Author: Kazeem Akintunde

RETIRED Police officers took to the streets across the country last week Monday to protest poor retirement benefits and meagre monthly pensions. One of the protesters who retired as a Chief Superintendent of Police, Manir Lawal, aged 67, painted a gory picture of what most police pensioners are passing through. Let me quote him: ‘’I am 67 years old. Many of us here are in our 60s and 70s. We have served this country faithfully and deserve to retire in dignity. This Contributory Pension scheme has impoverished us. It is our right to demand better’’. Another protester said: ‘’I am…

THE death of two prominent Nigerians, who were also bosom friends and passed away few hours apart last week Sunday, has once again shown the all-powerful nature of God. Former President Muhammadu Buhari died in a London Clinic at the age of 82, while the Awujale of Ijebu Land, Oba Sikiru Adetona gave up the ghost few hours later at the age of 91. Both were friends who loved and respected each other, and their deaths left many Nigerians in tears. Their friendship began in 1983, immediately Buhari became the Head of State. Two years before then, Oba Adetona had…

FORMER Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), Boss Mustapha, raised the political barometer in the country a notch higher last week when said that President Bola Tinubu did not play any significant role in the election that brought former President Muhammadu Buhari to power in 2015. According to Mustapha, Buhari, who died just yesterday, entered the 2015 presidential contest with 12 million ‘sure’ votes from his devoted followers in the North, while the legacy parties in the merger that led to the formation of the All Progressive Congress (APC), contributed a meagre three million votes to his victory.…

AT 60, Rotimi Amaechi could be described as a very lucky politician in the Nigerian context. Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, his name has been in the public discourse, holding one political office or the other. From being elected as a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, where his colleagues also appointed him as the Speaker of the House, to being elected Governor of Rivers State for eight years, to being in the corridors of power in Abuja, where he was a federal Minister, Amaechi has at different times, effectively been in government and power…

WITH less than two years to the 2027 general elections, it is quite certain that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is not likely to pose any threat to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). Those at the corridors of power within the party have ensured that it has been battered, crippled, and left gasping for air. Some have said that it is in intensive care unit (ICU). In fact, former Governor, and a current Senator on the banner of the party, Gabriel Suswam, did not believe that the PDP will come out of the ‘operating table’ successfully and he is…

FOR indigenes and residents of Yelwata, a rural community in Guma Local Government area of Benue State, June 13, 2025, would forever remain etched in their memory. On that day, the community, a border town between Nasarawa and Benue States experienced torrential rain, which forced many of the locals indoors as early as 8pm. The rain, seen as a sign of blessing by many of the residents, who are predominantly farmers who planned to head out to their farms the following morning. However, shortly after 10pm, the residents were roused from sleep as armed militia men invaded the community and…

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Thursday last week, addressed a joint session of the National Assembly in commemoration of the 2025 Democracy Day celebration. In his address to the lawmakers, he announced the granting of full presidential pardon to Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders who were murdered 30 years ago by the regime of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha. Tinubu went further to confer posthumous national honours on the Ogoni 9 for their activism against environmental pollution caused by oil companies in the Niger Delta region, for which they eventually paid with their lives. Those…

EVERY year in Nigeria, a substantial number of lives are inadvertently wasted to floods and other preventable deaths due to lack of proper planning, ignorance, fraud, corruption, and the nonchalant attitude of those in government and the led. Just few days ago, over 200 lives were lost in Mokwa, Niger State, when torrential rain washed away homes, shops, Mosques, and other makeshift structures that now define the essence of average Nigerians. In fact, a total of 265 structures were washed away by the flood. Most of the houses were made of vulnerable building materials such as mud, zinc and wood,…

THE former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, through his lawyers last week, asked the Court of Appeal to overturn a judgement which granted the Federal Government full control of a substantial estate in Abuja comprising of 753 housing units. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had obtained a court order to seize the estate, situated in the Lokogoma District of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Initially, the estate was linked to another unnamed former government official, but after extensive investigation by the anti-graft agency, Emefiele was fingered as the real owner of the property. When…

BY Thursday this week, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will clock two years. That should be half way in his four-year tenure as President. It is time to take a critical look at what his government promised Nigerians when seeking for our votes in 2023 and what they have been able to deliver. A two-year-old child should be able to walk unaided if there are no underlining issues. He or she should be running up and down and should have been weaned off breastmilk. Since his administration came on board two years ago, can we say that Nigeria…

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…