Public Affairs Analyst

Boko haram which literally translates in Hausa language as ‘western education is a sin’ is arguably the most widely used expression in Nigeria today. The insurgent group headquartered in Borno State introduced that vocabulary into Nigeria and indeed world lexicon when it started its campaign against western education by attacking schools - abducting and killing the students - and burning down the institutions. As I write this, international appeal is still on to this terrorist group to release about 276 female students of Chibok secondary school they abducted on the night of April 14. The focus of this commentary is however not on the terrorist group but on Nigerian government who has over the decades been showing disdain for western education. Undoubtedly, Nigerian government is boko haram. Be it at federal, state or local government levels. Our government may not be burning schools, abducting pupils as well as killing and maiming students and teachers as the terrorist group is...

If there are things that make the contemporary times better than the olden days, it is the Information Communication Technology. As I type this piece on my personal computer, I cannot but wonder at how we managed to survive those antediluvian days when Olympic typewriter held sway and tippex had to be used to correct errors. Then came the IBM electronic typewriter, an advanced technology. Today, computers have made dinosaur of typists. Secretarial studies has given way to computer studies and many organisations have since stopped hiring confidential secretaries because, in truth, if you have to trust someone to do your typing for you, be rest assured that the content may not be confidential as you think. Today, with computers, it is better to type those secret documents yourself. Experts say that the ICT is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite sys...

It is stale news that Nigeria is under the siege of terrorism. Armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, murder are now routine occurrences so much so that many people have lost count of the number of victims. Even though incidence of crime is nationwide, that of the Northern Nigeria, particularly North-Eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa is particularly more troubling. The insurgent group popularly called Boko Haram has been wreaking a lot of havoc on the residents of the aforementioned states since 2009. As I write this, the abduction of over 200 girls from Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State since April 14, 2014 has dominated the media, be it traditional or social. The #BringBackOurGirls advocates are dominating the social media. The Nigerian government has been trying to restore peace and order in the insurgents’ hot spots but if the truth must be said, our military seem overwhelmed due largely to a number of factors such as inadequate funding, corruption, sabotage ...

At last, the Mohammed Bello Adoke committee’s White Paper on the proposed mergers and acquisitions of federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies was made public on April 7, 2014. This was a clear two years after the inauguration of the committee on April 16, 2012 when the Steve Oronsaye’s Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Agencies, Commissions and Parastatals submitted its report to President Goodluck Jonathan. Oronsaye’s committee itself was set up on August 18, 2011 with a mandate to among others study and review all previous reports on similar exercise; examine the enabling Acts of all MDAs and classify them into various sectors; examine critically their mandates and make appropriate recommendations to either restructure, merge or scrap; and, advise on any other matters, which may be relevant to the desire of government to prune the cost of governance. Oronsaye’s committee in its 800-page report proffered four ways to immediately tackle the ...