faulker002

By  Uzor Maxim Uzoatu The passion in the man was like a charge of electricity. Prof. Pita Ejiofor may look calm but when the subject is the neglect of the Igbo language calmness gives place to passionate intensity. The celebrated professor was introduced to me in Awka by the Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C. Don Adinuba, and almost instantly our discussion gravitated to the vexed matter of the travails of the Igbo language. *Prof. Pita Ejiofor Prof Ejiofor had served in esteemed positions as commissioner, vice-chancellor and so on, but what gives him the greatest oomph is the drive to save his beloved Igbo language from extinction. He has arduously championed the cause for all of 12 years through his group Otu Suwakwa Igbo that he initiated on February 14, 2006. He laments that a great number of Igbo leaders can never ever be seen taking the Igbo language issue seriously. “Hausa and Yoruba leaders always address their people in their languages ...

By   Sunday Adole Jonah These days, political pundits are all in agreement about the fact of the matter that the swing regions for next year’s presidential polls are the Middle Belt and the Southwest.  As it stands today, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has not done any meaningful engagement with these regions other than its overarching desire to establish “cattle colonies” in both places to the detriment of the peace that exist there. *El-Rufai and Buhari  The people of the Southwest region simply want a country that is fair to them in terms of the component contributions that they make into the unitary polity, and the people of the Middle Belt region simply want peace so they can continue to till the lands they have inherited from their ancestors. Simple demands and expectations.  Regrettably, instead of seeking avenues to ensure lasting peace in the Middle Belt region, the “intellectual think-thank” of this Buhari administration headed by a serving go...

By   Ray Ekpu The Professor Usman Yusuf saga is obviously sapping the energy and the health of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) of which he is the Executive Secretary. It all started last year when a group called United Youth Alliance Against Corruption (UYAAC) sent a petition dated April 21, 2017 to the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole. In that petition garnished with supporting documents, the group accused Yusuf of fraud, abuse of office and nepotism. The supervising Minister thought, as is the practice in government, that the accused person should be suspended to create room for a fair investigation by the EFCC. *Professor Usman Yusuf The recommendation for his suspension received the nod of Professor Yemi Osinbajo who was then acting as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari was at that time receiving medical attention in the United Kingdom . When Buhari returned he overruled the Minister and the Acting President and r...

By Wilson Ikubese Yoruba race is one for which I have the greatest respect, because of their liberalism. I was born in Yoruba land, had my primary and secondary education in Yoruba land, married a priceless Yoruba woman and live in Yoruba land.  *Dr. Wilson Ikubese My children are thus partly Yorubas. My business investments are majorly domiciled in Yoruba land and I speak the Yoruba language more fluently than my mother tongue…  I love the Yorubas and consider myself even one. Only recently, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) concluded its presidential primaries, with former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerging as the Presidential Candidate of the Party that ruled  Nigeria  for sixteen years, before the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) took over in 2015. After much permutations amongst opposition political gladiators, Mr Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra state, noted for his astuteness and probity was picked as the running mate of Alhaji Ati...

By   Paul Onomuakpokpo Since we seem fated to chafe under the carapace of duplicitous politicians, we are justifiably cynical about their promises. In their desperation to get power, politicians harangue us with these promises in varied shades. But there is often that lurking caution that we should treat these promises as mere hallucinations of people who flay at anything in sight to assuage their hunger for power. *Atiku Abubakar  Yet, how do we measure the authenticity of our politicians if we accept as a given that politics is not a site of credibility? How do we align with the self-immolating notion that politicians are free to live in a world that is divorced from the reality of the rest of the citizens? We should not rule out the possibility that it is politicians who do not want to meet the demands of their offices but want us to take them seriously who are the purveyors of the expectation to gloss over the tragedy of the violation of their promises.  Thus, notwith...