Author: Bala Ibrahim

I SPOKE to my Oga this morning, the National Publicity Secretary, NPS, of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, Dr. Felix Morka, who is in far away London, where his eldest child and daughter, Naomi Morka, graduated with a First Class in Medicine, from the prestigious University College London (UCL). Effective from yesterday, 07/07/2023, Naomi must be denominated as Dr. Naomi Morka, MBBS, B.Sc (Hons) Surgical Sciences. Undoubtedly, this is a feat that must earn the felicity of any father, regardless of his personality or position in the society, and my Oga can not evade that elation. I would touch…

IN Nigeria, the shortest side-track or scheme to stardom is to take an appointment with the Government. No matter how private, quiet or inconsequential one is, the minute he or she picks up an appointment with the Government, particularly political appointment, he or she has become a prey for the press, who may turn him or her into a punching bag, out of whom a harm must be made. Yes, be a political appointee in Nigeria and get ready to be turned into a patsy by the members of the pen profession, the primary constituency of yours truly. According to…

SINCE the announcement yesterday, Thursday, 15th June, 2023, by the State House Director of Information, Abiodun Oladunjoye, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had named eight persons as Seniour Special Advisers, SSA, amongst whom is the retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, and the pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the minds of many Nigerians, yours truly inclusive, went into a frenzy of bewilderment, because of the uncertainty of the position of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. The question everywhere is, as Adviser Security, is he going to be the familiar National Security Adviser? Pundits, teachers…

IT was Sir Hubert Henderson, the British economist and Liberal Party politician that said, there is a merit in being unimportant, which he paraphrased in a book under the caption, “The Importance of Being Unimportant.” Sir Henderson expressed the idea that, under the right conditions, it is desirable to be a very small part of something big. One needs not be an expert in English language to understand that Sir Henderson was talking about the goodness or distinction of modesty, particularly with respect to the righteousness of rectitude and the enviable quality of being moderate in behaviour. And precisely that…

“I, BOLA Ahmed Tinubu, do solemnly swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that as President of the Federal …” It’s all done and dusted and today, May 29, 2023, stands out as a day with a difference, for reasons that are numerous. However, because of time and space, I can not deeply underpin the significance of the day, except to buttress one aspect that puts it beyond the conventional democracy day. In doing that, I would bring forward the bizarre behaviour of Nigeria’s brand new President, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola…

“MY fellow Nigerian brothers, sisters and friends of Nigeria. I address you today, in my last assignment as a democratically elected President of our great and well-endowed nation, with a deep sense of gratitude to God, a great deal of appreciation to the Nigerian people and a modest sense of fulfilment”-PMB. If the statement above does not humble you about the transience of power, then perhaps nothing would ever do. Power is transient and no condition is permanent. The transience of power exposes the futility of unending opulence in our world of vanity. Indeed, the verdict of history always awaits…

PERHAPS because I am not academically sound, whenever a person introduces himself as an academic, he or she sends a twinge of envy into my silly sentimentality. The sentiment graduates to envy, if he or she is prefixed with the title Doctor (Dr.) and instantly prance to ostentatious pang of jealousy, if he or she is denominated as a Professor. In my present place of work, I am compulsorily compelled to accord two colleagues extra respect, because they are Professors, one of whom I call, “My Three Star Director”. That is the level of my weakness or better put, respect…

WHEN a matter is in court, it is said to be under judicial consideration and therefore prohibited from public discussion elsewhere. Doing so would amount to what those in the learned profession refer to as, subjudice. Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the majority leader in the House of Representatives, and the member representing Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency of Kano state, is standing trial on a six-count charge of conspiracy, culpable homicide, causing grievous hurt, arson, inciting public disturbance, and unlawful possession of firearms. He has vehemently denied all the charges and the matter is before the court, which, depending on the…

WE are at it again. Yes, Kano is at the verge of going into an avoidable arbitration that could disrupt the expected democratic advancement of the state. About two days ago, few hours after the All Progressive Congress, APC, defeated candidate of the Kano gubernatorial election, and the serving Deputy Governor of the state, Dr. Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, released a recorded message, wherein he conceded defeat and congratulated his opponent, Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, the Governor elect, came out with a warning, telling peoole undertaking construction on public places to keep off. Through a…

THE law says and I quote, “Any person who levies war against the State, in order to intimidate or overawe the President or the Governor of a State, is guilty of treason, and is liable to the punishment of death. Also, attacking the state through the form of war or trying to overthrow the government of the day is categorized under treason. Equally, performing acts that are related to treason is regarded as treasonable felony”. That is the position of the law in Nigeria, but from the look of things, of recent, there seems to be some persistent and pervasive…

FEW days back, while I was reminiscing over the victory of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, in Kano, and calling on all democrats to respect the wish of the majority, reports came in that some scoundrels have descended on the house of the popular Hausa singer, Dauda Rara, famously known as RARA, looting and setting it on fire. They didn’t stop there, they were said to have visited the same anger on his office and business complex, in a different part of Kano. The rampaging rogues went loose, savagely cruel, and kept carrying out their barbaric acts in the…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced the final result of the Kano gubernatorial election, 2023, wherein, it gave victory to the candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, Abba Kabiru Yusuf. This may not be in line with the wish and aspiration of some of us, yours truly inclusive. But that is the beauty of democracy, as it permits the majority to have their way, while the minority have their say. From the verdict, it means those of us against Abba’s ambition are now in the minority. If indeed we are democrats, and believe in that system…

THE President of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, has added his voice to the appeal made by the people of conscience, who have been in the forefront of raising concerns, with regards the need of getting a befitting governor for Kano state, in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections, scheduled for Saturday,18/03/2023. In a special message to the good people of Kano State, PMB took time to thank the people of the state, whom he said massively voted for him 5 times, in addition to keeping faith with his party, the APC. The President appealed to the electorate of Kano, to come out…

KANO is facing a heavy political storm, that could make or mar the future of the state, depending on the action or inaction of the electorate. The need to understand the situation, alongside the imperative of doing the right thing can not be over emphasized. Everyone is crying about the misgovernance of the state, pursuant to the perceived poor foresight of the man in charge now, but no one is talking about the right thing to do in order to correct the corrosion. Amongst the two major contenders for the governorship of the state, one is a game changer, while…

IF not for the surprise sprang by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by today, the people of Kano would be ready to queue up, in their push to elect a new governor and the set of parliamentarians that would run the affairs of the state. Lagos and Kano are two laboratories to watch, because in the recently concluded Presidential and Parliamentary elections, they played the theatres of surprises. Although pundits have predicted what happened in Kano, because Kwankwaso, a strong son of the soil was on the ballot, but the fall of Lagos to the Labour party, LP, came…

THE campaign convoy of the  Labour Party governorship candidate in Kaduna state, Honourable Jonathan Asake has been attacked by hoodlums suspected to be political thugs at Gidan Waya in Jema’a Local Government Area of the state. According to the spokesman of the Labour Party Candidate, James Swam, the incident happened when the campaign convoy was passing through Gidan Waya during Friday Muslim prayers on its way to Godogodo and other towns as the campaign team toured the local government. He explained that after the first three vehicles in the convoy made their way through the old tyres used to demarcate…

IN my nearly six and a half decades of existence as a human being and a Nigerian, I have come across a lot of astonishing and embarrassing experiences, caused on to leaders, which gave me surprises and sometimes dismay, but nothing as flabbergasting as the last night’s news of the postponement of the Nigeria’s Governorship and Parliamentary elections, and the implied effect it could have on the subconscious of the outgoing President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari. Nothing. Of course the country’s rumour mill, which is the most flourishing industry in Nigeria, was signalling that uncertainties were lurking with regards the…

I AM not a lawyer, so my argument here may not necessarily pass the test of legal scrutiny. I am also not good with figures, having failed maths with honours at the school certificate level. But although I didn’t study history in school, my memory is relatively good, and I want to rely on it to interrogate Waziri Atiku Abubakar, the defeated Presidential candidate of the PDP in the just concluded Presidential election, as to why he would not be tired of ridiculing himself, by absurdly engaging in laughable arbitrations. Every time he loses at the poll, he engages in…

NOW that the 2023 Presidential election in Nigeria is done and dusted, all attentions are directed at the coming Saturday, when the governoship and state parliamentary elections would hold. This Gubernatorial election is important to every state, but methinks it’s most important to the people of Kano state, and I would take time to explain in simple terms. Kano is Nigeria’s oldest commercial centre, the biggest reservoir of electoral votes, crude votes, and the state that is respected for exhibiting the highest maturity, forbearance and an uncommon tranquillity in politics. Yes, despite playing the decider, on who wins the Presidential…

FROM the early hours of today, Wednesday, 01/03/2023, when the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakub said, “I certify that I am the returning officer for the 2023 presidential election held on the 25th of February 2023. That Tinubu Bola Ahmed of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected”, the status of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has automatically changed. Whatever he does henceforth, would be dictated by the continence of Nigeria’s President-elect, subject to the self-control of the Jagaba. Those with access, would commence calling…