His concern always is how to put a smile in the faces of others. His humility, humour and humanity is not only awesome but exceptional. Today I am remembering my leader Prince Bola Ajibola and the great memories we shared. He was one of a kind and a father. There are many days that I think of him and beam a smile.
Author: Editor
I have taken time to read Chimamanda Adichie’s open letter to president Joe Biden of the United States of America and Fani Kayode’s reaction and cannot help but say that Fani Kayode’s reaction is imbecilic and childish.
Every system has its life cycle. For the 9th National Assembly, that cycle will end on May 29 as a new administration is inaugurated.
I first met Professor Fola Lasisi in Ile-Ife, Osun State, during the visit of His Eminence Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido, the 19th Sultan of Sokoto and elder brother of the sitting Sultan, His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar sometimes in 2003.
“I remember when Bida had only one professor: Shehu Bida,” I told my friend. “It was to him I took my first completed book as a teenager. As his expertise was in veterinary medicine, it was a silly move from me. But the wise man kindly passed down the book to the late Abubakar Gimba.”
Chinua Achebe was a novelist. Wole Soyinka is a playwright. I know most of you didn’t know this, but there is really no basis for comparison between the two. It’s like comparing Sunny Ade and Oliver De Coque because they are both singers.
Katsina State is the home state to two illustrious sons democratically elected presidents, the former President, the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua of blessed memory, and President Muhammadu Buhari whose two 4-year consecutive tenures winds up on May 29th. Katsina state dubbed as the home of hospitality covers a total land area of 23,938 sq. km and is ranked 7th in total land mass and 6th in population size-. Of the total land resource, 1.6 million hectares of land is under intensive cultivation, while the forest reserve is now mostly bandits’ den. The famous Rugu forest was the envy of all due to its rich array of fauna and flora now a dread that only men of the underworld occupy from where they unleash their mayhem on the peace-loving, hapless, and agrarian communities. The other forest, Kogo in Faskari LGA, which was recently converted into National Park has been a virgin land with the utmost potential for economic activities. Moreover, a large expanse of undeveloped, and underdeveloped land is sparsely available across the state for utilization. The land can be ostensibly utilized for rainfed and irrigated agricultural production. The state is blessed with plenty of surfaces and underground waters that can be harnessed for irrigation. Major rivers which originate in or traverse the state include Koza, Sabke, Tagwai, Gada, Turami, Karaduwa, Bunsuru, Gagare, Sokoto, Tubo, Chalawa, and Karma. Most of these rivers, which flow only during the rainy seasons, are dammed to provide water for irrigation. The state has a tropical continental and semi-arid climate with annual rainfall ranging from 600mm in the northern part to 1000 mm in the southern part.
Maiduguri, the capital and the largest city of Borno State, was founded in 1907 as a military outpost by the British colonial authority. It consists of two cities – Yerwa to the west and Old Maiduguri to the east. While Yerwa was founded in 1907 by Sheikh Abubakar Garbai as the capital of the Bornu Kingdom, old Maiduguri was selected by the British as their military headquarters, replacing Mafoni. The same year it became the location for the British Resident Commissioner over British Bornu. In 1957 Yerwa became the designated name for the urban centre while Maiduguri was officially applied as the name of the surrounding rural area, even though the name Yerwa seems to be out of trend now.
Chimamanda Adichie’s “hollow democracy” diatribe is a shitty little submission, in a shitty little letter, written by a shitty little diva.
There was a symposium yesterday organised by Nextier for the Presentation of Prof Tunji Olaopa’s latest book: “The Unending Quest for Reform: An Intellectual Memoir”. Olaopa’s life and commitment has been one of an intellectual in government devoted to seeking pathways to public service reform so that the Nigerian State can produce and deliver necessary public goods to a people that desperately need public service. In Nigeria, there has been a high consciousness of the lack of effectiveness in the delivery of public services leading to many efforts to reform the public service so as to improve its performance. Indeed, for the past thirty-five years, Nigeria has been undergoing a regular process of public sector reforms aimed at increasing the capacity of State actors to provide public goods to citizens. The reforms have not been very successful. They have simply led to a series of disruptions in the organisation and power equations in the public sector that have led neither to increased efficiencies nor improved service provisioning.