As has happened with each legislature in the life of the Forth Republic, the majority of members of the Senate and House of Representatives are not returning. The reason is simple, state governors who decide on behalf of the people who should, or should not be a candidate do not like their legislators to stay long and build a powerful political base that could one day challenge the absolute power of their governors. The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, is the most spectacular exception that breaks the rule. He has been in the National Assembly since 1999, first in the House…
Author: Editor
A hopeless future is the greatest tragedy of life. Hope develops aspiration and makes life going with a dream of a brighter future. In all the previous presidential elections of the 4th republic from 1999 to 2019, Nigerians went to the polls with hope for a prosperous future. In the 1999 election, Nigerians were too tired of the socio-economic and diplomatic upheavals brought by the misgovernance of the military era. The internal and external forces made the military junta haphazardly and hurriedly organize the 1999 election and handed power on 29th May 1999 instead of the historic day of 1st…
My brother sent me an audio-visual via WhatsApp and expressed this fear: “Brother, listen to this. What’s going on now in the country? People looking for ways to distabilize this country? What’s to be done? All these are alarming.” He said in his accompanying comment urging the authorities in the country to begin to take action against makers of social media contents injurious to the peace and peaceful co-existence among the people of Nigeria. The WhatsApp message And, like a medical doctor confident of his mastery of treatment for an ailment that has caused panic in the spine of the…
Ordinarily, the issue of a Muslim – Muslim ticket or a Christian – Christian ticket or an Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba Président succeeding another Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba President wouldn’t have been an issue in a country where the leaders and the citizens are matured, truthful, just, fair, patriotic and truly united. Sadly, Nigeria is not a country that is whole in such characteristics yet. I say this with all humility, sincerity and sense of responsibility. A sincere analysis done with an open mind and good heart will prove to any observer the veracity of this conclusion without any disputation.…
Last Thursday, some hoodlums reportedly attacked traders who had shut down their shops at the Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos to register to collect their permanent voters’ cards (PVC). According to reports, officials of the market had instructed that all shops be shut to allow their members ample time to get their PVCs at the INEC office in the Igbede area of Ojo. Following this directive, there was massive turnout of traders, mostly of Igbo extraction at the registration point. But while the exercise was ongoing, thugs armed with machetes, sticks and clubs allegedly stormed the venue to disrupt the…
Last week, they attacked an estate within Abuja. Gunmen, bandits, Boko Haram, those who “drag” sovereignty with Nigeria, attacked Genuine Estate, within the vicinity of Gwarimpa, Nigeria’s (some accounts say south of the Sahara’s) largest housing estate. They did this undisturbed and calmly, between 1 and 4am on Sunday. The police said it was a robbery attack. Residents, however, said they kidnapped some of their people. Now, we all know that robbers hardly take prisoners. It is now left for people to believe who they want to believe. But based on precedent, I will want to believe the residents because…
By Aderonke Ojediran Often times the popular saying, “age is just a number”, pops up when an older person is romantically involved with a younger person. From time immemorial, men were the usual suspect in cradle snatching but in recent times, women are gradually closing rank with men, probably because women are more independent financially, which has given them leverage. Some respondents in separate interviews in Lagos on Sunday expressed divergent views on the idea of women dating and marrying men younger than them. A baker, Anita Ebere said that there was nothing wrong in a woman dating or married…
Fellow Nigerians, Today, June The 12th, marks another Democracy Day anniversary and an occasion to celebrate freedom and unity of our Nation. From 1999, we consistently celebrated Democracy Day to mark the end of military rule and the return of power and control into the hands of those freely elected by the people. On this day, Nigerians recommit themselves to ensuring we protect and preserve the ideals of democracy. In 2018, we moved Democracy Day from 29th of May to the 12th of June. This change was to remind all Nigerians of one free election after which the presumed winner…
Tick… tick… tick… And the breath stopped suddenly at 11.33 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, 2022. It was the moment I lost my beloved motherly father and brotherly friend, my dad, Imam Abdulhameed Shuaib Agaka (PhD). I had arrived Ilorin on Friday and met him at a private hospital where he had been admitted for the treatment of malaria. I gently collected the prayer rosary from his fingers and held his hand gently, even if a bit tightly… He responded with a very brief smile, without uttering a word. Inside me, I felt that his prayer over the past two…
My overriding impression of the APC Special Convention is that the presidential aspirants spent too much of their time singing praises to their beloved President Buhari. So, did the governors in the period leading up to the primaries. They pledged loyalty to him again and again and again. When however, it came to the one thing the President wanted – to be succeeded by his obedient Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, they all revolted and openly refused. The outcome of the Special Convention is that Muhammadu Buhari is now officially a lame duck President. The “unkindest cut of all” was received…