Opinion Corner

The spotlight was cast sharply onto this enterprise through documented U.S. Department of Justice Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) disclosures, which revealed a sweeping, multi-million-dollar lobbying arrangement with former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar, including a headline-grabbing $1.2 million, 12-month retainership. To accept a high-stakes geopolitical consultancy contract explicitly engineered to manufacture external friction, distort historical realities, and craft alternative …

All along, the government particularly failed to carry out a physical survey on its remnants, and to undertake its eco-valuation. Government’s laxity had encouraged the grabbing of its land by the park’s adjoining local communities, as well as ceding it as booty, to top politicians of the two major political parties that have ruled the state in succession. Also, the …

The problem was not necessarily the decision to remove the subsidy. The problem was that we did not adequately prepare the country for the consequences of removing it. A reform of this magnitude should never be treated as merely an accounting exercise. When you remove a subsidy in an economy where transportation costs affect the price of food, where businesses …

Oghara’s security concerns cannot be viewed narrowly through the prism of kidnapping and violent crime. When farmers are afraid to access their farms, agriculture suffers. When businesses fear insecurity, investment suffers. When parents worry about their children, social confidence suffers. When strategic institutions and economic assets require heightened security, the entire local economy feels the pressure. And when young people …

Despite agitations NPDC has refused to enforce Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study, and a Corporate Social Responsible (CSR) obligation to the center. NPDC had established its palatial headquarters on designated BENZOPA’s land. Edo State government had ignored such loud public calls to bring NPDC, and other violators to justice. As if flying the kite by some well-placed land-grabbing politicians, a …

Rev. David Ugolor’s intervention reminds the nation of an enduring truth: development is not measured by promises but by performance; not by contracts awarded but by projects completed to enduring standards. His campaign also challenges policymakers to rethink infrastructure beyond political tenures. Roads designed to serve generations should not become casualties of changing administrations or fragmented implementation. National assets demand …

The decision to govern with a same-faith ticket marked a significant departure from Kaduna’s long-established tradition of religious balance in executive leadership. To many Christians—particularly those in Southern Kaduna—it conveyed an unsettling message: that political representation had become optional for one of the state’s largest faith communities. Whether intended or not, perception matters in democratic governance. When millions of citizens …

Governance rankings have undeniable value. They can encourage healthy competition among states, inspire reforms and provide useful benchmarks for policymakers. However, they should never become substitutes for democratic engagement. Development cannot be reduced to a numerical score detached from the people whose welfare represents the ultimate purpose of governance. The most enduring measure of progress is not merely an index …

‘Emperor’ Tenebe as a chairman of the Edo wing of the so-called biggest ruling party in Africa, that also prides itself as “progressive” and a “congress” has utterly derailed. A man who once allegedly accused his kin of stealing his personal wristwatch worth over a whooping US$250,000 (over N360 million), deserves to be rejected because of impropriety and worldliness, and …

For decades, the standard response to insurgency has been the check-and-patrol model—a 20th-century solution to 21st-century warfare. The reality is that checkpoints have become obsolete; they are often bypassed, ignored, or exploited by criminal elements who possess superior knowledge of the terrain. The “old hunter” must now adapt. If the criminal has moved from stealing goats to sophisticated, multi-state kidnapping …