By Abdelghaffar Amoka Abdelmalik, PhD It is no longer news that the strike declared by the Academic staff union of the universities (ASUU) on the 14th of February 2022 is in its 6th month. The strike in on the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FG Agreement that has dragged for about 10 years, the welfare of university lecturers, the fraudulent IPPIS that has been confirmed to be fraudulent by the Auditor General of the Federation’s report, and the report from the Berekete family Human Right Radio, proper funding of the university, the proliferation of public universities while the existing ones are…
Author: Editor
I must confess that the above title was inspired by Eric Donaldson’s song, ‘Land of My Birth’, from his hit reggae album, Kent Village, released in 1978. Some years ago, the song was voted the winner of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s “All-Time Best.” Eric Donaldson, 75, was born after Jamaica’s Great Depression of 1930, which took a heavy toll on the country. Strikes and riots, most times messy and bloody, were commonplace. Inequality and injustice were the order of the day. These two were like the fertile soil and water that made crime fester. It was a hot socio-political…
Facts I have uncovered from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) show that Labour Party’s Peter Obi may become Nigeria’s president next year by default because Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, candidates for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively, have violated the Electoral Act 2022, which may cause them to be disqualified if Obi sues them. The Electoral Act 2022 requires political parties to notify INEC of their intent to conduct primary elections at least 21 days before the date of their convention. It also requires parties to submit their membership registers to it…
While one is not interested in setting off any ‘short fuse’, it is has become most expedient to thoroughly interrogate some assertions made by Mr Femi Fani Kayode (FFK), in his widely circulated tirade against the Nigerian military following the unfortunate invasion of Kuje Prison. This is with the aim of deconstructing his real intention and probably revealing those who sponsored him. A man gifted with oratorical prowess and ability to hold his listeners spell-bound, FFK is also notorious for his truculence and uncanny ability to attract contempt for himself owing to his well-known intemperance and lack of enduring principle.…
Sub-Saharan Africa’s loan market had a slow start to this year but is showing resilience and is set to continue to grow, offering favourable opportunities for the region’s sovereign and corporate borrowers as well as for investors.The market dynamics are being shaped by global geo-political and macro-economic factors, particularly the ongoing war in Ukraine and rapidly rising inflation and interest rates in advanced markets. They are shaped too by the dynamics between the private loan market, and the public bond markets.The loan market had a challenging 2021, with volumes in the sub-Saharan African market falling to just $28bn, in 110…
The Muslim-Muslim ticket chosen by APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu has generated controversy since 2015 when he sought to be Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate. Today, he is the presidential candidate and therefore got the opportunity to implement what he has canvassed for a very long time. It is clear that Bola Tinubu is not a religious bigot and is therefore not making the choice to achieve a religious objective. He belongs to the group of analysts that believes the 1993 victory of the Abiola-Kingibe, Muslim-Muslim ticket was a winning formula. The argument is that a Yoruba candidate from the Southwest…
Against a backdrop of continuing global economic chaos, any information that suggests stability is well-received. Which is why the details about African oil and gas capital expenditures, contained in the African Energy Chamber’s forthcoming Q2 2022 Oil and Gas Outlook Q2 report, are such welcome news.In the near term, the report says, CAPEX will hold steady. Considering that spending across the sector has been trending upward since reaching its nadir in 2020 — rising from a low of $22.5 billion to a projected $30 billion in the first quarter of 2022 — simply maintaining the status quo is an achievement.But,…
Outside of a limited number of countries, wind turbines have remained a rare sight in Africa. But this is not for lack of potential. In 2020, a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) found that continental Africa possesses an onshore wind potential of almost 180,000 TWh/annum, enough to satisfy the entire continent’s electricity needs 250 times over. As the continent continues to seek ways to expand energy access, the adoption of wind as a source of energy is expected to accelerate.Where the wind blowsSo far, only Morocco, Egypt, and South Africa have been truly successful in harnessing their wind…
With political events building up towards the 2023 general elections, efforts by stakeholders, ranging from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Political parties, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and Security agencies to ensure a hitch-free and successful exercise must be commended by all well-meaning Nigerians. Being daily inundated by the challenges the spread of FAKE NEWS and hate speeches on social media poses, the Department of State Services (DSS), has raised an alarm that these issues are certainly the biggest threat to hitch-free and successful general elections in 2023. Though the doubters of this advisory are generally not in short supply,…
By Ikenna Osuoha As the globe marks the 2022 World Population Day (WPD) with the theme: “A World of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all – Harnessing Opportunities and Ensuring Rights and Choices for All,” it is pertinent to analyse the roadmap toward achieving Demographic Dividend. The WPD was established by the Governing Council of the UN Development Programme in 1989, an event that is annually observed on July 11 to raise awareness on global population issues. According to the United Nations, the world’s population is expected to hit eight billion by the end of 2022 amid global…