By Ikeddy Isiguzo

Moses Ugbisien, winner of a 4x400m bronze medal in athletics, 40 years ago at the Los Angeles Olympics, called thrice recently. Two of the calls were in the course of the Olympic Games in Paris. Expectedly they were about Nigeria participating in the Olympic Games as circumstantial ceremonies. Complaints are legion. Comments have been driven by what we know about the medalless contingent. In most cases, our premises are cast on assumptions, wrong assumptions.

By Bolanle Bolawole

Yesterday, the #ENDBADGOVERNANCE protests ran its full gamut. In the days, weeks, months and years to come, pundits, critics and analysts will continue to discuss, review, critique and draw useful lessons from it. Did it fail? Did it succeed? Have lessons been learned on both sides of the divide? Will the protagonists as well as antagonists of the protests organize and behave better in future? The answers will depend on who is providing them!

By Ikeddy Isiguzo

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has only a few who love him. Some of them were on the streets in the past days to express their frustration about what their Jagaban has become though many were still not sure what they expected the Tinubu presidency to be. Of course, the tinier group whose face the President sees daily loves his Office. It farms out opportunities and patronages it generates which the President's favourites grab in mindlessness scrambles that point to their purpose. It is also their turn.

By Hassan Gimba

This was first written on March 17, 2024, with a different headline. Perhaps we may still find it relevant in these trying times.

Last week, we read how the signs are not looking good for a nation like ours that wants to be reckoned with internationally. We concluded by asking the federal government to look at ways to reduce the cost of governance and the unimaginable take-home pay of political leaders and redirect the excess towards production. And we emphasised that we must become a productive nation that eats, drives and wears what it produces.

By Akpandem James

Ever since the Dangote Refinery began production late last year, it has faced numerous challenges. It has been in conflict with many major players in the oil and gas industry, including the national oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), as well as the two industry regulators: the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream/Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). The management of the facility has accused these entities of either directly sabotaging the refinery or attempting to do so by limiting its access to the required crude supply and penetration of the local markets.

By Chimenu Amadi

The name "Ikwerre" is an IGBO word meaning "We have agreed" it has no similarity in Benin language

By Steve Osuji

Journalism in retreat?: In the 60s and 70s, a Donald Trump would never have dared to show up anywhere near the Republican National Committee headquarters, not to mention the White House. The Republicans would have given him a short shrift; Americans as one, would have turned their noses up and taken him for what he is: a comic relieve from a travelling circus.

By Phillip Obiakor

In the late 1960s when the vicious war between India and Pakistan ended, India faced a severe drought. A grave food crisis became its lot. The country depended on international philanthropy to feed its citizens. An exasperated Indira Gandhi who was then the prime minister vowed that never again would India rely on international charity for the survival of hundreds of millions of its citizens. The country embarked on various aggressive agricultural programmes and projects. India has since become a food superpower. It produces more rice than any other nation, and most Basmati Rice, popular in Nigeria because of the popular belief that it is for diabetic patients, is from India. India's 1.4 billion people are today respected across the globe.

By Bola Bolawole

The story you are about to read is an abridged version of the true life experience of Yusuph Olaniyonu, communications strategist, journalist, lawyer, public affairs analyst and former Information Commissioner in Ogun State. I say without equivocation that Yusuph was one of the finest writers that Nigerian journalism has produced in this epoch - until we “lost” him to the politicians! I was moved to tears reading what he went through in the hands of our lousy health system. My wife nearly fell victim when we were about to have our second baby 24 years ago. I, too, nearly fell victim two years ago. There is the need to declare an emergency in the health sector. Read on:

By Azu Ishiekwene

Almost everyone thinks they know what is wrong with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government, except Tinubu himself. And to show that it’s not just bellyaching, there are plenty of examples to beat the president over the head.

By Jeff Godwin Doki, Ph. D

Oedipus Rex, that Greek mythology which has been popularised by Sophocles and Nigeria's Ola Rotimi, presents to us a king who has demonstrated abundantly that a ruler cannot command everything. In that play, we are dealing with a contrast between the supreme will of the gods and the vain attempts of mankind to escape the evil that threatens them. Destined by the gods to kill his father and marry his mother, all of Oedipus'efforts to avoid that prophecy only reveal his own impotence as a human being. But most importantly, the lesson we learn from the tragedy is that the leader is not all-knowing. Even as king or president, your knowledge is limited and incomplete, so you should listen. Listen to the people.

By Jude Ogechi Eze

I had delayed composing this essay, because in this era of social media boom and indiscriminate citizens journalism, it is becoming harder by the day, to verify facts in news articles. And that's why I was circumspect, since the news sailed across all media platforms that Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State demolished Ogige Market in Nsukka. But the verdicts raised by Hon. Chijioke Edoga, the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 guber election in Enugu, in an interview last few days ago, coupled with prolonged misrepresentation of facts on various WhatsApp groups, provoked the necessity of this piece.