Simon- Kolawole

Now That Abba Kyari is Dead

Simon- Kolawole Apr 19, 2020

On January 18, 2020, when I first read of the new coronavirus on the BBC website, my heart missed a beat because of what China means to the world. The headline was: “New virus in China ‘will have infected hundreds’.” And these were the opening paragraphs: “The number of people already infected by the mystery […]

2023 And The Ndigbo Question

Simon- Kolawole Oct 28, 2019

After the leadership elections of the ninth national assembly in June, one fact stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb — not a single Igbo man or woman would be counted among the top seven citizens of Nigeria: president, vice-president, senate president, speaker, chief justice of Nigeria, deputy senate president and deputy speaker. Senator Ike […]

The Nduka Obaigbena Phenomenon

Simon- Kolawole Jul 14, 2019

I recollect vividly as if it happened yesterday — the day I first had a one-on-one with Mr Nduka Obaigbena, editor-in-chief and chairman of THISDAY Newspapers. I had heard so much about him, the good and the bad, and I had always been fascinated by the good. By instinct, I focus more on the positive […]

Whatsoever a man soweth

Simon- Kolawole May 18, 2019

Eleven years ago — to be specific, on July 7, 2008 — the title of my column was: “One Day, the People Will Rebel”. I warned that the extravagant lifestyles of our elite in the face of crippling poverty in the country would come back to bite all of us one day. At the time, […]

Of Detentions with Trial

Simon- Kolawole May 05, 2019

A week ago, Mr Femi Falana, the human rights lawyer, raised the alarm that the Nigerian Navy had been holding 15 Nigerian citizens captive without trial since September 2018. Worse still, one of them got a court order to be released from illegal detention but the naval authorities have ignored it — which, to be […]

How to Sell Brand Nigeria to the World

Simon- Kolawole Apr 28, 2019

Last night, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc held its 2019 CEO Awards Ceremony, to which I was invited. This year, the bank is celebrating its 70th anniversary — having been established as the French & British Bank Limited (B&FB) in 1949. It took the name “United Bank for Africa” in 1961 following its […]

The Search for the Nigerian Dream

Simon- Kolawole Apr 21, 2019

In July 2005, aboard an Egypt Air flight from Cairo to Lagos, a number of Nigerians spent hours discussing the state of the nation. We were from different parts of the country and different religions. We discussed virtually every topic — from the horrible roads to the unending importation of petroleum products, from the inhospitable […]

Nigeria and the Hegemony of Ideology

Simon- Kolawole Apr 14, 2019

We marked the World Water Day on March 22 with a damning statistic: over 60 million Nigerians do not have access to safe drinking water. In simpler English, they get their water from unhealthy sources, such as streams and ponds. I will deliberately leave out the stinking statistics on the 47 million still practising open […]

An Aerial View of 2019 Polls

Simon- Kolawole Mar 31, 2019

With the exception of Rivers state — where former friends are at war — governorship elections have been concluded across Nigeria on the not-so-unfamiliar note: the good, the bad and the ugly. As typical of Nigerian politicians, if they win, “the election was free and fair”; if they lose, “the election was rigged”. No politician […]

Weaponising Religion in Yoruba Politics

Simon- Kolawole Mar 24, 2019

In case you missed it, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), an advocacy group, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint Muslim ministers from five south-west states when he constitutes his cabinet for his second term. Why? The group says because five of the south-west governors would be Christians, that is the way to go — […]

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