(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 11 October, 2021) Abdulrazak Gurnah, the Tanzanian who won the Nobel Prize in Literature last week has a very interesting definition of honour. He says it means “respect yourself (so that) others will come to respect you.” That is from his ‘Paradise’ – a ‘narrative reversal’ of Joseph…
Igbo, Akunyili and Mailafia
(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 4 October, 2021) Igboland is the new home of Hades, lord of death and king of the underworld. The land writhes in pains as rough men roast it for supper. Vultures have descended on its forests; hawks feed on its cities. Every dove there is in fearful flight.…
2023: For Hakeem Baba-Ahmed
(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 27 September, 2021) Alhaji Baba Ahmed, a Mauritanian cow seller, plied his trade from his country to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and to Dahomey (now Benin Republic). Business was very good but at a point, his customers in Dahomey, with impunity, refused to pay for his cows.…
Debts, VAT and States’ Gold Mines
(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 20 September, 2021) The National Assembly last Tuesday received a presidential request for yet fresh foreign loans. This time, it is $4billion and €710million (N2 Trillion) to finance ‘critical projects’ in the 2021 budget. Our lawmakers will approve the loan request without asking any question. It is not…
Igbo and Buhari’s Peace Speech in Imo State
(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 13 September, 2021) President Muhammadu Buhari last week in Imo State acknowledged the resourcefulness and enterprising spirit of Igbo people. He said: “The fundamental thing about the Igbo people is that there is no town you visit in Nigeria without seeing the Igbo being in charge of either…
Yesterday Was Better Than Today
(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 6 September, 2021) Somehow, we’ve all, individually, managed to get by and get better but the country gets progressively worse every new day. I thought of how much I paid to get university education – my first degree. The first year, I paid N20 caution fee; I also…
Will There Be a Crash, Nigeria?
(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 30 August, 2021) Scary! One spring night, the pilot of a small plane experienced a complete engine failure. On top of that, he lost his electrical system, and with it, the use of his radio and navigation instruments. Mist filled the sky. The moon had not yet risen.…
Why We Should Fear the Nigerian Taliban
(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 23 August, 2021) Some years ago, an editor-friend told me that he was slapped from behind by someone during his first pilgrimage to Mecca. His offence was that he pointed at ‘something’ with his shoes in his hands. The person who slapped him was not an Arab. The…
The President is back
(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 16 August, 2021) Twenty-four hours after paying an inter-infirmary visit to his co-Londoner, co-APC founder, comrade and power-sharer, President Muhammadu Buhari came back last week to meet his Nigeria as dying as he left it. Nigeria’s definition under him has remained sorrow, tears and blood. In his absence,…
Buhari: 658 Days to Go
(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 9 August, 2021) Six hundred and fifty eight days from today, Nigeria will be free from Muhammadu Buhari and his government. To count down is to wait for something to happen. You are counting down when you consciously take note of every day or moment as it passes…
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