Opinion

I am from Owo. I was born and bred there. Readers of my columns must have known that by now. My primary school, modern school and secondary school were all at Owo. I did not step out of Owo to live anywhere else until 1975, first at Sobe and later at Usho, both under the then Owo Local Government, where I worked for a few days each as an auxiliary teacher (with my West African School Certificate) before I packed it up and returned home. In mid-1976, I made my first real foray out of my cocoons when I heeded…
Is Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) the servant-leader Nigerians have been waiting for, or should they look for another? In the last ten years, there have been calls for a Third Force in the Nigerian political firmament to counter the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC). Earlier attempts had failed. But this time around, it seems there are unprecedented political stirrings and the coming of age of the electronic village square of the Internet. Old fashioned, carnival-like campaign rallies are still in vogue. However, more than ever before, the internet is playing…
On Monday, August 4, 2004, one week after he made a speech at the Democratic Party’s convention in Boston, I wrote a column for Nigeriaworld called “Obama: An audacity of hope?” Here is how the column started. “Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Congresswoman, recently visited the White House with a congressional delegation. Making her way out, she passed President Bush, and the president literally jumped back on seeing “Obama” button pinned to her chest. Guessing what the president was thinking, she told him, “Mr. President, it is Obama with a “b”. Still, the president did not get it. The congresswoman briefly…
Victor Egonu was one of the best pilots Nigeria ever produced. He was the immediate past Director Flight Operation with Air Peace. He joined Air Peace in 2014 as its first Head of Pilots Training and later became the Chief Pilot in 2015 and Director of Flight Operations in 2019. Born on August 20, 1959 in the UK, his passing away on Monday June 6, 2022, in London, at a period he was already thinking of retirement, leaves nothing but pain in the hearts of the visionary and compassionate professional’s employer as well as others whose lives he impacted. Few…
It’s much easier swimming in a shark-infested water than to navigate the landmine-ridden path of Anambra politics. Nothing compares. Not that politics is ever a ping-pong game for the chicken-hearted anywhere in the world, but if you have to compete in a group where your opponents include those with a trailer load of money and others with king-size influence, not afraid to deploy every arsenal within reach, you would get a little sense of what I am talking about. Unfortunately, the political fights were never about the people. It bothered on special interests which was why for many years, a…
Former Anambra State governor Peter Obi is inspiring a powerful, social media-enabled, youth-led political tidal wave that will radically change the contours of the 2023 election. But APC and PDP operatives, still inebriated with the overconfidence of the size and deep pockets of their parties, are sniggering at the suggestion that Obi’s Labour Party will change the game next year. They comfort themselves with the mantra that there are no polling booths on social media where Obi’s devotees form noisy cyber silos. Well, there is no opponent more dangerous than an underestimated one. People who are habituated to the politics…
Separating the Nigerian from his politics and religion is almost like a man trying to forcefully pull off a strand of hair from his moustache. It is akin to trying to prise off the glue that wedges Siamese twins together. Yoruba social worldview also offers an explanation of this difficulty. At a bandstand gig for Danjuma, Kano-born wealthy entrepreneur of the 1970s, owner of the defunct Agege Cinema and a man known in the Lagos social circuit as Yaro Maikudi, late Apala music exponent, Ayinla Omowura, had explained why he showered panegyrics on fans who decorated his forehead with crisp…
Choosing Joy Amidst Trials My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing ~ James 1:2-4. Introduction: In the realities of the Christian life and of the peculiar times we live in today, we are bound to experience trials occasionally. We must, therefore, truly embrace and actively internalize this fact in our maturing processes as believers if we are to keep godly handles on our emotions amidst the diverse trials, persecutions…
Jesus says: “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63). There is a spirit in the word of God. That spirit is peace. When God speaks, He speaks peace. The psalmist says: “I will hear what God the LORD will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints.” (Psalm 85:8). The things written in the Bible are for our peace. Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,…
Sometime in 2009, ‘Mr’ (as he preferred to be addressed) Peter Obi, governor Of Anambra State at the time, visited Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and myself at Dallas, Texas. He came to deliver a get well message from Goodluck Jonathan and was billed to attend a black tie event at the Dallas Marriot. Curiously, he flew into Dallas airport with one small carry on luggage, which he insisted on wheeling around himself, and on getting to our residence requested to freshen up. He opened his carry on, filled with files and paperwork and a few toiletries and an extra shirt,…
May 02, 2025

Dangote says he’s comfortable with Trump tariffs on urea exports

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Appeal Court upholds conviction of professor who rigged election for Akpabio amid public outrage

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4 rules for better conversations: ‘We’re all very hungry to feel understood,’ says Harvard professor

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Declassified CIA file about UFO aliens attacking soldiers released

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At least 26 people killed as 2 vehicles run over bomb planted by Boko Haram…

At least 26 people were killed on Monday when two vehicles detonated an improvised explosive…
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What to know after Day 1163 of Russia-Ukraine war

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE US rejected Ukraine’s security guarantee demands – NYT The US has rejected Ukraine’s…
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Smartphone use could reduce dementia risk in older adults, study finds

The first generation that has been exposed consistently to digital technology has reached the age…
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NFF appoints new Super Eagles head coach

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed Éric Sékou Chelle as the new Head Coach…

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