Quite often, I have found myself compelled to defend the fundamentals of human rights to supposedly educated people in Nigeria. A clear demonstration of the declining quality of our “educated” middle class is the generic ignorance of foundational social concepts, particularly on the rule of law and the sanctity of human rights. Nigeria—in 2016—is increasingly … Continue reading
Funmi Iyanda—one of the more intelligent persons in Nigeria today—hosts a live audience sociopolitical series in London titled “How To Fix Nigeria”. An episode of the show earlier this year discussed the Nigerian economy. In that episode, Ms Iyanda probed the brains of her guests—including Feyi Fawehinmi and Professor Charles Soludo—on the nature and causes … Continue reading
Last week, a news analyst for a Lagos radio station suggested that Justice Adeniyi Ademola—of the DSS infamy—ought to present his case in court, and not engage in issuing media statements. When someone reminded the analyst that, in fact, the EFCC had used this style of media engagement to make damning insinuations against some judges, … Continue reading
Last week, in his Independence anniversary speech, President Muhammadu Buhari threw a jab at the Nigerian judiciary. The president said: “In fighting corruption, however, the government would adhere strictly by the rule of law. Not for the first time I am appealing to the judiciary to join the fight against corruption”. These words not only … Continue reading
Nigeria is not a democratic country. Although generally described as a democracy, Nigeria is, in reality, an anocracy. An anocracy is a system of government that is half democratic, half autocratic. In true democracies, authority progresses upwards from the people to a dependent centre. In true autocracies, authority flows downwards from an independent centre to … Continue reading
Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria confirmed what has been obvious to millions of us: that these are difficult times in Nigeria. To be clear, it is hard to say there was ever an easy time for Nigerians. Yes, there were times—particularly between the late 60s and early 80s—when an educated minority had it … Continue reading
This is the concluding part of the article series, “The Hierarchy of Nigerian Policy”. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. The Nigerians I compare to corporate Directors in our continuing discussion on the Hierarchy of Nigerian Policy are the elected members of government. These are federal legislators, governors and deputies, the vice-president and, of course, the … Continue reading
