The last time a public official wept on national TV, Nigerians regretted offering her towels instead of buckets to collect her tears. She was acting, but we didn’t know it. Diezani Allison-Madueke had just been appointed Minister of Transport and went on a tour to assess some major… Ishaq Oloyede’s cross – By Azu Ishiekwene … Read more
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, ruffled presidential feathers on Monday when he said in a speech during the 20th Anniversary dinner of the financial services company, Chapel Hill Denham, that Nigerians were better off in 1960 than they are… Adesina, Onanuga and the matter of being better off – By … Read more
There’s a concern that Nigeria could soon become a one-party state, not by law, like in China, but through subterfuge – or in legal terms, de facto – similar to Cameroon, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, or even Rwanda, where the ruling parties are inflicting a slow, painful death on… Atiku, not Tinubu, is the wrecking ball … Read more
It’s nothing to laugh off, however tempting. If the movies imitate life, we may not be as far away from an African pope. It happened in The Conclave, a film by Peter Straughan released in 2024, based on the novel by Robert Harris. Through the intrigues, rivalries and scandals of the… Waiting for an African … Read more
It’s understandable if you have not paid attention. I can’t help noticing because minding other people’s business is a part of my job description. On Tuesday, the newspapers reported a spat between the children of two leading politicians, Mohammed Abubakar and Shamsudeen Bala… Do children of politicians in power make sense? – Azu Ishiekwene …C0NTINUE … Read more
It’s a most unlikely crime scene. I travelled by road from the Benin airport to Uromi, Esanland’s most significant town, for a wedding about three years ago. The fear of kidnappers is a constant worry for road users. I was nervous for nearly four hours of the taxi ride, especially… Fake outrage and the making … Read more
He didn’t say when his father asked him, but I wonder what the old man must think in his grave. Jonathan Power is now 83 and arguably one of Europe’s most widely published columnists. He was a young freelance journalist when his father asked him the question. Still, even if he had… When are you … Read more
The question is not where US President Donald Trump has not touched in less than 100 days in office. It is how the world is coping with the shock and devastation of his touch and the trail of chaos it is leaving behind. Because of its vulnerabilities, Africa was never far from… Rasool is Africa’s … Read more