By Azu Ishiekwene

The assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13 at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania has sucked the oxygen from the debate on President Joe Biden’s fitness for a second term. The discussion will resurface, but Democrats should forget it. The party is stuck with Biden.

By Omoniyi Ibietan, Ph.D

Early in July 2005, just a week before Prof. Wole Soyinka turned 71, my boss and mentor, Dapo Olorunyomi, recalled me to Lagos from Port Harcourt, where I was serving as the Regional Media Researcher for Freedom House. Freedom House was founded in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt and some other persons. It is America’s oldest non-profit NGO founded to promote and defend democracy and freedom all over the world through the instrumentalities of advocacy, monitoring, and research. Dapo was the Director of Freedom House Nigeria Project, the only one of such in sub-Saharan Africa.

By Walter Duru, Ph.D

The digital age has reshaped how we consume and disseminate information, with online media playing a crucial role in shaping public perception and opinion.

By Azu Ishiekwene

I’ve written this before. Ten years ago, but this man's story is new every time. To me. And to many who have crossed his path. On his 80th birthday on July 14, I’m repeating this story with the zeal and delight I shared it ten years ago:

"A true hero is not inspired by their strength, but by their ability to inspire and lead others"....Mahatma Ghandi (1931)

"A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the size of his heart".....Zeus

By Friday Olokor

Congratulations and Happy Birthday to you, My Brother and Chairman, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, a man that has put smiles on over 100,000 Nigerians. Directly or indirectly.

By Bolanle Bolawole

If you were to choose between three infrastructure, which is also often referred to as social amenities, which of these three would you choose? Or, better still still, how will you prioritize power supply, water supply and good roads? Which will come first in your order of preference?

By Ikeddy Isiguzo

Women at War, is a 2022 French mini-television series of only eight episodes centred on World War I. It is already in its second season. Women at War has to be understood to avoid confusions like, Women of War, and Women in War.

By C. Don Adinuba

As Bart Nnaji, founder and chairman of the Geometric Power group, Nigeria’s only integrated electricity organization, turns 68 today (Saturday, July 13, 2024), one important lesson our countrymen and women can learn from him is the imperative of matchless optimism. Even when all hope is forlorn and all available evidence points to gloom and doom, Nnaji not only expects the best but also works passionately towards delivering superior performance. At a time when top Western multinationals are leaving Nigeria in droves, Nnaji is demonstrating unparalleled patriotism: he is leading General Electric of the United States, the world’s oldest and largest electricity equipment manufacturing company in the world, to build another power-generating firm in Aba, Abia State. If not for the Federal Government's suspension of power purchase agreements (PPAs) some years ago, the plant would have been completed by now. This is a story for another day.

By Onjefu Okidu

Millions across Nigeria get palpably entertained virtually every day by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike. His project commissioning-based methodical dance steps cutting through the treacherous Nigerian political pathways speak so much to the present predicaments of the nation. Much more than that, the sound of his astute live band with its sprawling, rich jibe tunes associated with project completion has constantly brought him forth as an enormously courageous man who has all it takes to pull the nation through the predicaments. Undoubtedly, the 57-year-old FCT Minister has made history as the most courageous man in modern Nigerian politics. His relentless focus on official performance, justice, fairness, and equity in recent times therefore deserves some kind attention. As the late American congressman, John Lewis had put it, “you can’t love getting into good trouble, necessary trouble to bring progress, equity and fairness to a people and not be celebrated loudly.” All people of good conscience would agree that the man’s excellently organized vocal intra-PDP protest via the famous G-5 has contributed immensely to securing the unity of Nigeria after the 2023 elections. Not minding partisan media hacks such as Arise TV, most fair minds savor the fact that the fragile Nigerian unity would have been shattered if a Northerner had taken the mantle of presidential leadership from another Northerner after the 2023 elections.

By Azu Ishiekwene

Ten years ago, this article appeared under a different title, “The Debt I Owe.” Professor Olatunji Dare was 70 at the time. Ten years later, on Dare’s 80th birthday on July 17, I’m republishing the article with minor changes.

By Steve Osuji

COGNITIVE BLOCKADE AND CRIPPLING INERTIA: Nigeria continues to slide. All economic indicators are red; some are blipping, indicating danger. Those who know are in deep worry. The populace is in a trance, zombified by a never-seen-before strange situation. But the Presidency, the fulcrum of government continues in its empty braggadocio – they doodle and paper over cracks as the ship of state takes more water and totter.

By Ikeddy Isiguzo

Senator Shehu Sani's contributions to national commentaries that gained more national traction during his four-year spell at the Senate would soon be shredded if the thrusts of his narratives keep tilting towards serving Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the North. We are told that he is not serving Tinubu - he is saving Nigeria. It is clear he is not saving us from Tinubu. In ancient times, navigators and travellers used the North Star as a way to determine their location and navigate the seas. The North Star survived the circumstances of those times. It is still a symbol of hope and direction, a moral compass, guiding people towards worthy causes.