As Trump rose to the presidency, one explanation that swept political science was the power of polarization, specifically a phenomenon known as affective polarization, but a keen group of scholars now suggests that this approach is inadequate. It would be hard to describe the state of political competition in America more accurately than as “a poisonous cocktail of othering, aversion and moralization” — the subtitle of an article, “Political Sectarianism in America,” published by 15 important scholars in Science magazine in November 2020, including Eli Finkel, Peter Ditto, Shanto Iyengar, Lilliana Mason, Brendan Nyhan and Linda Skitka. The Science essay…

In the pantheon of Nigerian rulers, President Muhammadu Buhari occupies an uncontestable stool. He is the first leader to return to power on the strength of a faulty myth rather than on a record of demonstrable achievements. The political marketers of the Buhari candidacy in the count down to the 2015 elections were armed mostly with nothing concrete beyond a lingering myth. Somehow a Buhari myth had accumulated in our public consciousness. It was a myth of honesty, personal discipline, considerable integrity, spartan lifestyle, patriotic commitment, fidelity to transparent and effective governance with minimal tolerance for corruption. Above all else,…

History is replete with women of valour who not only towered head and shoulders over the men of their own time and age but who also left their imprints in the sand of time. Having attained the status of demi-gods, such women, in some cases, are worshipped till date by devotees. Statues stand in their recognition, keeping their memories alive while History books continue to recall their heroic acts. Scriptures record outstanding women like Prophetess Deborah, wife of Lapidoth. Where men feared to tread, Deborah led the army of Israel to defeat Sisera and deliver Israel from the oppression of…

Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the torso of a young boy by the bank of River Thames in London. On September 21, 2001 to be precise, this dismembered body, found near Tower Bridge in Central London, United Kingdom, was putting on an orange-colour girls’ shorts. Paraphernalia of voodoo enveloped his remains. Sighted by an IT consultant, Aidan Minter, the Metropolitan Police immediately rallied its marine support unit to retrieve it but, 20 years after, the limbs and head are yet to be recovered. This find wasn’t new. The Metropolitan Police dealt with such phenomenon periodically.…