Today, we see more clearly what history has produced – a world of centuries of wars, slavery, conquests, imperialism and colonialism. The outcome has been massive wealth on one side and mass poverty, inequality and misery on the other. The MDGs and the SDGs had to be created as policy frameworks that could reduce, not correct, the injustice. Advancement in technology and production systems made correcting some of the ills possible. Politics and power dynamics have created stumbling blocks. The current geopolitical dynamics is worsening the situation. The concentration of wealth in a few hands has increased dramatically. The world…
Author: Editor
Renomination of Vice President Kashim Shettima as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate for the 2027 presidential election was mysteriously slow in coming. For six weeks since the President was confirmed as the ruling APC’s candidate, mum was the word about the running mate, which sent some political actors and media commentators into a frenzy of commentary. It has been unknown in Nigerian politics since 1983 for a president to change his vice president ahead of reelection. In 1982, as soon as President Shehu Shagari was renominated as NPN’s candidate for the 1983 election, he renominated Vice President Dr. Alex Ekwueme…
Confession: I am not a security expert, but my interest in security matters has led me to read widely and to write more than 10 articles on insecurity in Nigeria over the last 5 years. I also submitted a 12-page security memorandum during a stakeholders’ security interaction with the Katsina State Governor, Mallam Dikko Umar Radda, in September 2025. I also had a one-on-one interview on security challenges with the current Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa OFR (Rtd), when he was Chief of Defence Staff, and wrote a 2-part article, publishing the interview in my column and in several other…
Across Africa, conversations about economic development often revolve around attracting multinational corporations, building industrial parks, expanding infrastructure and increasing foreign direct investment. While these priorities remain important, they frequently overshadow the largest productive segment of the continent’s economy, the informal economy. Recent public discussions in Nigeria over government support for food vendors, roadside entrepreneurs and microenterprises have sparked diverse opinions. Some have questioned whether scarce public resources should be directed towards businesses that they consider too small to make a meaningful economic impact. Others argue that such interventions merely sustain subsistence rather than promote real economic transformation. Both perspectives, however,…
Despite international bans and restrictions, toxic flame-retardant chemicals continue to contaminate the environment across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), posing persistent risks to ecosystems and human health, according to a new scientific review. The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, found that polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)—a group of persistent organic pollutants once widely used as flame retardants in electronics, furniture, textiles and plastics—remain prevalent in soils, sediments, air, water and indoor environments across the region. Researchers systematically reviewed 38 scientific studies conducted across MENA countries and found that contamination levels varied significantly by country and environmental setting.…
This piece was first published in May 2022. It remains as pertinent today as it was then, given the worsening insecurity currently facing the country. Sovereignty, this eleven-lettered word, is a political concept. The concept defines dominant power. Or the supreme authority. Wikipedia says “it is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct or territory. That it entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states.” Sovereignty, as a concept in political theory, has a clear-cut definition. The state or quality of being sovereign refers to a territory or geographical area that is self-governing, with recognition…
Every economy has its insiders and its outsiders. The distinction is not always determined by citizenship, geography or even willingness to work. Sometimes, it is drawn quietly by access: access to credit, identity, insurance, knowledge, technology and the institutional pathways through which human effort is converted into economic possibility. Millions may live within an economy, trade within it, labour for it and contribute daily to its survival, yet remain strangely absent from its most productive opportunities. They are present in the marketplace but invisible to formal credit, active in enterprise but largely unknown to the financial system, economically alive but…
On December 3, 2024, my good friend and comrade, Moussa Tchangari, was arrested at his home in Niamey by plainclothed officers. He was later charged with “criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise,” “undermining national defence,” as well as “intelligence with enemy powers.” It has been very painful to me ever since because he was just returning from my 70th Anniversary Birthday Symposium in Abuja, where comrades had assembled to debate the contributions of activists and progressive intellectuals to improving the lives and livelihoods of Africans, and he was one of several comrades attending from outside Nigeria. Tchangari’s English was…
The Bauchi State Government has received family planning commodities and consumables worth N50 million from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to strengthen reproductive healthcare services and reduce maternal mortality across the state. The donation is aimed at improving access to quality family planning services, promoting healthy pregnancies, and enabling families to make informed reproductive health decisions. Speaking during an advocacy visit to the Bauchi State Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, the UNFPA Reproductive Health Specialist and Officer-in-Charge of the Kaduna Sub-Office, Dr. Audu Alayande, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting Bauchi State in reducing maternal deaths…
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released the names and photographs of 124 Nigerians identified for deportation as part of its ongoing immigration enforcement operations targeting foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes. The updated list, published on the DHS website on Wednesday, places the affected Nigerians on what the agency described as its “worst-of-the-worst” criminal register, a category reserved for non-citizens with criminal convictions who are subject to removal from the United States. According to the DHS, the publication of the list aims to highlight individuals arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of…