Public Affairs Analyst

  Last Thursday, October 8, 2026, Stanley Alieke, my learned friend’s firm, Law Capitol organised a public discuss with the theme “Criminal Administration in Nigeria- Economic and Financial Crimes in Focus”. Stan practically dragged me there as a discussant. It turned out to be very exciting, with many legal luminaries and academic juggernauts in attendance. The Chief of Staff to the EFCC Chairman, as well as a couple of the anti-corruption agency’s directors, were in attendance.    My intervention at the event was that we often focus on mega corruption among the political class and public servants while glossing over the petty corruption many of us commit with impunity every day. I also cited the phenomenon of spiritual corruption where many religious leaders are now deeply enmeshed in corrupt practices. According to the Financial Crimes Academy, “Bribery and corruption are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. Bribery refers to the offering, giv...

  It’s a red-letter day for me, ladies and gentlemen. I ventured into writing for the media exactly 36 years ago. Prof. OBC Nwolise nudged me into it in 1988.   Then I was a student under his tutelage during my A Level studies organised by the Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan. Today is a day of multiple celebrations – thirty-six years of my media advocacy and 14 years as a Columnist with The PUNCH newspaper. This is a day of reflection and reminiscences. In my over three decades of being involved with the media at both national and international levels, I have witnessed a lot which is worth sharing. Media taught me the true definition of passion. I am very passionate about making my voice heard and count on topical national issues. I started out with writing “Letter to the Editor” in the defunct Daily Sketch in Ibadan. Thereafter, I began writing full blown articles of 1,000 – 1,300 words. When Daily Sketch started rejecting my articles which were critical of milit...

  I was, and I am, a teacher. I was a Parents Teachers Association-hired teacher at Oba Akinbiyi High School (II), Mokola, Ibadan, in 1997. Apart from that stint, I also taught briefly at a private secondary school during my National Youth Service in Asaba, Delta State, as well as at another private secondary school in the Akowonjo area of Lagos State around 2001/2002. My late father, Deacon Isaac Ojo, taught for about 40 years across several primary schools in Oyo and Osun sates and retired as a headmaster in 1995. Currently, I don’t just teach but train people across various democratic institutions, namely election management bodies (Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria and State Independent Electoral Commissions), political parties, media, national and state legislative assemblies, police, and civil society organisations. Information gleaned from the website of UNESCO says, “World Teachers’ Day is held annually on October 5 to celebrate all teachers around the ...

Hearty congratulations compatriots on our country’s 66 th Independence Anniversary. I await what President Bola Tinubu will be telling us tomorrow, October 1. Meanwhile, I decide to drilldown the importance of fixing our politics if we want to see  good governance and development. I commend the yeoman’s job Dr. Oby Ezekwesili is doing at the School of Politics, Policy and Governance under the Fix Politics Nigeria project. I have had a rare privilege of being a resource person at the school. Information garnered from online source says SPPG “is a transformative leadership programme aimed at developing a new generation of public leaders across Africa. The programme focuses on building value-driven, disruptive public leaders grounded in character, competence, and capacity. SPPG emerged from research at the Robert Bosch Academy and has since become a pan-African movement for better leadership, addressing governance challenges shared by African countries. The school runs in Nigeria, ...

  It’s campaign season quite alright. From August 19 to February 4, 2027, politicians vying for different political offices are going to be criss-crossing their constituencies to tell what they intend to do for the people if voted into office. It is however concerning and disheartening to witness the scant regard that Nigeria’s political class held the Peace Accord they voluntarily signed on August 18, 2026. Across several states, politics of intolerance is on display. Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State reportedly said he will orchestrate the removal of Local Government chairman that fail to win his council for the ruling All Progressives Congress. The chairman of Kuje Area Council, Samuel Shekwolo asked those who will not vote for APC to leave the Council. Chairman of Gwandu Local Government, Alhaji Atiku Mandiya was seen in a viral video telling his supporters to deal with anyone speaking against Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State ahead of 2027 elections.   Borno St...

  I was once again dragged into the debate on whether it is   long overdue for Nigerian politicians to possess higher educational qualifications to be able to contest for political offices. This argument ensued on Monday, September 14, 2026 when I featured on Morning Brief hosted by Bukola Coker and Geoffery Uzono on Channels Television. We were reviewing the list of presidential and national assembly candidates for 2027 General Elections that was published by the Independent National Electoral Commission over the weekend.   Section 131 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as altered set the qualification for election as President as follows:   “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if - (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of thirty-five years; (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certif...

  Is Nigeria now a country of fakes and counterfeits? Last week, the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council reported that it uncovered 12 fake agencies and a network of about 58 bank accounts allegedly linked to its detained Director-General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi disclosed the findings   while presenting the panel’s preliminary report to parliamentary correspondents in Abuja on the circumstances surrounding the council’s inclusion in the Federal Budget Framework. Over the weekend, there was a trending video where the immediate past Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo claimed that his wife Dolapo traced a recurring headache to a staple of freshly squeezed orange juice she makes a habit of taking every morning. According to the former No. 2 citizen of Nigeria, a laboratory test on the oranges she used in preparing the juice were found...

  Last Thursday, August 27, 2026, Osun, the state of the Living Spring clocked 35 years having been created by military fiat in 1991. I was one of the advocates for the creation of Osun from the old Oyo State. My advocacy piece was published in the defunct Daily Sketch newspaper of Friday, August 16, 1991. Though Oyo State is the land of my birth as sang by renowned reggae artiste, Eric Donaldson, my ancestry is however in Osun. My dad is from IleOgbo, headquarters of Ayedire Local Government, same town where the current Director General of National Youth Service Corps, Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu hails from while my mum is from Ikire, headquarters of Irewole Local Government. Osun is very unique in many ways. Spiritually, Ile-Ife is believed to be the source and cradle   of Yoruba race. Several world-famous religious leaders such as Apostle Joseph Babalola the founder of Christ Apostolic Church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God...

  The campaign season for the 2027 polls in Nigeria officially began last Wednesday, August 19, 2026. This is for presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives candidates and their political parties. Those of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates will kick off on September 9, 2026.   All campaigns are to cease 24 hours to election day according to the Timetable and Schedule of Activities published by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Campaigns are to hold for 150 days according to section 98. (1) of Electoral Act 2026 which states that “For the purpose of this Act, the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 150 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.” It is noteworthy that perhaps for the first time since the National Peace Committee was established in 2014, the NPC has decided to have two Peace Accord signing ceremonies ahead of 2027 General Elections. The first one was held last week T...

  It’s stale news that Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State defeated 14 other candidates to win the just held August 15, 2026 off-cycle governorship election in my state – the State of the Living Spring! This brings to an end the roller coaster of eight off-cycle governorship polls which started in 2023 with   Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo, followed by Edo and Ondo in 2024 then came Anambra in 2025 and lastly Ekiti and Osun in 2026. In the lead up to last Saturday’s poll, I have had countless number of media interviews across the print and broadcast stations. Not only that, as a psephologist, I had the good fortune of conducting pre-election assessment for The Kukah Centre in Osun in February this year and returning in April for the validation of our report. Am happy that the Independent National Electoral Commission was able to conduct a conclusive and successful Osun governorship poll but was the election free, fair and credible? Yes, peoples vote counted in the reelection of th...

  Last Saturday, August 8, 2026, I was a guest on the breakfast show of the Silverbird Television to discuss the menace of vandalism in Nigeria. What prompted this discussion was the recent news report that vandals have descended on the link flyover between Alakija and FESTAC Town   Area of Lagos State. The state’s Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab stated that investigations showed that the suspects allegedly removed iron rods, steel reinforcements, cables and other materials critical to the bridge’s structural integrity. According to the commissioner, 27 hoodlums suspected to have committed the crime have been arrested during a joint overnight operation involving operatives of the Rapid Response Squad and the Kick Against Indiscipline task force. It is noteworthy that this is not an isolated event. All over the country, acts of vandalism are being perpetrated by scoundrels and undesirable elements. Manholes are underground access points use...

  For so long, Nigeria has been in   the world news with ‘not-so-pleasant’ stories. Fake agency, wasteful budget, corruption allegation, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, Yahoo-yahoo or internet scams, irregular migration, drug trafficking, herder / farmers clashes, poverty and unemployment are some of the news broadcasts by international media organisations about my country. It is however heartwarming to learn that something good has come out of Nigeria’s Nazareth in sports, I mean athletics. The Commonwealth Games is a global multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Commonwealth of Nations. First staged in 1930 as the British Empire Games in Hamilton, Canada with 11 countries and 6 sports, the event has grown from 400 athletes into a massive international gathering representing dozens of nations and territories. It was proposed in 1891 by Astley Cooper to build unity in the British Empire. Canceled in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II. Renamed over time t...