Cornucopia, a word with Latin origin and Greek history, comes from the Latin cornu copiae, which translates literally to “horn of plenty.” Cornucopia is believed to represent the horn of a goat in Greek mythology. Legend has it that it was from this horn that the god, Zeus, was fed as an infant. Later, the horn was filled with flowers and fruits and given as a present to Zeus. The word first appeared in English in the early 16th century; a century later, it developed the figurative sense of an overflowing supply. And so, cornucopia means abundance, plenty, an inexhaustible…
Author: Hassan Gimba
Among the reasons given by the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, for the redesigning of the ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000 notes is that there is some ₦3.2 trillion in circulation out of which 2.7 trillion is outside the banking system. The assumption is that those stupendous amounts outside could be proceeds of crime – corruption, kidnappings, robbery, etc., and so they would cease to be legal tender since the owners would not take them to the banks for fear of being found out. Again, the CBN governor disclosed that between 2015 and 2022, the currency in circulation…
Two unrelated pieces of information prompted the writing of this piece. First was the statement from the chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Bello Shehu, when he paid a courtesy visit to the chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State in his office in Abuja. He said the commission had concluded arrangements to review, upwards, of course, the remuneration of public officers in Nigeria. The last time such was carried out for these categories of Nigerians “was in 2008, which makes it even overdue for review,” he stated. The second was…
Citizens who contribute to national development deserve appreciation – President Muhammadu Buhari The above quote by President Muhammadu Buhari captures the idea behind the national honours conferred on some Nigerians by him last month. And each recipient, well, almost all, when placed on the scale of merit, deserved what they got. However, in such national recognitions, in a country of over 200 million, it is impossible to reward all the deserving at a go. This is why it is an event that happens periodically so that those overlooked this year may get it next year or after. While everyone may…
We are in a new phase of politics hitherto never witnessed in our country. Sure, politicians that lost out in their parties are known for changing platforms. That isn’t new. They call it cross-carpeting. We should, of course, know that the word “Cross-carpeting” does not exist in the English language. Politicians coined it in Nigeria to describe a common phenomenon by which politicians switch political allegiance just to achieve their personal political goals. Here, this is fueled by the politicians’ desire to attain political office or truncate someone’s march towards political victory, unlike in other parts of the world where…
The Arbiter I had wanted to write about the awards conferred on deserving – and not so deserving – individuals on Tuesday by President Muhammadu Buhari. I thought I would be reading it today in Geneva, Switzerland. I should have been in Geneva, today, attending the 2022 World Cancer Congress organised by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) taking place from the 18th to the 20th of this month. I was not going to the congress as a journalist covering an international event. No. I was going there as a delegate from Nigeria because I founded a foundation -…
This was first written on the 18 of April 2022 The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was founded in 1978. Its predecessor, the Nigerian Association of University Teachers (NAUT), was formed in 1965 covering academic staff at the University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Ife and University of Lagos. According to its founders, ASUU is a trade union whose objectives include regulation of relations between academic staff and employers, encouraging the participation of its members in the affairs of the university system and the nation, and protecting and advancing the socio-economic…
In June this year, writing under the title ‘Of Atiku’s sucker punch, Wike’s tantrums and APC’s only door,’ we said, “In reality, the primaries had long been done with because Atiku started early. He had those in control of delegates on his side. Anyone conversant with Nat Geo Wild documentaries on how animals hunt might have seen lions in action. The lions have those who lay in ambush to disorganise herds and those who shepherd the prey to the trap, akin to wingers in a football derby lobbing the ball to their main striker to score. Atiku’s people, like Adamu…
There must be something that does not sit well between Adamu Maina Waziri, a former minister of the federal republic, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and one of Atiku Abubakar’s right-hand men, and Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, governor of Rivers State and runner-up in the presidential primary election of the PDP. Wike lost the primary election to Atiku by 237 votes to 371. Without a doubt, that loss, which he never expected, hit him hard. A few weeks later, he lost the chance to be Atiku’s running mate. That completely unhinged him and, frustrated, he has been in…
Last week, we stated that “a leader creates and nurtures others to be leaders. He must possess a clear vision and focus, know what he wants for his country, and should be courageous enough to follow his dream. Apart from possessing integrity and honesty, a good leader has humility, is fair and just with the capacity for self-sacrifice and perseverance. A leader is one whose national interest subsumes his.” We also saw how the late prime minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, made his Private Secretary, who became Nigeria’s President in the Second Republic, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, refund to the federal…
To continue on this unending topic, we will look at how leaders and followers ought to conduct their affairs. Let’s start from the top. A leader creates and nurtures others to be leaders. He must possess a clear vision and focus, know what he wants for his country and should be courageous enough to follow his dream. Apart from possessing integrity and honesty, a good leader has humility, is fair and just with the capacity for self-sacrifice and perseverance. A leader puts national interest above his. We have had leaders in this country that lived and served by this rule…
We have looked at various forms of government in the first part of this treatise. We ended with the posers, “Can we continue this way? Is it the fault of the system or the operators of the system? Should we scout for a better system or better operators? Should we look inwards? Will a system in tandem with our inner being be the answer to our multifaceted and ever-growing problems as a nation?” We signed off with this thought: “Perhaps we have been imposing on ourselves systems that are alien to us, to our culture, to our souls.” Some think…
I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion – Alexander The Great A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way – John C. Maxwell A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves – Lao Tzu, Laozi A kingdom (nation) can endure with unbelief, but it cannot endure with injustice- Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known…
First published on September 23, 2019 Since man became aware of himself and realised that whether by mutual arrangement or contrived by nature, there are always leaders and followers, communities fashioned out ways and means in which to live together under organised systems to regulate and conduct their affairs. From primitive father figure leadership to the animalistic instinct of the strongest leading the flock, man has experimented with many ways in which to live in harmony with one another and with the larger community. Since then, nations have tinkered with various forms, some of which developed into absolute monarchy (absolutism),…
In the same “Change Must Begin with the Leader” written on 06/07/2020, we observed: “In Nigeria, they promised us ‘change’ and we fought to bring in its champions. Some lost their capital, others their health, while some paid the supreme price, but we all heaved a sigh of relief and proclaimed, “It has come!” We wanted change, and we thought fairness and justice would take the place of selfishness and impunity; that transparency and accountability would replace corruption but, above all, that our lives and property would be secure. “We have seen how our leaders of old discarded our homemade…
“The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonourably, foolishly, viciously.” ― Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot Till the rivers run dry and the world ceases to exist, problems shall never end. Problems became part of man the moment he took a bite of that apple and was banished to earth to come and find the solution that would take him back. And so, seeking solutions to problems must be our eternal habit. However, just as Albert Einstein said, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at…
Not to punish evil is like authorising it – Leonardo da Vinci …when the laws have ceased to be executed, as this can only come from the corruption of the republic, the state is already lost – Baron de Montesquieu. A kingdom (nation) can endure with unbelief, but it cannot endure with injustice – Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci died on 2 May, 1519. He was an Italian with encyclopedic learning. There was no branch of knowledge that he didn’t touch. His achievements, diverse interests, personal life, and empirical thinking always spark interest and admiration,…
There was an outcry last week when Ebubeagu Operatives, a security outfit formed by the Imo State Government killed some suspected gunmen. Some people came out to say they were innocent youths who attended a traditional marriage in Awo – Ommama in Oru East Local Government area of the state. Such things will continue and this is why I see the need to repeat this epistle published on June 6, 2021 with the hope that reason will prevail in the South East. Nwanne m, ndewo. My Igbo brothers, I find it necessary to send you this epistle – from a…
I must confess that the above title was inspired by Eric Donaldson’s song, ‘Land of My Birth’, from his hit reggae album, Kent Village, released in 1978. Some years ago, the song was voted the winner of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s “All-Time Best.” Eric Donaldson, 75, was born after Jamaica’s Great Depression of 1930, which took a heavy toll on the country. Strikes and riots, most times messy and bloody, were commonplace. Inequality and injustice were the order of the day. These two were like the fertile soil and water that made crime fester. It was a hot socio-political…
In January 2019, the Daily Trust newspaper had its Maiduguri office shut down by the military over its reportage on the fight against insurgency. This made me think about governments and the failure of leadership, or, aptly, the king whose subjects saw through him. And so on January 14, 2019, on this page, under the title “The Military, Press and War Against Insurgency,” I gave that brief story. There is this fable of a king who, together with his palace courtiers and subjects, was scammed by a con artist who knew that people, rather than acknowledging the truth, would always…
Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future, someone once said. Even though there are enough reasons to continue with the treatise on banditry and shared sovereignty – such a depressing fact of our national life – however, today I want to look at the other side – the side of hope. Hope is to believe with an audacity that better days are afoot, the ability to see light at the end of the tunnel. Yeah, hope is tough at the moment – what with the massacre of about 30 of our gallant soldiers by Boko Haram in Minna…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is losing the 2023 elections big time, says a friend who, for the sake of this piece, I will call Bogaru. Bogaru has been a childhood friend whose views, most of which turn out to be prophecies, I never take for granted. I knew him to be very brilliant academically and endowed with a fair share of native intelligence that he can predict with certain accuracy how a child will turn out later in life by merely observing his interactions with his peers. When many people thought it would not come to pass, Bogaru once…
Last week, they attacked an estate within Abuja. Gunmen, bandits, Boko Haram, those who “drag” sovereignty with Nigeria, attacked Genuine Estate, within the vicinity of Gwarimpa, Nigeria’s (some accounts say south of the Sahara’s) largest housing estate. They did this undisturbed and calmly, between 1 and 4am on Sunday. The police said it was a robbery attack. Residents, however, said they kidnapped some of their people. Now, we all know that robbers hardly take prisoners. It is now left for people to believe who they want to believe. But based on precedent, I will want to believe the residents because…
Had Atiku Abubakar, Wazirin Adamawa, former vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, two-time unlucky in presidential elections on the platform of two different parties, and a veteran of four presidential primary elections, been a pugilist, he would have been one in the mould of the great Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali, who called himself ‘The Greatest’, with the world agreeing, invented the famous rope-a-dope style of combat. He would lay back on the squared ropes, exposing his torso, specifically the abdomen part, for the opponent to keep on punching. Being mostly wham-bam pugilists, they usually got sucked up in…
Sovereignty, this eleven lettered word, is a political concept. The concept defines dominant power. Or the supreme authority. Wikipedia says “it is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct or territory. That it entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states.” Sovereignty, as a concept in political theory, has a clear cut definition. The state or quality of being sovereign refers to a territory or geographical area that is self-governing, with recognition from other world powers and international bodies. It is autonomous and free from external control. Sovereignty means that territory has a symbolic body…
As parties are getting set to produce their candidates, we feel the need to reproduce this write-up, first published on October 18 last year. If I were to be as sentimental as people are, I would say the North East, my zone, must produce the president in 2023. Many people fight for their people, region, zone or state to produce the president for various reasons. Reasons may range from the fact that a president attracts some goodies to his area. Ministers and other chief executives fall over themselves to site projects where the president comes from. Captains of industry, too,…
I should have come with the second and, most likely, concluding part of the article, “Of banditry and shared sovereignty”, but Nigeria nowadays is a country where incidents, foreseen and unforeseen, are tumbling over each other by the minute, competing for attention in the public space. One of the burning issues has been the cost of party nomination forms. I can vividly recall President Muhammadu Buhari complaining about their exorbitance in 2015 when the presidential nomination form was N27.5 million, confessing that he had to take a bank loan to purchase it. We need to look at this trend because…
In the book The Impact of Banditry on Nigeria’s Security in the Fourth Republic: An Evaluation of Nigeria’s Northwest by Rosenje, Musharafa Olapeju (PhD) and Adeniyi, Oluwatobi Peter, both of the Department of Political Science, Tai Solarin University of Education, first published on 30/04/2021, the authors posited that “Banditry is fast becoming alarming in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic to the extent that it poses a serious security threat not only to the Northwest region but to Nigeria as a whole. The level at which bandits operate within the landscape of Nigeria’s northwest has led to a spree of kidnapping, maiming of…
This is the concluding part of this write up, having done parts one and two a few weeks earlier. “When that is not the case, the victim’s faith in his country gets punctured. With the country’s might demystified in his eyes, he can fantasize about the power and invincibility of his captors. Is that Amuta’s case? In a country weighed down by increasing insecurity, where life has become short, nasty and brutish, such victims may feel they are ‘safer’ in the hands of the terrorists. We need to do a lot of things in Nigeria to help citizens regain their…
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was founded in 1978. Its predecessor, the Nigerian Association of University Teachers (NAUT), was formed in 1965 covering academic staff at the University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Ife and University of Lagos. According to its founders, ASUU is a trade union whose objectives include regulation of relations between academic staff and employers, encouraging the participation of its members in the affairs of the university system and the nation, and protecting and advancing the socio-economic and cultural interests of the nation. It is supposed to be…
