We called him Muri, as if he was just the big bro next door. That was how intimate our imaginary relationship with him was. Murtala Muhammed was the hero of our youth. We accepted him, warts and all. He was different. As soon as he was pronounced Head of State after the overthrow of General Read More…
Talking about coups, the most benevolent military regime that ever ruled Nigeria was the one led by General Yakubu Gowon while the most principled one was led by his successor, General Murtala Muhammed, who committed billions of dollars and other logistic requirements towards the liberation struggle in Southern Africa. Easily the most bestial of all Read More…
In recent times, quite a number of ponderous statements have been credited to some self-styled ‘northern’ groups as regards the economy and governance. You would think the other zones of the country escorted them to the world. How presumptuous some people can get! Of course, I understand the game. Every politician wants to be relevant. Read More…
Congratulations to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, all members of Nigerian academia, and the Nigerian government for finally renegotiating the conditions of service of academic staff in Nigerian universities after many years of failed government implementation of the original 2009 agreement. Maybe we can now begin to experience a return to normalcy in universities Read More…
It is not yet doomsday in Nigeria. There is still some chance to rescue us from ourselves, even if the buffeting winds of killings and maimings and outright erasure of human settlements from the surface of the earth have served adequate notice that we are pushing our luck.I have no partisan agenda other than the Read More…
By Wole Olaoye “O deity, save me if you can; if not, just leave me as you met me”, Teacher Abel soliloquised when he learnt of President Trump’s threat to invade Nigeria to rid the country of Islamist terrorists. Abel is of southwest extraction. He used to teach in a primary school in Northern Nigeria. Read More…
Nigeria is a country with two distinct legal systems, whether we admit it or not. That is the only way to describe the country, given that some people insist that everything, including the constitution, be subordinated to their religion. To cover up their refusal to accept the secularity of Nigeria, they make such claims as, Read More…
Once hailed as Nigeria’s model residential estate, Festac Town now grapples with overpopulation, filth, and moral decline. Once a symbol of post-Festac ’77 modernity, it has degenerated into what writer Wole Olaoye calls a “village cast in concrete and swimming in sewage.” The story of Festac’s “villagification” is both an elegy and a warning to other Nigerian estates losing their soul to neglect.
“ It is not easy to be a pioneer — but oh, it is fascinating! I would not trade one moment, even the worst moment, for all the riches in the world.” – Elizabeth Blackwell When discussing colour printing in Nigeria, one recalls that in the beginning was Academy Press, sixty years ago. Before then, there was no Read More…
The United States of America recently declared that there was a religious war, specifically the persecution of Christians, going on in Nigeria. The Nigerian government promptly denied the claim. But the basic truth is that, whereas one may not want to join habitual pyromaniacs in further setting the country on fire, there is an undeclared Read More…