Urhobo by Spirit
Urhobo by Spirit A Tale Sejife stands in his backyard plucking bitter-leaf leaves by the stalk. He is Urhobo by spirit. He rubs them together like cloth, squeezes the green…
Urhobo by Spirit A Tale Sejife stands in his backyard plucking bitter-leaf leaves by the stalk. He is Urhobo by spirit. He rubs them together like cloth, squeezes the green…
Kanu as Tinubu’s Chess Piece No Nigerian doubts that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is an astute political strategist. His career has been defined by a capacity to win — often…
Yankius On NAS Academy Badly Groomed: Ahoy! O Mi Yankius. Yankius: Don’t Ahoy me. Good afternoon to you. Badly Groomed: Good afternoon. Sir. Yankius: What’s the latest gossip? Badly Groomed:…
Is Jazz Music Urhobo? IV If Jung were alive, my one question to him would be: do musical archetypes exist? If George-Spencer-Brown were alive I would ask him the same…
When Calling for Humanity Is an Insult PREAMBLE Humanity is the instinct and fibre of morality in society. They tell us what is right and wrong and how to evaluate…
Ancestors: No Friend No Foe No Friend No Foe (NFNF) is a brave-faced fraternal claim someone hears just before they receive a punishment. It implies no matter how good you…
What is Split Realism? Split realism is a fictional technique in which characters experience a momentary or abrupt disconnection from ordinary reality due to overwhelming events physical, psychological, emotional or…
Traore or Rape? The Problem The title Traore or Rape? may sound odd or outrageous to readers in many senses. Well, I don’t think considering the subject matter. First, The…
Lono Brazil Growing Young “Youth is a thing of the mind. Its the body that denies it.” Lono Brazil is one of the Kings of Partying and growing young in…
Fanta Bottle Magic Fanta is the famous orange flavoured fizzy drink and the favourite soft drink of my teenage years. I never saw nor had it in England until I…
Do Not Remove It – A Secret “Go ye and multiply,” Genesis 9:7 “When a thing so pleasant becomes so forbidden, nasty old men required it so using heavy rules.”…
Yankius: Nigeria Recolonised Blair Rules: How do you do Yankius? Yankius: I do. I know you are doing well with this fresh face of yours. How is England? Blair Rules:…
Brian Blade v Tony Williams? Men of Eras One evening after showing my friend the full video of Jazz Crimes (live) featuring Joshua Redman, Sam Yahel and Brian Blade the…
Yankius: Warri Refinery Magic Kerosine Mango: Yankius ma men! Happy New Year my brother. This year shall be sweet. Go and mark it down somewhere. Yankius: O Kerose! Happy New…
Yankius: Mangione in Nigeria Black Ops: Yankius Baptista my men! Yankius: Aye! Black Ops: Yankius Baptista my main man! Yankius: Aye! Black Ops: How are you doing in this your…
Jazz Greats I Met: Brian Blade It was the Spring-Summertime of 1994. My health was bad and my relationship was worse. Just out of hospital I was at home having…
Disco Guysis Disco Guysis is a memory from the late 1970s of an anecdote that trended in the form of a dialogue (in mixed Urhobo tongue) between a woken father…
Urhobos Once Spoke Great 2 Part 2 The town of Jeidi in Otọr Urhobo is autonomous. It’s under the indirect rule of Ọresuẹ, a light-skinned people from the north faraway…
Yankius: Nigerian Justice 2024 Yankius: Ultra Vires! The Virus himself. Have you come to infect me with this your surprise visit. Ultra Vires: Yancoccos. Why are you looking so dull?…
#FelaForDele Over forty years a ago, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti sang the song Power Show in 1981 to critique the inequalities in Nigeria between those who have and those that don’t. The…
Yankius: Thatcher Made Japa John Bull: Yankius Baptista the former Londoner! Kre gbish! Yankius: Gba gbosh! John Bull: I have just gotten a visa to the UK to do my…
Yankius: Trump – No Nigerians Big Nat Turner: Yankee Doo Doo! Yankius: Look here if you must hail me so it must be Yankee Doodle Doo, right! Big Nat Turner:…
Meg Searches Meg fights off a short stocky lone bully who slaps him without provocation and challenges him to a fight. Many eyes on him, he lets the assault go…
Yankius: Seun Leave Igbo? Tafia Hallelujah: Yankpikpi which ones? Long time no face to face. Yankius: You only come here with gist that leads to fight. Tafia Hallelujah: This time…
Not Winning Is Un-Nigerian #NigeriaParticipationNotMedals is a meme that could soon trend online as a feel-good factor of compensation for Nigeria’s poor performance in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nigerians need…
Soyinka: Cryptic Interpreter The Interpreters by Wole Soyinka is an exercise in expanding the awareness on the realities of early postcolonial Nigeria. Its relevance as a story is that it…
The Great Abraka Food Challenge The Great Abraka Food Challenge is set in the Urhobo town of Oria, Abraka where a new phenomenon began to trend. Food wagers were common…
Nigeria: Underestimating Revolution Not till a revolution happens do men believe in it. – Confucius. When money stops flowing in the streets blood will flow in the streets. – Gerald…
A Birthday Without Kpokpority When guys kpokpo me and my immediate interests I kpokpo them. Kpokpority is most egalitarian in its manifestation, everyone encounters it sometimes. Never call me a…
Tortoise and the Sweet Royal Stool Once upon a time many ages ago there lived a great king, His Highness Adada. The ubiquitous Tortoise was as notorious as ever and…
A View From Tony My friend Tony M often flickers genius in his conversations and writing. Much more in his conversations unpredictably. The weird and the outrageous always intrigues and…
Postcolonial Songs – Neoliberal Overtake Overtake Don Overtake Overtake by Fela Anikulapo-Kuti Fela na Kpoti. We know the Man well enough. The songs of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, simply known as Fela…
My Tsunami Part 2 2. The Visit My bedroom window is east facing gifting me with great views of sunrise. The morning sun was bright and turning the weather warm.…
Intelligent Nigerians, Home Languages Unsurprisingly, the typical Nigerian believes Nigerians are amongst the most intelligent people in the world. The reasons for this belief are various. But none of them…
Is Jazz Music Urhobo? III In part II of this series, we must mention the choice of the Art Ensemble of Chicago as archetypal to Uhuoro’ojevwu. Such is not a…
Obene: Urhobo Love Sustainably What is Obene – Urhobo love sustainably all about? Is it any different from other forms of love? You might find the answers interesting. The Act…
Postcolonial Songs – Wild Geese The Flight of the Wild Geese by Joan Armatrading The song was released in 1978 as the opening theme of the star-studded action-packed blockbuster movie…
Is Jazz Urhobo Music? II In part one, I talked about scat originating in Urhoboland, then known as Otọr Urhobo. ‘Djueta, scat, was never introduce into Uhuoro’ojevwu merely because it…
One More Hospital Kpokpority That I am back in hospital on admission is no news to my friends and well-wishers if i still have any left. The novel part of…
When Goscolene Rhymes “Fill your glass according to your tolerance.” If you exceed your tolerance, you are on your own. Sometimes when you take a medicine for the first time…
Nigeria: New Golden Age? President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wants to return Nigeria to its Golden Age of former times. We would all love that, except it reminds us of Buhari’s…
My Tsunami 1. Intro My Tsunami is a tale of blissful experiences of being with a Tsunami, a term for a focused, decent, disciplined, and well-groomed lady. The inexperienced in…
Is Jazz Urhobo Music? I Odeyovwi; Kọdiọ rẹ ihweje – Ancient Urhobo saying. Ọmẹ v’ọroavware diọvo. – Ancient Urhobo saying. Jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie once said jazz was originally a…
In the Spirit of Gbogborima Gbogborima is the spirit, if you like. The Spirit of the Brotherhood of All Men! No spirit is greater, when you discover it. Such experience…
Ise! Mutiny Closer to the gift of the mother, Revolution is mutiny further, The movement shall anchor all followers, The mutineer the agent and backer. Misrule so crooked propaganda, The…
Yankius: Stingy & Generous Politics Penny Wise: O Yank! How come we don’t hear from you anymore? Don’t you have a candidate you support? I support Obi. Yankius: I am…
Peter Obi – Obasanjo’s Hope? Or Nigeria’s hope? One should ask what does the support of former generals, ethnocultural groups, and other political heavyweights in the land mean for Peter…
Nigeria: Disjointed Economic Sectors No agreement today, no agreement tomorrow – Fela Kuti Capable societies are those that have enforceable institutions of public value, while incapable societies lack them at…
Arsenal Victory Affliction The dividends of both mass and social media are controversial, especially when we consider them negative. Yes, we have societal problems arising from media. Yet, these are…
ASUU Demands Are So Simple How can a sapiocidal (killers of the most intelligent) government have credibility? The industrial action of the ASUU of 2022 is an unlikely revelation of…
Pauperising Professors: Pay Them! What is the Adamu Adamu Syndrome? National disgrace is something the Buhari government neither understands nor cares about. The world is looking with laughter, though. A…
Does National Security Expire? The Anarchy The anarchy brewing in Nigeria is near complete. Noting the security problem in Nigeria is dire is not news. It has become a daily…
Nigeria Youth Storm Rebellion Abuja 8 a.m. The Assistant Inspector General of Police assures six senators in confidence, “It won’t happen, it won’t happen, Wallahi!” The doubt with which he…
Are Vice Chancellors to Blame? The ASUU Strike of 2022 is raising important questions and responses we must not dodge. Market reforms now demand Vice Chancellors should raise tens of…
The ASUU Strike and the Crapious Revolution 6 The Final Target “Nigeria needs its public research universities and teaching hospitals despite the plans of the government. It’s a non-negotiable necessity.”…
The ASUU Strike and the Crapious Revolution 5 The Second Target “The neglect of a child is abuse; a nation’s neglect of its youth is wilful filicide.” The other target…
The ASUU Strike and the Crapious Revolution 4 The First Target The continuing romance of the Government of Nigeria (GON) with globalisation is ever demanding of the immiseration of the…
The ASUU Strike and the Crapious Revolution 3 The Unexpected “Often your most visible adversary is the least dangerous.” The Nigerian youth as an unintended consequence, see the Academic Staff…
The ASUU Strike and the Crapious Revolution 2 The Provocation The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and their colleagues Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) are not accepting globalisation straitjackets that…
The ASUU Strike and the Crapious Revolution 1 The What? “Revolution is believed in only after it has been accomplished.” – Book of Changes, Hexagram 49 Strikes by the Academic…
Papiration and Bad Nigerian Politicians Papire is a practice several politicians and their clients in Nigeria embrace to achieve and hold on to power for as long as possible, even…
Yankius: Papiration & Bad Politicians; more guys gossip… The Man, Yankius on Papire and 2023 Elections’ Presidential Contenders Yankius: O Saint Bobo! May papire be blessed! Papire come make you…
Religious Desire of Alcohol (Goscolene) Goscolene makes us lapotidunious. Some guys I used to roll with, when saying something cryptic in public, would conclude “If you know, you know.” Anyone…
Urhobo Music Is 21st Century Ready An overview of Modern Urhobo music played by traditional exponents, Okpan Arhibo and King Enakpodia. The modern sound of the Isologu played by Lucky…
Folovo Ends Corruption Add Folovo! All undesirable human practices disappear when subject to constant and unqualified Folovo.
Efe Ajagba: Time of Reckoning Heavyweight boxing contender, Efe Ajagba, hails from a old tradition of fist-fighter and seeks the professional heavyweight title belt as he did fighting as an…
A Bullet For A Rogue Harms Only Thieves A man is down, a man is down! But why?The truth can often land as a scandal. Few people understand such better…
Creed Taylor and the Origins of Smooth Jazz There few people who popularised and brought money into jazz like producer, Creed Taylor, did. Beginning with creating the international Bossa Nova…
Who Eats Who: The Sweetness of Nigeria? That Nigeria is gripped by unrelenting mass poverty, despair, and desperation is not in doubt. Yet, the most common claim made by Nigerians…
Search of the Mufugbens The search for the meaning of the Mufugbens takes an unlikely turn. No longer content with their meaning, the linguistic origins of the words need investigation.
Nigeria – A Society of Extremes Nigeria is living proof that in the absence of enforceable institutions and the rule of law, extreme social behaviour becomes permissible and commonplace especially…
The Lure of Collecting Jazz Albums I am often asked by newer jazz fans for advice on collecting good or classic jazz records. My answer; “only you can decide what…
What Is Academic Jazz, Does It matter? “Academic jazz” is a phrase that startles me. What does it mean? Today, jazz music, jazz dance and jazz poetry are mainstream academic…
Ayo Odebisi’s Embrace: Words of Henry Miller Ayo Odebisi, also known as Paramole, would have turned sixty-five on Wednesday, 28th of April. He was not a man you could forget.…
Where is Nigeria’s Thriving Middle-Class in 2021? The Youth Want to Know. A truism of economies is they thrive when they have a large stable middle-class. In the mid-2010s, one…
Mufugbenous and Mufugbeneity Means? Since January 2021, friends, acquaintances and even strangers overwhelmed me with questions about a couple of words I often use in speech and writing. I was…
From Myth to A Cure: Vaccinations Can a universal cure come out of olden African culture, especially one that originates from mythology? “Nothing good comes out of Africa” is a…
The New Economy After Covid: If you are in the lower and middle income brackets. As we approach the uncertain aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, many developed and developing societies…
Fraternities Are Viruses In Nigeria 13 – The Disintegration The leading University Campus Grown Fraternities (UCGF) have had a long run of durability in their existence. Like many glorified dictatorships,…
Nsibidi: Pre-Colonial Education in Nigeria It is the simplest thing in the world to assume Sub-Saharan Africans were illiterate and uncivilised before the coming of the White man. Such is…
Illiterates Did Not Win Buhari Elections Why should ignorance and illiteracy always take the blame for the failings of the weak democracy in Nigeria? It takes some extremism or disturbing…
Yankius on Arsenal F.C. and the Fainting Thief Riverine Remedy: Yankius, you self, you cannot even ask after me if I don’t call you. Na so your friendship be? Yankius:…
Morak Oguntade and the Art of Everyday Expression After reading Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco a few years back, the unusual happened. I…
Jazz Music & the Influence of Yoruba Culture There was a time in the ’60s and ’70s when several jazz musicians of repute had to visit Brazil for a new…
Cycling Education and Strong Institutions Formal education is one of the most overrated things in human development people on the African continent can gain. Maybe it so elsewhere too. Education…
An Unusual Conservative Perception of Covid Ideology can be such a blinding and narrow-minded state of mind, individual or collective. Accurate history informs us that plagues and pandemics have devastated…
The Leadership of Rotten Parts The magic of Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has come from his citizens. But nothing of significance he has done as leader of the nation. Blamocracy (blaming…
The Perception of Development: Nigerian-Style One of the most interesting but intractable things about development in Nigeria is the pervasive perception of both what it is and should be. What…
The Tooth of a Toad There is an Urhobo tale from olden times that captures a listener’s or reader’s imagination through its use of animals and allegory. There was once…
Is My Name Okolo Too? A new female friend leaves to study in USA for four years after a brief but interesting relationship with a guy. She returns as promised…
A Song for Reassurance: Okpan Arhibo Verses Songs have often come to the rescue of a distressed, pained or broken soul. Songs shine lights in darkness, offer hope when it…
Yankius on the National Cake. Windfall: Yankiokwa! Yankiokwa!!! Anytime you are this quiet we know you are up to something. Meanwhile, how is you, Boss? Yankius: Windokwa! The Windfall maker…
Yankius on Nigeria’s Looming Collapse Deadly Cuts: O Pally, I am so scared for Nigeria at the moment. It is more than tragic what is happening. Yankius: Corona virus is……
Corruption is the New Meaning of Life: It Is Here to Guide Us Corruption shows its face unobstructed in most forms of social organisation in today’s world. Under the present…
Okpan Arhibo: Traditional Disco Music Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango invented disco music out of the blue with his release of the phenomenal hit single record, Soul Makossa. The year was…
Black Spots and Human Rights No punishment has ever possessed enough power of deterrence to prevent the commission of crimes. On the contrary, whatever the punishment, once a specific crime…
Sapele’s Female Druggies and their Babies Imagine a baby just a few days or old. He or she has been crying for food endlessly, but nothing is on offer. There…
Disempowering The NDLEA: Insider’s View The 2019 elections have come and gone. It has produced its victors and losers, no matter how illegitimate the ballot was. We did not even…
Yankius: You have human rights in Nigeria only if you have a lot of money and can beg very well. And that may not even save you. And do not…
Fulani Herdsmen & the British Legacy of Guilt “Guilt by community association” (GBCA) is back in Nigeria in fresh form in 2018. Not by the actions of a foreign colonialist.…
Restructuring: Derivation or Ownership 2: Questions & Answers. “Federalism” and “restructuring” and related terms are all political jargon. It means they are not so easy to understand by non-specialists and…
Restructuring: Derivation or Ownership “Restructuring”; its meaning is debatable, and for many, it is about oil, resource control. Surprisingly, many see resource control as the receipt of an increased top-up…
Pirate-Captain Entities and Democracy There is a keen fascination among young men, most at leading schools and universities around the world, with the “captain-pirate” mode. Its germ is of rebellion…
Ayittey Benchmark: Performance of Presidents. How else do you measure it? There are many able Nigerian analysts, commentators, pundits, academics and journalists who have rightfully earned a say in the…
Urhobo Blow (UB): A True Martial Art? Enter Urhobo Blow (UB), Ubi edje or Ohonre r’ubi . It is an ancient traditional martial art developed by the Urhobos for military…
“Blame or Claim” Governance: Buhari’s Only Hope There is an insightful article for those interested in governance by Taiwo Makinde titled Problems of Policy Implementation in Developing Nations: The Nigerian…
Yankius on $16 billion for Electricity Tafia Hallelujah: Yankikpuzi! Way say you now! Yankius: Any time you come around here, I know you have a quarrel for me. What is…
Gowon & Babangida: Nigeria’s Drug Culture 2 I reject the claim the article titled Gowon and Babangida Created Nigeria’s Drug Culture, which I wrote is guilty of appropriating unnecessary blame…
Gowon and Babangida Created Nigeria’s Drug Culture Access to drugs policies have been most responsible for either a rise or decline in the demography of drug addicts in Nigeria. A…
The Portrait of a Nigerian Druggie Youth Inspect the photograph. In the photograph, you can see the portrait of a young teenager in a blue T-shirt (the Boy in blue)…
Sapele’s Youth Drug Addiction Epidemic: It is alarming. One must wonder what happened to a once genial and hope-filled town called Sapele. It was a youth’s town and youngsters had…
Buhari Should Sell Nigerian Youths As Slaves President Buhari, like many past Nigerian heads of state, is living proof of why slavery flourished along the coast of West Africa a…
Nigeria Lies: Recovering Loot It is very brazen political lying to equate the refund of stolen funds to the state with political success or successful anti-corruption. Effective correction, detection and…
Yankius: Omo-Agege na Pyrate Jovo Yurip: Yankius, which ones now? Why you no tell me say Senator Ovie Omo-Agege na Pyrate? You bad O! Yankius: Jovo, look my eye well.…
Do The Urhobos Need Saviours or Leaders? At the moment the Urhobo nation is both essentially saviourless and leaderless, forget the ethnic bosses. Chiefs Mukoro Mowoe, Michael Ibru, David Ejoor,…
The Urhobos Do Come Last – Mostly in Politics As ridiculous as it may sound, if Anioma were to be granted a State today, the new capital of Delta State…
Remembering Ayo Odebisi (Paramole): His Lessons It has been one year since Ayo Odebisi went on another kind of going abroad trip. When I heard and looked at his photo,…
Understanding Akpunwaism Akpunwaism is a cultural reaction to defeat and the subaltern status of an ethnic or regional group within a state. Akpunwaism is unique to the Igbo ethnic group,…
Nigeria Needs Strong Social Movements Voting, votes and honest election results are not enough to prevent elected officials from misbehaving or misgoverning once they get into office. Constitutional checks and…
Yankius: Sweetness of Sex Yankius: Heeeyyy!!! Prickson, himself! The Sexual Man! Expert on Practical Urology! How you doing, Brother? You look so happy, man! Another sweet honey don confuse you?…
Nigeria Decivilising The complete metamorphosis of the butterfly is a thoroughly adequate analogy for civilisation: the gradual progression from egg to slug to pupa to imago . In the Nigerian…
Nigeria Needs a Fearsome Electorate Nigerians have, with habitual ease, allowed corrupt leaders and kakistocrats to enter positions of power and govern them. Either through coup d’état or fraudulent ballots.…
Oppression: Some Questions Knowing that one is living with oppression is a blessing whenever it decides to come. Not knowing it is a curse that will forever leave one much…
Nigeria Needs Serious Politicians A photograph of Hon Evance Ivwurie, Delta State legislator, appeared on Facebook a couple of years ago that uncannily emitted a tangible glimmer of hope out…
Yankius on Ogboni Society Alagba Aligbi: Yankiomelogbish! How now? You self na hard man O! Person no dey see your headlight again. Are you okay? Yankius: Gba Gbi,nothing do me.…
Oppression: A Nigerian Youth Metaphor “Those who have come to know and trust death embrace it with love. It is the very foundation of freedom. Oppressors love no one, not…
Obasanjo is neither Fulani nor Igbo In 2012 an Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) operative intimated to me very intensely that the then President Olusegun Obasanjo was a traitor to the…
Yankiu: Iyabo Obasanjo For President and what not. Another wahala! Natural Injection: O mi Yankius, which ones? I know say you go don dissect the open letter when Obasanjo send…
Who Will the EFCC Cadet Graduates Serve? People when no dey happy, people when know dey look – Fela Kuti, Overtake don Overtake Last week Ibrahim Malu, the acting chairperson…
The Bad Brother’s Nemesis 2 Fire!!! Fire!! I have to repeat it, Fire!!! When two or more Otukas gather, a fire is nearby ready to consume habitually bad men mercilessly.…
The Bad Brothers Nemesis The Otuka (a.k.a. Akanda Eniyan) is born into this world very lonely, living on his terms, mostly. He misunderstands everyone else; he is someone everyone else…
Yankius: Buhari Betrays Southerners Yankius: Shukus, what’s gwan? Why you squeeze face like corner of anus when diarrhoea don distress small? Shukuli: You rap shit always so no surprise in…
Yankius: Buhari vs IPOB Pepper Rest: I just wonder why Buhari go brand IPOB as terrorist organisation when they no do any terror, not even a single act. IPOB are…
The “Babangida Must Go” Protests: A Missed Opportunity for Revolution Young, obscure student leaders in 1989 led the best chance of a revolution Nigeria had at the University of Benin…
Is the Expected Revolution in Nigeria Possible? Many talking points in Nigeria and diaspora focus ever more on the undeniable necessity for a ‘proper revolution’ to happen. Revolution seems to…
Nations Trapped by the Guilty Accuser Syndrome Numerous factors are acutely responsible for the persistence and worsening of the phenomenon of corruption in many democracies. These factors include regulatory capture,…
The Crisis of Leadership: Part 2
Corruption Is Now Spiritual: Nigeria Anti-corruption is not a simple task to handle and it is not always straightforward. There are practical exhaustive steps to fighting corruption if properly executed…
When I Last Saw Simon Hughes Thursday, two weeks ago I had just come out of hospital after a two-week stay there. As a resident of a Bermondsey, my brother…
Tony Blair and the Case of Campbell’s Law When sociologist Donald T. Campbell proposed his eponymous Law, one wonders if he expected it to be of theoretical or apt practical…
Why Evans the Kidnapper is King in Nigeria A “billionaire” kidnapper, Evans, is now the new icon shining in the dull skies of Nigeria. One may ask how a ruthless…
..Banning History In Nigerian Schools One may wonder who within the Nigerian Ministry of Education orchestrated the removal of the History as a subject from the national academic curriculum several…
Muslim Hegemony Through Education We wrote the articles Getting Ready to Islamise Nigeria? (http://wp.me/p1bOKH-BE) and The Complaints: Getting Ready to Islamise Nigeria? (http://wp.me/p1bOKH-BT). Many took it as mischief with a…
The Leadership, Bad Brother – 7 When the realm governed by the Bad Brother witnesses a steep hollowing out from the inside by the purposeful preponderance of evil, excesses and…
How Democracy Fails Nigeria There has been too much optimism in what Nigerians widely tout as the ‘dividends of democracy’, i.e. the benign and enabling outcomes of democracy. After 18…
The Crisis of Leadership – The Case of Nigeria Excerpt of a talk ‘The Crisis of Leadership – The Case of Nigeria’ given by Grimot Nane at a meeting of…
Nnamdi Kanu: Made by Buhari Today, on Nnamdi Kanu’s release he has become “cause celebre” supreme in Nigeria. He visits and is visited by an impressive list of the ‘high…
Reflections on the May Elections: The Relevance of Voters? Never underestimate the wisdom of the old saying, “what Britain needs is another good war”. Peace, jobs, wages, NHS are boring…
Fulani Herdsmen in Abraka: Savagery Without Response? It is unfortunate that the ethnic group that the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, belongs to is a “nation of habitual butchers”; the…
“Coconut Head” Corruption “There is no good name for a terrible disease” – Urhobo proverb. “The solution to Africa’s problems lie solely in Africa” – George Ayittey. Coconut Head Corruption…
Aso Rock Suspensions and the Game of WHOT When the suspensions of the Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir David Lawal, and the Director-General of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency, Ayodele…
EFCC: Stage-Managing Cash Seizures? Where is the Government of Nigeria (GON) or the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) winning their war against corruption? Nowhere. No vigorous prosecutions, no convictions,…
Why Stage-Manage Cash Seizures? The current sensation in Nigeria is the mysterious discoveries and seizures of large sums of money (mostly foreign currency) found at lying fallow at premium addresses.…
Is Nigeria to Kill Another Environmentalist? In this article, the context of the Government of Nigeria (GON) and its agencies killing a truth-seeking environmentalist are twofold. (a) Physical as in…
How Leadership Fails Nigeria Hope for good governance and good leadership in Nigeria seems to be an increasingly distant confidence. What happens if the leadership does not take the citizenry…
The Leadership of a Bad Brother – 6 Boiss dey! Boiss always do right where the Bad Brother has done evil, and they invariably succeed in the end. The tables…
I Will Not Mourn for Ayo Odebisi (Paramole) Ayo Odebisi a.k.a. Paramole (1956-2017) was one of the three persons who never ceased loving me as the human being I am.…
Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria 12 “We are bigger than U.S. Steel” several members of UCGFs (University Campus Grown Fraternities) in Nigeria will tell you, with aplomb, about their “brotherhood”.…
Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria 11 – Slavery? To be in a UCGF (University Campus Grown Fraternity) member in 2017 under the terms and conditions they operate in recent times…
Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria: Part 10 – Poor Imitators University campus grown fraternities (UCGF) have done either good or evil to the societies in their countries of origin (e.g.…
The Nigerian “Diaspora Paradox” One of the most challenging experiences a Nigerian in Diaspora will ever face is encountered within the paradox of deciding either remaining in a foreign land…
Ibori won! James Ibori is both Nigeria and a Nigerian in the most representative of terms. The Ibori Corruption Saga has much less implication for the ex-governor of Delta State…
The Leadership of a Bad Brother–Flash 5 The end of the era of the leaders who are bad brothers need not be obscure. It must never be. Final evidence of…
Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria: 9 – Silencing The existence, approaches, and attitudes of the UCGF in every day matters as well as unusual ones are bifurcated in many senses.…
Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria: Part 5 B – Hoppers In FAVIN (Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria) Part 5 (see: http://wp.me/p1bOKH-pT) the issue articulated was the interactions between Cheaters, Grudgers…
Foreign Investment: Nigerian Electricity Many Nigerians hopefully think that one day, the nation will attract enough foreign direct investment (FDI) to enable the develop development of electricity in the country.…
Electricity: Fashola Tell Nigerians When last week Grand Minister, Babs Fashola (SAN), claimed his now-famous incapacity to revamp the Nigerian electric power sector was partly due to the inadequacies of…
Dr Joe Abah: Two Experts, Two Bureaucrats Dr Joe Abah, is the Director General of Bureau of Public Service Reforms and academic. In very casual style unwittingly or knowingly, re-triggered…
Southern Kaduna Genocide: Surprise? Southern Kaduna Massacres are the stuff Nigeria is made of. Before anyone dismisses such a claim, we have to examine the pervasive ‘value of life’ in…
Buhari Has Panama-Proofed Nigeria If you were to ask President Muhammadu Buhari what the most successful thing a person could achieve in Nigeria was? If he is candid with you,…
Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria 8 – Bailiffs Fraternities in Nigeria are now specialists in accumulating “financial bounties” with their leaders appropriating them; it is tantamount to corporate malfeasance. It…
The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or…
Ibori: Innocence By Tribalism When I read the article titled ‘The Welcome Party for Ibori’ by Simon Kolawole, it was thought-provoking journalism considering the context of Delta State’s ex-Governor, James…
An interview of Grimot Nane on the immediate political future of Nigeria by freelancer Opey Sonto, September 15th 2016. SHOW MORE
Buhari: Uncollected Gas-Flaring Revenues When it comes to attacking and witch-hunting the defenceless, or the underestimated, President Muhammadu Buhari has a heart larger than Zuma Rock – his machismo is…
Hunger Is No Blessing While most Nigerians are adept at hiding and ignoring their nation’s hunger and poverty, the past year has not permitted the continuation of that habit without…
Can Buhari Win The Oil War? The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) may not be a praiseworthy entity to many but their emergence and defiance have provided a thorough and incisive…
Institutions, Habits and Learning Applied Science in Schools By Grimot Nane Written for Government College Ughelli Old Boys Association UK Annual Dinner, Paddington Hilton, London on the 27th August 2016…
.Fantastic Nigeria: Amaju Pinnick and the Olympic Football Saga So many Nigerians (particularly those from Delta State) I have come across in the UK very recently appear to be the…
The Leadership of a Bad Brother – Angle 4 Everyday people in this everyday world of ours bear witness to everyday evil and wickedness. Every single day, direct or indirect.…
Urhobos Once Spoke Great Part I I am Enemuadia, a young male eghele and wrestler, at home with my father, Bamon. His real name is Agbaimoni but no one calls…
A Totally Mistimed Endeavour
Pally Boy 3 Be good, not lucky
Like Father
Pally Boy 2
Music Transforms: Jabig
Pally Boy
Ready To Check Out
Nigeria Is It!
There’s No Discouragement Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet.…
Music Transforms: Simon-Garfunkel
Jesse Kingdom: Hometown Names
Beating: Abel Confesses Witchcraft Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum…
A keynote lecture presented at Green Economics Institute 11th Annual Conference at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, England on the 29th of July 2016. The moderator was Miriam Kennet, the…
Corruption: Ethnic Hierarchies Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet.…
Nigeria: Ethnicism Causes Corruption
Researching Corruption: Saddest Day Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum…
Yam/Beans Porridge Magic
Nigerians Love Suffer
Nigerian Pretexts: Nuclear Power Anytime you hear that a new great ‘developmental project’ is being planned and undertaken by the Government of Nigeria (GON), it is important to identify who…
The Leadership, Bad Brother 3 The third instalment of The Leadership of a Bad Brother has the same context and focuses on the first two. The random presentation of thoughts…
The Leadership, Bad Brother 2 The diary I titled, The Leadership of a Bad Brother I give its second rendering. It is the case the bad leadership, the professional kind…
The Leadership, Bad Brother Reflections on the leadership of someone have inspired these musings. As ordinary as they are, daily I can best describe him as a “Brother”. Put together…
Oshiomhole: Swiss Account Socialism When the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari announced an increase in fuel price, it was steep. From N87 to N145 litre of petrol. The Nigerian Labour…
Biafra: A Missing History? If one asks the everyday person from Edo or Delta States, which make up the now-defunct Mid-West region or Bendel State, or anyone from the rest…
Thank Buhari – Hiding Corruption List Even though President Muhammad Buhari was riding on a high crest of fame and popularity during the Anticorruption Summit held recently in London, it…
Buhari: “Too Big To Convict” Sham The first corruption prosecution of President Muhammadu Buhari’s reign has succeeded. The former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration Safety Agency (NIMASA), Raymond Omatseye,…
Anticorruption Is Better Social Organisation This article starts and concludes with the following sentence. “Governance and corruption are about social organisation on a scale that ranges from very good governance…
Is Britain More Corrupt Than Nigeria? Corruption occurs in every nation and at all levels in systemic and non-systemic forms. To compare corruption in Nigeria with that in Britain is…
Getting Ready to Islamise Nigeria? 2 How will the Northerners and other Nigerians react to a political outcome like “The 17 Southern Governors Decide Fulani Herdsmen to Carry Biometric Licenses…
Getting Ready to Islamise Nigeria? The recent pronouncements made by Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, astonished many. He said he intends to “regulate” religion by banning the “unlicensed places…
Blood Will Flow In the Streets “Empowerment” has a strange meaning in the Nigerian context. It is “the sharing of money” by politicians to clients, supporters, the undecided and antagonists”.…
Fulani Herdsmen are Spies Fulani herdsmen have always secretly been subversives. They monitor and report on activities throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria. And they have paymasters. So my…
Nigeria: Loans For Unsolicited Proposals How can a so-called modern nation be perennially managed since Independence by way of “unsolicited proposals”? President Muhammadu Buhari came to power on the slogan…
Who Has Ever Seen The Nigerian Declaration of Independence? It may surprise most Nigerians that there are disturbing questions over who has ever seen and read the contents of whatever…
Senators Make Corruption Easier Corruption is essentially a phenomenon that is highly secretive mostly because its perpetrators seek to avoid the consequences of detection, prosecution and conviction. In Nigeria, and…
Loans Will Not Save Nigeria: The Hidden Costs of Borrowing President Muhammadu Buhari won many die-hard supporters purely because he refused to play the game of “begging bowl politics” at…
While there is a clearly identifiable oil production and exploration (E & P) ‘cartel’ constituted of mostly multinational corporations (with local clients) in the upstream sector of the Nigerian petroleum…
Are Fraternities in Nigeria Cults? Try a Validated Checklist. It is almost a rule that, as a member of the public, you will encounter UCGFs (University Campus Grown Fraternities). And…
If it is true that countries can be ‘cursed’, Nigeria’s most prominent curse will be constantly having “Good Leaders Surrounded By Strictly Evil Men”. It does not matter if these…
Nothingness: Fraternity Ladder Ambitions (UCGFs) University Campus Grown Fraternities (UCGFs) in Nigeria are a usual ‘dead end’ for the human spirit. Yes, for those with benign ambitions and serious men.…
The Nachi Lake emerged ‘spontaneously, out of the ground in Nachi, Enugu State, Nigeria in 2011 and has since become a “health spa” of sorts. It is right to assume…
In December 1984 my late father made a remark that I could not understand at the time, he said, “the leaders of Nigeria will know no fear till the money…
Political Ambitions in Diaspora: ‘Obasanjo Say Make I Come’ Between 1999 and 2007 there was an acute frenzy of political aspirations occurring among Nigerians in the diaspora. It was quite…
The Niger Delta has been exclusively the undisputed source of Nigeria’s vast but plundered national wealth for five decades. When President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015, his first…
Femi Aribisala is undoubtedly one of the brightest and most effective journalists and bloggers writing out of Nigeria. He is one writer who indeed never seems to disappoint with his…
When President Muhammadu Buhari won the 2015 general elections, he did so largely with the support of neutral and anti-PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) commentators. Everything bad in Buhari’s life history…
Nigeria’s “Medical Mail Brides”: Part 2 Not all medical professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, radiographers, medical laboratory technologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists etc.) married from Nigeria into diaspora (especially the USA…
Nigeria’s “Medical Mail Brides”: Can the Men Handle Them? It has become increasingly apparent that the most desirable women in the eyes of Nigerian men in diaspora from Nigeria to…
It will be interesting to hear what pundits have to say about the “sexual relationship” between the adult male, Yinusa, and Ese Oruru a 13-year-old girl said to have been…
Anticorruption in Nigeria: Insulting Anti-corruption from any technical or non-technical perspective is invariably about preventing, detecting and prosecuting corruption. The proceeds of corruption is another. The Buhari Administration has an…
The leaders of the Africa Union when in congress to discuss the problems of the continent, the outcomes are predictable. The stuff put on the table for discussion is often…
Corrupt Manhood: Bleeding Nigeria It is amazing how much Nigeria’s corrupt officials and their clients spend on sex and women. Girls, ladies and new wives who are fortunate enough to…
Buhari Allows Corruption Fight Back Anti-corruption is a complex and difficult task but some certain fundamentals and necessities need to be adhered to in the short, medium and long term…
Nigeria Fighting Corruption Unthinkingly The Government of Nigeria’s (GON) decision to somewhat expediently ‘fight corruption by scandal’ is by far the most inappropriate way to do so and shall end…
Christmas is here! This time last year many politicians from Delta State were queuing up in London, England to see ex-Governor and Gubernatocrat, Chief James Onanefe Ibori. They were far…
The Blood of Nnamdi Kanu When people speak of the blood of Nnamdi Kanu, there is no intent to place it beside the blood of Jesus — that would be…
Col Sambo Dasuki has sent a strong warning to President Muhammad Buhari; and the encoded message is “back off! or we both will share the same prison cell”. The recent…
Show Us a Frivolous Corruption Petition! In the arena of corruption, especially at the grand level where billions of dollars are stolen as a rule of thumb, secrecy and cover-ups…
Gagging Social Media: Nigeria Ouch! The Nigerian Legislative Houses will through a least beneficial and developmentally obtuse act of legislation, the “Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and Other Related Matters”…
Sambo Scandal & the “Owners of Nigeria” The “Sambo Scandal” (concerning one Col Sambo Dasuki) is just another story when compared to the full scale of looting in Nigeria; it’s…
The GON is getting very tough at the “tail end” of the oil sector by punishing retailers of petroleum fuel for “hoarding” like they have “weak oil bunkerers”. Meanwhile, the…
Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria: Part 7 – The Legality Surprisingly, University Campus Grown Fraternities (UCGFs) are respectable in the eyes of many. Why? because of their status of being…
It has been a week now since the news of the explosion of an oil pipeline line in Warri occurred. The explosion happened just behind the 3 Battalion Army Barracks,…
Bombing Niger Delta To End Bunkering? To say that the Government of Nigeria (GON) handles issues of the military of nature with either weak short-term “quick fixes” or opportunities for…
Bombing Niger Delta To End Bunkering? The Government of Nigeria (GON) has sought to undertake a very unusual method of stopping or deterring “oil bunkering” in the Niger Delta; the…
Is the TSA a Panacea to Corruption? Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a diehard neoliberal, adopted the Treasury Single Account (TSA). This was when she was Minister of Finance under the presidency of…
Fela once called them vagabonds in power, VIPs. It now seems they are cowards in government, CIGs – Guynes One really has to consider the resounding cowardice of Nigerian leaders…
Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria: Part 6 – The Selection If you live in a home with illustrious parents with lots of affluence and you have brothers, think. There is…
Nigeria in Pieces: Biafra & Kanu The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Biafran secessionist movement, was a grave miscalculation by the Government of Nigeria (GON). In 2015, I…
When Sir James Goldsmith in his book, The Trap, predicted in the mid-1990s that the nation called Nigeria will disintegrate in a similar manner to how Yugoslavia did, many Nigerian…
Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria: Part 5 – Selfish Genes If you have read Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria, parts 1, 2, 3 and 4, you will not need any…
Accepting failed leadership as a good thing is surprisingly very well-accommodated in Nigeria. “Excuses” are the most valued tools in the hands of Nigerian leaders, their clients and their supporters.…
Nigeria is still in its “supposed” anti-corruption mode from a governance perspective, but the current state of the economy is not going to permit its success no matter how hard…
The Government Has Jumped Up ‘Biafra’ The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, the voice behind Radio Biafra, has turned him into an international cause célèbre. Suddenly, world leaders, global NGOs, and…
Trade unions are purely or originally organisations that were created and existed to protect the rights of workers especially from the exploitation and insensitivity of the owners of capital, their…
Native Politics: Okija Shrine and Ngige A familiar political face in Nigeria is gubernatocrat Chris Ngige. He is now a minister in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Ngige is…
While Nigeria was being firmly gripped by the ostensible “showbiz” of anti-corruption promoted by the new Nigerian government before and after the 2015 elections, many crimes were largely kept out…
Native Politics: Thieves and Treasures At the heart of Nigerian politics and the thinking something drives it. It is the pervasive ‘nativity’ that we cannot ignore or dismiss. Musing about…
Nigeria has had many deadlines foist upon its public through its chiefs governmental agencies as a show of commitment or as a precursor to a privatisation. Deadlines have been set…
Nigeria since independence in 1960 has had six democratically elected executives, the most recent being Muhammadu Buhari. The country has also had seven military heads of state; six by way…
Buhari: Prince of Thieves President Buhari has searched and decided. The Department of State Services (DSS) has done its screening and clearing of candidates. Furthermore, and the Nigerian Senate has…
The South West has now been, rightfully or wrongfully, disaffected by President Muhammadu Buhari and his “Northern Bloc”. The unholy alliance between the North and the South West fostered for…
Anti-corruption is raging in Nigeria and governance as predicted is blind siding countless worthy and real issues for governance. Anti-corruption is not an excuse whatsoever for a nation or government…
Pepper Rest: I see Deziani for Ikoyi this afternoon with Lukman Rilwanu. As eh, Deziani na fine woman O! The charges against her na true? Yankius: Na Lekki I see…
Fraternities Are Viruses in Nigeria: Part 4 – The Deviation University Campus Grown Fraternities (UCGFs) started as idealistic brotherhoods with the reverie of changing some aspects of society. Most founding…
The “Saraki crisis” is making Nigerians and some foreign spectators of the three arms of government to rethink their understanding of the design and processes of democracy in the real-world,…
Will Bombing Big Thieves Do the Trick? Nations cannot bomb crimes out of existence as the Government of Nigeria seems to think and practice. When purely criminal or illegal activities…
Yankius on Saraki’s Buying of Prayers Pepper Rest: Any guy when wan cut sore for him body, I go cut sore for him body. Any guy when wan pull teeth,…
Privatise the Government of Nigeria (GON)! It is amazing to hear that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s refineries are to be sold. Why? Because of inefficiency and under-performance problems if…
Yankius: APC Gubernatorial Primaries Pepper Rest: Yankius you no greet me this morning? We dey quarrel? Yankius: I was thinking about something serious. Pepper Rest:And what might that be? Yankius:…
Solo Mansion Communities in Nigeria Development in Nigeria is a narrow focus on brick, mortar and tarmac constructions with imported technology gadgets thrown in. The masses appreciate and brag about…
Yankius: Stealing by Messages Pepper Rest: O Boy, I just love intelligent men. The kind intelligence I don start to regard the most na the one when a man go…
Nigeria appears to be definitively on track for major national and state anti-corruption initiatives; where the track will lead to nobody knows. The time and climate for disinterested and rigorous…
It is the case that 15% (i.e. 16 out 109) of all senators are ex-governors. This is part of Nigeria’s gubernatocracy. Gubernatocracy, the rule of Nigeria at federal level by…
Nigeria’s Brown Envelope Journalists: A documentary on corruption in Nigerian journalism. Narrated and produced by Nic Muirhead; featuring journalists, Nicholas Ibekwe and Kadaria Ahmed; political economist, Grimot Nane; and Special…
Usually, corruption scandals in Nigeria are typically “nameless” and “faceless” after the fact. The best’ name and face’ a member of public or even a prosecutor usually gets are that…
Empowerment: Euphemism for Corruption The word and context of “empowerment” has come to take on in interestingly corrupt or perverse meaning of its own in everyday Nigerian parlance. Unlike its…
President Muhammadu Buhari has a political “house” he heads and it is the recently emerged All Progressives Congress (APC). New houses either collapse or withstand whatever the elements throw at…
Fraternities Are Viruses in Nigeria: Part 3 – The Manipulation Many members of the public want to understand the thinking that perpetuates University Campus Grown Fraternities (UCGFs) in Nigeria for…
When My People Personalise the Truth Turning and turning in the widening gyre; The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed…
Nigeria was Designed to Ever Fail Nigeria’s failing as a nation is not the work of God. Nigerian political economist Claude Ake, with conviction, said there was never any design…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is the political party which the current President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari leads. President Buhari was elected by a popular vote…
Fraternities Are Viruses in Nigeria: Part 2 – The Extortion University campus grown fraternities (UCGFs) recently have, as a rule and mode of evolution, taken their preaching about government “badness”…
It was recently announced in July 2015 that Brass in Bayelsa State, Nigeria has been designated as an “Oil and Gas Free Zone” by the federal government. It was shocking…
How could I or any of the people who had the privilege of knowing (Prof) Michal Lyons ever forgot her for the wonderful and inspiring person and personality she truly…
Probe: Nigerian Electric Power Will the Probe of the Nigerian Electric Power Sector from 1999 to 2015 Succeed? The Senate probe into the management or mismanagement of the Nigerian Electric…
Fraternities Are Viruses in Nigeria – The Claims There are many “university campus grown fraternities” (UCGFs) in Nigeria today, some old and some new, but they all claim to be…
Monkey Tail, a Date-Rape Drug in Nigeria “Monkey Tail,” is an unlikely-sounding moniker. It is a drink made of ogogoro (local gin) left to brew in igbo (marijuana leaves, stems,…
Constant Electricity in Nigeria is Very Risky Business There is a lot of chit-chat that one of the ”ministerless” wonders of the Buhari administration’s electricity supply to Nigerians across the…
The Near Death Experience of a Petite Man 2 II Taba and Tomos, who were allies and bitter enemies, were working together by themselves on a plot at Marioka’s house…
Niger Delta Clean-Up for Profiteers? It has been announced by the Buhari Administration that the heinous cumulative oil pollution in the Niger Delta will be cleaned-up; this is very good…
Nuclear Power in Nigeria? Another Crazy ‘Pole Vault’ For many years the Government of Nigeria seems to be managed by a class of “capability pole vaulters”. Government officials tend ‘pole…
Response: Culture is Not Costume: Why Non-Africans Should Not Wear African Clothing http://www.mycoloures.com/2014/10/culture-is-not-costume-why-non-africans.html?m=1 Nneka Okona’s piece on the “wrongful appropriation” of female African dress is an interesting, challenging and well-written…
Change: Nigeria After the 2015 Elections by Grimot Nane -Two Lectures – Master of Ceremony – Jide Lanlehin; at the Feast of Barracuda held by the National Association of Seadogs,…
The Logic of One The Logic of Booze Whenever Fifties and Rong met up, it always turned out to be a promising event for ethanol use. Bottles of whiskey evaporated…
If a leader or intellectual is not articulating the values and necessities of robust human pride to his people, he or she is a dangerous traitor unworthy of the position…
One-Time Train Encounter Victoria Station has always been an underrated masterpiece of London. Imagine London without it; I won’t. The sun was glaring outside the station that morning, but not…
Oba Akiolu and King Zwelithini: Different Persons, Different Subjects I am shocked crapious that certain people are making strong and equivalent comparisons between Oba Akiolu and King of Zululand for…
Violence in Mandelaland: Why? ‘Mandelaland’, the land of Nelson Mandela, a Xhosa, is the Republic of South Africa. Mandeland is very far from being Mandela-like in any conception whatsoever. The…
The Near Death Experience of a Petite Man ITomos was a petite man in his 40s and could easily pass for a young teenager sometimes. His physical size, clothing size,…
.Orubebe is Not Mad! If one wants to explain why former Minister of the Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe, of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) behave the way he did at…
.Are Leaders or Followers to Blame for Corruption? Grimot Nane Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Studies Corruption is unsatisfactorily defined as the “misuse of public office for private gain”…
Strange Diet Combo – Stella and Bread In everyday Nigerian parlance, the word “combination”, regarding food, connotes meals that comprise unlikely combinations of food items. Meals are combinatorial products. chips…
There was considerable peace and “silence” during the 2015 Nigerian general elections yesterday. It was good news that apart from the “I am above the law” behaviour of some senior…
When friends meet after a long while the questions that roll off after the handshakes, and maybe hugs, are often the standard “how have you been?” The pleasantries could continue…
Thieving: Incumbency in Elections One would wonder why the power of incumbency of presidents and governors in Nigeria,elsewhere in Africa and other places in the world is well-near indomitable at…
The United State of America is the chief exporter of “globalisation democracy” that has seen nations around the globe both encouraged and bullied into taking on two incompatible dictates of…
Buhari Will Be Dead in Six Months’ Time Muhammadu Buhari, a presidential candidate in the forthcoming 2015 General Elections, is reported to be terminally ill with cancer and complications of…
Kneel Down Democracy In the above photo we can see kneeling before the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State, Mrs Ekaette Akpabio, the usually imposing State Commissioner for Works, Don…
“Anywhere you hear someone talking about change, stone that person” (three times in succession) – Patience Jonathan; Nigeria’s First Lady in her 2015 Election Campaign The word “stone” is a…
Postponement of Elections: Achebe Chinua Achebe was ostracised by the Western academy for his truthful but hard to swallow comments on two European intellectual sacred cows, Joseph Conrad and Albert…
How Does “Fuck” Relate To “Christ”? Common to social media, we are witnessing a tidal wave of swear words as ‘acceptable’ reactions. Reactions of disbelief, anger, disappointment or shock at…
Nigeria’s Big Thieves and Small Thieves. “We hang the petty thieves & appoint the great ones to public office” – Aesop. Was Aesop not discussing Nigeria? #UniPortFour – 11 Oct…
When President Goodluck Jonathan claimed he had “underestimated” the Boko Haram insurgency it was the latest in a long series of things he should not have said, another public relations…
Owners of Nigeria Technostructure In Nigeria there exists a non-market non-governmental extortionist technostructure that is nameless but for the purpose of convenience we shall call it the ONT (i.e. the…
The 2015 elections in Nigeria are about Muhammadu Buhari of APC and Goodluck Jonathan of PDP. Those who are not voting will be voting for ‘no one’. Voting for ‘no…
Bishop Kukah Also Embraces Semi-Primitivity Bishop Matthew Kukah has a lot to say about Nigeria and often has very interesting things to say. In an interview he makes an attempt…
Election2015: Eternal Baby Syndrome In the course of researching corruption and misgovernance in Nigeria it is not too hard to observe public servants and politicians. These persons of very high…
Fraternities and the Tolerance of Psychopaths The Nigerian university campus grown fraternity (UCGF) tended to start well but end up acquiring a good number of psychopaths. Most members of these…
Jazz Greats I Met: Clifford Jarvis It was an autumn evening in 1996 when I visited the up and coming French jazz bassist, Collard Romain at his flat in Camberwell,…
Sanusi: Last Man Standing in Soludo’s Great Debate The recent bombshell released in the media by Charles Soludo is on his evaluation of the 2015 general elections. And the future…
Utomi’s Baffling Take on Soludo’s Bombshell. Charles Soludo released his bombshell on the future of the political economy and state of Nigeria beyond the 2015 elections. It was a about…
The Confessions of A Post-Impotent Guy A stirring confession of a man’s anguish and recovery from the problem of male impotence just before he turned age forty using African herbs.
Your Choice of Research / Practice Method? There are four common ontologies / epistemologies by which we undertake research in the academy. If you must study anything in a reliable,…
Fraternal Criminality as Charity One growing and disturbing phenomenon of Nigerian university campus grown fraternities (UCGFs) is their transformation into “charities”. It is a purely criminal phenomenon. Set up by…
In Nigeria, politics is where all the easy money is; parvenu opportunities, rent-seeking, corrupt practices, patronage benefits, prebendal incomes, ‘settlements’, blackmail etc. Many organisations that started originally swearing to be…
The Privileged Nigerian Intellectual? Whether Nigerian intellectuals like it or not, Europe and its extensions were built with the ideas of intellectuals. I cannot imagine a Europe without its prodigious…
‘Patriotism of the stomach’ is much more pitiable than it sounds. Patriotism, even in moderate forms, is a thoroughly virtuous state of being to adopt underpinned by loyalty, commitment, support…
RE: Collapse of Nigeria’s Power Privatisation http://eyoekpo.com/post/101658521484/the-imminent-collapse-of-nigerias-power-privatisation I found Timi Soleye’s piece in the Financial Times interesting. The Financial Times and its editors would have a lot to lose by…
http://nnimmo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/our-lands-must-bleed-no-more.html Our Lands Must Bleed No More is an activist’s plea and determination to end the cumulative and inimical genocide of people of the Niger Delta in the name of…
http://atamssokari.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/political-party-funding-nigerians/comment-page-1/#comment-90 If I may extend your argument, there was a time when political party funding was ethical (enough). This was the period after World War II up to the 1970s…
Sarcasm: Evidence of Genius Sarcasm and ‘figures of speech’ are as old as language itself. From the Ivy League professor of literary criticism to the Oxbridge linguist. Or from the…
The Ikoko r’Idjerhe has just completed an hour of silence and reflection on the unnecessary and horrific tragedy that happened on this day 16 years ago, better known as the…
http://opinionriver.com/30percentornothing/ “Be bold for the children of everybody and look well! It will improve our judging tomorrow” – Dan Bearman in Therefore Be Bold (by Herbert Gold) “The young do…
“I came I saw and I conquered” is often the motto of any conqueror. Conquest is not an easy undertaking, even if the history books make it unctuously look so.…
http://opinionriver.com/real-poor-nigerians/ Your piece is poignant and well written but discomforting to read, because it exposes issues of the “pitiful helplessness” and their resignation to it. The state is not going…
Literature in Schools Poisoned the “Nigeria Mind” It is easy to deride Nigeria and Nigerians because there are ample bases for it and it’s often convenient; “Nigeria is a Nation…
The rumour that ex-militant leader Alhadji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari and politician Felix Idiga, both enriched by Niger Delta government resources, were the Nigerians caught with $9.3 million by the South African…
End of Oil, Beginning of Prosperity Nigeria 2 On the issue of policies, Nigeria’s problem is in truth not just policies and national planning solutions for the economy. Even if…
End of Oil, Beginning of Prosperity: Nigeria One inexplicable phenomenon among Nigerians is their response to the news that Nigeria’s oil is facing a demise as a major export commodity.…
http://gbengaaborowa.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/war-the-most-profitable-business-in-the-world/#more-153 After reading “War is a Racket” by Smedley Butler, the most decorated and honoured United States Marine, a very slim book, I came to understand the indisputable profitability of…
Botswana: An African Model for Progress – A Replay http://gbengaaborowa.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/botswana-an-african-model-for-progress-and-prosperity/#more-134 Botswana, a prosperous African nation (population: 2 million), is a place I worked a long time ago. It fits very…
When a governor-elect for one of the states in Nigeria can openly slap, then instruct his thugs beat up and chase a sitting judge out of court for comments rendered,…
We cannot reduce malfeasance to party politics or party propaganda alone in Nigeria or any nation on the planet, anonymous and faceless special interests play a bigger role. Military rulers…
President Jonathan, What Are Your Spin Doctors Doing? Hashtag disaster has hit the Nigerian President and it because someone created the unfortunate and ill-advised #BringBackJonathan2015 hashtag as a campaign device.…
The ontology of the African is an emergent creature of exploitation, historical and contemporary. It started with slavery and colonisation. The late Dr Abdul Rahim Tajudeen, former head of the…
After the the image-shattering debacle of the #BringBackJonathan2015 campaign, a new kind of thanks to a national leader has emerged. Many people especially the sycophants, spokesmen and usual suspects are…
Can Africans in power ever get it right? They can but choose not to for reasons of venality and mediocrity and sometimes sheer stupidity. I concur with the fact that…
The Ontology of the African IV: The Antinomy The claim to being knowledgeable and intelligent as well as acting in denial of knowledge and intelligence, simultaneously, is as Antinomy of…
The African leader like the African he rules has a derisory ontology. With billions of dollars stashed away in foreign accounts, endless terms in office and the excessive paraphernalia of…
The derisory ontology of the African has not gone unchallenged. At the forefront, intellectuals, civil society leaders, freedom fighters, artists, activists, missionaries and politicians of African descent have chosen innumerable…
The Ontology of the African Someone genuinely dismayed that some sincere African intellectuals say nothing about the derisory status of the African among other human beings in the world. It…
The Lion and The Jewel: Soyinka’s Most Enduring Work? Today is the 80th birthday of Wole Soyinka. I may not be a fan of his in the past but his…
We Let Africa Down Badly An Open Letter to African Academics, Scholars and Intellectuals Dear Colleagues, Upon reviewing the current upheavals in North Africa and elsewhere on the continent, I…
Benzene Holocaust in the Niger Delta? The Niger Delta is a top “ecocide hotspot” on planet Earth. Minor and massive oil spillages are frequent and ubiquitous in the Niger Delta,…
Since the widely preferred mode of organisation (partial or encompassing) for our “globalised political economy” in both public and private spheres is corruption, how are useful and successful anti-corruption programs…
Nigeria: The Empire That Never Was… Will It Ever Be? Sir John Glubb’s enduring claim to fame, perhaps among other things, is an essay. His essay, “The Fate of Empires…
To Cook a Continent: A Review and a Comment REVIEW: To Cook a Continent: Destructive Extraction and Climate Crisis in Africa is yet another book about Africa’s exploitation but with…
. Michal Lyons, Academic Extraordinaire (b. Nov 1950 Israel; d. Mar 2013 London, England) Michal Lyons was a professor of urban studies at London South Bank University (LSBU). Trained as…
A Metaphor: Ending Corruption in Nigeria In 2001, a high-ranking military officer, a commodore, reluctantly offered me a literary metaphor for solving the problem of corruption but warned me earnestly…
The Evolution of Banditry in Nigeria: Markets, Independence, Oil Boom and Settlement Years The two most obvious periods of steep rises in corruption in independent Nigeria were the oil boom…
The Owners of Nigeria Technostructure In Nigeria, there exists a non-market non-governmental extortionist technostructure that is nameless, but for convenience, we shall call it the ONT (i.e. the Owners of…
Rancour: An Ode to A Lost Oppressor When I nurse the hurts inflicted on me by friends and brothers within the spectre of brotherhood on so many occasions, it becomes…
Contrary Institutions: A Brief Description Why is it that institutional reform as touted by the international and local anti-corruption industries always fails in tackling the problem of corruption in Nigeria…
Wikileaks: The Hard Lesson So Far “Financial asphyxiation” or some synonym is going to be a buzz word that will be popular with politicians (silently) and activists (openly) in future……
Wikileaks Leaks – So Very Ordinary? If Wikileaks has leaked nothing of the confidential and classified information relating to the workings, conditions and decisions of the International Monetary Fund or…
t is interesting to know that the Niger Delta is listed third out of ten hotspots of ecocide in Polly Higgins’ Eradicating Ecocide. I have written a review of the…
The Grandeur of Rejecting a Disabled Person Being disabled is neither pleasant nor easy in any society, and Britain is a society civilised enough to appreciate the fact fairly in…
Spiritual Infections, Physical Cures: Catching Gonorrhea In A Dream I am increasingly taking the message of James Randi quite seriously, well beyond and above average, because of the decadent state…
Corruption in Nigeria: Is It Curable? Part One The Nigerian nation might not be a failed state but it is certainly by all ostensible standards of politics and governance a…
Educating a Shell Worker Ever since ex-President Obosanjo threw the gauntlet to Nigerians in general in to prove the acts of corruption of General Babangida (rtd) (Nwaobi 2004), it has…
Eradicating Ecocide: A Review Ecocide eradication, as both a concept and an institution of (enforceable) international (and local) application, is creating a popular stir of concern for its critics and…
Good for the People, Good for Everybody I remember from the mid to late 70s, Sacro Ogban, a cool, sociable, and trendy guy I admired for his personality and style.…
You must be logged in to post a comment.