Public Affairs Analyst

Last month, Nigeria celebrated 18 years of uninterrupted democratic rule in the Fourth Republic. Both the executive and legislative arms spoke glowingly of their contributions to the country’s democratic consolidation. However, not much was heard about the contributions of the third arm, the judiciary. In the recent past, particularly under this All Progressives Congress government, there have been unrelenting in demonising the members of the bench and bar. Judges and lawyers are castigated as being the cog in the wheel of anti-corruption. There are indeed corrupt judges and lawyers just as there are corrupt persons in all walks of life. However, the ignominious actions of few should not be used as a yardstick to judge an entire institution. I dare say that, but for the courage and activism displayed by the judiciary, there would have been anarchy in this country and military may have had a good reason to stage a coup to topple extant civilian administration.  Nigerian judiciary...

For quite some time now, there has been clamour for restructuring of Nigeria. Not a few people, I inclusive, believe that the solution to the heightening socio-political tension currently being experienced in Nigeria lies in making our federal system of government work better. Since the June 6, 2017 provocative Arewa youths quit order to Igbos to vacate the 19 northern states within three months, many observers had called on the federal government to dust up the 2014 National Conference report for implementation so that the brewing tension can be doused. One thing most Nigerians agreed on is that our current federal system is fundamentally flawed and skewed in practice. It does not guarantee equity, justice and fairness. There are ample evidences to cite about the marginalisation, discrimination, criminal neglect and domination of one ethnic group against the other. The federal character principle which was designed to address the fears of the minorities and promote inclusive govern...

June 6, 2017 is an ominous day in the history of Nigeria. On that day, a coalition of Northern youth groups   addressed a press conference at Arewa House in Kaduna where they issued a proclamation that the 19 Northern States of Nigeria are pulling out of the country as they can no longer co-habit with the Igbos whom they labeled as being acrimonious, ingrate, violent and the architect of the 1967 – 1970 civil war. They therefore gave three months quit notice to all the Igbos living in Northern Nigeria to relocate elsewhere while also asking all Northerners living in the south-eastern states to leave the region and return to their respective states. The youth groups accused Northern elders of being unperturbed with the secessionist activities of the Igbos and pursuing a fruitless pacifist agenda with the Igbos.  According to Alhaji Abdulaziz Suleiman who spoke on behalf of the groups, “We are hereby placing the Nigerian authorities and the entire nation on notice, that ...

Rebellion cannot exist without the feeling that somewhere, in some way, you are justified           - Albert Camus  The call for restructuring has never been this strident. Virtually on daily basis the trending news is about the need to restructure this country, Nigeria.  The demand by Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra and its offshoot, the Indigenous People of Biafra for self-determination and similar demand by groups such as the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta as well as Niger Delta Avengers have kept the issue in front burner. The agitations for self-determination are borne largely as a result of real and perceived marginalisation by different ethno-religious groups.   Last Monday was the 24th commemoration of the fiendish annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election by the military junta of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. The poll was considered by political observers...

The game of football has a number of striking similarities with politics. Both are team game. They have referees who ensure that team members play by the rule. In the game of politics, the referee is the election management body which conducts elections. Football teams have coaches and team captain. So do the game of politics. Party executives who organise party primaries from which candidates are nominated for general elections can be likened to the technical team who are responsible for players’ selection in football game. The leaders who emerged after election such as the President, Governors, Local Government  Chairpersons, Senate President, House of Representative Speaker and Speakers of respective State Houses of Assembly could be regarded as team captains. Most importantly, there are two halves in football, likewise in politics.  In football, the second half is more important than the first because that is when games are won and lost. In a football game, a team could...