A common African adage says that “if a witch cries in the night and a child dies in the morning, we do not go to the soothsayer to ask what killed the child.” Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, is very much aware of this truism. In July 2025, he declared, quite unreasonably, that the presidential candidate […]

When TheNiche, an online newspaper, exclusively reported on February 13, that a few hours after announcing the 2027 elections timetable, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was set to tinker with the schedule due to pressure from some Muslim groups, many were incredulous. Earlier that day, INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, after waiting endlessly for the […]

Nigerians love clichés to bits. More often than not, you hear them regurgitate the famous “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried” quip by former British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. The idea that democracy is the best form of government is a widely held principle in […]

In the past decade, I developed a habit: whenever Nigeria confuses me as it often does, I visit one of the country’s elder statesmen to help me get a handle on otherwise senseless situations. No protocols. All I do is visit, most times unannounced. The cathartic experience from such discussions is always profound. Sadly, many […]

When President Bola Tinubu stumbled and fell on Tuesday as he walked alongside the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a welcome ceremony in Ankara, his spin doctors went into overdrive in explaining away the incident. That was expected. But in doing so, they lied. His Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, […]

To say that Yakubu Mohammed was a good man is an understatement. He was respectful to all despite one’s station in life. And this is in spite of his huge personal accomplishments, which, again, are grossly understated. He was honest to a fault. In a country where truth is an anathema, he paid a dire price […]

When the Benin Bypass was commissioned in 2002 in the first term of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency, the idea was to make the life of motorists less harrowing. Before the road, built at a cost of N10.2 billion, was opened for public use, cutting through the Benin City traffic gridlock was always a nightmare. The 24-kilometre […]

Former governor of Rivers State and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is  an aggressive person, always exhibiting hostile behaviour in his relationships with others. At every point, he wants to dominate, harm or violate others’ rights without any iota of regard for their feelings. But it is worse now. Today, he is lashing […]

Today is January 1, 2026 and if you are reading this, it means only one thing: you are alive, one of those who survived 2025, a year that turned out, to borrow late Queen Elizabeth II’s Latin phrase, an “annus horribilis” (horrible year). Last year was dreadful for many Nigerians – a year of significant personal and […]

On Boxing Day – Friday, December 26 – Amano Obohia community, Ahiazu-Mbaise LGA, Imo State, will be bursting at the seams with people as sons and daughters, together with their friends and well-wishers, converge on the premises of the Secondary Technical School Obohia to launch a N500 million Trust Fund. The date is significant in two […]

At the time Lucy Kibaki, wife of Mwai Kibaki, the third President of Kenya, died at the Bupa Cromwell Hospital, South West London, on April 26, 2016, aged 75, she had the unenviable reputation of being Kenya’s grouchiest First Lady. In the ten years her husband was in office (2002-2013), she was, in the words of […]

It is extremely difficult to understand why President Bola Tinubu takes delight in insulting Nigerians at every turn. Or how else can one explain most of his actions other than that of a leader who does not care a hoot about what the people think or feel? A few weeks ago, it was the issue of […]

President Bola Tinubu is over the moon right now, for whatever it is worth. Last week was horrible for his administration and the man-in-charge image he is trying desperately to project. In less than seven days, terrorists deflated his elephantine ego by ambushing, penultimate Friday, a military team led by Musa Uba, a Brigadier General and […]

By nature, many Nigerians are incurable optimists. That is what keeps them going. In the face of severe challenges, they manage to sustain a relentless hope and positive outlook. In a sense, that speaks to their resilience and tenacity, without which life, which to the majority is already hell on earth, is insufferable. Yet, this optimism […]

Let me state from the onset that calling Senator Ned Nwoko an irresponsible old man is not an insult. It is a statement of fact. Born on December 21, 1960, he will be 65 years next month. Some people believe that is his political age, which means he could be older. But let us stay with what […]