LAST December I played fortune teller and made some predictions for 2025. Now that we’re in the final weekend of the year, let me do something most Nigerian prophets never do – actually check the scorecard. The fuel price call? I bombed it. Spectacularly.I said fuel wouldn’t drop below N900 all year. For most of 2025 I was looking smart, with prices hovering right in that range. Then early this month, Aliko Dangote decided to shock everyone – MRS announced they’d sell at N739 per litre. Nigerians got a rare Christmas gift. I got egg on my face. Exchange rate…
Author: Jonathan Nda-Isaiah
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ON Monday, the Nigeria Police Force announced it will resume enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy from January 2, 2026. According to Force PRO Benjamin Hundeyin, this decision follows “growing security concerns linked to the misuse of unauthorised tinted vehicle glass.” My thoughts on this? Pure opportunism dressed up as security policy. The police want us to believe they’re resuming this enforcement because of rising insecurity. According to them, criminals now use tinted vehicles to conceal their identities while committing armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes. Sounds genuine, doesn’t it? But like James Hadley Chase said, “believe this…
FIVE years.That’s 1,825 days. Sixty months. But when I think about December 11, 2020, it feels like it happened last week. Sometimes it feels like it happened five minutes ago. You know what’s strange? I can remember exactly where I was standing when my brother Emma called and said “Brother Sam is gone, chairman is gone.” I remember the weight of the phone in my hand. I remember going numb. Grief does that. It warps time. Makes five years feel like five days and five days feel like five years. Last weekend we went back to Keffi for my elder…
SO General Christopher Musa is now our Minister of Defence. The Senate confirmed him Wednesday after about five hours of grilling, and President Tinubu couldn’t hide his excitement, commending the Senate for the “expedited confirmation.” My first thought when I read about the appointment? Here we go again. Don’t get me wrong. General Musa is a fine officer with an impressive record. But I’ve been around long enough to know that changing the driver doesn’t fix a car with a faulty engine. And right now, Nigeria’s security architecture is not just faulty – it’s practically broken down on the highway.…
THE Nigerian Senate wants to arm citizens.Let that sink in for a moment. Last week, the Upper Chamber passed a motion calling on the Federal Government to review our firearm laws so “responsible citizens” can own guns. Their reasoning? Escalating insecurity in Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger states. Schools getting raided. Churches attacked. Bandits running riot. The motion followed the November 18 attack on Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, where two worshippers were killed and 38 abducted. Senators noted that all 47 unity schools nationwide have shut down because of security concerns. Thousands of children can’t go to school…
THURSDAY I wrote my column about Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Another heartbreak. Another missed tournament. Another round of blame games and empty promises. Then my elder brother Solomon dropped a bombshell in our family WhatsApp group. He shared a yellowed newspaper clipping – the New Nigerian, Saturday, November 28, 1970. The byline read: Clement Isaiah. My late father. I started reading, and my blood ran cold. “Sad. Nigeria’s Green Eagles are out of the African Nations Cup Championships; beaten by Congo Brazzaville in Brazzaville last Sunday.” Wait. Congo? We just lost to Congo. In 2025.My…
LAST weekend the Anambra election came and went, and a winner has emerged. The Anambra election was also seen as a litmus test for the new Independent National Electoral Commission chairman, Josh Ampitan. I remember when I made political predictions for the year – I said Charles Soludo would win the election, and it was indeed a landslide. Soludo won in all the local governments. It was no contest. I will advise any of the losers not to waste time and money going to court. It was a no show from start to finish. Soludo, who polled a total of…
WHEN most of us were busy looking for our urgent 2k, we saw a news report that United States President Donald Trump was threatening that if Nigeria does not stop the killing of Christians, the US would be forced to intervene. Expectedly, the social media space went into overdrive. Emergency foreign policy experts surfaced online. Even those who couldn’t pronounce the word “foreign” properly became instant experts on international relations and geopolitics. And trust our Gen Zs who mostly don’t have a clue when it comes to politics and foreign policy – they jumped on the bandwagon. They began to…
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s new chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan walked into his first major electoral test barely a week after being sworn in and immediately fired a shot across the bow: vote buying in the November 8 Anambra governorship election will not be tolerated. Speaking at a security meeting on Tuesday, Amupitan warned that any attempt to induce voters must be resisted and curtailed. Strong words. But we’ve heard strong words before, haven’t we? The question every Nigerian is asking: will this time be different? Let me be clear – I want to believe Amupitan. The man is…
ON Thursday in Abuja, while most of the city was preoccupied with traffic , I sat in a hall full of suits and buzzwords for the Innovate Africa Conference 2025. The theme; “Metamorphosis of Power: Reimagining Leadership Competencies for Africa’s Investment Future.” It sounded lofty. And for once, the speeches matched the gravity of the moment.Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, a man who has seen both the boardroom and the backroom of politics, didn’t bother with diplomatic niceties. He said Africa’s problem is not poverty or lack of natural resources but corrupt power structures that reward manipulation, greed, and mediocrity over competence…
SINCE the return of democracy in 1999, no state pardon has generated as much outrage as the one just announced by President Bola Tinubu. And for good reason. President Tinubu has granted clemency to 175 convicts and former convicts, with the Presidency claiming the decision was based on factors including remorse, good conduct, old age, vocational skills, and educational programs. The Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by Attorney-General Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, recommended these pardons after “careful consideration.” The list includes notable individuals like former Representative Farouk Lawan (convicted of corruption), various drug dealers, kidnappers, and…
THIS is the title of billionaire Femi Otedola’s book – Making It Big. When I heard the book was out, I dismissed it. What can someone who came from a privileged background teach about making it in business when he had a head start? I was skeptical, and I admit my prejudice freely. I got the book recently as a gift and decided to give it a try. I must confess it is one of the best books I have read in recent times. What struck me first was the writing style of the author. Reading the book, you get…
NIGERIA has finally solved its revenue crisis. Forget oil theft. Forget billionaires hiding money in Dubai. From January 2026, sex workers, popularly called hookup girls or run girls, will be required to pay tax under the Federal Government’s new tax reforms. Yes, you read that correctly – the government now wants prostitutes to file tax returns. Nigeria has officially become the only country where you can go to jail for prostitution in the morning and then get a tax bill for it by evening. President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform lead, Taiwo Oyedele, who chairs the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy…
RECENTLY, former Kaduna State governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to rally Nigerians to oust President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027, claiming that Tinubu wants to make himself a “life president.” He alleged that Tinubu’s administration was tilting towards authoritarianism, stressing that there were glaring signs that the president wants to sit tight. My reaction to El-Rufai’s latest political theatrics? This is desperate opposition politics at its worst, and the timing couldn’t be more suspicious. El-Rufai made these comments during Atiku’s solidarity visit following a recent attack on some ADC leaders in Kaduna. But let’s…
AFRICA’s richest man Aliko Dangote is not a happy man at the moment, and the reasons are not far-fetched. I don’t think Dangote has spoken to the press and granted interviews the way he did in the last one year. In fact, he has granted more interviews and press conferences in the last one year than in the previous five years combined. Last year, his tiff with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC )is well documented. Now he’s facing a new battle, this time with labour unions who are threatening to shut down his $20 billion refinery if he doesn’t…
IT’s that time of the year when every football fan in Nigeria has become a mathematician and statistician. With the draw against South Africa on Tuesday, Nigeria’s chances of playing in next year’s World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico has become slimmer than a Lagos traffic warden’s patience. The numbers don’t lie, and they’re as painful as they are embarrassing. South Africa are in pole position with 17 points and +8 goal difference. Benin – yes, tiny Benin are second with 14 points, sitting pretty three points ahead of Nigeria. We’re tied with Rwanda on 11 points but ahead…
THIS is definitely one of the saddest news I have seen or read in a long time. A tragic incident unfolded on Wednesday afternoon under the Mabushi Bridge in Abuja, where a family of three – a man, his wife, and their son lost their lives following a violent encounter with touts, popularly known as ‘Agberos’. According to eyewitness accounts, the family was driving in a Toyota Highlander after purchasing a brand new refrigerator when they were chased from the Berger axis by three touts. T he touts reportedly forced their way into the vehicle and began dragging the steering…
THIS week I was wondering what to write on this column. Many things have been said and done and it’s just a repetition of events. Then former Super Eagles defender Taribo West stirred the hornet’s nest when he said “I would never advise my son to play for this country” as he lamented the neglect of late Peter Rufai and slammed the NFF and Lagos State at the funeral. Expectedly, he has been receiving knocks, and it has also brought to the fore the entitlement mentality of some of our sports stars. My reaction to Taribo’s outburst? He’s completely off…
LAST weekend’s bye elections for the National Assembly held in some states of the federation provided an interesting political barometer. For political observers like myself, it was an opportunity to see if the new kid on the block, African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by former vice president Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, could show their political strength. However, it was not to be. According to official results, the All Progressive Congress(APC)won 12 of the 16 constituencies contested across 12 states. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) secured two seats, while…
JUST when you think you have heard the most absurd thing in Nigeria, you get hit on the face with a new tomfoolery. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is working with the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) on the voting rights of inmates. INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this while receiving the Comptroller General of NCoS, Sylvester Nwakuche, at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja. According to Yakubu, the Appeal Court has granted inmates the right to register and vote in elections, and INEC is exploring how to implement this. “We are aware that the right to vote is…