Public Affairs Analyst

“If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die.”   ― William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night   Imagine a Nigeria without music. How will it be? Exciting, colourful, peaceful, dull or boring? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? Music which is otherwise referred to as joyful noises is a necessity in a world full of tension, bloodletting, fear, sorrow and despondence. Music helps to lift people’s spirit when they are sad. It helps to calm frayed nerves. It heals, it gladdens, it excites. There are people who read best when they listen to music. There are people who sleep soundly when they are listening to music. Even while exercising, driving or doing house chores, people listen to music. No party or political rally is complete without music. Anyone who dances without music would be seen as a potential psychiatrist patient because all dances are to be accompanied with music and perhaps musical instr...

The above question was what many journalists and distinguished guests who graced the public presentation of my second book, ‘A Nation in Tow: Essays on Governance and Leadership in Nigeria’ asked me last Thursday, August 25, 2016. It was a rainbow coalition of sort as people from all walks of life gathered to celebrate with me on the August occasion of the two in one event which also featured a public lecture that was delivered by a literary icon and eminent scholar, Professor Isaac Olawale Albert from the University of Ibadan. Among the very important personalities who attended the occasion were the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who was ably represented by the INEC Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Barrister Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi;   the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, MFR,mni represented by    Deputy Corps Commandant, Raymond C. Uduche;   the immediate past Executive Sec...

On Tuesday, August 16, 2016, The Electoral Institute, the think-tank of the Independent National Electoral Commission, with funding support from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation rallied all election stakeholders to discuss the lingering issue of inconclusive elections in Nigeria. The roundtable which was held at the organisation’s auditorium in Abuja had in attendance academics, top INEC staff and a robust representation from the political parties, security agencies, legislature, media and non-governmental organisations. The theme of the forum was, “Trends of inconclusive elections and the challenge of strengthening the electoral process in Nigeria”.  The lead speakers were Prof. William Alade Fawole; Prof Joy Ngozi Ezeilo and Prof. Habu Mohammed. There were also 11 lead discussants. I was one of the distinguished participants. Setting the ball rolling, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Board of the Electoral Institute, Hajia Amina Bala Zakari, argued that co...

The crisis rocking the acclaimed biggest political party in Africa, the Peoples Democratic Party, is yet to abate. Indeed, it got worse during the week as confusion reigned supreme at the second attempted convention of the party in three months held in Port Harcourt on August 17, 2016. It would be recalled that the party had on May 21 tried to hold a convention but due to the litany of court judgments barring it had decided to set up a caretaker committee under the leadership of former Kaduna State governor, Senator Ahmed Makarfi. Last Wednesday, Police in a proactive manner locked the party members out of the Sharks Stadium venue of the convention and the party had to move the event to its secretariat in the state. Ahead of the convention, an Abuja Federal High Court presided over by Justice Okon Abang had ruled that holding the convention will be in contempt of his court order while another Port Harcourt Federal High court had okayed the holding of the convention. Apparently, the...

Last Thursday, August 11, 2016, the National Human Rights Commission released a 284-page report indicting 66 individuals and organisations allegedly involved in electoral crimes in the 2007 and 2011 elections. They were said to have been involved in either criminal offences or administrative, judicial and professional misconduct. Among them are a former Independent National Electoral Commission chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu; former governors Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta); Oserheimen Osunbor (Edo); Clarence Olafemi (Kogi); former Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. C. E. Onukogu; Senator Hosea Ehinlanwo (Ondo); Senator Ayo Arise (Ekiti); Mukhtari Shehu Shagari and Chief Adefemi Kila. Others are the late Maj. Gen. Abubakar Tanko Ayuba (retd.), Aminu Sule Garo and Mr. Tarzoor Terhemen. In the list also are Patrick Ashagu Ebinny; Abubakar L. Abdullahi; Felix Osaigbovo (INEC Presiding Officer); and Umar Abdullahi. A police officer, ASP Christopher Oloyede, and two lawyers, G. ...

A war foretold does not kill a wise cripple – Yoruba proverb. It has been said repeatedly that Nigeria is at a threshold of witnessing another flood disaster comparable to, if not worse than, what the country experienced in 2012. On Monday, August 8, 2016, Nigerian Meteorological Agency in its latest flood alert said “After thorough analyses of rainfall data from our observatories nationwide for June and July, we wish to provide the following information and advisories to the public, especially those in the affected areas. Soil moisture has either reached saturation, or near saturation levels due to cumulative high intensity rainfall in some parts of the country in June and July. The affected states include Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Kaduna, Kwara, Nasarawa, Yobe and Zamfara. This means that floods should be expected in these areas because the soil is no longer able to absorb more rainwater in the coming weeks which coincide with the peak of the rainy ...

In my column on this page on Wednesday, July 3, 2013, I wrote about the ‘Unique features of Ogun State.’ In that piece,   I x-rayed the immense   contributions of the state to the political economy of the South West geo-political zone as well as Nigeria in general. I also mentioned a number of first prizes the state has won in the annals of Nigerian history. I said inter alia that: “Ogun State indigenes have scored a number of firsts in Nigeria. The first Premier of the old Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo is from Ikenne in Ogun State. The first woman credited to have driven a car in Nigeria, late Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti is from the state.    The first Nobel Laureate for Literature in Black Africa, Prof. Wole Soyinka also hails from Ogun State. The first indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria, Chief Ademola Adetokunbo; The first western trained psychiatrist in Africa, Professor Adeoye Lambo; The first Nigerian lawyer, Alexander Akintola Sapara-Williams; ...

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well. - Pierre de Coubertin. The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics holding in Brazil is underway having officially commenced on August 5, 2016 . Although, the games unofficially opened on Wednesday. August 3 with women football matches.   Over 11,000 athletes from 206 countries will be participating in 306 events in 28 sports at the quadrennial games. Since Nigeria made her debut in 1952, the country’s athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics Games, except that of 1976 in Montreal, Canada because of the African boycott. President Muhammadu Buhari   on July 19, 2016 ‎ at the official handover of Team Nigeria to the Nigeria Olympic Committee and his investiture as the Grand Patron of the body said   “Nigeria has 49 qualified male athletes and 29 female athletes, giving us a total of 78 athletes in 10 sport discipline...

There is no gainsaying that Nigeria is seriously challenged. It is obvious, isn’t it? However, the greatest threat to national stability today is food security. By way of definition, food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. The family menu is fast disappearing. Juju music icon, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, in one of his classic albums released in the late 1980s said Nigerians were using formula to eat. He sang about various eating formula such as 0-0-1, 0-1-0, 1-0-0, 1-0-1 and many others. The 1 in those numerals represents the meals families eat per day out of the three they are supposed to eat. True, in many homes, particularly, among the majority poor Nigerians, hardly will one see those who are having 1-1-1 which represents three square meals per day. Food is a serious matter. It is said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Hunger and starvation had precipitated revolution in many countries. Hi...