Author: Kazeem Akintunde

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…

WHEN the going was good, they were so close that one can mistake them for Siamese twin. Where one is, the other will be lurking around. Within a radius of 10 meters, you must find both men, more like a snail and its shell. The relationship was so strong that when Godwin Obaseki, the incumbent Governor of Edo state, fell out with the powers-that-be in the All Progressive Congress (APC), and was to be denied a second term ticket in 2020, he moved to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with his main-man, Philip Shaibu. Apart from that, Obaseki ‘bought’ his…

SENATE President, Godswill Akpabio, caught the attention of many Nigerians last week. On Wednesday, at the end of the plenary session, the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, oblivious he was still on live television, announced to his colleagues that the clerk of the National Assembly would send tokens to their various bank accounts to enable them enjoy their holiday. Aghast, few of his colleagues immediately approached him to call his attention to the gaffe and Akpabio had to withdraw his statement in an embarrassing attempt to switch ‘tokens’ to ‘prayers’. I and many others had a good laugh after…

THE seven-day ultimatum handed down to the coupists in the Niger Republic by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), ended yesterday. ECOWAS had responded with fury, after military adventurists seized power in that country, issuing threats and giving the boys in khaki uniforms seven days to vacate power and restore the elected president to power failure of which they will deploy full force to kick them out. With the ultimatum over, although guns and mortals are yet to start firing, both parties seem to be digging deep, preparing for such an eventuality. President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, wrote…

I DO not envy Ebunoluwa Rotimi Adelesi, the newly minted Kwara State Commissioner of Police. Being the first female CP to head the State Police Command, Mrs Adelesi should be accorded the necessary support that would make her job easier and enjoyable. But she already seems to have been caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, no thanks to the needless supremacy battle between Muslim groups and traditional religious practitioners in the state. Just last week, the Kwara CP was forced to embark on a troubleshooting mission when she organized a peace meeting between the two warring groups.…

‘AS for man, whenever his Lord tests him, gives him honour and gifts, He says ‘My Lord has honoured me.’ But whenever He tests him, restricting his livelihood for him, he says ‘My Lord has humiliated me’. Not at all. But you do not honour the orphans and you do not urge the feeding of the poor. And you devour inheritance with all greed and you love wealth with immense love’- Quran 89 Verse 15-20. My dear fellow Nigerians, I have decided to write you this open letter with the hope that we would learn one or two things from…

A FEW years back, government officials attached to Ifako/Ijaye Local Government area of Lagos State were in my mum’s house to get her details. She was told that the Federal Government was registering elderly Nigerians ahead of plans to pay them and those considered ‘less privileged’ a stipend of N5,000 monthly. At over 75 years and a widow, she was told that she is eminently qualified for the monthly token. She eagerly gave all the information requested but she ran into difficulties when they asked for her bank account details. She had none, and in order not to miss out…

HER name, Mmesoma means Goodness or Good works in Igbo dialect, but in the last few days, that name has been on the lips of many Nigerians for not-so-good reasons, no thanks to her fraudulent acts after writing the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination. Mmesoma, who is from a poor background in Anambra State, claimed that she scored 362 marks in the examination, prompting many to celebrate her brilliance, with Innoson Motors, an indigenous vehicle manufacturing company, rewarding her ‘hard work’ with N3 million. In an attempt to do same, the Anambra State government tried to validate her…

FOR the most part of last week, the social media space was awash with news of the dalliance between David Oyeleke, popularly known as Davido, with two different women. American-based Anita Brown set the ball rolling when she claimed that the singer impregnated her and to prove her claim, conducted a pregnancy test live on social media. The noise from that episode was yet to die down when another French lady, Ivanna Bay also revealed that she is also pregnant with Davido’s child. She also added a little drama to her claim when she said that she was surprised that…

MANY Nigerians are going through hell on earth. This is due to the traumatic experiences of residents, commuters, and motorists daily on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Since the reconstruction of the road began in 2009, many lives have been lost to road carnage while armed robbers play ludo with the lives of Nigerians whenever there is traffic gridlock on the road. The number of man-hours wasted, and the mental stress many have been subjected to on that road is, to say the least, harrowing. Even after several years of work on the road, said to be the busiest in Africa, it…

SINCE the establishment of the Economic and Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2003 with a mandate to fight financial crimes and other related offences, successive chairmen of the agency have been removed in controversial circumstances. In the last 20 years, the agency has been headed by five different people and all have had to leave their seats without completing their tenures. Going by the Act that established the agency, the Chairman of the Commission should be in office for four years, which can be renewed for another term of four years. But last Wednesday, the tenure of AbdulRasheed Bawa, who came…