Forestalling irreversible balkanisation of African states
Olukayode Oyeleye
October 11, 2021
GRADUALLY, STEADILY AND IMPERCEPTIBLY, various countries of Africa are entering a new phase. They are losing the various forces of cohesion that made them stand as countries for a while. They are beginning a new trend that has placed them at various levels in the same deplorable experience. While some countries are currently disintegrating, many […]
The insecurity of security pursuits in Igboland
MARTIN Ike-MuonsoOctober 11, 2021
For more than five decades, many have battled to infuse a state’s soul into the shifting geographical boundaries defined variously as Biafra. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu originally crafted the name but failed to realize it despite over three million lives lost. Biafra of that era consisted of today’s south-eastern Nigeria and substantial parts of South-South Nigeria, […]
Policing Nigeria
MARTIN Ike-MuonsoOctober 4, 2021
The voices of many highly respected Nigerians across political party lines, ethnic and religious divides have continued to resonate symphonically in calling on the citizenry to rise, pick up their arms and defend themselves. Nigerians know that the state and its police can no longer effectively protect them. The police are overwhelmed by the enormity […]
Any true refuge for Africa’s vulnerable?
Olukayode OyeleyeOctober 3, 2021
SOCIAL SAFETY NETS have been much hyped in global development discourse and conversations. In Africa, pockets of interventions by non-state development practitioners and humanitarian assistance actors have been described in the context of social safety nets. A significant proportion of such interventions come in form of direct responses to outcomes of crises precipitated by bad […]
Unloading Africa’s diverse burdens at UNGA 76
Olukayode OyeleyeSeptember 27, 2021
COVID-19, CLIMATE CHANGE, COUP D’ETAT and continental financing gained prominence among the diverse concerns raised while the various leaders of some African countries took their turns to make speeches to the select audience on the floor of the United Nations in New York City since the beginning of the 76th session of the United Nations […]
The approaching cyclones of Armageddon
MARTIN Ike-MuonsoSeptember 27, 2021
There are at least five stages in a society’s journey to catastrophic ruin. The first stage is the prophetic announcement of a possible crisis in the far future. Such predictions are made even in the absence of any logical deductions or historical foundation. Therefore, most of the actors at this phase do not disclose the […]
The criminal species of Fulani herders
MARTIN Ike-MuonsoSeptember 20, 2021
As kids, we experienced the Fulani people as a peace-loving group of nomadic pastoralists primarily concerned with their flock. In those days, no one feared them. Their beautiful wives and daughters were usually in their company as they shepherded their flock around our area. Their wives and females often adorned their necks and plated hair […]
Africa’s old guards and the region’s future prospects
Olukayode OyeleyeSeptember 20, 2021
CONTRADICTIONS CAN BEST DESCRIBE the Africa story today. One the one hand, there is much talk about prevalent poverty, and on one hand there is profuse optimism about potential waiting to be unlocked. While statistics say one thing, the political leaders – even those who acknowledge such statistics – do the opposite. National, regional and […]
Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea as litmus tests for Africa’s regional bodies
Olukayode OyeleyeSeptember 13, 2021
ANY REGIONAL POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC bloc is as strong as its weak members. In North America and the European Union, weak members are easily protected and their weakness is not as widespread as it is in Africa where most African Union (AU) member countries are predominantly in abject poverty. The economic size and robustness of […]
Nigeria’s lucrative kidnapping enterprise
MARTIN Ike-MuonsoSeptember 6, 2021
Kidnappings in Nigeria are classifiable as political hostage-taking, criminal abductions, and kidnapping for ransom and sale. All three kinds of kidnapping provide illicit entrepreneurial income and other non-monetary benefits. In the political kidnapping variant, kidnappers use the abductees as chips to bargain for political benefits. For instance, in 2003, Chris Ngige, then governor of Anambra […]