Reuben ABATI
Features
Nigeria and the Misery Index: Not a miserable country
In a Report titled The Misery Index 2018 authored by Prof. Steve Hanke of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, Nigerians have been labelled the sixth most miserable people in the world. The misery index was introduced in the 1970s by Read more
Nigeria 2019: Have we learnt any lessons?
The 2019 general election in Nigeria has been described by international and local observers, stakeholders, direct participants and the electorate themselves as a “disappointment”, “ a bad day for democracy”, “a step back from whatever Nigeria may Read more
Nigeria 2019: Eshu Laalu as polling agent
I used to attend meetings wearing suits. Party members looked at me suspiciously. I couldn’t miss the glances, the whispers, the murmurs but I couldn’t quite figure out what was amiss until one Sunday afternoon, I arrived at a scheduled meeting all Read more
The Obasanjo bombshell
Obasanjo’s tone in this latest one is not advisory at all. This is a brutal, dismissive, utterly condemnatory commentary which seeks to consign the Buhari administration to the ugly chapters of Nigerian history. The style of writing is lucid, frank, Read more
Ogun politics: My encounter with violence
I once had a taste of political violence during the 2015 Presidential campaigns. In Bauchi, our convoy was stoned. In Katsina, restless youths wielding stones and long sticks threatened to attack us. It didn’t matter that it was a Presidential Read more
Iya Kabiru and other stories
“Iya Kabiru must be the luckiest woman in Nigeria today” “Who is that? I don’t know anybody so-called” “You don’t know Iya Kabiru? But you know Baba Kabiru?” “Do they know me?” “This is the problem with you. You only think about you, you, you. Read more
Aig-Imoukhuede and the Initiative for Public Governance
A week ago, I stumbled on an article titled “Africa and the burden of Leadership” (The Guardian, Nov. 7), written by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, banker, investor and entrepreneur, former Managing Director of Access Bank Nigeria, our compatriot. Read more
The “Oshiomhole must go” coalition
Chief John Odigie Oyegun, former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) must be having a good laugh wherever he is. If he is just finishing a meal, he can afford to pick his teeth and belch from the deepest part of his biological Read more
Beyond Fayose: The future of Ekiti
I spent the better part of last Tuesday, October 16, focusing on developments in Ekiti State. It was the day of John Kayode Fayemi’s return to office as Governor of Ekiti State and his inauguration for a second-term, after an interregnum of four Read more
Nigeria’s certificate scandals
The number of persons involved in certificate scandals under the Buhari administration may speak to something far deeper in our society, even beyond the administration, but it is to say the least, disgraceful and embarrassing. Ordinarily considered Read more
Osun: Election as theatre
What is going on in Osun State right now is nothing short of political theatre. It is keeping us all entertained, but it has also turned so many observers into emergency lawyers. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the Osun Read more
Lessons from Adeosungate
Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance (2015-2018), Kemi Adeosun threw in her letter of resignation on Friday, September 14, to bring to a temporary closure, the public outcry and the embarrassment that her possession of a fake National Youth Service Read more
2019: A brief manual of Nigerian politics
For the benefit of any outsider who may never have witnessed Nigeria’s general elections, the type that is ahead, I offer in this brief note, a description of what to expect, what is already happening in the context of the character, content and Read more
Buhari, 2019 elections and the law
President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly declared in China, last Sunday, that he believes in the idea of free and fair elections, and that he is committed to this pillar of the democratic process. I don’t expect him to say anything otherwise. Read more
Rule of Law: The President got it wrong
It is unfortunate that the most important statement made so far at the on-going Annual Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association, an outright derogation of the supremacy of the rule of law, has not yet generated any coherent response from either the Read more
A dry Sallah and other stories
“Baba is back, we thank God” “You have started your mischief again. Baba said he will be back in two weeks, and he is back, so what is special about that?” “You know sometimes when the President goes to London like that, we may then be told that Read more
Dauragate and the shame of a nation
The week that just passed will for long be remembered as perhaps the most momentous week in the history of the Muhammadu Buhari administration since 2015. Exactly a week ago, officers of the Department of State Security Services (DSS), acting under Read more
The Asaba disgrace
Shame on all the local organisers of the just concluded 21st Africa Senior Athletics Championships held in Asaba, Delta State tagged #Asaba2018 for spending N4 billion of the Nigerian taxpayers’ money to procure disgrace, and embarrassment for Read more
Understanding APC and the crisis of defections
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the “factional” leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has reportedly asked Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki to resign his position as Senate President. What exactly does the Comrade want Saraki to Read more
Hadi Sirika and the return of Nigeria Airways
One of the usual features on Nigerian social media is the nostalgic passion with which Nigerians often distribute pictures of the old Nigeria Airways and how that company once considered one of the best in Africa was mismanaged and made to fail. Read more