Last week, we stated that “a leader creates and nurtures others to be leaders. He must possess a clear vision and focus, know what he wants for his country, and should be courageous enough to follow his dream. Apart from possessing integrity and honesty, a good leader has humility, is fair and just with the capacity for self-sacrifice and perseverance. A leader is one whose national interest subsumes his.” We also saw how the late prime minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, made his Private Secretary, who became Nigeria’s President in the Second Republic, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, refund to the federal…
Author: Editor
It is an honour to be invited by members of the fourth estate to share my views and perspective on the Role of Media in Maintaining Security and other matters connected there with. I would like to thank the NUJ Executive for this invitation and for selecting a topic that is both timely and relevant. Having said this, please permit me to begin by setting the scene as follows: It is a fact that work of security agencies, most importantly the police, is a public function, involving regular interface with the public. Therefore, the policeman and the Police Institution are…
On Tuesday, Thisday newspaper carried a disturbing headline. Nigeria’s petrol subsidy bill is skyrocketing this year and by the end of December, the total bill would be $9.8 billion. This would exceed the total expenditure by all the states of the federation in 2021. This information is in a new report by a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), Mr. Bismarck Rewane. Meanwhile the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has come out to confess that its revenue has collapsed due to massive crude oil theft.With oil theft…
The ongoing strike action by lecturers in Nigeria has exposed the morbid ignorance in the country regarding the character of universities as research institutions. I am encouraged to wade into this dangerous crisis of enlightenment because ignorance is curable, except for those who are fixated and unwilling to learn. Ayo Banjo once defined a university as a community of scholars dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and the pursuit of truth. This implies that scholarship is the nucleus of university business. The foundation of this order was laid way back in ancient civilizations and has been reinforced over the years.…
Man’s insatiable and unquenchable thirst for adventure is driving him to think the unthinkable, nurse the “crazy” idea of not only visiting mars but colonizing it and making it a second planet to be occupied by a man in the next 40 to 100 years. The condition on Mars is certainly a far cry from that of Earth. The average temperature on the planet is negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and it doesn’t have Earth’s dense atmosphere, which is what results in huge temperature fluctuations and massive dust storms. Similarly, Mars also lacks a magnetic field, which means there’s nothing to…
The next general elections in Nigeria have become close enough to make some citizens concentrate on a daily prediction of several possible outcomes. Will they as usual be a contest of entrenched interests by the two big divide, simply seen as two-horse race or will a third force emerge and succeed in changing the old order? Will our electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and our judiciary function like their counterparts in Kenya? How will the elections look like – transparent and credible or disrupted by unknown actors? Will the presidential election be a straight win by one…
Congratulations to my leader per excellence, my mentor and philanthropist, H.E Senator Aliyu M. Wamakko for establishing the NorthWest University Sokoto, one of the first indigenous Universities in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Your Excellency Sir, you have demonstrated the most uncommon leadership style and achieved what most people dream about. Your zeal, commitment, determination and consistency are what make your dream a reality. No matter the crowd, people like you will always stand out. Over the years, you have impacted positively on the lives of many people. Infact, there is no one in our modern day politics that has worked as…
To continue on this unending topic, we will look at how leaders and followers ought to conduct their affairs. Let’s start from the top. A leader creates and nurtures others to be leaders. He must possess a clear vision and focus, know what he wants for his country and should be courageous enough to follow his dream. Apart from possessing integrity and honesty, a good leader has humility, is fair and just with the capacity for self-sacrifice and perseverance. A leader puts national interest above his. We have had leaders in this country that lived and served by this rule…
In agricultural production, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are crops and animals which have had their genetic materials improved upon through genetic engineering techniques. Genetic engineering techniques are laboratory procedures that allow scientists to introduce genes into an organism from the same or different species. For example, a popular GMO is Bt maize. This maize has a gene introduced into it from a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, resulting in maize that is resistant to specific insect pests. However, since the basic building blocks of all living things are the same regardless of whether they are plants, animals, or micro-organisms, such gene…
Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo was in Washington last week to talk shop with US and World Bank officials on issues that matter to our country and the rest of the world. His takeaway from that trip will most likely be the brief lecture given him by the World Bank Group president, David Malpass, on the management of our stubborn national economy. Osinbajo was shopping for support from the World Bank on the vexed challenge that has defeated every president since our return to civil rule in 1999: fuel subsidy. Yes, that again. Malpass thought the vice-president was looking for a solution…