Public Affairs Analyst

By your grace, Almighty God, I turn 53 years on earth today, April 28, 2022. Wow! What a big deal! Am super excited to see this day because many wish to but are not fortunate enough to see it. In 2016, I had lost a younger sister, Tolu, at the age of 40. It was a heart rending experience. I therefore do not take it for granted that I have survived another year in a turbulent and dangerous country like Nigeria. All glory to you, heavenly father, The Bible says in Psalm 150 verse 6: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”. Indeed, I have more than breath. I have life. I have children. I have a peaceful home. I have all the material things that count for one to be addressed as a successful man. I also have name and face recognition as a result of my many media advocacies. At the last count, I have featured in 44 newspapers, magazines and newsletters; 51 radio stations and 42 Television stations. This is my tenth year of writing column for The PUNCH newspaper and second year of ...

  SINCE the ruling All Progressives Congress announced the fees for the Expression of Interest and Nomination Form last Wednesday, a lot of people have been criticising the party for charging high nomination fees. Some said it will promote corruption in government. Others said it is illegal. However, many have failed to understand the motive behind these charges, especially by the dominant political parties, the APC and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party. Since the APC saga broke out, I have granted three media interviews on the issue. The first was to TV 360, Premium Times and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria. Before delving into the merit and the demerit of the high party nomination fees and its implication on democracy, let’s first see what the charges are. Using the Premium Times report of Sunday, April 24, 2022 on the issue as a guide, the newspaper observed as that the APC, at a meeting of its National Executive Committee attended by the President, Major G...

    “ ONLY great teachers can produce excellent pupils and students that will make the future of our country great. A positive or negative influence of a teacher on any child will have an effect on that child. Therefore, the Federal Government is ensuring quality education.” – Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu on October 5, 2020 while commemorating World Teachers’ Day. I was a teacher, son of a retired teacher and village headmaster. I have had a stint teaching in Ibadan, shortly before my National Youth Service Corps; during my youth service in Asaba, Delta State and in a private school in Lagos before I got the job that brought me to Abuja in 2002. My father, Deacon Isaac Oyeniyi Ojo, of blessed memory was a thoroughbred teacher.   Apart from his Grade II certificate, he also endeavoured to acquire a Certificate in Education from the University of Ibadan. He taught for 35 years (1960 – 1995). Why this brief history of my dad and me? It is to show my love for...

  LAST Thursday, April 7, 2022, the chairman of Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Elias Mbam, presented the report of the proposed new revenue allocation formula for Nigeria to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the State House. This is coming 30 years after the last exercise was carried out in 1992. Highlighting the key recommendations in the report, Mbam said the proposed vertical revenue allocation formula suggested 45.17 per cent for the Federal Government, 29.79 per cent for state governments and 21.04 per cent for the local governments. Under the current sharing arrangement, the Federal Government takes 52.68 per cent of the revenue share, states get 26.72 per cent while local governments get 20.60 per cent. Under special funds, he said, the report by the commission recommended 1.0 per cent for ecology, 0.5 per cent for stabilisation, 1.3 per cent for development of natural resources and 1.2 per cent for the Federal Capital Territo...

  Introduction Section 14 (2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (as amended) states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government while Section 17(2) (c) says ‘governmental actions shall be humane’. It is doubtful if any of the tiers of government in Nigeria is meeting any of these constitutional provisions. In Nigeria today, as a result of the protracted and festering insecurity, the country is now in the Hobbesian state where life is short, brutish and nasty. Many analysts have traced the remote causes of the current spate of insecurity to the fratricidal war the country fought for three years between 1967 and 1970. It is called civil war. However, an estimated over one million people allegedly lost their lives on the side of the separatist Biafran agitators and the Nigerian armed forces. Quite unfortunately, when the war ended on January 15, 1970, there was no disarmament. Thus, a lot of small arms and ligh...

  I tried to find an apt way of describing the state of insecurity in Nigeria and what has been the government’s response and the above poem by Poet Laureate, Olumide Olaniyan, came to mind. In fact, more than the poem itself, I fancied the artistic illustration on the book, which shows the sheep chasing after a lion. Indeed, it is the lucidity of absurdity. Last Monday, April 4, 2022, I was a guest on a programme called “Perspective” on Invicta 98.9 FM Kaduna to x-ray the state of insecurity in Nigeria and proffer solutions to it.   In truth, insecurity or terrorism is not peculiar to Nigeria and neither did the ugly phenomenon start with the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). In fact, while insurgency in terms of a surge in the activities of Boko Haram started in 2009, insecurity is traceable to the immediate period after the end of the civil war in 1970. What gave rise to this was the large cache of small arms and light weapons in the hands o...