OPINION: As Crisis Deepens in Ethiopia, Need for Committed Diplomatic Response Grows

By Michelle Gavin _____ As the crisis persists in Ethiopia, the government in Addis Ababa aims to draw clear lines for the international community, positioning itself as a cooperative partner (after months of obstruction) in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Tigray, but also deeming any mention of Amhara forces in Tigray inappropriate interference in its internal affairs while continuing to largely ignore the issue of Eritrean troops in Ethiopian territory. These delineations are unpersuasive, but for now it appears...

Governor Abbott’s COVID comedy—the height of executive recklessness

“He may just be compromising the lives of thousands of Texans to structure his next tenure.” ― Dr. Anthony Obi Ogbo Texas Governor Greg Abbott has always used his physical paralysis as a talking point to advocate his zeal for overcoming individual challenges. Paralyzed from the waist down since 1984 after an accident involving an oak tree falling on him, Abbott has used a wheelchair ever since. In fact, through this experience, this Governor explained...

Sheikh Gumi and the Burden of his New Found Truth

“There is little room for further conviction that what is happening is the commercialization of crime” ―Ebuka Onyekwelu In what looks like something that will never come to be; a day, where regular criminals will suddenly attain sainthood; that day is here with us. A popular Kaduna-based Islamic cleric and scholar has gradually moved from meeting bandits to asking for amnesty for terrorists and bandits and then exonerating them of any wrongdoing, as well as...

OPINION: Mass Kidnapping in Nigeria Captures International Attention—Again

By John Campbell ____ On February 27, “bandits” attacked the Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State and kidnapped some three hundred girls. Government reaction was predictable: search-and-rescue missions and strong statements. President Muhammadu Buhari said “let bandits, kidnappers, and terrorists not entertain any illusions that they are more powerful than the government.” At the time of the kidnapping, some of the girls avoided capture by hiding. According to media, the victims were forced to march into a forest so dense...

OPINION: Nigeria’s Catholic Bishops: “The Nation is Falling Apart”

By John Campbell _____ Against an immediate backdrop of escalating mass kidnappings, jihadi resurgence, growing separatist sentiment in the old Biafra, and conflict over water and land that often assumes a religious and ethnic coloration, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has issued a statement sounding the alarm over the very survival of the nation. The statement expresses concern, inter alia, over high-level government officials advising citizens to resort to self-defense as exacerbating ethnic conflict. The statement acknowledges the costs of nation-building but affirms...

Anambra Gubernatorial Race: Reality of Governor Obiano’s influence Power Options

To think that Obiano will have no hand in determining who takes over from him is in effect setting one’s self up for disappointment. ―Ebuka Onyekwelu In about eight months today, the Anambra state governorship election will hold. As it is with every political journey, years have shrunk to months, and finally to days since 2017 when governor Obiano fought what perhaps, was the biggest battle of his life and without doubt, the most terrifying...

All Souls Don’t Rest in Peace—So Long Rush Limbaugh

Aside from the Saw-Scaled Vipers, COVID-19, and Donald Trump, the only other evil that I hate with a passion is this brute called Rush Limbaugh. ― Dr. Anthony Obi Ogbo I have not had this in a long time, but this day, I honestly felt that Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Merlot would perfectly suit the occasion. So immediately after the death of the conservative talk show radio scoundrel, Rush Limbaugh, was announced, I went into a...

Have you Wondered Why Nigerian Big Men Have No Regards for Your Time?

He grants the appointments but dehumanizes the guests who are left without a word. Still, they wait. Their patience never exhausted! ―Ebuka Onyekwelu A typical successful Nigerian in business, politics, religious leadership and other spheres of influence have not to single regard for the time of people they ask to meet at home or in the office on appointment. This is one of the few areas where Nigerian elites irrespective of educational background, religious beliefs...

Kidnapping and Ransom Payments in Nigeria

by John Campbell On February 17, a gang of “gunmen” kidnapped more than forty students, teachers, and administrators from a secondary school in Niger State. At least one student was killed. Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has appealed for assistance from President Muhammadu Buhari, who has ordered all four service chiefs to go to Niger State to coordinate rescue operations. In December, “bandits” kidnapped some three hundred schoolboys from a school in Kankara, located in Katsina State. There have been several other mass kidnappings,...

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: A Well-Qualified New Leader for the WTO

by John Campbell Culled from The Council on Foreign Relations When Robert Azevedo stepped down last year from the post of director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the trade body’s top leadership position, former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala quickly became the universal favorite to land the job—except for among members of the Trump administration. Because the WTO operates on the basis of consensus, the Trump administration’s opposition effectively vetoed her in favor of the current South Korean Trade...

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