Public Affairs Analyst

Nigeria’s economy was declared as the biggest in Africa in 2014. However, the vulnerability of the economy nay the country has been exposed by the perennial energy crises the country has had to contend with. By energy crisis I mean the challenges being faced by the citizenry in getting affordable and steady supply of petroleum products and electricity. Barely two weeks of strikes by oil marketers and unions the country’s economy has suddenly become comatose. As at Monday, May 25, 2015, petroleum products had become so scarce and prices astronomic to the extent that many public and private businesses either commenced skeletal operations or shut down completely. Banks began to close by 1pm instead of 4pm. Some electronic media outfits drastically reduced their broadcast time from 24 hours to barely 8 hours per day. Telecommunication companies informed customers of their intention to embark on degraded services while many flights were cancelled by airline operators. Even the secur...

For some time now, especially since the beginning of 2015, Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol has been very scarce in Abuja and many other cities across the country. I live and work in Abuja and can count the number of times I have got fuel at the official rate of N87 per litre since the year began. Of course, for those who do not attach much value to time, they do not mind queuing for hours on end at the few filling stations that are selling at the official rate. For some of us, we have embraced buying at the black market even if we have to pay twice or thrice the official price. I have tried to conduct a preliminary study as to the root causes of the perennial scarcity of petrol in Nigeria. What I found out is mind-boggling. The problem came to being largely as a result of the non-maintenance of our oil refineries. Nigeria currently has five of them. Two in Port Harcourt; the old refinery inaugurated in 1965 with the current nameplate capacity of 60,000 barrels per str...

“ A politician in government has a choice between doing what is right and doing what is popular ” – Ibrahim Shehu Shema, outgoing Governor of Katsina State, May 9, 2015.   I thoroughly enjoyed the live interview held last Saturday on Channels Television by Ms Modele Sarafa Yusuf and three others with the outgoing Governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shehu Shema. It was a commemorative interview to honour the governor who won the maiden The Sun Outstanding Performance Exit Award. The award was instituted by The Sun publishing company to promote commitment to quality governance. It is exclusively for a governor who is finishing two terms in office, and has been widely adjudged to have made sterling impacts on the lives of his people across various sectors. Katsina State, for those who did not know, was carved out of Kaduna State in 1987 and can be safely regarded as a power state given the political heavyweights who hail from the state. The state is home to the President e...

Jide Ojo “Quality journalism enables citizens to make informed decisions about their society’s development. It also works to expose injustice, corruption, and the abuse of power…Freedom of expression and press freedom are not luxury attributes that can wait until sustainable development has been achieved – it is an enabler for the enjoyment of all human rights and, therefore, vital to good governance and the rule of law.” - Part of a joint statement for the 2015 World Press Freedom Day issued by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. ADVERTISEMENT On May 3, 2015, the world celebrated another Press Freedom Day under the theme, “Let Journalism Thrive: Towards better reporting, gender equality and media safety in the digital age.” It has been an annual ritual laced with symposia and awards. This year’s theme is very fitting given the escalating danger of media ...

As the Independent National Electoral Commission winds down on the 2015 general elections which were held on March 28 and April 11 with supplementary polls on April 25 and 28, I join millions of Nigerians and indeed other world leaders to congratulate INEC and Nigerian government on a successful exercise. Local and international observer groups have been lauding the significant improvements we have made as a country in consolidating democracy. Indeed, there were many firsts recorded with the just concluded elections. It is the first time in this Fourth Republic (i.e. 1999 to 2015) that the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would lose power at the center and many of the states (Both executive and legislative arms). It is the first time an opposition political party would defeat the ruling party in states like Kaduna, Niger, Katsina, Adamawa, Plateau, and Benue. It is also the first time several peace accords would be signed by political parties and their candidates contestin...

    Jide Ojo “You must listen attentively and enquire appropriately, taking care not to descend into the arena. In addition, it is crucial that you consider all the evidence before you carefully, deliberate conscientiously, and adjudicate swiftly and justly as not only you but the entire judiciary will also be on trial ” —Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed, at the inauguration of 242 election tribunal judges on February 3, 20 15 . Do you know that the 2015 general elections are not technically over yet? How do I mean? Yes, the Independent National Electoral Commission may have done its bit by conducting elections into the various political offices ranging from that of the president, governors, Senate, House of Representatives and the state Houses of Assembly, however, both the political parties and their candidates have the locus st andi to challenge the outcome of the polls. The constitution of Nigeria confers the right on them to ventilate...

The 2015 elections have largely been conducted save for the supplementary governorship elections to be conducted this Saturday in Taraba, Imo and Abia states. In spite of the large number of losers who conceded defeats, many of the defeated candidates and political parties are heading for the election petitions tribunals to seek redress. That is a good omen. It is better to ventilate your grievances at the tribunal rather than on the street. After elections, comes governance and as we approach the May 29 handover date, it is important to chip in some words of advice to our newly elected leaders to guide them in their onerous task of administering a complex entity like Nigeria. The incoming administration of the All Progressives Congress campaigned on the slogan of Change! This may be a vacuous battle cry unless we, the citizens, make a concerted demand of our elected representatives for a positive change. Change, as we know, is double-faced. It could be for better or for worse. It c...