Author: Kazeem Akintunde

THE Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the sole body that organizes students’ admissions into higher institutions of learning in Nigeria, has been in the eye of a storm in the last few days. Trouble started for the examination body when it announced on May 9, that the results of this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, (UTME) recorded more than half of the over 1.9 million students scoring less than 200 out of a total of 400 marks. From the statistics released by the examination body, out of 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the 2025 UTME, more than 1.5 million…

“Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in” THE above quote is attributed to Bill Bradly, an American politician and former professional basketball player. Born July 28, 1948, he was offered 75 college scholarships due to his brilliance, but declined them all to attend Princeton University. He won a gold medal as a member of the 1964 Olympic basket ball team and was the NCAA Player of the year in 1965. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S Senator from New Jersey., but ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President in the…

ON Saturday, the world witnessed a solemn but colourful burial ceremony of the late Pope Francis. Several World leaders, led by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, were in Rome to pay their last respect to the humble servant of God. Whilst alive, he was loved by millions. Due to his simple nature, he gave instructions on the mode his burial should take, and his wishes were strictly adhered to. A simple and humble man, Pope Francis joined the saints last week Monday, at the age of 88. Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on…

IT was the great Indian Nationalist, Mahatma Ghandhi, who said in one of his popular quotes: “There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.” Ghandi was born October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India, and died January 30, 1948. A lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer, he became the leader of the Indian Independence Movement against British rule and as such, was considered the father of the nation. He was also revered worldwide for his doctrine of non-violent protest to achieve political and social progress. In the eyes of millions of fellow Indians, Ghandhi…

THE city of Abeokuta in Ogun State literarily stood still on April 5, during this year’s Lisabi Day celebration. An annual event meant to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Egbas, and in honour of their hero, Lisabi Agbongbo Akala, a warrior who led the resistance against oppressive old Oyo Empire in the 19th century. This year’s celebration stood out as the most memorable so far, as it was marked with glamour and glitz. Gaily dressed Egba sons and daughters, including the crème-de-la-crème were in attendance to celebrate with the paramount rule of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo. The…

MANY residents of Lagos State who work on the Island but reside on the mainland, last week Wednesday, went through a harrowing experience after being caught in a deadly traffic gridlock that has come to define the essence of the city. As early as 2P.M. after a little rainfall that lasted for just 30 minutes, most of the roads in and around Falomo, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and other adjourning roads became a no-go area as there was no movement on either side of the roads. The unusual traffic gridlock was compounded by the fact that a major artery that took…

THE Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, was moved to tears last week when he visited Ilobu, Erin-Osun in Irepodun Local Government Area of the state, as well as Ifon, in Orolu Local Government Area. He could not imagine the level of destruction he saw in the warring communities. The towns have been practically turned into ghost cities as indigenes and residents have fled in a bid to escape being killed. With the residents out of sight, houses and other properties became easy targets. It has been reported that properties and personal effects worth over N2billion were destroyed during the clash.…

THE Otedola Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is gradually becoming a deadly spot for motorists as lives and properties are being lost on a regular basis in the last few years. Another carnage was recorded last week when a gas tanker fell and spilled its contents, which ignited a fire in the area. As at the last count, four lives were lost and more than 10 vehicles were destroyed. Two friends who are journalists escaped the inferno by the whiskers, but lost their vehicles in the process. A mechanic handling one of our media colleague’s car also died from the…

THE Nigerian Senate gave Nigerians something to talk about in the last few days, thereby dousing tensions from the harsh economic environment and the harsh weather combined. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Senator representing Kogi Central, and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, were the two dramatis-personae that chose to entertain Nigerians. To those who may not really understand what has so far transpired in the hollow chambers of the Senate, they got a glimpse of the ‘Tom and Jerry’ show when Akpabio who got tired of seeing the beautiful face of Natasha, ordered that she be moved to one obscure corner in…

THE title of this piece is an adaption from a classical novel by the British writer, James Hardly Chase, titled ‘No Orchid For Miss Blandish’, written in 1939. The novel centered round Miss Blandish, who resided in an unnamed Midwestern town in the United Kingdom during the late 1920’s, where a local thug and gang leader named Riley learned that the wealthy socialite will be wearing an expensive diamond necklace to her birthday celebration. The plan was for Riley and his gang to steal the necklace and sell it for cash. However, the inexperienced criminals not only managed to kidnap…

FORMER Military Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, popularly known as IBB, attempted to rewrite history last week, and he partly succeeded, going by the applause he got after addressing a gathering of elites in Nigeria at the launch of his memoir titled: ‘A Journey Of Service’ in Abuja. On that day, he told Nigerians the stale news that the Presidential Candidate of the now defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), in the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, won the election, but that it was the third person in command, the now late General Sani Abacha and others that…

MEMBERS of the House of Representatives Committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution recently came up with an outlandish proposal for the creation of additional 31 states in the country. The committee, headed by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, noted in its report to the House that if the proposal is approved, it would increase the number of states in Nigeria to 67. I found the committee’s proposal not only ridiculous, but downright insensitive. At a time when some of the existing 36 states are struggling to survive, some of our lawmakers are thinking of creating…

IN the build-up to the 2023 general elections, Mallam Nasir El-rufai, the then Governor of Kaduna State, was among the first set of prominent political leaders in the North to openly identify with the presidential aspiration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. His commitment to the Tinubu project was 100 per cent. Like a rock of Gibraltar, El-Rufai took on head long, whoever spoke against the aspiration of the ‘Lagos boy’. As early as 2021, El-Rufai ruffled feathers up North when he stated that power must shift to the South. Hear him: ‘‘The general political consensus in Nigeria is that the presidency…

IN the last few years, Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party in Britain, has had harsh words for Nigeria and Nigerian leaders. Anytime she spoke, there would be one negative reference to Nigeria. It is quite clear that she is angry with Nigeria and our leaders. As the leader of the Conservative Party in Britain, she is only a step away from becoming the next Prime Minister if her party wins the next general elections. That is not a small position for someone born by Nigerian parents and who grew up in Lagos. Although born in the United Kingdom,…

EGO is one of the requirements to be a leader. How it is managed is what differentiates a great leader from a fascist. One past world leader with a high dose of ego is Benito Mussolini. Mussolini was the founder of fascism and leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He allied Italy with Nazi Germany and Japan in World War Two. He was born Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini on 29 July, 1883, in Predappio, Northern central Italy, and his father was a blacksmith. Employment prospects in the area were poor, so, in 1902, Mussolini moved to Switzerland, where he…

AMERICA’s President-elect, Donald Trump would be sworn-in as the 47th President of the United States of America next week Monday. The event, which will take place on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., would be Trump’s second inauguration as President and the 60th U.S. presidential inauguration. However, even before his taking the oath of office for the second time, the entire world is already on edge. He has sent shivers down the spine of many in Canada, Mexico, and even Panama, by his pronouncement. The Cable News Network, (CNN) has already tagged him a presidential…

PRESIDENT Ahmed Tinubu, on January 1st, 2025, was named by Thisday Newspapers as its man of the year for 2024. The Board of editors at the Newspaper based their decision on what they termed his bold, resilient and courageous decisions so far taken since he assumed office on May 29, 2023. In the wisdom of the Newspaper’s editors, Tinubu is the number one Nigerian whose policies and programmes have greatly affected and impacted the lives of many Nigerians in the year 2024. Although the twin policies – fuel subsidy removal and the floating of the Naira – that have impacted…

IN the next 48 hours, we should be saying our final goodbye to the year 2024. It has been one hell of a journey navigating through the year for most Nigerians. Many have died, millions of others are struggling to keep their heads above water. Still, we should give thanks to God that we survived and are still counted amongst the living. Now is the time to do a postmortem on the year so that we can all plan ahead for the new year. What are those things we did that made the year so tough for many? What could…

IT was meant to be a joyous occasion, a day to give back to the less privileged and put smiles on the faces of the downtrodden for the Christmas season. But it ended in tragedy. Up till now, the aftermath is still very visible on the faces of many in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Distraught parents who have lost their loved ones are still searching for an answer; those whose children are still in the hospitals, daily tending to their injuries. What was a highly-anticipated Christmas now looks very bleak. In the spirit of giving back to the society…

I HAVE had two close encounters with the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi ll. The first was in Saudi Araba, during the 2015 hajj, and the second was in Kaduna, in 2021. The Saudi Arabia meeting was when he was appointed as the Amirul Hajj (leader of delegation) for the year’s hajj. That was few months after he was appointed as the Emir of Kano by the former Governor of the state, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. Sanusi, without many of his aides and hangers on, wore a simple white Jellabiya, but still looked regal in his carriage. By then, he had…