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By   Chris O.O. Biose The basic issue in the Niger Delta is that since the promulgation of Petroleum Decree No. 51, 1969, the Off Shore Oil Revenue Decree (No. 9), 1971 and other obnoxious military decrees by which military dictators dispossessed the Niger Delta of the benefits of its oil and gas resources, successive Federal administrations have been extracting the oil and gas in the Niger Delta and using the proceeds to develop other Regions in the country to the exclusion of the Niger Delta. The activities of the oil companies were reflected in permanent gas flares, massive coastal marine pollution and unprecedented levels of environmental degradation without parallel anywhere in the world. They promoted intra and inter-community strife by means of selective favours. Regrettably, some youth resorted to militancy although the vast majority remained law-abiding. All these engendered tendency towards breakdown in traditional values and confusion among the oppressed people of the Ni...

By  Reno  Omokri A most disturbing thing happened in  Nigeria . Over a period of 3 days last week, the allegedly  ‘technically defeated’  Boko Haram managed to overrun multiple military bases and reportedly killed close to a hundred Nigerian troops and carried away heavy military hardware. *President Buhari with COAS Gen Burutai  But that is not the disturbing thing that occurred. The killings were shocking, but something much more disturbing happened. The Nigerian President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the military and who is supposed to be the most pained over these avoidable deaths had time to: *attack former President Jonathan for agreeing with Transparency International that corruption had increased in  Nigeria *attack Priti Patel for saying that Mr. Buhari’s anti-corruption war is a sham. But the President could not find time to speak on the killing of over 70 troops by Boko Haram. As I write these words, almost a week after these gruesome k...

By  Banji Ojewale Of two evils, choose neither — Charles Haddon Spurgeon (English Baptist preacher) 1834-1892 Now, it is certain that of the nearly 100 political parties asking Nigerians to vote for them in 2019, two are in the forefront: the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) governing at the centre and in some states, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in opposition at the national level but in administration in a couple of states. *Atiku and Buhari  We are glued to these two, courtesy of what our media gives us and the tin gods we have made of the candidates thrown up by the two political groups. So regardless of who they are, what they stand for, what they have said, their background and the implications of the sum and weight of all these on them when they become elected public office holders, we deem them worthy of our vote solely on account of their party and endorsement by a godfather or a cabal.  It is impossible to arrive at a salutary outcome through a proce...

By Ikechukwu Amaechi After pussyfooting for 69 days, the former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, finally did the needful by resigning her commission on Friday, September 14. She was accused of parading fake National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) exemption certificate with which she secured employments contrary to the country’s extant laws. *Buhari and Adeosun  NYSC which was set up by the General Yakubu Gowon administration on May 22, 1973 as a tool for re-building the nation and reconciliation after the civil war and backed up by decree No. 24 makes it an offence for any Nigerian who graduated before the age of 30 not to serve. Section 13 subsection (1)(a)(b) of the NYSC Act states that any person “who fails to report for service in the service corps in the manner directed by the Directorate or as the case may be, prescribed pursuant to the provisions of this Act; or who refuses to make himself available for service in the service corps continuously for the period specified...

By SKC Ogbonnia Dear Mr. President, I am beginning with an Igbo proverb which says that a heedless lizard falling from a tall palm tree typically wrestles to clutch at any available straw on its path before its imminent crash. My father also never fails to tell me that a habit of excuse is the best friend of failure. Nowhere are these sayings more manifest than the case of your presidency. *Buhari  Today, the general view is that you are at it again, trying so desperately to cling on to another excuse to avoid responsibility for the crises that have befallen our great party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) and, by consequence, the entire Nigeria . The most bloggable of these crises, of course, are the wave of defections from our party to the opposition and the prevailing imbroglio with the APC party primaries. The situation has seriously diminished our great party—both in power and prestige. Yet, instead of leading, you are resorting to another round of excuse. For instance, be...

By  Atiku Abubakar In a recent interaction in the United States , Vice President Yemi Osinbajo asserted that the “problem with our country is not a matter of restructuring…and we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into the argument that our problems stem from some geographic re-structuring”. *Atiku It is a surprise that the Vice President would take such a position and, in particular, fail to appreciate the connection between Nigeria ’s defective structure and its underperformance.  It is unhelpful to reduce the construct of “Restructuring” to a geographical concept as VP Osinbajo does, which in itself demonstrates a lack of appreciation of the core tenets of the concept.  For the avoidance of doubt, re-structuring is not about the re-drawing of state or regional boundaries. The restructured Nigeria that a large number of Nigerians talk about, is a Nigeria that not only provides opportunities for everyone to work but even more specifically challenges every layer of g...

By Comfort Obi I will start with a story. A cousin of mine, too nervous to be on the wheels  of her car,  has a rather funny and weird driver. He is good-looking. Deceptively shy. Full of surprises.  Sometimes, erratic, at other times, as cool as cucumber, and when he feels like, he plays deaf.  But he is serviceable when he wishes to.  *Mrs Alhassan He feels free with his boss. So ever so often, he crosses the red line. Once, he  whatsapped  his photograph, dressed to the hilt to his boss. On a couple of times, he had looked his boss in the face and told her:  “I have a job interview .” And then, he would come back to say:  “I was not hired.”  One day, he told his boss he got a job where he would earn double what he is being paid. But he wouldn’t leave: Why:  It is a difficult job. I don’t want to drive (inter-state) in the night. Initially, I got irritated each time my cousin, a widow, relayed her experience to me. Why won’t ...