Author: Bola Bolawole

French political philosopher, Baron de Montesquieu, in his seminal work, The Spirit of Laws, 1748, posited that the executive, legislative and judicial functions of government should be allocated to separate and independent bodies, with none of them superior or more powerful than the other; so, they can act as checks and balances on one another. In one word, they are co-terminus and equal in powers. John Locke had earlier argued that where legislative and executive powers belong to separate hands, then, the protection of all members of society can be as high as possible. This is what is called the…

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“The fact is, when men carry the same ideals in their heart, nothing can isolate them – neither prison walls nor the sod of the cemetery. For a single memory, a single spirit, a single idea, a single conscience, a single dignity will sustain them all” -Fidel Castro. Emma Ochuko Arodovwe’s “Troubling thoughts from Chief Frank Kokori’s funeral event” made an interesting, yet troubling indeed, reading! In this piece, the author wondered why Kokori did not get the kind of earth-shaking burial ceremony one should have expected of someone of his pedigree. Without doubt, Kokoro deserves a state burial; did…

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“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet…” (Matthew 24: 6) . As Nigerians are drenched in cries of agony, so is the air also thick with rumours of coup d’état or military take-over. Those not marching on the streets and shouting “ebi n pa wa” (We are hungry!), like the multitudes that have done so across the country, are, like my brother, Azu, in his latest column, complaining about the heat wave and the parlous state of…

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Last week, I asked the question which life we would love to live – biblical Abraham’s or Lazarus’s – and it drew a lot of comments. I must admit that it isn’t everyone who can connect with last week’s piece, hence today’s title of the deep calling out to the deep, which is taken from Psalm 42, written by the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants after the streams of water, so does the average Nigerian today pants after essential commodities, foodstuffs especially, for sustenance. As the Sons of Korah looked up to God for help and deliverance, so…

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Last week, we ran the first part of Prof. Banji Akintoye’s treatise on Nigeria, its history, problems, prospects and, well, final solution to the Nigerian quagmire; hopefully, not in the mould of Adolf Hitler’s final solution to the Jewish question! None of the over 360 Nigerian ethnic nationalities equates to the Jews, in my reckoning, and the resolution of the national question in Nigeria does not necessarily have to proceed in the same fashion as it did in Hitler’s Germany. Prof. Akintoye’s recommendations, which he wants President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian ruling class to consider with dispatch, are…

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I wish to know today which type of life my readers will prefer to live: Abraham’s or Lazarus’s? Biblical Abraham was wealthy, was richly blessed and lived life to the hilt here on earth. He died and went to paradise or heaven. Conversely, Lazarus was poverty-stricken and lived a life of penury on earth but when he died, he, too, went to heaven or paradise.  Now, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as told by Jesus Christ Himself in Luke 16: 19 – 31 was that there was a rich man who, while he lived, did nothing to…

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Politics apart, the aggregate of opinion is that Nigeria is in a very bad shape; opinion is divided, though, on what needs to be done to return it to a better shape. Has this become a mission impossible? Can Nigeria be salvaged or is it beyond redemption? Is the task of our heroes, past and present, condemned to being like that of Sisyphus? Greek mythology records that Sisyphus, a king of Corinth, was punished in Hades (Hell) for his misdeeds by being condemned eternally to rolling a heavy stone up a hill: Each time he approached the top of the…

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In fact, what you are about to read is a two-pronged response to a two-pronged attack on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by two notable Northern leaders. The attack by the Sultan of Sokoto was responded to by the Yoruba Nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho, while the second attack by the Emir of Kano was responded to by Tunde Rahman, one of Tinubu’s presidential aides. Let’s take them one after the other: Sultan/Igboho first; then Emir of Kano/Rahman after that, both as they were reported in the media. “Insecurity, poverty can’t be tackled overnight”, Igboho tells the Sultan…

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The people are stirring and the leaders are panicky! As hunger keeps the people awake, the fear of what a hungry person can do keeps the well-fed awake! This is typical of a chick that perches on a rope: No peace for the rope and no peace for the chick.  True, then, are the words of Frederick Douglass that “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favour freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. Power concedes nothing without a demand.…

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There is no denying the fact that Prof. Farooq Kperogi is as engaging as he is informed about Nigeria that he discusses with passion and flair. He writes with conviction and leaves no one in doubt he wants the best for his country, Nigeria. Many Nigerians have shed the toga of patriotism that Kperogi still wears like a badge. Nigeria, to many, is a lost cause already. A professor of dentistry compared Nigeria to a cancer patient whose cancer can no longer be isolated for treatment because the virus has metastasized to other vital organs of the body. Even advocates…

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“There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself. Every time I appoint someone to a vacant position, I make a hundred unhappy and one ungrateful. I am the state” – France’s King Louis XIV. France’s Bourbons king, Louis XIV (Born: 5 September, 1638; Died: 1 September, 1715), also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, ascended to the throne in 1643 and reigned until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is said to be the longest of any French sovereign (he began to reign at the age of…

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The Yoruba set a huge store by character, which they insist is more precious than rubies and gold. “E hu iwa Omoluwabi” is a refrain that so unambiguously states what the Yoruba expect from every true-born son or daughter. Those who deviate are referred to as bastards – “omo ale”. Proper or good behaviour is non-negotiable. There are certain characters or behaviours that must not be mentioned, not even once, among Omoluwabis.  One of such is stealing/cheating. Another is laziness or slothfulness. Liars and unreliable people, those who are not bound by their words, are loathed among the Yoruba. They…

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A new twist was introduced into the Ibadan explosion of 16 January, 2024 by the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM) when it alleged that the explosion was not caused by any errant legal or illegal miner, be it Malian or Nigerian, but that it was a failed assassination attempt on the life of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Led by Prof. Banji Akintoye, YSDM is a pro-Yoruba or Oodua Nation nationalist group.  In an open letter to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, YSDM commiserated with the governor and people of Oyo State over the gruesome incident but also commented on what…

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There are as many reasons as discussants as to why Nigeria is not moving forward, why it is under-performing in the views of many, and why it is not fulfilling its potential. I will discuss only three of these reasons here today and, to do this, I will draw on three recent examples. The first is that of the suspended Humanitarian Affairs minister, Betta Edu.  Less than one year into her tenure, this woman was caught up in the web of corruption. The funds involved were those earmarked for the poor, the desperately poor and the multidimensionally poor. Due to…

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Today, I yield this space to a bosom friend of mine, Prof. Eyitope Ogunboodede, the immediate past vice-chancellor (2017 – 2022) of my alma mater, the University of Ife, GREAT IFE! (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife). Titled “Requiem for Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu”, Ogunbodede’s reminiscences on the late governor of Ondo State are as moving as they contain a lot of useful information. Enjoy it! “It is a harrowing experience writing this piece on Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, who many prefer to call by his alias of “Aketi “. I am united to Aketi not only by his and my…

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Kidnappers are no longer on the prowl. They are now on a rampage. They have run riot, running rings around hapless Nigerians. The impunity with which they go about it means they know that the coast is clear for them to go about their criminal activity without fearing that there will be consequences. Once there is no chance of punishment, there is no deterrent. As it is said, where there is no law, there is no sin. It is more or less the same thing – or even worse – where there is law but the law is trampled by…

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Last Tuesday, an explosion rocked Old Bodija in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The panic and stampede that ensued were better imagined than witnessed; so also, the magnitude of destruction and loss suffered. Lives were lost; at the last count five as a direct consequence of the blast. Other deaths linked to the blast have since been recorded. Also at the last count, close to 100 persons were injured. A yet-to-be-specified number of houses and businesses were uprooted, flattened or violently shaken by the explosion. The destruction reportedly travelled as far as the Oyo State Governor’s Office kilometers away. At…

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There are two professional groups in Nigeria that need, so to say, re-orientation in their attitude to other Nigerians; the first are lawyers and the other are soldiers. Lawyers call themselves “learned gentlemen”; the inference, to many, is that anyone who is not a lawyer is neither learned nor a gentleman. Then I began to search for the meaning and origin of the term ‘learned gentlemen” and ‘learned colleague” that lawyers employ in the courtroom and outside of it. Could the latter be sarcasm, a way of politely ridiculing a colleague displaying crass ignorance of the law? Is “learned gentleman”…

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Will sleaze and controversy ever depart from these shores? Two of such making the rounds at the moment are the BBC documentary on the late Prophet Temitope Balogun (TB) Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) and the multi-billion Naira scandal involving two of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ministers – the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, and the (before now?) top-flight Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.  What is BBC’s interest in TB Joshua, especially since he is dead and is nearly forgotten? What public interest will the BBC documentary serve? Is there any way…

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Recently, an undercover reporter blew open the scandal of overseas university education and its deleterious effect on our educational system and national development. But it is not as if we have not always been aware that many of the certificates brought home from abroad by our folks are sub-standard and do not compare to any acquired at home. For anyone who has travelled in neighbouring Benin Republic and Togo, many of the one-bedroom-flat universities there are ramshackle and the quality of education they offer leaves much to be desired. Same applies to some extent even in Ghana. Many simply go…

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must by now have addressed the nation on four solid occasions. The first was his inauguration address on May 29, 2023, which is best described as the “subsidy is gone” address. Democracy Day (June 12), Independence anniversary (October 1st) and now his New Year address were some of the other important occasions on which the President has addressed his “fellow compatriots” The opening paragraph of the President’s last address, what we journalists call the “intro” or introduction, almost put me off. Any professional journalist or speechwriter knows the importance of an “intro”. It makes or mars…

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While he was visiting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently, the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, said he would give the president one year of grace before rating his performance in office. As would be expected, Tinubu and or Soyinka haters have read negative meanings into that. Soyinka, some have said, was only shying away from critically examining Tinubu’s performance so far. To others, it is a tacit admission by the Nobel Laureate that Tinubu has not done anything worthy of positive evaluation in his first six months in office.  Always, opinions would be varied on any issue; not to talk…

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It has become customary for the Pro-chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Achievers University, Owo, Dr. (Hon.) Bode Ayorinde, to invite me to the university’s convocation ceremony. I must have attended the last five in a row. They are usually a week of impactful activities, beginning on Monday with a press conference addressed by the vice-chancellor; novelty matches and other sporting activities; induction ceremonies; and the commissioning of various projects fill the space between Tuesday and Thursday.  The major attractions are the Convocation Lecture on Friday and the Graduation/Convocation itself on Saturday. Jumat service comes immediately after the…

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The Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has taken our universities and polytechnics off the IPPIS (Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System); the Councils of these institutions of higher learning are now to be responsible for their running, including the payment of salaries and other emoluments. Enforced enrollment on IPPIS was one of the sore points of the last strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, which dragged on for eight months. This is a welcome development for many reasons. The other end-of-year good news is the one that says that ASUU and CONUA are already in discussion…

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When I drew attention to the need for the Yoruba self-determination movement to devote some thought to the national question, as Marxists call it, many Yoruba Nation devotees angrily responded to me. Interestingly, today, the arrow-head of the Yoruba self-determination struggle himself, Prof. Banji Akintoye, has chosen to discuss the other volatile issue that the Yoruba Nation must begin to address – religion. There is no running away from the hydra-headed problems of religion and the national question, no matter how monolithic or heterogenous a nation or people may seem. It is wise to proactively address them, as Akintoye attempts…

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An authority on African History and leader of the Yoruba Nation Self-Determination Group, Prof. Banji Akintoye, mounts the rostrum here today to reply (in an abridged form because of space constraint) to the Oba of Benin; read on: “On November 26, 2023, the Oba of Benin ignited a huge controversy about the early history of Lagos. He did so by making the claim that the Edo people of the Benin Kingdom were the founders of Lagos. Because the crown worn by the Oba of Benin originated from Ife, we must be respectful in our answer to him… Most respectfully, what…

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My piece titled “COP 28: Jamboree, profligacy or serious business” has attracted so much traffic that I am constrained to return to the topic so soon. Two “thieves” are usually crucified on both sides of the Nigerian government or president, one on the right and the other on the left, as was done to Jesus Christ. One is the politician; the other is the journalist! Let me not hazard a guess which of the two is nailed to the Cross on the right or on the left!  This shows clearly how much the public expects from the journalist. It is…

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Nigeria, as I have often said, is a country of one scandal, one minute. Before you have settled down to digest one, another happens! So, you hurriedly sweep the previous one under the carpets to have enough room for the latest! Our carpets, thus, are bulging, threatening to burst any time-t, as they say, at the seams! The latest controversy is over Nigeria’s seemingly bloated delegation to the ongoing COP28 meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Nigeria’s delegation is the third largest, coming after the host country, UAE and Brazil and sharing the bronze medal podium with China. UAE (4,409)…

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo loves to hug the limelight. I was expecting him to write one of the damning letters he is noted for to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu but he diverted his grouse to democracy. I still expect him to write to Tinubu sooner or later. Penultimate week he came down heavily on democracy, magisterially returning the verdict that the ageless system of government developed by a Greek city-state has failed his African people. Cleisthenes (Born: c. 570 bce; died: c. 508 bce) is reputed as “the father of democracy”; he was a statesman regarded as the founder of…

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The outcry over the Nigerian Navy yacht, otherwise known as the presidential yacht, has characteristically died down but I am not certain the matter has been conclusively resolved. Like most things Nigerian, it has been swept under the carpet. You only need to know how many hurricanes have been swept under the Nigerian carpet, and how many more are still being swept underneath it. Nigeria’s carpet is like the ubiquitous “Molue” which always has space for additional passengers, even when it is obvious to all that it is already bursting at the seams! Scripture says in Proverbs 30: 15 –…

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