately irreconcilable,…
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STATESMEN who have taken part in fundamental decisions affecting their country seldom write in the press as they would say things that could jeopardize the very existence of their country. However where the very existence of the country or a part of it is threatened then it behoves all statesmen to speak out. I am thus constrained to write on Bakassi without going into too much detail so as to put things in proper perspective.▪️I was the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge of Bakassi under General Sani Abacha. I was made special envoy to the Head of…
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Bad roads are more than just an inconvenience, they are a death trap, an economic bottleneck, and a daily reminder of failed governance. According to Statisense’s 2025 State Performance Index (NGF 2025), twelve states stand out for all the wrong reasons: they have been ranked as the states with the worst road quality in Nigeria. The Bottom 12 States for Road Quality 1. Ogun State 2. Kogi State 3. Imo State 4. Taraba State 5. Ondo State 6. Edo State 7. Anambra State 8. Delta State 9. Bayelsa State 10. Kwara State 11. Kaduna State 12. Ekiti State These states…
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The late Dr. Sam Onunaka Mbakwe, fondly remembered as the “weeping governor” of old Imo State, remains a shining example of purposeful governance in Nigeria. In less than five years (1979–1983), Mbakwe laid down an industrial, infrastructural, and educational foundation that still dwarfs the combined achievements of almost 24 years of the Fourth Republic across the South-East. His tenure was not about aesthetics, token projects, or personal enrichment, but about laying down structures for mass employment, productivity, and regional pride. Mbakwe’s Transformational Achievements 1. Educational Expansion Imo State University (now Abia State University): A deliberate effort to provide higher education…
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When Zik, the spirit man, left Onitsha province, Awka District, to Umuahia and appointed Dr. M. I. Okpara as the premier and late Dr. Akanu Ibiam as the Govenor of Eastern Region of Nigeria, people did not have much qualms about Ibiam. After all, they said, the post of a Governor was a ceremonial one. In the case of Okpara, some people were skeptical about his eligibility for the position of premier which was an executive position. In the first place, people did not know much about him like Dr. J. O. J. Okezie and others associated with known Zikists…
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Coupled with the sweeping Nigerian Tax Reform Bill, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has now signed into law the audacious Regional Dawn Commissions Bill, effectively reintroducing regionalism, this time with a modern twist and without raising the usual dust. What once seemed politically impossible in Nigeria’s convoluted federal structure is now law, and remarkably, it sailed through almost unnoticed. For decades, the very thought of restructuring or reverting to regionalism was met with fierce opposition, especially from the northern elite or cabals. These two concepts, ironically, were the very framework our founding fathers agreed upon at the dawn of independence. While…
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If there is one thing that sticks out like a festering sore, it is the consistent failure of those elected or appointed from our zone to deliver the true dividends of democracy. This, to a people and a zone that gave many of them their very first financial lifelines, their first opportunities, and their first platforms in life. Instead of giving back, they turned their backs, trading gratitude for greed and betraying the trust of the very soil that raised them. We are always quick to heap blame on the state and federal governments, but what about our own? What…
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For decades, the political West has built its power on illusions: illusions of endless wealth, illusions of military superiority, illusions that wars could be won with “shock and awe” strikes and flashy technology. But the war in Ukraine has torn away the mask. Behind the propaganda, the United States and NATO have been exposed as hollow giants, armed with expensive toys, but lacking the industrial backbone to fight a real war. The reality is brutal: Russia is outproducing NATO by a factor of four in key weapons systems. China and other multipolar powers are rapidly scaling, while the West drowns…
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The much-publicized Trump–Putin summit in Alaska has shaken the global order in ways the mainstream media refuses to admit. Far from being a ceremonial handshake, the Anchorage Alaska dialogue was a geopolitical earthquake, exposing the decline of Western influence, the desperation of Europe, and the undeniable reality that Russia cannot be excluded from the global conversation. The West wanted to frame Anchorage as just another “routine” meeting. But it wasn’t. It was proof that Moscow has broken through the iron wall of isolation erected by NATO propaganda. Both Trump and Putin left Alaska stronger, while Europe and its Ukrainian proxy…
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Nigeria didn’t start on a clean slate in 1960.It inherited cracks from 1914 — over 250 ethnic groups forced into one map, weak institutions, and an economy built to serve Britain, not Nigerians. Yes, leadership failures since independence are real. But to ignore the colonial blueprint of division, dependency, and broken foundations is to tell only half the story. Read the full piece: Nigeria, Independence, and the Colonial Legacy: Why Context Matters There’s an ongoing debate about Nigeria’s trajectory since independence in 1960. Many argue that 65 years later, Nigerians must look inward and take accountability for leadership failures, corruption,…
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The misconception that the Tiv people and other minority tribes of the Middle Belt belong to “the North” was deliberately created by the British colonial government in conspiracy with Northern elites. This was done after the Tiv and other tribes of the Middle Belt united against the Europeans during slavery and also brought an end to the Islamic Jihad. The Europeans never succeeded in forcefully entering the region now called the Middle Belt (or Central Nigeria). Instead, they wrongly tagged it as “North Central,” against the will of the people who inhabited the area. Ancient Settlement. The Tiv people arrived…
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Once again, Owerri Zone leaders walked into Government House full of hope, only to walk out with nothing but rhetoric. Governor Hope Uzodimma has played the masterstroke, reminding them that in politics, power is never gifted, it is seized. With a calm but cutting tone, Governor Uzodinma told them what he has said all along: he cannot handpick a successor. He stressed that the next governor must emerge through a rigorous democratic process inside the APC and across the three zones. Translation? Owerri has no special claim. Unless they build alliances with Orlu and Okigwe, sabotage is guaranteed. And then…
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Introduction. Among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria, dance is not merely performance, it is history in motion, a mirror of communal identity, and a school of values. In Ihiagwa, Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, one of the most enduring and iconic cultural traditions is the Ogbudu Amogu dance. Far more than a spectacle of drumming, singing, and movement, “Ogbudu Amogu” embodies the resilience, creativity, and spiritual depth of the Ihiagwa ofoʻ asatoʻ people. Its origins stretch back into the pre-colonial period, its survival through colonial repression and the Nigerian Civil War tells of cultural perseverance, and its…
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I am a proud Hausa man. A Muslim. A student of Political Science. A researcher, a writer, and a lifelong seeker of truth. I have read countless books on Africa, our ancestors, our heritage, and the struggles of our forefathers. I have studied justice, equality, respect, and love, not tribalism, not bias, not hate. And everything I stand for flows from these values. But let me say this with all honesty of my soul: in all my years of study, research, travels, and investigations, I have never encountered a people whose resilience and spirit could rival the Igbo. In 2016,…
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The El-Rufai, Atiku Coalition That Came, Saw, but Did Not Conquer Once hailed as the firebrand of Northern Nigerian politics, Nasir El-Rufai now finds himself in a curious twilight—boasting of a coalition that would sweep APC into the dustbin of history, only to be swept aside by the very electorate he presumed would rally behind him. His recent mobilization in Sokoto, where he declared APC “clannish and incompetent,” was meant to ignite a revolution. Instead, it fizzled like a damp matchstick. A WhatsApp Tsunami Without Kinetic Energy The opposition coalition—ADC, Atiku, El-Rufai, Peter Obi, Amaechi, Aregbesola—was hyped as a political…
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When the weight of words spoken is weightier than whatever response it may attract, my people say Oro p’esi je. The English say such wordless period is an ineffable moment. In its literal rendition, perhaps saying it better than the English and more graphically too, the Yoruba say ‘word has killed response’. Even at the height of his musical wizardry, the dictatorship of the Nigerian military government killed appropriate response from Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. So, in one of his songs, Fela turned the wordlessness into musical rhapsody. With the declaration by a Canadian court on June 17, 2025 that the two…
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A PhD candidate fixated on the date of convocation, yet unwilling to engage in the foundational work—research, publications, and academic rigour—is likely to resort to unwholesome shortcuts to obtain the certificate. This analogy aptly captures our current obsession with achieving a $1 trillion economy in Nigeria. Setting ambitious targets without laying the groundwork invites manipulation: rebasing, statistical adjustments, and even data distortion become tools to manufacture success. But economic transformation is not a ceremonial milestone—it is the outcome of deliberate, sustained effort across critical sectors. The Untouched Foundations of Growth Despite the rhetoric, the pillars that could genuinely support a…
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Founded in 1909 by a team of geological explorers led by Sir Albert Kitson, Enugu was just like one of those “evil forests”, or at best, a farmland used by surrounding villages. It was the discovery of coal on top of Udi escarpment that attracted residents to the area. Enugu or Enu-ugwu, which consists of two Igbo words – Enu (Top) and Ugwu (Hill), meaning ” Top of the Hill” or “Hill Top”, derived its name from a little village east of Ngwo Town, situated at the top of Udi Hills, where coal was discovered in 1909. It was then…
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For decades, the South-East has cried out against marginalization, from abandoned highways to shortchanged federal allocations. Each administration in Abuja has promised to “integrate” the region, but most have delivered little beyond half-completed projects and empty speeches. Today, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, like those before him, has draped himself in the language of inclusion. But the real question remains: are his interventions genuine instruments of justice for the South-East, or another round of political deception carefully wrapped in asphalt and ribbon-cuttings? The Showpiece Projects Tinubu’s government has been eager to advertise “visible footprints” in the South-East. The Enugu–Port Harcourt dualisation, the…
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The recent news of an EFCC bust linked to the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library once again raises an uncomfortable question: why is the EFCC relentless in hunting so-called “internet fraudsters” but appears paralysed when it comes to the real vultures bleeding Nigeria dry? From Abuja’s gilded neighborhoods to Dubai’s luxury condos, the evidence of high-level looting is not hidden. Former governors, ministers, senior bureaucrats, judges, and federal lawmakers own sprawling mansions, hotels, and prime land far beyond the reach of their official salaries. Billions in state allocations and constituency project funds vanish every year, yet EFCC action against these elites…
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