Israel’s message to one of the intermediaries was that it would not participate in the US attack, and therefore asked Iran not to target it. This request was also met with a negative response from Iran, which explicitly stated that with the start of US military action, Israel would be attacked. This made Netanyahu threaten to attack Iran with a force “1,000 times more than they have known”, alluding to the use of nuclear bombs. The US and Europe have been, as part of their propaganda, telling whoever cares to listen that Iran would use the bomb if it had…
Author: Editor
This weekend, the Emir of Machina, Alhaji Dr Bashir Albishir Bukar Machinama turbaned Dr. Kole Shettima as the Zanna Yuroma of the Emirate. This exalted position is only given to people with sufficient depth, maturity, sincerity and tact to talk truth to power. The onerous duty of the new Yuroma, therefore, includes warning the Emir if he engages on the wrong path. Dr. Shettima clearly has the qualifications to play such an important and delicate role and I wish him success in executing his role to the glory of Machina, Yobe and Nigeria.The turbanning was the crowning event in an…
The United States has reauthorized the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through December 31, 2026, with retroactive effect to September 30, 2025. The U.S. Trade Representative framed this as both continuity and a signal that AGOA will likely be reshaped, with stronger expectations around market access and alignment with current U.S. trade priorities. (USTR, 2026; Reuters, 2026). For Nigeria, this is not just a trade-policy update; it is a time-bound execution window. The countries and firms that move fastest on export readiness, compliance and buyer linkages are the ones that will turn this short extension into contracts, jobs and…
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to deliver a lecture on security and geopolitical dynamics in West Africa and the Sahel at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania. The lecture was delivered remotely from Accra, Ghana, with many of the participants (drawn largely from the ranks of Lt. Colonel and above) joining online because of the snowstorm that had hit the area. Like the lecture I delivered to last year’s cohort, this session was interactive, with participants asking important questions and making thought-provoking statements. Among the participants were several military officers from different countries. And so what?…
On 8 July 2021, I published a column examining what I then described as “the art of wearing two caps”—a reflection on Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State’s ability to navigate the simultaneous demands of partisan political leadership and subnational governance. The argument in that essay was neither celebratory nor predictive. Rather, it was an inquiry into institutional balance: whether the burden of national political responsibility could coexist with focused attention to the quotidian, unglamorous work of state development. At the time, the conclusion was cautious. The essay noted discipline, timing, and restraint as key ingredients but stopped short…
Last week, we promised to examine the choices available to Iran and the United States, as well as how military confrontation might unfold. We also noted that Israel reportedly considered using nuclear weapons in its last war with Iran—an approach known as the Samson Option. We stated that if this had happened, or if it happens in the future, Israel would become only the second nation to use nuclear weapons in warfare, after the United States used atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The Samson Option refers to the final act of the biblical judge Samson, who, blind…
The proposed criminal trial of Chief , SAN, arising from the disputed ownership and transfer of the property known as 79 Randall Avenue, London NW2, raises profound concerns about prosecutorial discretion, abuse of process, and the misdirection of criminal justice powers. A careful, dispassionate reading of the ruling of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), London, delivered by Mr. Ewan Paton, reveals a troubling disconnect between the findings of that tribunal and the decision of Nigerian authorities to arraign Chief Ozekhome, SAN, while leaving the principal architects of fraud, Mohammed Edewor Esq, Esq, Nicholas Ekhorutomwen, Ayodele Damola, and Anakwe Obasi untouched.…
January 23 should be declared World Betrayal Day, says godfather Kwankwaso, as his godson and Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, made his unilateral declaration of independence, abandoning NNPP for the ruling APC party. The bitterness is deep, and the drama has been intense as Abba’s emancipation bid has been fueling the rumour mill for over one year. There have been intense political manoeuvres since he became governor, with his entourage urging him to stand on his own feet. The relationship between the two had spanned more than four decades, dating back to their years as civil engineers at the…
Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Education encompasses formal, informal, and non-formal learning processes that foster intellectual, social, and personal development. It’s a lifelong journey of acquiring knowledge, skills, and values that shape individuals and society. Instructively, there is no gainsaying the fact that teachers are all levels but in more saner climes occupy a pride of place in the scheme of today’s world. These are prolific and iconic professionals who have continued to diligently, selflessly and patriotically mentor minds, the future leaders of nations and the world at…
The CEO of Megastar Media Communications and President of the Society of Digital Newspaper Owners of Nigeria (SDNON), Dr. Ifetayo Adeniyi has laid the foundation for a solar-powered toilet facility at his alma mater, Sagamu High School, Sagamu, Ogun State, as part of his ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The project represents Dr. Adeniyi’s second major CSR intervention, following the successful execution of a similar project in Abuja. The foundation-laying ceremony was attended by Oba Timothy Akinsola, the Ewusi of Makun, Sagamu, who offered traditional prayers and royal blessings for the smooth execution and successful completion of the project.…