A recent intervention by veteran journalist/legal expert Richard Akinnola has triggered an uncomfortable but necessary conversation. Predictably, the debate quickly gravitated towards personalities, emotions and entrenched positions. Yet, beneath the controversy lies a much bigger question that deserves sober national reflection. Can a country confronting multiple security emergencies afford to leave potentially useful expertise completely outside its security equation? This is not a question about sentiment. Neither is it a question about friendship, loyalty or hero worship. It is a question about national capacity. For years, Nigeria has battled insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, arms trafficking and organised criminal networks. Entire communities…
Author: Editor
Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group and one of Africa’s leading industrialists, has taken delivery of a Bombardier Global 8000 private jet valued at about $81 million (approximately N110 billion at prevailing exchange rates), further expanding his corporate aviation portfolio. He disclosed the delivery via his Instagram stories, where he expressed gratitude over the latest addition to his fleet. The aircraft becomes part of BUA Group’s executive aviation assets, which already include a Bombardier Challenger 350 and a Global 6500, reinforcing the conglomerate’s long-haul mobility capacity for international operations. Rabiu had earlier signed the purchase agreement on December 4,…
Long after the celebrations that greeted Uganda’s emergence as host of the 2031 African Games, a different contest is beginning to unfold, one not on the track or field, but in the documents, resolutions and records that shaped the outcome. At the centre of the emerging debate are official African Union (AU) resolutions that appear to raise more questions than answers about Nigeria’s unsuccessful bid and the explanations that followed. The documents, originating from the Fifth Ordinary Session of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Youth, Culture and Sports (STC-YCS V), provide a rare glimpse into the continental process…
The recent anti‑Islam protests organised by relevance‑seeking groups in parts of Nigeria’s South West are unfortunate, provocative, and capable of inflaming religious tensions in an already fragile society. While citizens have a constitutional right to peaceful protest, no group should use insecurity as a pretext to demonize an entire religion or its adherents. Kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, and violent crime have affected Muslims, Christians, and Oníṣẹ̀ṣe practitioners alike. Victims bear names such as Rashidi, Salami, Abideen, Kudirat, Sekinat, Iyabo, Segun, Bola, Kemi, Emmanuel, Jacob, Caroline, Ifeoma, Bala, Audu, Bako, Ige, Ogundeji and many others. Criminals do not discriminate by faith, and…
Nigeria stands today at a fragile crossroads. Terrorism, banditry, and violent criminality continue to threaten our national stability, yet beyond the bullets and bloodshed lies another danger—careless rhetoric and divisive narratives that risk tearing apart what remains of our fragile unity. It has become increasingly common to hear certain groups frame Nigeria’s security crisis as a calculated agenda of “Fulanisation” or “Islamisation.” These claims, repeated loudly and frequently, are often presented as unquestionable truths. But the question must be asked: which narrative are we meant to accept—and on what evidence? Terrorism is a global phenomenon. It thrives on networks, ideology,…
Salam Hassan just finished reading the trilogy with a teary eye. I must confess I don’t remember my getting you a contract in 1994, but I remember that your late father, one of the most humane persons I have met, tied our hands together. But most importantly, what your late mother did to us, friends of Dr Mamman, during our holidays. When we (my wife and I) first saw you on a hospital bed, we were painfully and mistakenly bidding you farewell, and neither of us slept; we put you in prayers at every opportunity during the tawaf. Our next…
At least 49 people have died of thirst in a remote part of the Sahara Desert in the Niger Republic after the truck transporting them broke down, authorities have said. According to officials in the Agadez region, the victims were part of a group returning from Mali for a Muslim festival when their vehicle became stranded in a desolate area more than 80 kilometres west of Assamaka, a major border crossing between Niger and Algeria that is also close to the Malian frontier. In a statement posted on Facebook on Thursday, the Agadez Governorate said the travellers were left without…
The lessons from the party primaries season is that democracy and ethical political behavior have been deleted from the Nigerian political system. INEC had imposed a narrow timeline insisting all primaries be concluded by 30th May. This was challenged and a court judgement from the Federal High Court of Justice Mohammad G. Umar, sitting in Abuja, nullified INEC’s deadline. Given the fear of possible judicial consequences, the major parties felt it was safer to comply with INEC deadline because they appealed and Nigerians know the courts. Following the provisions in the new Electoral Act, primaries were conducted either through consensus…
Niger State Government has secured a United States-backed grant to support efforts aimed at preventing malnutrition for over 36,000 women and children across 13 local government areas of the state. The intervention, supported by the United States Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), was the focus of a pre-planning meeting with implementing partners held at the Niger State Planning Commission in Minna. Speaking after the meeting with newsmen, the Permanent Secretary of the Niger State Planning Commission, Aishatu Usman, said the programme targets malnutrition during the first 1,000 days of life, a critical period for the health and…
Nigerian banks have significantly increased international spending limits on naira-denominated debit cards, reflecting growing confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market amid rising capital inflows and improved dollar liquidity. The development comes as reforms introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continue to bolster foreign exchange availability, enabling financial institutions to ease restrictions that had constrained overseas transactions for several years. ASHENEWS reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently increased the maximum tuition fee remittance for Nigerian students pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate studies abroad from $15,000 to $25,000 per semester. The revised limit, contained in the 4th edition…