As he marks his 81st birthday on Sunday December 17th, roughly six months after the completion of his two terms as President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari’s story continues to resonate with a nation that values honesty, accountability and compassion.
Browsing: Viewpoint
The Nigerian Civil War had a profound impact on the country’s socio-economic landscape. One notable change was the transformation of the itinerant tailor profession, which shifted from being primarily located in Eastern Nigeria to predominantly Northern Nigeria. This shift serves as a metaphor for the divergent paths taken by these two regions in terms of social and economic development.
The story of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) just like many other agencies of the Nigerian government, is that of a beautiful concept that was poorly implemented over time, resulting to loss of public confidence and damage to the economy.
My first encounter with a critique of charity was Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah. I was maybe 15 or 16 then, but his take—speaking through his character—was indelibly etched in my mind. In the light of a fresh national development, I cannot but recall his denunciation of charity as the “opium…of the privileged.” Now, you must have read the horrifying report that Nigerian security forces “accidentally” bombed—again! — some civilians in Tudun Biri, Kaduna State. Following the airstrikes, about 120 people reportedly died, while another 60 sustained injuries. You must have also read that the senators, all 109 of them, are contributing N1m each from their respective December salaries for the victims.
There was an era when Africa and Western pop music were closely linked. Western entertainers spearheaded a number of internationally renowned events to raise awareness about the plight of starving Africans and generate funds for famine relief.
In Nigeria, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo and many other territories, these regional and ethnic differences will define their politics and influence political instability from the 1960s to the 80s. In the case of the DRC, this is still playing out negatively.
Western leaders often urge African nations to make a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. They seem to think that African nations can switch to renewable power sources fairly easily, as if a good energy infrastructure was already in place.
From time immemorial, agriculture was Nigeria’s economic mainstay, however, overtime, agriculture has been relegated to the background for obvious reasons, it’s on record that Nigeria’s endowment with vast natural resources of arable land from the stretch of savanna grassland, the dense swamp and rainforest, the untapped and unhannessed abundant quantities of solid minerals almost all over the country have either been misused or put to abandonment over the years.
The number of delegates from Nigeria attending the ongoing Climate Summit in Dubai otherwise called COP28 has generated a lot of controversies and strong social media conversations in the last 24 hours. It is important to set the record straight and provide some clarity. To begin with, the Summit is tagged COP which means Convention of Parties. The ongoing Summit in Dubai with over 97,000 delegates from more than 100 countries around the world is the 28th in the series since the issue of climate change and action took preeminent stage in global affairs. COP27 took place at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt last year.
Nigeria’s Supreme Court held a special session on November 27, 2023 to formally usher in a new legal year. It provided an occasion for a retrospective on the performance of Nigeria’s judiciary by its leaders in a season of unprecedented levels of public angst over the political weaponisation of judges and a set piece moment to compare notes on the dysfunctions that afflict the judicial system. The outcome was interesting to the point of anti-climactic.