The gathering inferno: When politics turns to violence
An election can be compromised before a single ballot is cast.
Dakuku Peterside
Articles
174 articlesCampaign, No Campaign
Nigeria’s political parties can tell us who will coordinate their campaigns, mobilise their supporters and deliver their strongholds. They owe us comparable clarity on who will deliver safer communities, functioning hospitals, and an economy where work pays.
Nigeria Decides 2027 and the Burden of Proof
Confidence cannot be repaired by asking people to ask fewer questions. It grows when institutions give better answers and make those answers examinable.
AI and 2027: Who answers when technology gets it wrong?
The answer is neither panic nor blind enthusiasm. It is to insist that every use of AI that can affect a voter’s rights or an election result remains open to scrutiny, challenge and correction.
The future of Nigeria and menace of insecurity
Government bears the primary responsibility for protecting lives and property. Community vigilance, religious compassion, and individual resilience can support that duty; they cannot replace it.
Nigeria since 1999: When will the years begin to count?
Democratic continuity means civilian rule keeps going. Democratic consolidation means its limits can be relied upon.
UNGA 2026: When the canyons reach our doorstep
Within weeks of UNGA, the government should publish a concise account of the delegation’s cost, its substantive meetings, the commitments made or sought, the official responsible for each follow-up and the date by which progress will be reported.
King Jaja’s challenge to Nigeria: Power, defiance and economic self-determination
Foreign capital should enlarge domestic capability rather than permanently replace it. Partnerships should leave behind skills, technology, supply chains, tax value, and competitive Nigerian enterprises.
Beyond the ribbon: The questions Nigeria’s 2027 campaign must answer
Government must be judged by whether people became safer, healthier, more capable, more productive, and more dignified.
When a Giant Leaves: What Uber’s Exit Says About Nigeria
Market size is not the same as market quality. Population figures may attract investors, but purchasing power, infrastructure and regulatory predictability determine whether they stay.
A leadership lesson for Nigeria from Dolly Parton
The deeper lesson from Parton’s philanthropy is that leadership must build institutions, not merely monuments.
Peace on paper, peril in practice: Why 2027’s elections remain at risk
But Nigeria must be careful not to mistake a declaration of good intentions for an architecture of credible elections.
Nigeria’s Stanford warning: When institutions normalise the abuse of power
The central challenge, therefore, is not simply to find better leaders, but to build institutions capable of restraining imperfect ones.
Where failure is free, nations pay
A political system without consequences does not merely tolerate poor leadership; it manufactures it.
INEC’s albatross: The crisis of electoral trust
The question, therefore, is not simply whether Nigerians should trust INEC. The harder question is whether INEC is prepared to earn that trust before 2027.
The debt that eats tomorrow
The issue is whether a country already spending heavily on debt service can keep adding new obligations without a more convincing revenue strategy, stricter project discipline, and clearer proof that every borrowed dollar will generate the productivity required to repay it.
Maiduguri and the value of human life
The true measure of how a state values human life is not in its condolences but in its preparedness.
The tell-tale signs of political violence before it explodes
The sponsors of political violence must become as vulnerable to the law as the foot soldiers they recruit.
Board of Peace, bleeding republic
Nigeria’s mistake has never been a shortage of institutions but a shortage of coherence.
Electoral transparency in reverse gear
The Senate did not ban electronic transmission; it refused to guarantee it. In Nigeria’s electoral history, that distinction is the difference between deterrence and discretion.
Davos afterglow, Abuja reality
The best way to judge Nigeria at Davos is not by panel speeches, but by what is signed, funded, and delivered after returning home.
Echoes of Venezuela: Nigeria braces for economic turmoil
In a global oil market in which supply dynamics can shift overnight, prudence is not pessimism. It is governance.
Tax reform law: Cracks in the code
The integrity of lawmaking is not a procedural nicety; it is the foundation that makes hard policies tolerable because people can trust that what is being enforced is what was debated, voted on, and assented to.
Bandits, states, and the dynamics of illicit economies
Since banditry works like a business, it should be fought like one: cut off its money, raise its costs, strip away its protection, and create better legal options.
Beyond boots on the ground
To break this cycle, we must look beyond boots on the ground and prioritise holistic, institution-building reforms that address the root causes of instability.
Cynicism and the 'impregnable wall': Can Nigerians rescue 2027?
If rigging is a “manufactured outcome,” then it can be countered by deliberate, strategic action.
Reversal of pardon list as fruit of public activism
It also showed something subtler: that the legitimacy of mercy grows when it is bounded by rules, transparent criteria, and the voices of those who bear the consequences of crime.
Justice as a commodity
When justice becomes a commodity, when money, influence, and power can sway its course, courts cease to be bastions of order and transform into markets of outcomes.
Saving democracy: The urgency of electoral reforms
Ballots must not only be cast; they must be believed. That belief is built now, in the choices we make and the discipline we show.
Chatham House and the trust we must rebuild
Nigeria’s opportunity is to shift from exhortation to architecture: empower communities to track projects, publish contracts, and create channels where complaints trigger action.
Remembering Nigeria’s victims of terror
We honour the dead by protecting the living. We respect survivors by providing services that are predictable, not performative.
The pre-2027 party gold rush
The current rush to establish new parties is less about ideological conviction or grassroots movements and more about strategic positioning, bargaining leverage, and transactional gain.
Turning brain drain into bridges
What the country has needed, and what BRIDGE attempts to deliver, is a structured mechanism for converting financial capital into human, intellectual, and social capital.
New wave of malnutrition and the road to 2027
The painful truth about this crisis is its preventability. Hunger in northern Nigeria is not a natural disaster, but a consequence of a system that values political optics over structural reform.
Is the world shutting its door on Nigeria?
Our embassies must stop being graveyards of empty offices and instead become hubs of skilled negotiators who can advocate for our people’s mobility with facts, not excuses.
What can Nigeria learn from China’s electricity revolution?
Nigeria needs a five-year Power Sufficiency Roadmap, enshrined in law, to ensure stability during periods of political transition.
Fear and fragility: How safe are Nigerians?
Defence spending must be matched by transparent audits and a parallel surge in humanitarian and reconstruction funds, particularly for the farms and schools that violence has emptied.
Israel-Iran conflict: The Nigerian connection
If the Nigerian government sees this windfall as a new lease on life for its oil-dependent model, it will only delay the inevitable reckoning.
Gatekeepers or spectators? National Assembly’s two-year performance gap
Every bill should face a “rigour filter” before the second reading: a clear problem statement, a fiscal note, and evidence of stakeholder consultation.
NELFUND: Against a culture of impunity
Programmes like NELFUND can unlock that human capital, but only in a governance environment where corruption is costly and impunity impossible.
Choices, not chance: Why China is rich, and Nigeria is poor
Reliable baseload power and a north-south freight rail spine must precede, not follow, any talk of mega parks or local content mandates. Technical colleges must receive the same prestige and funding as universities.
NNPC leadership: Agenda for a faltering oil giant
To restore credibility, NNPC Ltd. must publish independently audited financial reports with full operational details, implement transparent procurement policies, establish zero-tolerance measures against corruption, and resist political interference in financial decisions.
Governors, federalism, and constitutional tension
Potential reforms could include defining emergency conditions more precisely, requiring judicial review of emergency declarations, and strengthening legislative oversight to prevent executive overreach.
Saving the Senate
The best the Senate can do is to conduct a proper investigation on the issue and come out with a clean bill of health.
The EFCC and epidemic of organised crime
Enforcing stricter financial regulations will help disrupt criminal financing. Strengthening anti-money laundering measures and improving surveillance of cryptocurrency transactions are necessary steps.
Are regional development commissions the new deal?
RDCs should not serve as political slush funds but as accountable entities focused on real development.
AI, Nigeria and Trump 2.0
To address the AI rookie status, the federal and state governments must establish a national AI council, partner with international organisations and tech firms, and launch initiatives to educate and train the workforce in AI technologies.
Telecom and the hike economy
Such practices underscore the need for regulatory oversight to ensure price adjustments are justified and reflective of market realities. Without mechanisms for fairness and transparency, these hikes erode consumer trust.
Still on state police
The call for state police is not just a matter of political discourse; it is a necessary step toward securing the lives and property of Nigerians.
Ghana on my mind
Nigeria must strengthen INEC’s independence, provide adequate resources, and ensure that it operates free from political interference.
Kukah on accidental leadership
For Nigeria to progress, it must prioritise leadership development, reform political structures to value competence, and actively involve citizens in cultivating visionary leaders.
Trust and economic recovery
Restoring citizens’ trust in both economic policy and management of the economy is essential for sustainable growth.
The minors: A reflection of decay in society
Nigeria’s criminal justice system allowed these minors to languish in detention for three long months without verifying their ages or giving them a fair trial.
Airfare: Flying beyond reach
To restore air travel as a widely accessible service, Nigeria must address its infrastructural, regulatory, and economic challenges with targeted reforms and strategic investments.
Tunji Alausa and Nigeria’s grand education strategy
Nigeria’s education sector requires a cohesive, long-term strategy to ensure sustained improvement.
Rivers of crisis
Democracy thrives on institutions that remain impartial and strong, but developments in Rivers State threaten critical guardrails like security agencies and the judiciary.
Thoughts on Nigeria’s food insecurity
The government must proactively invest in agriculture through targeted strategies prioritising mechanisation, logistics, and agro-processing.
Borno floods: Beyond relief
It is high time governments adopted proactive policies that anticipate potential disasters rather than merely reacting after they occur.
Nigeria and the Scramble for Africa 2.0
Nigeria inevitably must build a strong economy as the foundation for effective foreign policy.
Nigeria’s public policy gambles
Nigeria must develop a national policy elite capable of creating, pursuing, and sustaining sound policies.
In government, size matters
It is time the government stuck with its goal of adopting or adapting the Oronsaye report on streamlining the MDAs to achieve efficiency, save cost, create policy consistency and build public trust.
Towards genuine LG autonomy
Free, fair, and credible elections are the most critical step towards genuine LG autonomy without contestation.
Cholera in hard times
Addressing cholera in Nigeria requires a multifaceted approach that addresses both immediate needs during outbreaks and the underlying causes perpetuating the disease.
Sense and nonsense of Nigeria’s economic crisis
The danger of this framing is that it sounds more like an excuse than a creative strategy to upturn our economic woes.
American democracy’s Trump test
The only thing that can ensure the preservation of democracy and our freedom is an impartial, courageous, and independent judiciary.
Bad law, needless levy
The government singling out an aspect of security and levying citizens to pay for it is tantamount to double taxation when we already pay income tax and allow the government income from our natural resources to provide this service.
The minimum wage issue: Numbers versus value
Productivity and added value creation should be a significant consideration among many bases for ascribing monetary wage increases, not just policy or legislation.
The dying public school
No template exists in the world where a country develops its human resources through private education.
The Naira abuse palaver
Changing public behaviour requires a multifaceted approach that combines legislation, education, community engagement, social support and enforcement efforts.
Electricity Tariffs: The limits of shock
A gradual, sequential step to the ultimate destination of appropriate electricity pricing would have delivered a different result and minimise the adverse effect on the citizens.
States and the blackout nation
The states now have the full constitutional authority to create the frameworks for the adequate electricity supply to their citizens.
Food security and the Bago challenge
Increasing our productive capacity and, by extension, enhancing our internally generated revenue is imperative. States waiting to go to Abuja to pick up peanuts monthly is not sustainable.
High cost of government, low outcome
More disheartening is the fact that the high cost of government has not translated to administrative efficiency, quality services or high policy outcomes.
The political economy of cement
It is myopic to think that the government will ignore the significant external and internal intervening variables underpinning the excessive hike in the price of cement, whip the industry to an agreeable price, and assume the problem has been solved.
Growing helplessness of Nigerians over insecurity
For any meaningful improvement to be seen, we need a total revision of security strategies and architecture from the present state.
Looted funds and Nigeria’s public accountability gaps
Each time news of discovery or recovery of looted fund breaks, we are happy. However, the painful realisation that each recovered loot speaks to the gaps in our governance accounting and audit reporting system is yet to dawn on us.
Wishful thinking as a state strategy
We need a clear, coherent, strategic plan driven by data and evidence and, most importantly, disciplined, transparent, and consistent execution.
2023: Reflections and future outlooks
A national peace and unity dialogue is imperative now, aiming to address the divisive lines that have emerged over the years.
Cashless festivities
It is time we drew a curtain on the ill-fated experiment of the Naira redesign and its ripple effect and do a structured transition to a cashless system with minimal adverse impact on citizens and the economy.
The electoral reforms imperative
As imperfect as our electoral acts have been, they would have provided better elections if they had been adequately implemented.
Dearth of integrity in public life
We must strengthen institutions of public accountability – internal audits, whistle-blowers, better public accounting with triggers and red alerts, better law enforcement, and a cleaner judiciary.
Politics of statistics in Nigeria
To address these issues, Nigeria must prioritise the independence of statistical agencies, ensure adequate funding, improve data collection methodologies, enhance transparency, and promote data-driven policies.
Budget of booby traps
Nigerians have expectations of the Executive and NASS regarding the 2024 budget formulation, ratification, implementation, and accountability. We expect a workable and realistic budget.
Epidemic of illicit arms
It is time to strengthen appropriate institutions to enforce laws and regulations on the control of SALW.
Strong abroad, weak at home?
However, only an alignment between our homegrown economic agenda, structural reforms and foreign policy can provide a message of economic renaissance that the administration carries on its extensive foreign travels.
How we de-industrialised Nigeria
Industrialization has been acknowledged as a critical engine for growth, prosperity, job creation and improved living standards. Yet Africa, Nigeria in particular, is less industrialized today than it was 30 to 40 years ago.
Hunger is real and present
I applaud the government’s decision to release grains from the strategic reserve depots, but it must ensure these grains get to hungry Nigerians at affordable prices.
Niger: Trouble in the neighbourhood
As the dominant regional power, Nigeria has a moral and diplomatic responsibility for ensuring stability in the neighbourhood.
This deity called petrol
This is a justification for some proceeds of subsidy removal to be applied to investment in viable energy sources and social services like education, health, and affordable public transportation.
Beyond reactive governance
The best approach has proven to be leaders and institutions that adopt proactive decision-making. It is cheaper to be proactive than to be reactive.
Rescuing the Nigerian middle class
Driving up purchasing power is key to reactivating the middle class. This requires a delicate balancing of taxation and benefit policies.
Sub-nationals: The bumpy road ahead
Accountability to the people and developing people-centric policies and programmes must be the guiding principles of the new governors.
It’s the dawn of a new era
The quality of the president’s cabinet can be a roadblock or a source of strength.
Resolving Nigeria’s electricity conundrum
The government must create the right policy environment and framework for increased private investment in power generation, leading to the modernisation of transmission infrastructure and management.
Time for reset: Education reforms as a priority in Nigeria
It behoves the new administration to restructure the whole education system on a priority basis and align it with modern education techniques.
Time for reset
The reasonable inference to draw from this picture is that there is something wrong with our economic model.
Why the National Assembly leadership race matters
In addition to our sensitivities, merit must be the highest consideration. NASS should use the election of its leadership to show the public that it is not business as usual and that the focus has shifted to meritocracy.
Security vote and transition stories
The legislature constitutionally granted the oversight role against the executive must reconsider the security vote and either remove them entirely or allow a reasonable amount (about 1% of the budget) for emergency security issues.
Dodgy Elections, Democracy and Divorce
The only way to stop this electoral impunity is for the Judiciary to send a clear message through its judgements that deviation from the laws, rules and regulations governing elections by any candidate or party will be met with severe punishment and will never be rewarded.
Governors: Right versus wrong people
All governors should strive towards sustainable revenue inflow tied to economic productivity. As the CEO of the states, governors should map out ways of relying less on federal allocation by improving IGR through sustainable resource mobilization.
Youths and “Obidients” afterwards
If the government does not respond urgently to issues that led to coalescing of forces in the “Obidient movement”, the youth movement will acquire more significant momentum.
Judicial intervention as extension of 2023 elections
Advisedly, the court must allow technical issues to take the back seat and allow substantial justice to prevail. That is the only way we can correct a dysfunctional system and win the trust of Nigerians.
Echoes of a new beginning
Given the recurring logistics challenges in our elections, INEC must develop better ways of solving these problems to improve Nigerians’ voting experience.
Unwritten rules of the 2023 elections
Political parties need to do more about voter education, and they ought to take responsibility for voter education.
Crowd for hire: 2023 campaign rallies as a metaphor
It is evident that such rented crowds, no matter the visual power they portray, do not translate to voter loyalty or electoral victory.
NDDC: Fractured but unbroken
The challenge has nothing to do with the beneficiaries of the intervention, the people of the Niger Delta or the justification for this special intervention but rather the current structure, processes, administration and quality of leadership of the agency.
Five lessons 2022 taught us about politics and nationhood
Reducing or eliminating monetary inducement is vital to the success of the 2023 polls. The government and INEC owe it as a duty to Nigerians to conduct a credible, free and fair election next year.
US-Africa Summit: In whose interest?
It is not what the US promises to give that should concern Africa, but what it plans to take from Africa.
The Poverty Narrative: Federal versus State Governments
It is the serial failure of different levels of government to provide the building blocks of poverty eradication that has led to the ballooning poverty.
Undecided voters and 2023 elections
They must develop real messages that speak to the concerns of those dissatisfied with the country’s current state of socio-economic conditions and provide credible alternative policy roadmap.
COP27: The real deal at the Red Sea
Developing nations and African countries need concessions on existing debts, benefits on imports of technologies for clean energy innovations and credits on funding for clean-energy research and infrastructure such as solar and wind energy fields.
As intemperate language, fake news, judicial rascality threaten 2023 elections
These unholy triune forces are powerful enough to cause mayhem and destroy our electoral process come 2023 if nothing is done.
Leadership is key to unlocking Nigeria’s growth potential
Unlocking Nigeria’s growth potential requires new economic thinking by leadership in the public and private sectors.
Productivity and people in a productive country
As simplistic and direct as this economic thinking is, the existing economic structure and the ones proposed by the presidential candidates are insufficient to put Nigeria on a growth trajectory.
2023: Manifestoes that will not manifest
A mechanism to track and hold candidates accountable would ensure that promises merely to induce voters are not made and that promises are sincere and well-conceived.
Liz Truss fall: Lessons for Nigeria’s democracy
Overall, Nigeria politicians and leaders owe Nigerians clarity of vision and policy, probity and accountability if they do not want to suffer Liz Truss’s fate.
Flood, passivity and a ruined future
The impact of the flooding in Nigeria is exacerbated by a lack of respect for science and leadership problems.
Nigeria decides 2023: Campaign promises and the issue of trust
Only by interrogating and engaging the campaign promises of politicians will we start the process of holding them accountable.
Exodus of the next generation; time to be concerned
The primary strategic concern of our increasing demographic hemorrhage is the emigration of skilled Nigerian youth. The people on whom our future depends are leaving.
The burgeoning kidnapping industry
To tackle kidnapping for ransom will require a cocktail of laws, intelligence, surveillance, and joint military–police operation.
Mystery of crude oil theft
This is a crime against the state and must be treated as such. The government must go after perpetrators of this dastardly act and severely punish them as a deterrent to others.
From Nairobi to Nigeria: Kenyan election as a mirror
These similarities give us the impetus to pay close attention to the Kenyan elections and learn from the outcome.
Dark clouds over the economy
This situation results from accumulated financial mismanagement and policy misdirection of past administrations, including this one.
Road to anarchy: ASUU, Labour and solidarity protest
There are better ways to show solidarity with ASUU to achieve a better result than just protesting. NLC must liaise with ASUU and mediate between it and the government on this issue, considering the historical antecedents behind this crisis.
Osun and 2023 elections: Hope rising
However, the progress made in tackling rigging may be undermined by the politics of financial inducement.
Security and the 2023 campaigns
For the presidential candidates, a complete reform and decentralisation of the Police must be the prime agenda in the security strategy, and this must be a focal issue in the campaign.
Expensive diesel and the expansive economic crisis
It is time for a significant policy shift by the Nigerian government on oil. We need to start signing an array of sweeping executive orders and policies to create an energy mix fit for Nigeria’s growth.
Our next Vice President
My primary concern is not where the VP candidates come from but their suitability.
Spread of mob justice in Nigeria
People who engage in mob justice must be arrested and prosecuted and punished by the law to serve as a deterrent to others.
Education sector crisis: A future ruined
We must ringfence their benefits and emoluments in both federal and state budgets and never allow a situation where the government owe them salaries.
Nigerian state and the train hostages
It is crucial to empower the security forces and provide them with the mandate with clear deadlines to wipe out bandits and insurgents.
Nomination forms: Party tickets for sale?
Every political party in Nigeria should open itself up to allow for more democratisation of the system by allowing for popular participation by reducing the cost of participating in the electoral process.
When ghosts vote
Winning or losing elections can structurally depend on the content of the voters’ register and how it is used during elections.
Rascality of political parties and 2023 election
Parties must never cherry-pick which rules or laws to comply with and which ones to jettison.
Abuja-Kaduna train attack: Troubling times for a nation
I will add that there is a need for electronic surveillance of the entire route to avoid terrorists hiding in some areas to perpetrate their evil acts without detection.
Women at war: Gender equality bills to the rescue
The five gender bills rejected at the National Assembly will not bring gender equality. But they are the first and foundational steps in the climb to gender equality.
Ministers and their report cards
In spite of their political character, it might be better to assess ministers more like departmental CEOs with clear targets and performance indicators.
A nation of adulterated fuel and adulterated stories
It is time we sell off non- functional refineries, license more private ones and end fuel importation and subsidy regime.
Social media as the new political wrestling ground
Political parties have a crucial role of reining in their proxies and supporters and working with fact- checkers and civil society organisations to put ethical communication principles into practice in a social-media age.
Soot and our collective conscience (2)
The most critical element of this typology, due to the scale and complex nature of soot, is an extensive state and national level Coordinated Action Plan.
The Christmas gift Nigerians deserve
I sincerely hope that government will give Nigerians the Christmas gift of providing robust security during this festive season on our major highways.
A generation ambushed by drugs
A national strategy that will map out actions at federal, state, and local government levels is needed and must involve security agencies, civil societies, and ordinary citizens.
Hunger Republic
Food security must be at the heart of national security, and a rethink of the existing national food security strategy is needed.
Soludo: A post-election Anambra
I implore him to start on time to manage peoples’ expectations and be realistic about his potentials and limitations in providing solutions to the myriads of problems of Anambra people.
COP 26, Africa and the imperative for energy transitioning
However, Nigeria needs to adequately articulate its national interest and modus operandi in engaging with the rest of the world in renewable energy, climate change and their economic implications.
Jega, the Electoral Act and 2023
Just like with electronic transmission of results, direct primaries success depends on the implementation. INEC has extended responsibilities of monitoring party primaries, and government should equip it to do so.
The truth about true federalism
The State governments, especially in the South, seem to be forcing a new form of federalism on Nigeria by looking inward in the existing constitution and enforcing their rights in areas hitherto seen as the exclusive preserve of the federal government.
Buhari’s outreach to the Southeast
Governors of the South-East should establish a line of dialogue with the leadership of the proscribed IPOB. Despite their crude methods and foibles, they enjoy sympathy in the region.
Plateau of crises and death
The crisis requires both local and national solutions. We should take a second look at our constitutional provisions regarding the concept of ‘indigene’. This term is ambiguous.
Post Afghanistan implications for Nigeria
The last lesson is that a grand strategy to end insurgency in Nigeria must be developed and implemented rigorously by the government in conjunction with the private sector, regional and international collaborators.
Siege on political parties
I cannot stress enough the need for party members to fund the political parties. This approach is the democratic process and stops party funders from hijacking the party and, in extension, governance.
2023: The familiar as unknown (1)
I advise that the parties’ leadership should do everything possible, as provided in their respective party constitutions and guidelines, to have a transparent congresses/ convention that substantially reflects popular sentiments.
Nigerian Universities; beyond quantity
There are no simple solutions to the myriad of problems facing Nigerian universities, but the key indeed lies away from establishing more universities, at least for now, until quality improves.
Loopholes in the proposed Electoral Act
A rejection of electronic transmission of results and a return to the manual transmission of results is a return to everything wrong with elections in Nigeria.
Power begins with voter registration
For Nigerian youths to make a difference in the long term, they must be engaged in formal political processes and have a say in formulating today’s and tomorrow’s politics and policies.
School kidnappings: Implications on posterity
The main principles of SSI should not be discarded, and there should be a re-evaluation of its strong points, including its emphasis on the training of school staff to deal with emergencies and a focused extension of the initiative to cover all states under the threat of bandits.
Secessionist agitations in Nigeria and Israel-Palestinian conundrum
No power will make people who feel dominated stop agitating for what they may rightfully or wrongly regard as freedom. Nigerian government should encourage dialogue and use force only when it is inevitable in dealing with secessionist elements in the country.
The scourge of ritual killings in Nigeria
To curb the increase in ritual killings, the government should thoroughly explore the intelligence-gathering approach and prosecute arrested culprits. Timely arrest and prosecution of arrested suspects would serve as a deterrent to anybody contemplating perpetrating ritual killing.
Pure water and rising hardship in the land
These economic pressures have reached alarming rates and require bold emergency actions. Nigerians are going through so much stress and strain with no end in sight.
Imo on the precipice
It has become apparent that something is seriously wrong with Nigeria’s security architecture. We seem to have a problem getting the right policy to tackle insecurity and taking the proper steps to safeguard Nigerians’ lives.
Zulumnomics, Civil service and Nigeria’s Economic revival
To get it right in Nigeria, we need to create a civil service that sees itself as a tool for promoting growth, peace, stability, development, and democracy.
Denmark takes the law into its hands
Still, I feel that Nigeria should play the lead role in a coalition of naval security apparatus from the international community to provide security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Nigerian women can lead
The country can make better progress if the extant National Gender Policy (NGP), which recommended that at least 35% of both elective political and appointive public service positions be reserved for women, is implemented.
Social contract and Northern Governors discordant voices on insecurity
This merry-go-round blame game and altercation by our governors are unnecessary at this point when insecurity has become perhaps the most significant impediment to our peaceful coexistence and development.
From Kankara to Kagara: The deification of banditry
I suggest that the federal government should adopt a kind of carrot and stick approach to bringing the problem of banditry to an end.
Herdsmen and the security challenge
The government should establish grazing reserves in consenting states and improve livestock production and management to minimise contacts and friction between herders and farmers.
Challenges for the new Service Chiefs
It would be overly simplistic and naïve to believe that a mere change of the military hierarchy would mark a turning point in the fight against criminality or suddenly decapitate Boko Haram overnight.
COVID-19 reloaded
The second wave of Covid-19 can only be checked by a determined and purposeful government and a responsible citizenry.
2021: Which way Nigeria?
What is needed are some efforts in critical areas of the polity, ensuring that the country is on the path of progress, unity, and prosperity.
Africa and the Covid-19 Vaccine
There is a need for good planning and proper resourcing of the vaccination project, starting from education and sensitisation to actual vaccination of millions of Africans.
Striking at the future of the Nigerian Youths
The country cannot make progress with the current system whereby incessant ASUU strikes continues to damage the Nigerian educational sector and imperils the future of the Nigerian youth.
Rising from the Ashes of #EndSARS
We should not discard the lessons of the #EndSARS movement. Nigeria must rise from the ashes of #EndSARS with a better police force, a better system of managing internal protests and better internal security architecture for the whole country.
#EndSARS and the rise of a new Nigeria
They should channel the enormous energy, organizational capacity and creativity of #EndSARS to form a political movement that would not be characterised by money politics and archaic and corruption-ridden ‘structures’ but by new ideas and new ways of playing politics.
#EndSARS: Things left unsaid
The #EndSARS protest has sent a clear signal that the youths of Nigeria have found their voice and the message is that we need comprehensive reform in all sectors of our country, be it security, education, healthcare, governance, economy or youth engagement.