Reuben ABATI
Photo: Evan Vucci, Picturedesk, Heute.at CC BY 4.0
Trump, Musk and the Nigerian gladiators
“Bros, looks like one accidented trailer has just passed between Trump and Elon Musk oh, and it gets messier by the day.” “What do you expect? It is just simple common sense. Elon Musk invested over $290 million to bring Trump to power. He supported
8 Jul 2025
17:27
Breakfast with the Soludos
I had breakfast Tuesday, March 18, last week, with Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR of Anambra State and his wife. I had travelled to the State, on the invitation of the Governor and his team to moderate a media chat on the occasion of his third
26 Mar 2025
11:23
The emerging coalition against Tinubu/APC
It comes as no surprise that the headlines have been dominated in part by the proposed formation of a mega coalition of opposition parties and politicians planning to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress
18 Mar 2025
17:23
Nasir El-Rufai’s Defections: PDP, CPC, APC, SDP
Perhaps the most important political event, this week in Nigeria, so far, nobody knows if there would be a free-for-all fight in Rivers State tomorrow, or some melodrama in Osun State or elsewhere, before the week runs out – is the announced
11 Mar 2025
15:24
A world of godfathers
“Have you been following the developments at the Lagos State House of Assembly?” “High wire politics. Power Game. Man pass man. Man pass woman. Two Speakers in 50 days. Perfect material for a Nollywood film” “Omo… as in …!” “But I think the State
4 Mar 2025
19:23
Babangida’s Book
The most important event in Nigeria in the last week has been the publication and public presentation in Abuja, of a book titled A Journey in Service: An Autobiography of Ibrahim Babangida. In many ways, this should be perfectly understandable.
26 Feb 2025
07:22
From Trump to Grammy Blues
“How are you doing?” “I am good” “I am now convinced beyond any iota of doubt that this your Republican friend called Donald Trump has something wrong with him.” “There is nothing wrong with him. Be careful what you say, otherwise we will ban you
4 Feb 2025
17:18
The second coming of Donald Trump
The most important global event yesterday, January 20, 2025, was the inauguration of Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States, now as the 47th President of the United States in what has been correctly described as his second coming.
21 Jan 2025
11:27
Of Wildfires, Los Angeles, Obasa and other human stories
“I hope your daughter is safe” “We thank God. We are all fine. But which of my daughters do you have in mind?” “The one in California. When I read about the wildfires that destroyed over six areas in Southern California, it was you and your daughter
14 Jan 2025
17:45
A new beginning in Ghana
It is a new day and a new beginning in Ghana today, January 7, as the country today celebrates the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama on his second return to the country’s helm of affairs. Mahama was President of Ghana, 2012-2016. He lost
7 Jan 2025
17:25
Remembering Mrs. Remi Oyo
Today in Lagos, the Oyo family - husband, children, grandchildren, in-laws and the extended families from Ekitiland, Urhoboland and elsewhere as well as friends and former colleagues would be holding a remembrance and thanksgiving service in honour
1 Oct 2024
11:13
The Battle of Edo State 2024: A Review
A battle on the electoral turf has just been won and lost in Edo State, Nigeria. Governor Godwin Obaseki was elected as Governor in 2016 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in that State. By 2019, he had fallen out of favour with
24 Sep 2024
16:32
Now that Tinubu is back…
The return of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from what looked like a long trip abroad must come to many as a relief. When the President travelled on August 29, his destination was announced in very clear terms. He was heading to China to attend the
17 Sep 2024
17:26
NNPC and those who plan to “remove” Tinubu
“Hello, Bros. Hello. Hello. Hello” “Yes. I can hear you” “Which kin thing be this now? I don dey call you since, you no pick call. Person go dey call you, you no go pick.” “At your level, you should know that if you call somebody once or twice and
3 Sep 2024
17:32
The return of Fuel Subsidy
I was away on vacation for just two weeks only to return to meet fuel queues still on the streets of Nigeria with the fuel stations rationing fuel in Lagos and other parts of the country. It is a big shame, and an embarrassment that the world’s sixth
27 Aug 2024
17:52
Nigeria and the Chinese problem from Ogun State
“I hear the people of Ogun State have put the people of Nigeria in serious trouble with the Chinese.” “You did not hear anything. The story is out there and it is so loud that even the deaf can hear that there is a Chinese problem in Nigeria right
20 Aug 2024
19:37
Beyond the Protests…
The #EndBadGovernance protests in Nigeria were scheduled to take place between August 1 -10, 2024, tagged “10 Days of Rage”, a seemingly apocalyptic projection of the immediate future of Nigeria constructed in the fashion of The People vs. The State
6 Aug 2024
18:32
Photo: Stephanie Douglas (Pexels - CC0)
Before the protests begin…
“Yes, they have also asked Nyesom Wike to allow them access to facilities at the Eagle Square, including the toilets. I think they should just insist that Wike should come physically and help them with the toilets, by cleaning for them, because it is
31 Jul 2024
09:18
Biden’s exit and America’s November Blues
What a difference a debate can make! It just made a big difference in the United States in the lead up to that country’s November 5, 2024 General Elections. For months, the White House fended off insinuations that President Biden at 81, had become
24 Jul 2024
11:35
The casualties of Okuama
No one is safe. When a people turn against the same men who have been assigned to protect them, there can be no stronger proof of the failure of the State. The murder of four officers and 13 other ranks in Okuama is as President Bola Tinubu has
19 Mar 2024
17:46
Ningi’s “mischief” and Budget 2024
Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) is a ranking member of Nigeria’s National Assembly. He has been a member of that Assembly since the return to democratic rule in 1999, first as a member of the House of Representatives - elected in 1999
12 Mar 2024
14:26
New Justices of the Supreme Court
When Justice Olukayode Ariwooola, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) retires from the Bench in 2024, upon the attainment of the statutory, mandatory retirement age of 70 years, he would be able to count among his legacies, as CJN, the singular fact that
5 Mar 2024
16:22
Photo: Nigeria Labour Congress
The gut, salutations and the hunger protests
Salutations to the Gut is the title of an 84-page essay published over 40 years ago by Nigeria’s Nobel Laureate in Literature, Wole Soyinka celebrating the splendour of Yoruba cuisine and gastronomic hedonism, how “the true hedonist has felt in every
27 Feb 2024
19:26
“Emi Lokan, Awa Lokan” and the discontents
“Bros, how body? Have you seen what I have seen?” “No. How do you expect me to see what you have you seen, when my eyes are different from yours? I use my own eyes. The evidence of my own ocular facility, not what other people see in a country where
20 Feb 2024
18:11
A national emergency on insecurity
The biggest problem Nigeria faces at the moment beyond the parlous state of the economy is the general insecurity in the land and it is about time government declared a national emergency on the challenge. Certainly, the phrase “national emergency”
30 Jan 2024
17:25
Fixing the Power sector
Following the three-day retreat held for Ministers, Special Advisers, Permanent Secretaries and heads of Agencies and Departments by President Bola Tinubu, rather belatedly, three weeks ago with the theme: “Delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda” some
28 Nov 2023
17:26
Of Niger, breathing problems and other matters
“Bros, you dey town?” “Yes. Where you think say I for dey. I no tell you say I dey travel” “I thought maybe you would have gone to Niger.” “Go Niger go do wetin?” “I hear some civil society groups are compiling names of persons who will go to Niger
15 Aug 2023
16:33
Photo by by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free
The menace of Prophets and our future
It seems to me, with due respect, to every party concerned, that while we are all obsessed with the contemporary, topical issues of Ministerial nominations, the likely conflict with Niger and the noted desperation of the Northern Senators and Elders
8 Aug 2023
18:43
Allen Onyema, NIIA and the Sports Wall of Fame
One of the major sore points in the Nigerian story has been the negative role played by non-State actors in the making and the unmaking of Nigeria – those characters who drag the country back and down, those who seize State assets, those who steal
1 Aug 2023
19:22
Tinubu in Paris: Matters Arising
“See Paris and die!” We used to hear that as young persons. Paris was meant to be the most exotic spot of European civilization, an intellectual capital and the reference point for the Renaissance – Francis II, Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIII,
27 Jun 2023
20:37
Murder of gay South African imam Muhsin Hendricks reignites queer Muslim debate
Dubbed the “world’s first openly gay Imam”, South African religious leader Muhsin Hendricks was gunned down on 15 February 2025 in an attack that many believe was targeted. Tributes have poured in across the world, but so have online comments that
Taiwo Akpabio and Kehinde Bogunjoko celebrate 60 years
Twin sisters - Arch. (Mrs) Taiwo Mojisola Akpabio and Dr (Mrs) Kehinde Gbemisola Bogunjoko celebrated their 60th Birthday Anniversary in Miami, Florida recently.
Photo: Moe Magners, Pexels-6672086
Unlocking the Weight Loss equation - “Calories In vs. Calories Out”
The core idea is Energy Balance: consuming fewer calories than you burn leads to weight loss. This simple equation - balancing the energy you consume with the energy you burn - is the crux of sustainable weight management.
Trumpet is 30 Years fresh!
We are happy to announce formally - that Trumpet Newspaper is 30 years fresh! This milestone reminds us that Trumpet is the longest-surviving and far-reaching media organisation targeting UK's Diaspora African community.
Photo: Alex Wynter, IFRC
Attacks on people with albinism in Tanzania: African court holds government responsible – why it matters
People with albinism face widespread discrimination in many sub-Saharan African countries. In Tanzania, this minority has been subjected to extreme forms of violence. The government’s failure to protect their rights prompted the filing of a case
Photo: African Union
African Union’s new chair has a long list of tough tasks – what it will take to get them done
Following seven rounds of balloting, 60-year-old diplomat Mahmoud Ali Youssouf was elected the sixth chair of the African Union Commission in February 2025. Politics professor Ulf Engel, who is the editor of the Yearbook on the African Union,
Family of dad shot dead appeals for witnesses
The family of an innocent man who was fatally shot outside a birthday party have appealed for the public’s help to get justice. Hanif Redwood, a 32-year-old father of two, was attacked in Linton Road, Barking in the early hours of Sunday, 13 October.
Murder of gay South African imam Muhsin Hendricks reignites queer Muslim debate
Dubbed the “world’s first openly gay Imam”, South African religious leader Muhsin Hendricks was gunned down on 15 February 2025 in an attack that many believe was targeted. Tributes have poured in across the world, but so have online comments that
Taiwo Akpabio and Kehinde Bogunjoko celebrate 60 years
Twin sisters - Arch. (Mrs) Taiwo Mojisola Akpabio and Dr (Mrs) Kehinde Gbemisola Bogunjoko celebrated their 60th Birthday Anniversary in Miami, Florida recently.
Young middle-class Nigerians are desperate to leave the country: insights into why
Since the 1980s, migration has been a part of the Nigerian middle-class psyche, catalysed by the usual suspects: high unemployment, security concerns, infrastructure gaps, and poor governance. Migrants tends to be middle-class since one needs
Photo: Jay Galvin, Flickr CC 2.0
How the Mandela myth helped win the battle for democracy in South Africa
To begin with, Winnie and Nelson mythologised themselves. Both intuitively understood that their greatest talent lay in public performance. Not just any public performance, but the sort that is exemplary, that embodies a collective spirit, a set of
Trumpet TV
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK) in a Zoom rage, calls Journalist 'Femi Okutubo stupid!
Nigerian politician and lawyer - Chief Femi Fani-Kayode stormed out of a Zoom Conversation organised by BEN Television London after calling Publisher of Trumpet Media Group - 'Femi Okutubo, stupid!
Dr Titus Odedun speaks about his GAB Award
Nana Ofori-Atta Oguntola interviews former Surgery tutor and examiner - Dr Titus Odedun on his recent Award from the Gathering of Africa's Best. Titus Odedun bagged a Gathering of Africa's Best (GAB) Award for outstanding contributions to the
Why Nigeria must celebrate - Dr Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, Nigeria High Commissioner to the UK
Nigeria High Commissioner to the Court of St. James' - Dr. Dalhatu Sarki Tafida OFR, CFR speaks to Trumpet TV about the giant strides being taken at the Mission, efforts to combat corruption at the Mission, why Nigeria must celebrate, and more.
You can't compare Nigeria with the UK - Dr Dalhatu Sarki Tafida
Nigeria High Commissioner to the Court of St. James' - Dr. Dalhatu Sarki Tafida OFR, CFR tells Trumpet TV that you can not compare Nigeria with the United Kingdom.
