Public Affairs Analyst

Anyone living in Nigeria needs a shock therapy from time to time, unless perhaps one does not listen to news or follow up with trending stories. Few days back I learnt from the news that there are over 500 abandoned federal government projects in Akwa Ibom State alone! The revelation was made by a Commissioner in the State. How could that be? But then, I remember that this is Nigeria where anything goes. A Sunday, June 28, 2015 report in the Daily Trust says that the Director of Administration of Chartered Institute of Project Management of Nigeria, Mr. David Godswill Okoronkwo stated in an exclusive interview with the newspaper that there are approximately 56, 000 abandoned government projects across the country. He listed them according to geopolitical zones. In his words,  “South-east has 15,000, South-west, 10,000: South-south, 11,000: North-west, 6,000: North-central, 7,000: North-east, 5,000 and Abuja, 2,000.” All these projects were estimated at N12trn. Earlier on March ...

The recent move by the Oyo State government to enforce the law banning noise pollution in the state is a commendable one.  Indeed, it’s long overdue. It will be recalled that in March this year the State House of Assembly had invited the Commissioner  for Environment and Water Resources,  Isaac Ishola and his counterpart from the  Information, Culture and Tourism Ministry  Toye Arulogun to explain why the law banning noise pollution is still being observed in breach. The duo explained their efforts and challenges and were informed by Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Michael Adeyemo to use the force of law to make defaulters to comply if dialogue is not yielding positive results. Section 58 of the Oyo State Environmental Sanitation and Waste Control Regulation (No. 6, Vol. 38 of 2013) is targeted at curbing noise pollution of religious houses and entertainment outfits. On August 15 this year, the two commissioners addressed the press to update ...

Three weeks ago, precisely from September 20 – 22, I was at Yankari Game Reserve for a three day workshop organised by WaterAid Nigeria. It was an eye-opener! Did you know that 57m people in Nigeria don't have access to safe water?   Did you know that over 130m people don't have access to adequate sanitation in this country?  Did you know that our dear fatherland is the worst country in Africa for urban sanitation access?  Were you aware that in this country, almost 60,000 children under five years old die every year from diarrhoea diseases caused by poor water and sanitation? These are not my personal opinion; it is from WaterAid, an international organisation that is working in 37 countries of the world which has been in Nigeria for about 20 years now. If the above statistics from WaterAid shocked you, calm down and wait for the one from United Nations Children Fund. According to UNICEF, “About 70m people, out of a population of 171m, lacked access to safe drink...

Hearty congratulations Nigerians! Last Sunday, October 1, 2017, our dear country attained 57 years of independence from colonial rule.  Expectedly, a number of activities were lined up to celebrate the epochal event. In line with the somber mood of the nation, there was no rolling out of the drums or any elaborate ceremonies. Prayers were duly offered in mosques and churches and the president addressed the nation at 7am after which he travelled to Maiduguri to celebrate the day with our troops fighting Boko Haram insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country. In the last 72 hours, I have been busy analysing President Muhammadu Buhari’s Independence Day speech across different electronic broadcast platforms. I watched the broadcast in the studio of Nigerian Television Authority after which I discussed it on the station’s flagship programme ‘Weekend Deal’ for some 15 minutes. I thereafter moved to Arise TV for another two part discussions first with former Speaker of House o...