One balmy evening last week I ensconced on the sofa in my residence and watched Seun Okinbaloye on Channels television reveal the outcome of election projection results conducted by ANAP Foundation and NOI supported by Channels television. For those who know the Lagos business circuit and the personalities behind the two outfits would not be surprised by the collaboration, which I must say is also an attempt at deepening our democratic culture through the templates of audience measurements, feedback and research. The challenge however with embarking on these type of opinion polls is that it is primarily data-based, methodology-driven and…
Author: Editor
In 1999, Sokoto, like all other states in Nigeria, was set for yet another political dispensation, sixteen years after the demise of democratic governance in 1983. The Third Republic was about to begin and blocks of political reckoning were poised to compete for power. The bureaucrats-cum old breed politicians (refered to as “”yan boko”) were pit against their former, mainly non-elitist associates, who had evolved into a political block. And by the close of voting, the outcome of the 1999 elections proved to be a turning point in the political character and power structure of Sokoto State. Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa,…
My first visit to the Headquarters of the World Food Prize Foundation in the Des Moines, Iowa State was in July 2017. It was a mission full of spectacular experiences with amazing outcomes whose memory remains refreshing to date. We were warmly welcomed by the Foundation’s President, Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn with an affable smile, warm reception, and resonating voice. The voice was so expressive that I knew, I heard it before but couldn’t recall where and when. I quickly remembered he was the keynote speaker of the annual International Conference of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers…
For the past two weeks, the gregarious Muhammed Gudaji Kazaure, a lawmaker representing Kazaure, Roni, Gwiwa and Yankwashi Constituency of Jigawa State in the House of Representatives and one of the most vibrant members of the House, has been trending. He came out with some papers and a story that sounded like a tale by moonlight. In an interview with BBC Hausa two weeks ago, the lawmaker disclosed that he was the secretary of a Presidential Committee on the Reconciliation and Recovery of All Stamp Duties. He also alleged that critical institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),…
By Lukman Abdulraman In 2020, in a report obtained from the ministry of finance and economic development, Kano state, it was recorded the state government awarded over ‘One Billion’ Naira to 224 contracting companies to execute different projects in the state. However this investigation will focus on 6 selected contracting companies, who received the total amount of N314, 686,571.821 million. This reporter commissioned Nasara Professional and Consultancy Services, a Financial Consulting firm to conduct a corporate search on the status of the 224 companies that were awarded various contracts by Kano state government. After a series of the company’s status…
I wish I know the real story of the naira redesign narrative. Recall that the CBN had on December 6 announced a new policy limiting over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities and asking Nigerians to accept a new reality – that future life would be spent in a cashless society. Then on Wednesday, the amounts were raised following concerns that Nigeria is a cash society and tens of millions of Nigerians are without bank accounts and have no alternative mode of payment for personal needs and petty businesses. The Central Bank has one of the best research departments…
By Otunba Femi Davies As the 2023 Nigerian presidential election draws closer, the importance of digital news media to the democratic process cannot be overstated. In today’s digital world, news media plays an integral role in informing citizens on the issues that are at stake in the election, as well as the various candidates and their respective platforms. Given Nigeria’s rapidly developing digital infrastructure, digital news media has the potential to be an increasingly important tool for citizens to engage in the electoral process. Through digital news media, citizens can learn about the candidates, the issues at stake, and the…
The establishment of International Space Station (ISS) took 12 years with major support from the five nations in addition eleven other nations who made different level of contributions. US President Reagan was the brain behind ISS who then conceived the idea of a relatively permanent space station in 1984 and directed NASA to build it. At that time, many thought of the idea as braggadocio of American leadership after its outstanding success of sending people to moon under the Apollo 11 project fifteen years earlier. The International Space Station became a reality and from November 2000 to date, the station…
By Matt Ford By handing the World Cup to Qatar to instrumentalize for geopolitical gain, FIFA sold football out. But Lionel Messi and Argentina showed that the beautiful game will always win, writes DW’s Matt Ford. Even in the crowning moment of Lionel Messi’s greatest personal triumph, Gianni Infantino and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani couldn’t resist making it about them. While the Emir of Qatar wrapped the Argentine captain in a black and gold bight, the narcissistic FIFA president clung onto the coveted trophy for as long as possible, desperate to be in the photographs and footage of…
By Megan Molteni The explosive trajectory of monkeypox to nearly 90 countries since the current outbreak was detected in the United Kingdom in mid-May has caught many governments off-guard, and created confusion about how monkeypox spreads from person to person. In some ways, the virus is acting differently than it has in the past. For decades, researchers in West and Central Africa, where the virus is endemic, have observed that outbreaks there tend to be self-limiting. A single case or small cluster would pop up occasionally, caused by hunting and handling infected animals or being bitten by one, but those…