Public Affairs Analyst

It is rainy season again and it comes with mixed feelings. It is that time of the year when people rejoice at the cool weather that affords them an opportunity of peaceful night rest even when the Power Holding Company of Nigeria seizes electricity thereby denying them opportunity of putting on their air-conditioning systems and fans. In an environment where there is a scarcity of water, the rainy season provides the opportunity of storage of rain water for domestic use. The farmers also jubilate at the advent of rain as it helps their crops to grow. Rain water is however only desirable in moderation otherwise the havoc its excess causes is dreadful. Torrential rainfall causes flooding which kills, maims and destroys. My first experience of flooding was in 1980 when Ogunpa River in Ibadan wreaked disaster that led to hundreds of death, collapsed buildings, washing away of roads, uprooting of trees, among others. The ancient city of Ibadan was also visited by flash flooding on August 2...

“Poverty rates remain high in Nigeria, particularly in the rural areas.” —World Bank in its ‘Nigeria Economic Report’ May, 2013 The World Bank on Monday, May 13, 2013, released its economic report on Nigeria. What do we have? A less than complimentary report about my dear country! To my mind, the report largely reinforces what many genuine Nigerian economic analysts have been saying. I have said several times that what Nigeria has been experiencing is growth without development. There is just no way a country experiencing high inflation, unemployment and poverty can be said to be developing even if its economic growth is in double digits. True, as the World Bank observed in its report, “Nigeria’s annual growth rates that average over seven per cent in official data during the last decade place the nation among the fastest growing economies in the world. This growth has been concentrated particularly on trade and agriculture, which would suggest substantial welfare benefits for ...

Today marks exactly two decades since the regime of Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida annulled the most peaceful and credible presidential election in Nigeria’s political history. How time flies! Last Thursday, June 6, the National Assembly rolled out the drums in celebration of the second anniversary of the Seventh Assembly. Last Wednesday, June 5, the Senate Constitution Review Committee presented its report to the plenary, making far-reaching recommendations aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s democracy. All of these were taking place while the crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had yet to abate. Indeed, there are lessons to be learnt in all these developments which, to me, are interrelated. I was an undergraduate in 1993 when the annulment of June 12 election took place. It came to all lovers of democracy as a rude shock. I recall that Nigerians fought tooth and nail to have the military rescind that decision to no avail. Many lives were lost in the post-annulment protests w...

Though ATM might have been introduced more than two decades ago in Nigeria, it was not until the post-consolidation era in 2005 that the machines became popular. The innovation was first piloted in Lagos before being deployed nationwide. With the introduction of cashless policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2011, the use of ATM became imperative. Advantages of ATM are legion. It saves time and helps to decongest banking halls as more people prefer to use their Debit Cards to make withdrawals. It makes withdrawal possible beyond traditional banking hours. Most banks in Nigeria operate between 8am – 4pm. However, ATM is available every hour of the day including weekends and national holidays which are off-days for banks. On the flip side however, Automatic Teller Machine brought with it severe pains, tears and sorrow. Until recently, there exist syndicates who specialise in cloning unwary bank customers debit card. The customers debit card details are cloned in such a way as to enab...

Katsina has demonstrated that there are dividends in democracy –Secretary to the State Government of Katsina. It was my first time in Katsina. I received my nomination to attend the 9th National Delegate Conference of Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria with mixed feelings. I had heard so much about Katsina State, the home of the former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Travelling is said to be part of education but I would rather be excused from travelling to a place where unknown gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram just launched an offensive. It was reported that on Thursday, May 16, 2013, the insurgents invaded Daura divisional police station and raided four commercial banks. I was therefore apprehensive about my safety. Well, I summoned courage and left for the town. I arrived at Katsina safely in the evening of Monday, May 27 and immediately went to town looking for where to recharge ...