Opinion

There must be something about political power that makes otherwise good men to act contrary to expectations once in power. And it can be very dispiriting. Let me mention immediately that I do not know Governor Emeka Ihedioha from Adam.

The above is an excerpt from one of many brilliant works of poetry by the late American writer and poet, Maya Angelou. In the expository tome, “ALL GOD’S CHILDREN NEED TRAVELLING SHOES”, Angelou reminds us all about the attribute of the place a man calls home.

All Praise is due to GOD Almighty Who spared our lives to be present at this great occasion. We give thanks also that the democratic process has been further entrenched and strengthened.

The closure of media houses was a common phenomenon under the defunct military dictatorship in Nigeria. Since the restoration of civil rule 20 years ago, the dangerous trend has continued under succesive regimes either through military invasion of media houses or seizure of copies of newspapers.

There are three arms of government, no doubt: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. They are very pivotal to sustainability of any democracy. Other institutions of democracy include the Election Management Bodies such as the Independent National Electoral Commission and State Independent Electoral Commission, Civil Society Organisations, the media and the political parties. Members of political parties are called politicians.

There is the increasing wave of suicide across the country; there is decaying standard of education and so many other ways a first lady could bring her competences to bear on the development of a nation at a non-governmental level. Such a legacy of selfless service to fatherland without playing to the gallery or publicly detracting from her husband’s efforts, no matter how futile it seems to be, is what Mrs Aisha Buhari should consider for the next four years.

Problems with the Public Service are often complex and intractable. There are various reasons why Public Service Reforms are difficult in most environments and are particularly difficult in developing countries, such as Nigeria.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the US President in tough times. The Great Depression and World War II were harrowing events that could have mowed Americans down to the rubble. But, the 32nd President successfully pulled the country to safety and succour. There is none in American history granted more frequent access to sit in the Oval Office as President Roosevelt.

The realities begin to unravel when one takes an honest look at the official presidential results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and a different result presented by Atiku Abubakar — with special attention to the National Assembly figures.

The argument that President Muhammadu Buhari should bother more about Atiku Abubakar’s petition against his re-election rather than concentrating on forming a government, loses sight of the ‘no vacuum in government’ philosophy

The doctors are moving to societies where they are better paid because staying back in Nigeria keeps them on the poverty belt. A country that devalues its currency like Nigeria has done in relation to other major currencies like the Euro, dollar and pound is definitely going to have a huge crisis within its society.

The historical context of this occasion of the public presentation of the Minority Report & Draft Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1976 is bound to generate hope with an admixture of regrets.

Two days ago, while waiting as usual, at the Lagos airport, for delayed flights, I met a group talking about the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and its handling of the asset declaration case of former Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen. It was a heated but thrilling debate which began with a discussion on whether or not, the case could inspire our anti-corruption bodies.

For those of us who had hoped against hope, the 2019 presidential election has proved to be the last straw. We are now convinced that Nigeria is a hopeless case. This country is not just a major disappointment; it is decidedly firmly on the trajectory of a future break up.

Young people are leading a people’s revolution in Algeria and Sudan, both developments remind us forcefully of the wages of mis-governance, the power of the people to seize control of their own destiny, and the role that the youth can play in a country’s development process.

Criminal records point to a significant rise in crime following the conclusion of the general elections. While some security experts have attributed the trend to the disengagement of the criminal elements from politically-related activities for which they might have been engaged during the elections, others have attributed the trend to socio-economic factors.

For so many years, following the lead of the resources that came into the national treasury from oil and gas, the mining of solid minerals has been touted as the next big source of revenue. The memories of solid minerals exploitation, including tin and coal, before the discovery of oil provided some nostalgia about bringing back old revenue sources to life.

True to the notification, on Thursday, March 28, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the micro pension plan (MPP) which automatically extends retirement benefits to millions of self-employed workers in the informal sector.