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 1972, and it was a staggering feat from an unknown personality. The listening public could hear the instant break beats and jazz funk influences in the…
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 has appeared for the First Time, its reappearance is more likely than its initial emergence could ever have been – Hannah Arendt When punishment becomes…
A Death In A Dream I had a dream last night that I had died while dreaming. My dream began by wooing me into a medium unlimited by the problems of physical travel to a place twice better than real life. The location, a well-lit cave. How far above or below sea level I could…
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 discuss several issues that plague Nigeria severely in the campaign season. Dividends of democracy? What we discussed was patrimonial-manias in the shape of the obtuse…
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 forget, Nigeria has not had human rights since independence especially since 1966 and during colonial rule. Forget what you hear on telly or read in the papers; Nigerians are not too keen on human rights, they have not experienced it and the rights they have is where the governemnt and its clients have no reach – money is enough for them. And who knows if the nation is even ready for truth. Nigeria is torn up by tribal, religious and corporate interests and it is those interests that matter. What impacts have truth-backed exposes and scandals about corruption and misrule have on the government of Nigeria, despite democracy? None. Human rights is the noise of lawyers, the grandstanding of polititians and an intellectaul’s right to a seminar audient. That’s all. Finito. <a href="”> Read More…
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. But those of the local Nigerian auto-colonialists courtesy Fulani herdsmen affairs. In the colonial state of Nigeria, under British rule, was the chief means by…
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 are widely appreciated by assumption, not fact. Nigeria is a federal republic that practices federalism on paper. But is a unitary state in reality because…
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 percentage of “derivation” by oil-producing states from oil revenues issued by the federal government (FG) as fiscal allocations. Where is the control in receiving a…
