Public Affairs Analyst

  Last Thursday, February 18, 2021, Premium Times, an online newspaper in Nigeria, published an exclusive story on the Federal Government’s planned sale of 36 properties in order to partly fund this year’s budget. According to the newspaper, the Nigerian government is proposing to sell or concession no fewer than 36 of its properties to raise funds, largely to finance the 2021 budget. These properties cut across energy, industries, communication and infrastructural sectors. They are expected to be sold or concessioned between January 2021 and November 2022, it is reported. The document was reportedly submitted to the National Assembly by the federal executive arm and titled, “NCP Approved 2021 Work Plan.” It shows the names of the “projects” (as described by the document), the sale strategy, the duration of the process as well as the cost of the properties. Top among the properties are the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, the Abuja International Conference Centre, some unnam...

  Introduction Security and welfare of the people are the primary purpose of government so says Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended. Unfortunately, government at all levels have failed signally to ensure these basic human rights of the citizens of Nigeria. Banditry, kidnapping for ransom, insurgency, cultism and street gangsterism, robbery, pipeline vandalism, rape, arson, ritual murder, internet scamming, herder / farmer clashes and burglary are some of the heinous crimes being perpetrated in Nigeria with near impunity. Many citizens are having sleepless nights while the Very Important Personalities now lived in fortresses and drive armoured vehicles with armed police and private security escorts. The hapless majority are left to cater for themselves too by hiring private security guards to secure their communities while some others join in mounting guards to ward off criminal elements from their neighbourhoods. Kagara schoo...

“A strong WTO is vital if we are to recover fully and rapidly from the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our organisation faces a great many challenges but working together we can collectively make the WTO stronger, more agile and better adapted to the realities of today.” – Newly-appointed Director-General of World Trade Orgnisation, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria, on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s meritorious appointment on February 15, 2021 as the first female, first African Director-General of the 26-year-old Geneva-based World Trade Organisation is commendable and noteworthy. The WTO General Council agreed by consensus on Monday to select the two-term former Minister of Finance of Nigeria as the organisation’s seventh DG with effect from March 1, 2021. Her term, renewable, will expire on August 31, 2025. The WTO on its website says its functions include: Administering WTO trade agreements; Forum for trade negotiations; Handling trade disputes...

Nigeria is a federation with shared powers between the centre and the federating units. There are three arms and three tiers of government. The three arms of government consist of the executive, legislature and the judiciary while the three tiers of government are the federal, state and local government. Constitutionally speaking, there is one Federal Government with the seat of power at Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, under the leadership of the President. There are 36 state governments under the leadership of the governors and thirdly, there are 774 Local Government Areas under the leadership of chairmen. We have a bicameral legislature at the centre consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives; at the state level, there is a unicameral legislature called state Houses of Assembly.  At the Local Government Level, there is a legislative assembly made up of councillors. Ironically, while the Federal Government has over the years allowed for financial autonomy and ad...

  There is hardly any cheering news in Nigeria these days. Pervasive insecurity has cowed people with citizens taking to praying and fasting seeking divine help for protection. Truth be told, insecurity is not peculiar to Nigeria, as it is a global phenomenon. However, while many other countries have found creative ways of tackling and taming this monster, Nigeria seems to be paying lip service to her security challenges. Banditry, kidnapping for ransom, insurgency, cultism and street gangsterism, robbery, pipeline vandalism, rape, arson, ritual murder, Internet scamming, herder-farmer clashes and burglary are some of the heinous crimes being perpetrated in Nigeria with near impunity. Many citizens are having sleepless nights while the Very Important Personalities now live in fortresses and drive armoured vehicles with armed police and private security escorts. The hapless majority are left to cater for themselves too by hiring private security guards to secure their communities ...