Reuben ABATI
Features
Saraki vs. Abdulrazaq: “O to ge”
On January 24, at the Federal High Court in Ilorin sitting over the matter of Asa Investment vs. Attorney General of Kwara State, counsel representing the plaintiff, in this case the Olusola Saraki family, informed the court that both the family and Read more
Kobe Bryant and other stories
“You look so downcast. Everything okay? Cheer up, man. This one that you are looking as if a trailer just crushed your legs.” “I won’t deceive you. I am not happy at all. I am sad. Heart-broken.” “What happened? You lost a contract, or someone Read more
“Na my brother dey there”
One of the major indications of the dysfunctional nature of the Nigerian social and political ecosystem is what can be best summarised in pidgin English as the “Na my brother dey there” syndrome. It is the politics of proximity by another name, Read more
Of Constituency offices and projects
Members of the Nigerian National Assembly, and by extension lawmakers across the country, have been under scrutiny lately with regard to their engagements with citizen-voters whose interest they are expected to represent in parliament. Read more
The spiritual solution to Boko Haram
No one is in any doubt that terrorism poses one of the gravest threats to humanity in today’s world. Here in Nigeria, within a decade and a little, unconscionable acts of violence by persons pursuing heinous ideological, religious, and political Read more
Nigeria, Xenophobia and Ramaphosa’s apology
We are told that South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa apologised on Saturday for the xenophobic attacks against foreigners living in South Africa, particularly persons involved in business who are seen by the ordinary South African as enemies. Read more
FBI, Nigerian fraudsters and other stories
This is not the best of times to be identified as a Nigerian, especially if you are a Nigerian in diaspora. It is indeed the worst of times to be Nigerian because of the kind of daredevilry that our compatriots have demonstrated in recent times, in Read more
INEC and Nigeria’s many political parties
I am actually a fan of Mrs. Aisha Buhari, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari. She is beautiful, classy, smart and assertive. In four years, she has shown that she cannot be silenced, and that her husband cannot confine her to the kitchen or “the Read more
On June 12 we stand
The revisionists led by General Ibrahim Babangida have tried to rewrite and revise the same story (there would have been a coup if the result was allowed (!), a cabal within the military didn’t want Abiola, it was an unfortunate incident… story…); Read more
The speech Buhari didn’t make
Nigerians were left speechless on May 29 when after taking the oaths of office and allegiance, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo left the Eagle Square, the venue of the Presidential Inauguration ceremony without uttering a Read more
What’s wrong with these end-time Governors?
“Amosun ti tun bere oh. Amosun has started again. Jemila ori e ti jeun yo o. He is on rampage”. “What’s the problem?” Ibikunle Amosun, also known as Senator Ibikunle Amosun (SIA) is the Governor of Ogun State, Nigeria, (2011-2019). Amosun ran for Read more
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