Opinion

Still On Sam Omatseye’s Obituary

Still On Sam Omatseye’s Obituary

Being in the crosshairs of Tinubu’s vaunting political ambition is the only excuse that Omatseye needs to assume the role of a vicious attack dog. By IKECHUKWU AMAECH When a friend of mine called on Monday afternoon to ask if I had read Sam Omatseye’s obituary in The Nation newspaper, my heart skipped a beat. I have not seen The Nation newspaper’s editorial board chairman this year and not being one of my favourite columnists because of his penchant for puerile exuberance and indecency, I hardly read him. His solecism in the guise of intellectualism puts me off. Did I…
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SAM OMATSEYE – A Matter Of Character

SAM OMATSEYE – A Matter Of Character

By VICTOR ANAZONWU I have carefully read Obi-tuary by Sam Omatseye. I must say that, once again, Sam did not disappoint as an elegant purveyor of prose. But beyond his effervescent style and intellectual sophistry, Sam came up morally short. He set out to portray Peter Obi and the emerging Obidient Movement as a narrow ethnic (Igbo) affair and as separatist militancy in disguise. He failed woefully. Linking Peter Obi with IPOB is as logical as linking Bishop Hassan Kukah with Boko Haram. Saying that OBIDIENCE is a strictly Igbo movement is an insult to the intelligence of millions of…
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(OPINION) Everyone’s Obituary Is Inevitable

(OPINION) Everyone’s Obituary Is Inevitable

By CHUKS ILOEGBUNAM Chuks Iloegbunam tells Sam Omatseye to cleanse his journalism_ Some have called you foolish, dear Sam Omatseye. Others insist that you are plain stupid. There are those who hold you to be beneath contempt. Their howls of execration upon you are in reaction to your August 1, 2022 article entitled Obi-tuary (https://thenationonlineng.net/obi-tuary/). For me, however, you are a dear friend. Our friendship started in the 1980s at Newswatch magazine where both of us practiced journalism before you travelled to the United States for further studies. It continued upon your return and strengthened to the point that, sometimes,…
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Asking For Trouble

Asking For Trouble

By Azu Ishiekwene Nigeria’s political class has been largely irresponsible, having neither the aptitude to understand and tackle insurgency nor the honesty to admit its complicity. That is why the problem has grown from a few misguided itinerants proselytising for a theocratic state to armed terror. After BBC Africa service promoted a story on Friday of an interview with the bandit warlords of Zamfara State, a senior Nigerian journalist, Kadaria Ahmed, called out the broadcaster in a tweet. Kadaria, an ex-Beeb, said the interview would give the terrorists oxygen, stoke hysteria and bring nothing but pain and misery to hundreds…
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Tinubu: Back story and the morning after

Tinubu: Back story and the morning after

Whereas Tinubu knew that the cabal knew his potential to damage the party in the event that the cabal chose to muscle him out, Osinbajo, with a significantly lower deterrent value, was relying almost 100 percent on Buhari’s benevolence.  By Azu Ishiekwene After the feisty, if not bitter, presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ended on Wednesday with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerging the party’s candidate for the next election, the overriding instinct is to throw the losers under the bus. You can hardly blame Tinubu’s camp. The man had a raw deal right up to the last minute. For seven years, he was literally an outsider in a party…
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Ogbonnaya Onu: Keeping A Date With Destiny

Ogbonnaya Onu: Keeping A Date With Destiny

By KELVIN GILBERT He doesn’t seem like the typical Nigerian politician of this era. Calm and unassuming, former Abia State governor and the immediate past minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has however managed to remain one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s long serving cabinet members for the better part of his administration until he resigned to contest for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC). But how far can he go in a contest that is not just crowded but populated by money bags in a highly monetised political system? Onu, like 24 other APC chieftains,…
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Orji Uzor Kalu: A Lifetime Of Crass Opportunism

Orji Uzor Kalu: A Lifetime Of Crass Opportunism

EXPRESSO 》》》By Steve Osuji You would think people get mature and wiser as they get older. But that's not the case with ORJI UZO KALU. At 60, it seems he has played opportunistic politics all his life. He started out quite early, remember. Selfish interest, self- preservation and crave for lucre at all cost has defined his politics. This would have been tolerable if he doesn't present his primordial and indeed predatory instincts as altruistic acts for the Igboman. Igbo presidential contestants in the two major parties have been travelling about the country trying to convince and win over delegates…Men…
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OPINION: Double Jeopardy For Buhari’s Ministers

OPINION: Double Jeopardy For Buhari’s Ministers

BOLAJI ADEBIYI It is never too late to do the right thing. On Wednesday President Muhammadu Buhari directed his ministers and other political appointees as well as heads of ministries, departments and agencies, including extra-ministerial bodies who are interested in political contests in 2023 to quit. No doubt, forced by searing and ceaseless attacks on the perfidy unfolding in his camp, the president had to pull the rug off the feet of his men, who by their conduct had shown a regrettable lack of integrity. The unfortunate saga began when Abubakar Malami, his attorney-general and minister of Justice, at different…
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Enugu 2023: False Tale Of Ugwuanyi’s ‘Preferred Candidate’

Enugu 2023: False Tale Of Ugwuanyi’s ‘Preferred Candidate’

BIBIAN ANEKWE A Political Scientist, Ambrose Bierce took a swipe at the political class and concluded with his description of politics as a strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles... .the conduct of public affairs for private advantage. While this assertion might be universally applied, the denotative implications of this description is more at home in our clime. Though, we might point to a few among the political class who have distinguished themselves with regard to the conduct of public affairs for public advantage. Yet, they remain in the minority. Interestingly, the Holy writ of Christian religion is…
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2023: High Time Tinubu Stopped Whining Over Osinbajo’s Aspiration

2023: High Time Tinubu Stopped Whining Over Osinbajo’s Aspiration

By aspiring for the highest political office in Nigeria, Osinbajo has committed no crime – not against Tinubu or anyone else. It is high time the Jagaban of Borgu Kingdom and Asiwaju of Lagos politics stopped whining over Osinbajo’s aspiration. Let the people decide. That is the beauty of democracy. IKECHUKWU AMAECHI On Monday, April 11, Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, declared his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election. In a short broadcast via his Twitter handle after months of speculation, Osinbajo said having served as Vice President “under a true Nigerian patriot, a servant of the nation in…
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