Democracy and political leadership, contrasting experiences in Africa

Democracy and political leadership, contrasting experiences in Africa

GEORGE WEAH, LIBERIA’S incumbent president, contested for a re-election in last Tuesday, but was defeated in the second round of voting in his country’s presidential election. Without much ado, he conceded defeat, saying democracy has won in that troubled West African country. Eight months earlier in this same year, in Nigeria, another West African country, […]

Avoiding crisis in Africa over the Middle East

Grim omen as ECOWAS loses Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger (7)

TWO MAJOR TERMINOLOGIES that have assumed prominence in global geopolitical and social settings are “antisemitism” and “islamophobia.” Events over the years have shown many things about these two expressions arising over events emanating from the Middle East, a region that is made up of about 190 million people, of which 43 million — or 23 […]

Climate future as Africa opens doors to the world

Grim omen as ECOWAS loses Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger (7)

IF HOSTING A MAJOR EVENT is any strong indication of participation in the discussions on issues in that event, then Africa could very well be said to have made a good showing on climate talks last year. The hosting of Conference of Parties (COP) 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, a city on the southern tip of […]

Climate future as Africa opens doors to the world

Grim omen as ECOWAS loses Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger (7)

IF HOSTING A MAJOR EVENT is any strong indication of participation in the discussions on issues in that event, then Africa could very well be said to have made a good showing on climate talks last year. The hosting of Conference of Parties (COP) 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, a city on the southern tip of […]

As Oguntade mounts the saddle at NCRIB

On the increase in Third Party insurance premium

The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers witnessed another milestone on October 19, 2023, at the prestigious Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, when the erstwhile president of NCRIB, my former senior colleague at Industrial and General Insurance and egbon (senior bros), Rotimi Edu, a barrister, handed over the presidency of NCRIB to Prince Babatunde Oguntade, as […]

Great lessons from Gaza for African leaders

Grim omen as ECOWAS loses Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger (7)

RECENT ATTACK ON ISRAEL by the Hamas armed militia of Palestinian stock in power from the Gaza Strip and the subsequent counteroffensive by Israel hold some significant lessons for nations on diplomacy, security and hostility management on the need to avoid putting the unarmed in harm’s way by those holding the reins of power. More […]

When wars elsewhere affect Africa

Grim omen as ECOWAS loses Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger (7)

A MAJOR REGIONAL CONFLICT is going on in the Middle East that has the potential of lingering for a while. It has many signs of what will turn out to be of wider ramifications for the region and beyond. To begin with, the humanitarian impacts are becoming evident as the civilian population is now being […]

Coups, regional diplomacy and intra-African trade

Grim omen as ECOWAS loses Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger (7)

NIAMEY, CAPITAL CITY OF Niger Republic, hosted the 12th Extraordinary summit of the African Union on July 7, 2019 in which Africa successfully launched the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which entered into force five weeks earlier on May 30. Fifteen months before Niamey, in Kigali, Rwanda, the AfCFTA agreement […]

Why military bases in Africa?

Grim omen as ECOWAS loses Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger (7)

JULY 26, 2023 MAY have become a watershed in foreign military interventions as well as bilateral and multilateral relations in Africa. That a foreign country was told to withdraw its ambassador and armed forces was not new. What was new, however, was the speed and tenacity with which the foreign soldiers and ambassadors were told […]

Science, technology, innovation and subnational revenue growth

Regularly updating tax rates, tariffs, and fees

Although not readily apparent, a symbiotic relationship exists between science and technology innovation and subnational revenue growth, which is exploitable in Nigeria. The dynamic loop of this symbiosis starts by turning innovative ideas into income-generating assets and extracting internally generated revenue from them. Again, the mobilized revenue finances scientific research and technological innovation development. Governments […]