Indeed, I believed and hoped that our current president—with so much energy and the many years spent persistently lobbying for another opportunity to govern Nigeria—would embark upon a titanic legacy of progress, reconciliation, and harmony in Nigeria as President Jonathan did in 2015, and as Lincoln did with the abolishment of slavery more than a century and a half ago in the United States. —Dr. I. D. Onwudiwe, The distribution of a $22.7 billion loan...
With Nigeria, I am not a happy camper. I am disgruntled…aware that I have been living in this hellhole filled with vipers. ―Don Okolo They couldn’t care one bit about the death of their old master, because they wanted more; they looked up at the man whose face was hidden behind a mask, expecting more of the two-pound romp of meat blocks he threw at them. Instead, the man reloaded and blew both dogs away...
Nigeria has again taken the big brother posturing that is of no significance whatsoever to the country’s reputation and international relevance especially within the African region. ──Ebuka Onyekwelu Nigeria’s territorial integrity has been violated by Ghana in a most crude and unmistaken manner. That demolition of Nigeria’s property within Nigeria’s High Commission in Ghana is a big slap to Nigeria and it is important that it is seen for what it is; a deliberate attempt...
The U.S. protests following the police killing of George Floyd have spurred solidarity among many Africans, who have expressed widespread outrage against police brutality. How are African nations reacting to the anti-racism protests in the United States? The main reaction has been one of solidarity. African leaders in government, civil society, and creative communities have condemned the police killing of George Floyd and raised alarm about police brutality and systemic racism in the United States. One of...
Misbau Alamu LATEEF is a post-doctoral legal researcher and full-time faculty member in the Department of Business Law, Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. He has been on an invitation to Columbia University, New York, as a short-term Visiting Scholar and participant in the U.S Business Law Academy (UBLA) at the Columbia Law School. He has attended international conferences and symposia at different times at Harvard, Yale, India, Dubai, amongst others....
On June 9, a Boko Haram faction called a religious gathering in a village in Gubio, Borno state. It would become the group’s deadliest attack on civilians this year. Claiming to be on a preaching tour, armed militants entered the village of Foduma Koloram and asked residents to give up their arms and any other weapons. According to reports, once those villagers that had dane guns and bows and arrows surrendered them, the militants started...
“All local beauties were off the menu. He had those when he was a regular soldier. Now that his taste buds had graduated from the banal to the high-end exquisite, the man wanted something supple and foreign” ──Don Okolo Leave Cardinal Jim Rex Lawson alone. This is not about him. He was great man, and a great musician to boot. My mind is one million light years away from him. He was the crooner-in-Chief…the quintessence...
In the United States and around the world, societies are struggling to balance the sometimes draconian social controls needed to combat a highly contagious infectious disease with the need for limits on government power and the protection of civil liberties. Public health concerns can be used to justify crackdowns on opposition politicians, the manipulation of vital humanitarian assistance, and the emergency overriding of mechanisms meant to prohibit private gain at the public’s expense. In societies where the scales had...
Like other crimes that go unreported, rape is almost unreported to formal agencies of social control in Nigeria due to trust gap, associated stigma against victims, fear of re-victimization, cultural barrier, religious sentiments, and powerlessness of the victims in the pursuit of justice. ──Blessing Williams Many would not have thought that the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) in China in December 2019 and its subsequent global spread would have devastating effects on the already worsened gender-based...
Maurice Kamto is the leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) and was the main challenger in Cameroon’s 2018 presidential election. He was imprisoned by the government from January to October in 2019. Nearly one year ago, on August 2, 2019, journalist Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe—better known as Wazizi—was arrested and detained by government forces in Buea, located in the South-West region of Cameroon. Since 2017, Buea has been home to unrelenting violence between the government and separatist...
