In April 2023, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) demanded an apology from FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, makers of Peak Milk, for using the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as a metaphor to promote their product on Good Friday 2023. Subsequently, the management of FrieslandCampina WAMCO withdrew the advertisement and apologized to Holy Bible. Similar cases…
The Death of a Nation
When students study to knowYet have to sort to passAnd sorting is incrementalEven with the horizontalThe process of examBecomes a shamSemesters come and goThe system produces a massOf semi-illiteratesAs university graduates You need not deployOppenheimer’s deadly toyMuch time will not elapseBefore structures collapseOrgans will ruptureOn the surgical tableYour security architectureWill be feeble and unstableWith drill-bits…
The Process of Being Begotten
The gestural appellation “The Only Begotten Son of God”, which is ascribed to Jesus Christ is one of the numerous hoaxes in the literature of Judeo-Christian theology. Firstly, and rather unfortunately, it places Jesus on a humanly unattainable pedestal thereby psychologically incapacitating and defeating the faithful in the spiritual quest for oneness with God (whoever…
The President as a Role Model: A Reprise
Following the publication of my article titled “The President as a Role Model”, I had a profoundly worrisome encounter, which produced a narrative that necessitated this reprise and seemed to answer the closing question at the end of the original article thus: “What type of role model is the ruling class about to hoist on…
Towards the Bala Usman Laws
During the meeting of Secretaries to the State Governments (SSGs) in Calabar, Cross River State in 1981, a proposal to travel to the United States (US) to “study the presidential system”, which was discussed in a previous meeting, was raised for decision. Reacting to that, Dr. Bala Usman, SSG of Kaduna State, raised his hand,…
Bola Tinubu as a Hoochie Coochie Man
This piece addresses a serious national issue but is laced with an ample dose of comic relief. It is, basically, satirical albeit topical. Inspired by a classical Chicago Blues tune titled “Hoochie Coochie Man”, the article is partly experiential hence entertaining even in its topicality; its introductory anecdote reflects the author’s affinity with music. In…
President as a Role Model
Role modeling is a responsibility each individual owes society for the continuance of a culture of which virtue, ethos and decorum form the foundation. A role model is an individual who is regarded by others, especially younger people, as a good example to follow; a person who is worthy of emulation. It is a social…
Nigeria and Echoes of Pieter Botha
Pieter Willem Botha (1916-2006) was a South African politician. From 1978 to 1984, he served as Prime Minister and morphed into the first executive state president from 1984 to 1989. Botha was an outspoken opponent of black majority rule and international communism. However, his administration made concessions towards political reform, whereas internal unrest saw widespread…
Nigeria as Domain of the Demented
Desirous of foreign loan to invigorate the ailing Nigerian economy, a Nigerian President set off from the sprawling, multiple mansion presidential lodge in Aso Rock, Abuja to London for a meeting with his British counterpart. Driven in a 36-car motorcade of stretch limousines and other luxurious cars to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), he boarded…
Nigeria’s Illusive Dream of Populism
“Nigeria will not know peace until the son of a nobody can become somebody without knowing anybody”. So said Malam Aminu Kano, the highly respected Nigerian politician, reformer and teacher who symbolized democratization, women’s empowerment and freedom of speech. Inspired by the desire for a populist and inclusive Nigeria, Aminu Kano dreamed thus during Nigeria’s…