Today, we roll out the drums for Matthew whose other name is Hassan, the son of Kukah. The young man from Anchuna, Zangon Kataf, heard the Call and, forsaking everything, embraced the sacerdotal commitment of Obedience and Chastity. How does a brilliant lad forsake the world when he had everything at his feet? Wondrous are Read More…
Tag: Wole Olaoye
USA: Visa By Ordeal
There are only very few instances of humiliation and frustration that can compare with what the average Nigerian goes through in a quest for a US visa. You would think America was Paradise or something close. You would think that the applicant’s very life depended on the granting or denial of that visa. But if Read More…
May Luck Find Nigeria
How does one shake off the depressing feeling of déjà vu as one tragedy rolls over another? At times, one feels like an idiot. Wrapping one’s head around the way things have turned out in Nigeria — diminishing security, fuel queues, unprecedented inflation, intractable closure of universities, Naira depreciation etc — is physically exhausting. The Read More…
How Buhari Can Finish Strong
Our friends, Tamuno, Dike and Hadi are exercising their right to freedom of speech: Tamuno: By now, Buhari should have visited Owo to commiserate with the people over the killings. Dike: He should have visited Anambra and Imo for the same reason too. Hadi: He can’t be everywhere. The VP already visited Owo Tamuno: If he can’t be everywhere, Read More…
Lumumba’s Tooth
Imagine reducing a human being— a political leader carrying the hopes and aspirations of millions of people… imagine reducing that person to just one tooth! One tooth — that’s all that remains to show that Patrice Émery Lumumba, a pan-Africanist and former Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo, ever trod this earth. After his Read More…
Lynch Mob, Broken System
“Never again!” That phrase was made popular by survivors of the Holocaust in which six million European Jews were systematically murdered in pogroms, mass shootings and gas chambers during World War II by Hitler’s forces. The phrase is thought to have been borrowed from a 1927 poem by Yitzhak Lamdan, “Never again shall Masada fall!”. Read More…
Sam at 60: Inspiration from the grave
It seems like just yesterday when I teased Sam Nda-Isaiah on his 50th birthday at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. “Are you now a young old man, or an old young man?” I asked. “I have to think properly before I answer you”, he said, adding, “I think there’s a catch in that question. But, Read More…
With Love from Oke-Ila
“Kabiyesi, I’m told you want my daughter to enrol in your school so that you can convert her to Christianity”, said Imam Oyefolahan, Chief Imam of Eripa Central Mosque. He was addressing the Orangun of Oke-Ila Orangun and founder of Abolarin College, Oba Dr. Adedokun Omoniyi Abolarin, Aroyinkeye I. The Imam’s daughter, Aminat, had won Read More…
OAU and Afreximbank in Historic Handshake
Mercifully, there’s some good news from Obafemi Awolowo University after the de-marketing efforts of land speculators in the guise of equity-seekers. No matter how optimistic one is, one cannot gloss over the fact that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and some other trade unions in our universities have been on strike for a Read More…
Train Ride to Eternity
Her name is Chinelo Megafu. She graduated in Dentistry from the University of Port-Harcourt in 2015. Ah, you already know her? She had never been one to seek cheap popularity. Her becoming a household name was entirely beyond her control. As a medic, she was trained to save lives. Nothing prepared her for a situation Read More…










