Opinion Corner

This question should be of particular interest to Nigerians as we prepare to vote in yet another election. Nigerian governments have traditionally taken a very conservative stance on social issues, choosing to support private businesses belonging to their associates over ordinary people: rather than attempt to fix the structural conditions enabling poverty, the choice has often been to pretend, for …

By Louis Odion, FNGE Again, either idle mischief or sheer economic illiteracy is demonstrated when PDP accuses Buhari of borrowing too much money since 2015. PDP’s larceny and squandermania had bled the economy so much that by the time Jonathan was exiting, even federal workers were being owed back pay for the first time in Nigeria’s history. So, Buhari’s borrowing …

By Louis Odion, FNGE In order that things do not get too complicated and the original question lost, let us, for now, conveniently ignore the growing insinuations of official hypocrisy here by not remembering that the issuant of the very order with which Onnoghen was clobbered too is yet to fully wash himself clean of similar allegation of receiving bribes …

A former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, has described the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, as an attack on the constitution. Mr Onnoghen, who was charged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on January 14, with offences bordering on non declaration of assets, was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday. Mr Buhari, …

By Louis Odion, FNGE While offering clarification on the prospects of immortality, Awolowo had famously declared those who could truly be called “Awoists” in future would not necessarily be those related to him by blood or old association, but by shared values. So, if Awoism could be defined in broad terms as a fierce fidelity to a progressive ideology, stubborn …

By Dr. Matthew Ayibakuro The scandals involving the first Secretary to the Government of the Federation under the current administration, Babachir Lawal and the recent case of the former chairman, Presidential Task Force on Pension Reform, Abdul Rasheed Maina are instances that could have been handled more decisively in the context of anticorruption.  The apprehension of nepotism in appointments under …

By Louis Odion, FNGE In framing his own policy on environment, Sanwo-Olu says he draws inspiration from the sort of audacity behind the Bill Gates Initiative in the United States turning human feces to drinkable water. It may sound crazy; but Gates’ idea is already being viewed in enlightened circles as the future’s more sustainable way to fix waste disposal …

The campaign document of the presidential candidate of the PDP identifies anticorruption and the rule of law as one of its priority areas. It proceeds on the premise that the lack of progress in addressing corruption is caused by lack of transparency, absence of mechanisms for effective law enforcement, breakdown of rule of law and order, weak institutions and the …

Whereas the establishment people are wont to highlight the bright side perhaps in anticipation of a chance to retain their jobs and continue “business as usual,” most – if not all – will however duck invitation to debate the old question: how do we detoxify the prevailing operating environment with a view to making the technology more impactful to a …

Paradoxically, the average Nigerian politician usually shares this perspective until they gain power. Suddenly, the erstwhile clear-headed, fire-spitting visionary turns an agent of reaction, feverishly seeking to preserve the sitting arrangement at the national buffet and the crooked sharing formula. It explains why PDP hierarchs had pooh-poohed the idea of restructuring while in power but today are quite vociferous in …