KAMPALA — Ugandan pharmacist, biotech scientist and entrepreneur Dr Mathias Magoola has been named among Africa’s top 100 influential people. The vaccine entrepreneur was named among Africa’s top influential people last month by the Accra-based Business Executive Media Group, in collaboration with the International Business Council Africa and the African Chamber for Trade. The 100 Africa Most Influential Persons Awards, now in their third year, were held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, under this year’s theme: “Recognising the People Determining Africa’s Socio-Economic Direction”. Dr Magoola, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dei BioPharma, emerged as a winner as his…
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KAMPALA — The Ugandan government has set aside close to UGX 200 billion (about US$49.7 million) to begin relocating and resettling communities around Mount Elgon, on the Uganda–Kenya border, who are at risk of El Niño-induced landslides forecast to cause havoc in the last quarter of 2026 and for several months through 2027. A high-level decision taken by cabinet ministers last week entails the relocation of more than 11,000 households from landslide-prone areas of the Mount Elgon sub-region, which lies more than 4,000 metres above sea level and borders Kenya. The sub-region contains a crack in the dormant volcanic mountain…
KAMPALA — Vietnamese agricultural researchers are in Uganda grafting Vietnamese coffee varieties onto Ugandan Robusta plants to develop a hybrid that could better withstand climate-related challenges, offer improved flavour, and compete in the global market. Vietnam is the world’s second-largest coffee producer after Brazil, while Uganda is Africa’s second-largest coffee producer and exporter and the world’s eighth-largest producer. “They are using old Ugandan Robusta trees and grafting onto them young Vietnamese scions they brought with them. After about 10 days, the graft should begin to grow and show a leaf or two. After 20 days, the new coffee plant should…
Last week, the closing sentence of the last part of this piece posed the question: What role has academia played in the global ranking of our universities? Academia comprises intellectuals engaged in teaching, research, and community service, as well as support staff, technologists, and administrators, all key stakeholders whose livelihoods are intertwined with the university system. Despite numerous challenges, including low wages, inadequate facilities, and dilapidated infrastructure, their struggles and sacrifices have built an enduring and resilient university system for Nigeria. Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) constitute the bulk of academia, and their struggles for a better…
There is a vital distinction in the Anthony Kila controversy that public debate must not lose: the validity of a credential is one question; the value of a mind is another. The first must be established by documents, institutions, and verifiable records. The second is judged over time by the quality of ideas, the seriousness of scholarship, the influence of intellectual work, and the contribution a person makes to public discourse. These questions may intersect, but they are not the same question. That distinction matters because the controversy surrounding Kila has quickly acquired the familiar velocity of Nigerian public scandal.…
The first instalment of this article was published last week. Originally published in December 2021, I feel compelled to republish it now because its concerns about the rule of law, insecurity, and the fear ordinary Nigerians experience remain relevant today. The article serves as a timely reminder of the urgent need to protect citizens, uphold justice, and restore peace and security across the country. This is the second part of our treatise on the rule of law that started last week. The rule of law is about the creation of laws and their enforcement so that no one – including…
This morning, we are at the public presentation of the book – Tinubu: From Renewed Hope to Despair; written by Abubakar Siddique Mohammed, Aliyu Sanusi, Alkasum Abba and Massoud Omar. The event was supposed to have taken place yesterday at Arewa House, Kaduna, a research institute run by Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Due to “pressures from above”, the university cancelled the booking. The organisers then went around other hotels in Kaduna but they shut their doors claiming they had been warned. That is the state of our democracy today as civic space is closed down. Undaunted, the organisers decided to…
As humans, we are forgetful, but we should not forget the recent decline and devastating deterioration of Nigerian universities before the current political dispensation under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Repeated disruptions fractured research agendas and instilled in students an educational culture where prolonged strikes were expected rather than exceptional; a four- or five-year academic program can stretch to six to eight years, with staff and students as the primary victims and the nation the ultimate loser. The 2009 FGN-ASUU imbroglio has a long history, culminating in 13 months of cumulative industrial action between 2010 and 2025 and 21 months between…
Where a school requires uniformity in appearance, a reasonable accommodation that allows a modest head covering in approved school colours should be considered. The colour, style or design of the scarf can be agreed upon without compelling a girl to abandon a practice that matters to her faith.
There is something deeply troubling about the politics of petrol in Nigeria. A price increase arrives with an economic explanation. Public anger follows. Government announces relief. The announcement is presented as evidence of responsiveness, yet the consumer returns to the filling station and discovers that the burden has not meaningfully lifted. The language changes, the intervention changes, but the question confronting the Nigerian remains remarkably constant: what has actually become cheaper? This is the point at which petrol ceases to be merely a commodity and becomes a test of political credibility. The Federal Government’s recent petrol relief measures have brought…