Category: Opinion

Hardship Protest: Why Tinubu deserves a second chance’

Aminu Imam
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu addressing Nigeria 696x348

Hassan Umar Farouk Silence is very dangerous, especially when your words can be the only source of healing at a moment – Israelmore Ayivor, Ghanian writer.  On August 1, 2024, thousands of Nigerians took to the streets across major cities and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), protesting against economic hardship and hunger. The demonstrations, which were marked by unfortunate incidents of violence and destruction in States such as Kano, Niger, Kaduna, and Jigawa, have highlighted widespread dissatisfaction with the governments policies. The protests were organized in response to a range…

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National Anthem: “Cultivating a sense of patriotism” –

Aminu Imam
IMG 20240802 WA0093

he present administration of President Bola Tinubu has made bold, albeit controversial, choices geared toward securing Nigerias economic future. Nigerians are still reeling from the impact of some of the policies announced by President Bola Tinubu in 2023 and are thus eager to see tangible improvements in their daily lives, hoping that the long-term benefits promised will soon outweigh the short-term difficulties. As we make progress, striking a balance between providing immediate relief and implementing sustainable economic reforms will be crucial. The term citizen implies a certain type of relationship…

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Let Us Not Celebrate Our LGAs Yet

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
Governors Forum

By: Nurudeen Dauda To start with, after the much celebrated Supreme Court judgement backing the full financial “autonomy” of Local Governments there are still other fundamental issues that must be addressed for us to get it right in our LGAs administrations as follows: one; Local Government elections, two; the issue of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and three; Local Governments reform. It is apt to state that we still have a very long long way to go! Firstly, the issue of free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria remain a major…

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Booting of Northern Traditional Institutions, Dereliction of Duties by the Leaders and Security Implications for the Regio,

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
Sultan Sa'ad Abubakar III

By; Abdull-Azeez Ahmed Kadir The Northern States of Nigeria, especially the North West geopolitical area is today a war zone with citizens mown down in cold blood in hundreds and villages sacked at will with residents daily kidnapped for ransom and many more sold into captivity and slavery. All are not unconnected with near absence of good governance. With each transition since return to democracy or civil rule, the situation gets worse especially in the last 17 years. Sadly, the Northern Governors seem almost bereaved of ideas on how to…

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Local Governments: Between Constitutional Autonomy and Judicial “Coup”

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
Bola Ahmed Tinubu

By; Abdull-Azeez Ahmed Kadir. Nigeria operates a federal system of government with sub-national. It has been a long debate if Nigeria operates three tiers of government or two tiers with administrative block as the third. Whatever you believe, the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended, recognises the Federal, State and Local Governments. Nigeria boasts of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory with 774 Local Councils. The Local Government is the closest to the people at the grassroots; who constitute the majority of the populace and meant to make them feel…

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S/Court ruling on LG autonomy: A call to action

Aminu Imam
IMG 20240712 WA0085

This is to proudly celebrate the recent landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Nigeria reaffirming the autonomy of the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria. The Supreme Court declared it illegal and unconstitutional for state governors to continue receiving and seizing funds allocated to LGAs within their jurisdictions. This dubious practice, which has persisted for over two decades, was recognized as a clear violation of Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, (as amended). In his lead judgment, Justice Emmanuel Agim asserted that no House of Assembly in any…

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??New FCT Judges: To whom much is given…

Aminu Imam
IMG 20240708 WA0033

By Dr. Jumai Ahmad The attainment of justice represents one of the enduring promises of Constitutional democracy. And the right to a fair trial is perhaps the most fundamental tenet of Constitutional democracy and has been recognized as a universal human right. This promise was again given when the ranks of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory was swelled by the recent appointment of 12 new judges by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. Among the 12 judges to be sworn-in on Wednesday, July 10,…

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NLC: Stemming strike through wage parity

Aminu Imam
IMG 20240604 WA0045

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has a long history of advocating for wage increases and improved working conditions for Nigerian workers. The NLC is currently on a nationwide strike in agitation for wage increase to address the impact of inflation, rising living costs, rise in electricity tariff and economic challenges facing Nigerian workers. To address these problems government should consider wage parity among all federal government owned institutions since salaries are being paid from the same source (Federation account). Wage parity refers to the principle of ensuring that individuals receive…

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Zenith Bank’s and its first female MD/CEO

Aminu Imam
IMG 20240602 WA0050

History was made by Zenith Bank Plc with the announcement of the appointment of Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive with effect from June 1, 2024, subject to approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, from Anambra state, takes over from Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, whose five-year term expires on May 31, 2024, and is the first female GMD/CEO since the inception of the bank. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Umeoji has been the Deputy Managing Director of the bank since October…

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Cotonou Degree: Don’t be sad, they just helping us

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

By; Professor Abdulmalek Amoka. I was reflecting on this Cotonou 6-week to 1-year degree program and I began to wonder why we are making so much noise about it. The good thing about the degree is that you need not travel there or write any examination. You just register and it will be couriered to you. Nigerians said degrees are useless and that “who e help”. They said we should go and learn welding and carpentry instead of going for a degree (skills rather than a degree). Now, we are…

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