Opinion

Sunday, 11 July 2021 05:58

The tide will turn - Bola Bolawole

Unexpected “General Winter” defeated the invincible army of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte; opening a second war front in the East (against Russia) became the undoing of Adolf Hitler’s deutsche machine. I read Akin Onigbinde arguing somewhere that Nigeria (better still, the Fulani) cannot defeat the Igbo (Biafra) and Yoruba (Oodua nation) agitators taken together. Onigbinde’s hypothesis remains to be proven one way or another – right or wrong. We may soon see! But history is uncanny; it repeats itself. And like George Santayana posited, those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeating its mistakes. In lawn tennis, they…
A typical day and a typical news bulletin in northern Nigeria: “Bandits kill 21, burn houses in Katsina communities invasion;” “Bandits hold 348 students, UNESCO sounds warning;” “83 FGC students held;” “Bandits: we are holding 121 Kaduna school pupils.” In its issue of July 7, The Punch reported that “the total number of students being held by bandits has increased to 348 with the abduction of 121 students in Kaduna State. Out of the 348 students,” the newspaper further reported, “227 are still languishing in bandits’ dens many weeks after they were abducted from their schools in Niger, Kebbi and…
In ex-President Jacob Zuma’s jailing for 15 months by South Africa’s Constitutional Court, Africa and humanity in general are dragged to school by the nape of their dresses. Author of celebrated Yoruba classic, Igbi Aye Nyi – Life swivels like a wind – T. A. A. Ladele, had earlier taught the world one or two of the Zuma lessons. Written in 1978, Ladele, an Okeho, Oyo State-born History teacher at Durbar College, Oyo and pioneer Headmaster of Baptist School, Iwere-Ile, was one of Nigeria’s early writers. In, Igbi Aye Nyi, the 1920-born writer sought to teach us all about the…
I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway ~ 1 Corinthians 9:27. Introduction Not many people today want to hear about discipline and self denial. Gratification of personal desires, indulgences and unqualified pursuit of self interests have rather become more appealing in our present day societies. In public services, politics, governance as well as in inter-personal relationships, the culture of “what’s in this for me” is fast eroding the virtues of sacrificing our interests for a higher cause. However, if we…
Marriage is at the centre of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is about a wife espoused to one husband, and about a husband who gave himself for his wife. Paul says: “I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him.” (2 Corinthians 11:2). Therefore, the opening salvo of Jesus’ long retinue of miracles was fired first at a wedding in Cana of Galilee where He turned water into wine. Bride and groom John the Baptist says: “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend…
If the defections from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) continue at the current pace, the only people left in the opposition may be those to pack and return the chairs to storage before the next general elections in two years. It’s not funny. Apart from Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo who bucked the trend one year ago when he moved from APC to PDP on the eve of an off-season election, the drift has been the other way. In eight months, three governors – Dave Umahi, Ebonyi; Ben Ayade, Cross River; and Bello…
In recent times, some of the issues I attended to are inimically cancerous to good relationships and marriages. Issues treated below are some of the root causes of the problems plaguing several young marriages. Turning Bedroom to ‘War Room' Previously, I had published a letter by a reader of this column, Mrs Anonymous, wherein she stated her pains and frustration in her marriage as a result of near nil sexual intimacy. According to her mail, she had been married for 10 years but all has since not been well especially in the bedroom. I did promise to attend to her…
“Over the past hundred years, the [Communist Party of China] has united and led the Chinese people in writing the most magnificent chapter in the millennia-long history of the Chinese nation,” President Xi Jinping declared at the CPC’s centennial celebration, in a speech that emphasized the Party’s role in driving China’s success, including its economic rise. But the CPC’s economic record is actually mixed, and even those who recognize this often overlook that its successes and failures stem from the same economic fundamentals. Xi is right that, under the CPC’s leadership, China has achieved the “historic leap” from one of…
In May, Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, was asked to clarify the statement he made nine years ago about the Fulani and their propensity to carry out maniacal violence against others. Rather than show that he had reflected on his injudicious remark and was ready to disclaim it, he doubled down. According to him, “The Fulani (man) never forgets…when he is innocently targeted and killed and the authorities do nothing. He will never forget and he will come back for revenge.” El-Rufai might be someone whose humanity needs tweaking, but he is not ignorant. If he says the Fulani are…
The 17 Southern governors met again last Monday in Lagos to discuss and or respond to national issues of common interest to them and their people. At the end, they issued a communique which was well measured and apt, addressing all the germane issues in a mature, responsible, and responsive manner. The communique, I dare to say, hallmarked civility without compromising virtues. The North and its uncouth, irascible, rambunctious leaders and self-appointed spokespersons have a lot to learn from the Southern governors. Despite provocations and assaults from the North, the Southern governors have kept their cool and have refrained from…
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