By Bola Bolawole

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must by now have addressed the nation on four solid occasions. The first was his inauguration address on May 29, 2023, which is best described as the “subsidy is gone” address. Democracy Day (June 12), Independence anniversary (October 1st) and now his New Year address were some of the other important occasions on which the President has addressed his “fellow compatriots” The opening paragraph of the President’s last address, what we journalists call the “intro” or introduction, almost put me off. Any professional journalist or speechwriter knows the importance of an “intro”. It makes or mars any speech.

By Azu Ishiekwene

After futile attempts by others to get the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate allegations of genocide against the parties in the war in Gaza, South Africa raised the stakes by filing a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Unlike the ICC, the ICJ is an organ of the UN for civil complaints, and Israel is a signatory to its charter.

By Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba

December 27, 2023 dawned in a very grim manner. As I woke up, I saw a news item on the scroll bar of Channels Television that Ghali Umar Na’Abba 8th Speaker of the House of Representatives had passed on at the age of 65. The son of a wealthy Kano aristocrat, he became Speaker by default after the removal of Salisu Buhari, a short lived Speaker after a forgery scandal. A man of steeled convictions he became Speaker at the defining moment of our democracy.

By Hassan Gimba

An Igbo adage says that when an anomaly persists for one year, it becomes the norm. So slowly, steadily but surely, it is becoming a norm, an accepted aberration, for a president in Nigeria to appoint himself as a minister. It is like saying in a country of 200 million-plus, there is no one good or capable enough to hold that particular office except the man entrusted with the running of the nation.

By Ikeddy Isiguzo

A bank once filled prime time television with a message asking us to imagine that one day cars will run with water. The power of imagination! It takes one to a future that not many see; a future that seems foolish, or unimaginable because it has not been imagined.

By Funke Egbemode

Before King Ahmed Ottoman went to war, he locked his beautiful wife, Queen Ottoman, in a private room and gave the key to his best friend, Mousa, telling him: if I’m not back in four days, open the room and she’s yours. Ottoman got on his horse and went to war. Half an hour later, the king noticed a cloud of dust behind him. It was his friend, galloping fast towards him. “What’s wrong?” The king asked panting. Out of breath, Mousa responded: “You gave me the wrong key.”

By Azu Ishiekwene

“Subsidy on petrol will go, sparking initial higher prices and demand for higher public sector wages by union leaders who know the truth but prefer to play to the gallery. To tackle the scandalous difference between the official and black-market exchange rates, expect the new government to adjust the official rate from the current N430-450/$ to around N550/$ in the first instance”

By Bola Bolawole

While he was visiting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently, the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, said he would give the president one year of grace before rating his performance in office. As would be expected, Tinubu and or Soyinka haters have read negative meanings into that. Soyinka, some have said, was only shying away from critically examining Tinubu’s performance so far. To others, it is a tacit admission by the Nobel Laureate that Tinubu has not done anything worthy of positive evaluation in his first six months in office.

By Prof. Femi Olufunmilade

The latest figure of casualties, as I write, regarding the attacks on Plateau communities during the yuletide, is 164. Total number of affected communities is put at 23. But the communities, by another account, are 64 based on a tally of the entire communities attacked similarly since the so-called bandits set their gaze on the Plateau, beginning from the wasted years of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration.

By Emeka Obasi

There is anger all over the globe as Super Eagles continue their Humpty Dumpty fall from the high walls of soccer. Veterans are even more worried as chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup look abysmal.

By Emeka Obasi

Chief of Defence Staff, Chris Musa, spent his early years in Sokoto, his place of birth. From primary education in Marafa Danbaba to Vocational training in Gaummi, he remained in the Caliphate until the end of secondary school at Federal Government College, Sokoto in 1985.