Public Affairs Analyst

    “If the criminal justice system works effectively, everyone – policemen, lawyers, warders, even inmates – benefits. If it doesn’t, we all lose some way – because we’re all in this vicious cycle together. The only problem is that rather than enthrone a society that works for all, too many want a society that works for them – at the expense of everyone else.” – Fisayo Soyombo, award-winning journalist in his undercover investigative report on Ikoyi Prison in July 2019. Jailbreak is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is a global phenomenon. However, it is not something that should be occurring with the frequency with which it is happening in Nigeria. This year alone, there have been three of such in Owerri, Kabba and more recently, Oyo town. Last October, during the #EndSARS protests several Nigerian prisons and police cells were breached by some criminal elements in society with thousands of detainees and inmates released. Many of them have never been recaptured despite the thre...

  Introduction On Sunday, October 3, 2021, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published what it titled ‘Pandora Papers’ investigation. It is based on one of the biggest-ever leaks of financial documents which exposed a hidden world of shielded wealth belonging to hundreds of politicians and billionaires. The Pandora Papers project involves 617 journalists and 151 media outlets collaborating to investigate a vast amount of previously hidden offshore records of the powerful and super rich in the world. The Consortium of Journalists obtained the trove of 11.9 million confidential files and led the partners, including Nigeria’s PREMIUM TIMES, that spent two years sifting through them, tracking down sources and digging into court files and other public records from dozens of countries. The leaked records come from 14 offshore services firms from around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore nooks for clients often seeking to keep their financ...

  There is always a first time of doing something. I learnt very long time ago the art of documentation and archiving. That’s why I know when I started my media advocacy voyage which is still sailing. In this chronicle, I have tried to recollect and document the first time my ‘Letter to the Editor’ or article or interview was published in many of the newspapers that have published my commentaries. This write-up also contained the first time I featured in many of the radio and television stations that have interviewed me on their various programmes.   To what end am I doing this, it is basically to write my own story of how I have risen to become a media influencer. I couldn’t recall all my first times, particularly since February 2019 when I stopped documenting my media programmes due to the deluge of invitations I receive daily. However, as the saying goes, half bread is better than none. A.     Newspapers 1.      Daily Sketch, Friday, O...

Kudos to Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project better known as SERAP for once again standing up to protect the rights of Nigerians and using the instrumentality of public interest litigation to promote good governance. The group last Friday, October 15, 2021 was in court for the umpteenth time to call out the Federal Government for attempting to monitor the calls, text messages, WhatsApp and other social media accounts of Nigerians. According to news reports, SERAP has filed a lawsuit against the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), asking the court to “declare illegal and unconstitutional the plan by the administration to track, intercept and monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls, and text messages of Nigerians and other people, as it severely threatens and violates the right to the preservation of privacy.” The suit reportedly followed the proposal in the Supplementary Appropriation Act signed in July 2021 to spend N4.87bn to monitor private calls and mess...

    “As we begin to celebrate our sixty-one years as a Nation, we need to be conscious that Nigeria does not start and end with the Federal Government. This country is a great collective where Government at all arms and levels as well as the private sector, and more importantly individuals, have a role to play.” – The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in his October 1, 2021 Independence Day broadcast. The President was spot on when he made the statement on the opening paragraph during this year’s Independence Day celebration. To many Nigerians, the President is a letdown for not doing enough to promote their welfare and protect them. To them, the bad road in their neighbourhood, their non-functioning Primary Health Care centre, their not having potable water, their dilapidated community schools, the epileptic power supply to their homes, and non-payment of their wages and salaries as and when due are all blamed on Buhari. Indeed, many Nigerians do not co...