Category: Opinion

By Abdu Rafiu It is enheartening that the Federal and State Governments are hearkening to our outcry: They have given nod to the establishment of state police. It is a decision that must be given bite immediately. It is quite a pity that it has taken such a shockingly long time to see that the […]

By Abdu Rafiu Whenever the issue of the putsch of 15 January 1966, is raised, there is no way it will not awaken emotions and ugly memories for its horrors. Equally merciless and even more bloody and horrendous is what has been referred to as the revenge coup, given the number of deaths, and the […]

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka’s advocacy on the urgent need to decentralise the country speaks poignantly and forcefully to the steps the political leadership must take if they are committed to Nigeria’s survival and future. Delivering a public lecture in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Punch Nigeria Limited, last Thursday in Lagos, the playwright spelled […]

If the conduct of the Lagos State command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) during the recent Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) strike is an indication of what citizens should expect from the service going forward, then the force can begin to compare favourably with its counterparts in the civilised climes. Not a few people were […]

Lassa fever carrier The surge of Lassa fever sweeping across the country is a growing threat to Nigeria’s fragile healthcare system. The latest report by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention shows that this year alone, 24 states have recorded at least one confirmed case of the viral hemorrhagic illness. This wave of […]

File: Looting at Lagos warehouse A new groundswell of looting across the landscape has become emblematic of Nigeria’s season of discontent. From the Federal Capital Territory to Niger State, hungry citizens are venting their ire on food warehouses to devasting effects. Warehouses stockpiling food in the FCT were attacked at the weekend, a rage reminiscent […]

By Abdu Rafiu Certain events cannot be erased from memory and, indeed from consciousness. After nearly six decades, controversy still rages over the calamitous events of 1966. In two years, it will be 60 years since the first coup which overthrew the Balewa Administration and down the line, the governments in the Regions as well, […]

DEEP concerns about Nigeria’s ineffective local government system are back on the front burner. A non-governmental organisation, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, set the tone by filing a lawsuit against state governors and the FCT Minister to disclose the accruals to the LGs. Before the dust settled, a national newspaper reported the way governors […]

By Abdu Rafiu No one can dispute the fact that Nigerians are going through harrowing times. The digital channels, namely Twitter, FaceBook, WhatsApp, SMS, name them, fill Platforms with lamentations of hard times. All blame is heaped on the leadership. We least understand the place of personal responsibility including the responsibility we bear in the […]