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…
Author: Editor
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.…
Last week, the News Agency of Nigeria reported that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control had commenced enforcement of the long-debated ban on the production and sale of alcohol packaged in sachets and small bottles below 200 millilitres. According to the report, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, made this disclosure during a media parley in Lagos, explaining that the move followed a directive of the Senate. Although the agency had announced as far back as November 2025 that enforcement would begin by December, the process was briefly halted after the Federal Government ordered a…
Nigeria’s external reserve position remains a key indicator of the country’s ability to defend the naira and meet its external obligations. In its 2026 macroeconomic outlook, CBN projected Nigeria’s external reserves would rise to $51.04 billion in 2026, supported by stronger oil earnings, FX market reforms, and improved external inflows. Analysts estimate that at the current $46 billion, Nigeria’s external reserves presently cover over 12 months of imports and could hit $51.04 billion by year-end. Factors driving the reserves build-up include improved FX inflows, higher oil receipts, increased remittances through official channels, and renewed interest from foreign portfolio investors following…