Editorial

Receiving a team of National Universities Commission (NUC) officials who recently visited Ghana to understudy the country’s university system, Deputy Head of Mission, Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, Mr. Mohammed Abdul Kurmawa, said a large number of private universities have sprung up in that country with the sole aim of defrauding unsuspecting Nigerian students and parents in desperate need of Read More

The past few days have witnessed the deadliest attacks by gunmen in the North-eastern part of Nigeria. The attacks, attributed to Boko Haram, have claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people, mostly woman and children. Just as the world received with shock the massacre of dozens of students of the Federal Government College, Buni-Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area of Read More

For the past couple of days, in many parts of the country including Abuja, the nation’s capital, the ugly sights of fuel queues have once again resurfaced, creating fear and panic about the cause and its long- term effects.While the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has maintained that it has enough supplies and that the public should not panic, the Read More

The news that Nigeria has run out of vaccines for four child-killer diseases calls for concern. These child-killer diseases are yellow fever, measles, hepatitis B and Chalmette-Guerin. These diseases contribute greatly to the death of children under the age of five in Nigeria. It is interesting to note that Nigeria and India top the list of countries with the highest Read More

The recent face-off between the embattled Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state, the Nigeria Army and some aides of President Goodluck Jonathan over whether the nation can win the war against Boko Haram is a healthy one. The face-off is healthy because the insurgents have held one of Africa’s largest armies, the Nigeria Army, hostage for more than two years, Read More

The call for free and fair elections in Nigeria in 2015 is growing by the day. The desire of these concerned people is that Nigeria must endeavour to get it right.The latest voice in this regard is coming from the United States’ Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ms Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Thomas-Greenfield, who spoke in Abuja at the opening Read More

The actions and body language of the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency indicate that he is in an enduring romance with corruption. The perception that the President is very much at home and in sync with corruption is reflected in the comments of some leaders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, had stated Read More

On February 20, 2014, the interim government in Egypt made good its resolve to put on trial a number of journalists working for the satellite television, Aljazeera. That the trial was held despite international appeals to the Egyptian authorities to free the journalists shows an unfriendly attitude of the present government towards the press.While it is understandable that freedoms can Read More

President Goodluck Jonathan is a very patient man.  Everyone expected him to sack Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) some months ago.  But the president, in the words of James Hadley Chase, has the patience of a vulture.  He can wait on his target for 20 years until it enters the trap. Sanusi in Read More

The Nigerian system is notorious for its poor treatment of pensioners and disengaged workers. The government is notorious on reneging on agreements it reaches with the working people or even with Labour unions. This has often led to strikes, sit-ins and mass action by workers or pensioners. In a recent display of the poor treatment of disengaged workers and its Read More

The dream of a smooth academic activity in Nigerian universities seems to be hanging in the balance following athreat by lecturers recently that they might go on strike once again. Their position is anchored in what the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), their umbrella body, says is the failure of the federal government to release the sum of N270 Read More

Last week, the National Council of State endorsed the forthcoming national conference proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan. It is not surprising that the body has endorsed what many patriotic and critically-minded Nigerians have dubbed a jamboree or pro-government gathering that will gulp a whopping N7 billion of tax payers’ money. If the Nigerian people really matter and their views taken Read More

Nigeria’s $3.3 billion (N520 billion) spent yearly on importation of steel despite the abundance of iron ore in the country is one of the shocking pictures of the nation’s profligacy. Besides huge capital flight, the implication of steel importation is manifold. With $3.3 billion, more than the budget of many a country, Nigeria can provide jobs for her teeming youths Read More

The failure of staff of Nigerian polytechnics, now on strike, and the federal government to reach an amicable settlement is becoming a cause for concern. In a meeting with the Non-Academic Staff Union of Associated and Educational Institutions (NASU), Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) the federal government offered to pay the Read More

The 3rd edition of the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) held in South Africa between January 11 and February 1, 2014, has come and gone with the most unlikely squad, Libya, otherwise known as the Mediterranean Knights, clinching the trophy. Nigeria’s flag-bearers, the home-basedSuper Eagles, made their first appearance at the tournament and settled for a bronze medal in keeping Read More

The 1914 decision by British imperialists to bond its Nigerian territory of Northern and Southern protectorates for administrative convenience and ease of exploitation has captured the imagination of the President Goodluck Jonathan government which has outlined a series of carnivals to mark what has been tagged ‘Centenary Celebration’. A national committee coordinated by the Secretary to the Government of the Read More

President Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday, January 21, 2014, forwarded the names of twelve ministerial nominees to the Senate for screening. Except for any last minute surprise, which is very unlikely, these nominations are expected to be endorsed to fill the ministerial vacancies some of which have existed for over seven months. The Senate had also vetted the President’s appointments to Read More

It has been acknowledged universally that education is the foundation upon which any long-lasting development can be built. This is why any country that neglects education is underdeveloped, stagnant and crisis-ridden. UNESCO, having taken cognizance of this role of education in growth and development, has recommended 26 per cent as the minimum budget on education for every nation. While the Read More

ONDON (AFP) – British lawmakers on Tuesday took aim at Queen Elizabeth II’s household accountants, saying they must cut their costs and tackle a huge backlog of repairs to the monarch’s crumbling palaces. Palace officials must also do more to boost the royal family’s income as they are dipping into reserve funds alarmingly often, parliament’s public accounts committee said in Read More

Soft-spoken cleric, Rev. David Inung, is the general overseer of a growing church, God’s Foundation, Spirit and Truth Church, located at Olukosi area of Shasha, a Lagos suburb. He recently had an experience, which he said, increased his faith in and dedication to God, which he earnestly wanted to share with Nigerians. As he disclosed, the church had been praying Read More