Author: Kazeem Akintunde

THE Federal Ministry of Education wielded the big stick last week, when it announced that it would no longer recognise certificates from some universities operating in Republics of Benin and Togo. The directive came on the heels of an investigative report in which a reporter allegedly enrolled for a four-year course but ‘graduated’ within six weeks after negotiating and paying for the certificate. The report literally set fire on the behind of Tahir Mamman, a Professor, Lawyer, and Education Minister, who has vowed fire and brimstone over the embarrassing revelation. But Oga Minister, certificate racketeering from Benin Republic and elsewhere…

FINALLY, the New Year is here. Congratulations to all my readers. We eventually made it to year 2024. I pray that the new year will favour us all. I also hope we have all made appraisal of 2023 to effectively plan for 2024. Today, we are looking back at how Nigeria, our dear country, fared in the outgone year, so that we can project how the New Year would treat us. The year 2023 will go down in the history of the country as one of the toughest for most Nigerians. This is due directly to the action that took…

IT’S Christmas. A time for merrymaking and holidaying. Whether you believe that December 25th is actually the birthday of Jesus Christ or not, Christmas has become a universal holiday and a money-spinner for most businesses. What is important is that we are alive and still kicking. Just last week, I lost a brother and friend, Abdul Imoyo. He was the Head of Media and Publicity at Access Bank. He was hale and hearty the last time we spoke, just last month. I never knew that would be our last conversation. Abdul was a jolly good fellow; a good man. He…

THE Christmas Season is finally here. It is a period to make merry and rejoice. It is also a time to reflect on the outgoing year; look back at what was achieved, the lessons learnt, missed opportunities, and to also plan for the coming year. Most Nigerians are simply happy that they survived the year due to the harsh economic policies being implemented by the current administration which has made life more difficult. With that, however, Nigerians are faced with yet another political drama series acted and produced by the elite politicians from the Garden City. Even though the plot…

THE people of Tudun-Biri, in Igabi Local Government area of Kaduna State on December 3rd had gathered to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammed, (SAW). It was a night to rejoice and make merry. A yearly celebration in which both the young and the old take part. It is customary to cook, eat, dance and recite the Holy Qur’an, and after that, ask God for fruitful harvest and a prosperous community for the coming year. Majority of the people are farmers who are proud of what they do. However, this year’s celebration turned into one that they won’t forget in…

THE Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, was in Lagos last week, and took time out to pay a courtesy call on the Governor of the state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. During the visit, he told his host that his forefathers were the founders of Lagos. Even before he made his mind known, the revered Oba knew that his comment would generate another round of controversies as the issue has been one that majority of Lagosians find distasteful, even as the motive behind the Oba’s rhetoric is still unclear to many. This is what the monarch told his host: “It is in…

FORMER President Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo has several appellations. Some call him Balogun Owu, others refer to him as Baba Iyabo, but one alias that he cherishes is Ebora Owu. Ebora in Yoruba dialect is like a deity, a living spirit or jinn. It also connotes presenting an offering. And when the sub-ethnic group where he comes from, Owu, is added, it could mean Owu-born living legend or spirit. Since he came to national prominence as a young military officer during the Nigeria Civil War, Obasanjo has always found a way to remain relevant in Nigeria’s socio-political milieu. He remains…

OUR lawmakers have started receiving their N160m SUVs. We should be happy for them. After all, it is not easy to win elections into either the House of Representatives or the Senate. If you begrudge them, go and run for office. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives were the first set of beneficiaries. And the distribution process was transparent. Female lawmakers were the first on the list, perhaps, in the spirit of ‘ladies first’. Then the gesture was extended to the elderly among the members in the Green Chamber. They need the comfort of the lush interior of their jeeps…

NIGERIA is gradually becoming a huge joke the world over. This is due to the kind of news emanating from the country which many sane people find funny. One of such is the purported acquisition of a presidential yacht by the Nigerian Navy without budgetary approval. A yacht, going by its definition, is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising or racing. Again, Collins Dictionary 2020 edition, defines a yacht as a large boat with sails or a motor, used for racing or pleasure trips. Going by the definition above, the Nigerian Navy may not necessarily be in…

THE Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, for now, cannot afford to sleep with his two eyes closed. Although President Bola Tinubu, PDP governors and the court have given him a temporary reprieve, he cannot be complacent or he would kiss his job goodbye. He has stepped on the tail of a cobra and it is either he fights and kill the snake or he will himself become food. Siminalayi, an indigene of Opobo Town in Opobo Local Government of Rivers State became the Governor just five months ago, but the man whom he took over from, and who ensured…

EVEN before the ink with which Supreme Court Justices wrote the 2023 Presidential election judgment dried on the paper it was written, the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, was already dreaming of a two-term tenure of eight years for his principal, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Like a young lad giddy with excitement after being given a lollipop, Ganduje ‘directed’ former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, not to contest the 2027 presidential election because according to him, Tinubu would seek a second…

ONE of the basic principles of economics that was ingrained in my brain 40 years ago at Boys Academy, Simpson, Lagos Island, is the law of demand and supply as espoused by Adam Smith. It simply states that consumer demand for a good or service decreases as the price increases. The higher the demand for any particular good or service that supply cannot meet up to, there is bound to be an increase in the price of that good or service. That principle, which has been in existence for decades, is not about to change. In a free market economy,…

SHAMSUDDEEN Malumfashi, a Senior Special Assistant on Islamic Education to Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State, is dead. Malumfashi died on Tuesday afternoon in an auto crash around Rigachikun area in Kaduna State and was buried at a cemetery behind Kwandala General Hospital, in Malumfashi town. He is survived by his father, Abubakar Yusuf, and his mother, Jamila, together with three wives and four children. Governor Radda in company of the member representing Malumfashi Constituency in the Katsina State House of Assembly, Aminu Ibrahim; Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning, Bello Kagara; and some of his personal aides attended the…

‘When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace- Jimi Hendrix’ INGER Skjelsbæk, a Norwegian professor of Gender Studies at the Centre for Gender Research in Oslo, gave the world a popular quote when she said: “Peace is more than the absence of war”. In essence, for peace to reign, there must be equity and justice. Those two essential ingredients have been missing in the Middle East after the creation of the state of Israel at the end of the second world war. For more than 75 years, the creation of a separate state…

THERE was a tit-for-tat fight at the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in Abuja a few days ago. The Minister in charge of the Ministry, Dave Umahi, came to work at 9.30 a.m. only to meet a handful of civil servants at their desks. Umahi, who ruled Ebonyi State like an Emperor, directed that the gate of the Ministry be locked against the latecomers. Thinking that the workers would come crawling to him with a plea for forgiveness, Umahi never imagined what hit him following the directive. He got the shock of his life when the civil servants also…

FOR over 15 minutes on May 7, Afro-pop Musician, Tiwa Savage held the world by storm when she serenaded millions with her musical artistry during the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle in England. It was the first time a Nigerian artiste would perform at the royal coronation, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At that event, over 20,000 people attended the coronation concert, while globally, more than 18 million people viewed her performance. Decked in a beautiful green-coloured flowing gown in honour of her country, Nigeria, Tiwa thrilled the audience with her beautiful voice…

LUCKY Aiyedatiwa, the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, and until a few days ago, the acting Governor of the state may need to pay a visit to former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola’s school of politics to learn what it means to be loyal. When eventually he takes the trip to Lagos State for that purpose, he should also spend some time with the former Deputy Governor of the state, Koroworola Bucknor-Akerele, to learn firsthand, why she was forced out of her seat by a ruthless boss. After those two lessons in Politics 101, I doubt if…

NIGERIANS went to the poll on February 25 to elect a new President for the country, but the outcome of the exercise, rather than unite the nation, has further divided it. Our fault lines are glaring for us all to see. Ethnicity and religious sentiments still remain the bane of our society. Even before the first ballot was cast, the fragile unity and peace that bound us together was threatened. The nature and tone of the campaign by the three leading presidential candidates, ably aided by their followers, showed that tribal consideration was uppermost in the minds of many. It…

‘I Dream of an Africa, which is in peace with itself’- Nelson Mandela SINCE January this year, Africa has been in the news for the wrong reasons. In fact, conventional Western media have always aired news about poverty, hunger, illegal migration, coups, and sit-tight leaders from the African continent. This is depressing to the psyche of the average African. An example. Between January 1 and June 26 this year alone, over 2000 African nationals have lost their lives trying to leave the shores of the continent for a better life in Europe and America. The sad tallies include those who…

THAT Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is still a political neophyte is glaring for all to see. Though he joined partisan politics 20 years ago in 2003, when he was appointed Special Adviser on Corporate Matters to former Deputy Governor of Lagos, Femi Pedro, he seems not to have learnt the basic rudiments of politics. It beggars belief that Sanwo-Olu would send a list of 39 Commissioner-nominees to members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, majority of whom were in the same political party as him, and 17 of those on the list would be rejected by the lawmakers. Since the…