Reuben ABATI
Features
Tales the country told me: Hilda Baci and Seun Kuti
Two major events dominated the headlines in the weekend that just passed in Nigeria: the heroism, determination and the example of Ms. Hilda Effiong Bassey, known as Hilda Baci for short, and the sordid drama of Seun Kuti, son of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Read more
The return of Bola Tinubu, President-Elect
Nigeria’s President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is back in the country. He was declared winner of the February 25 Presidential election with 8,794,726 of the total votes cast with Read more
“OBIdients,” Soyinka, Chimamanda and the climate of fear
It is not only Obidients that are in a foul mood. The triumphant members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are not better. They in fact have a much larger tendency for fascism that is frightening, and the real fear is that when these persons Read more
Other tales the country told me
“Yes. Like your friends in the All Progressives Congress (APC) who are now leaking Peter Obi’s telephone conversations, and who claim that he is trying to start a religious war by campaigning on the basis of ethnicity and religion, and they and their Read more
Photo: INEC
More notes on the elections
Tinubu said when Buhari failed thrice to become Nigeria’s President – O lu le, once, twice, thrice, he was the one who told the President to wipe his tears, and he helped him in 2015 to achieve his dream. Read more
Photo: INEC
Before Nigeria’s March 18 elections
After the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections, now heavily disputed, Nigeria goes to the polls again on March 18, 2023 to elect Governors and members of State legislatures in 28 out of 36 States of the Federation. There would be Read more
Photo: INEC
Nigeria: February 25 and the aftermath
Many commentators have attributed the low voter turn-out to voter suppression, voter intimidation and the scarcity of money and fuel, although those may not have been serious reasons for voter apathy. The people were enthusiastic, but they were Read more
Before Nigeria Decides 2023…
It is yet another moment of transition for Nigeria as the country goes to the polls in 4 days’ time to elect a new President and members of the National Assembly in what amounts to a seventh cycle of general elections since the country’s return to Read more
Photo: The Commonwealth Observer Group
2023: Before the elections
This certainly promises to be an interesting year for Africa where a total of 24 general, legislative and local elections would take place in the course of the year in Republics of Benin, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea Read more
Independence Day and Ponmo controversy
It is a sobering indication of the state of the nation, that as Nigeria prepares to mark the 62nd anniversary of its flag independence on October 1, the dominant discourse in the land among young Nigerians, apart from politics, and the continued Read more
Picture Credits: Wikimedia Commons
Queen, NANS, ASUU and Who Dey Shop?
Yesterday would be remembered for long in history even by generations yet unborn, as a historic moment in the 21st century, the day, Elizabeth II, embarked on a journey to the Eternal Realm, after 70 years of reign as Monarch of Great Britain and Read more
Photo Credits - Pixabay
Queen Elizabeth II: Neither Saint nor Sinner
Post-colonial relations between former European countries and their former colonies have always been coloured by the memory of colonialism, the heritage of slavery and despite the passage of time, this has remained a continual element between former Read more
2023: Tinubu vs Bello and others
From what we have seen and heard so far, it seems most likely that the race for the 2023 Presidential position would end up as the fiercest, most contested, and perhaps the most controversial since Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999. Read more
Goodbye, Mr. Trump…
The most exhilarating part of the US Presidential election 2020 is the fact that President Trump lost the election. It is what many observers thought would happen. They prayed for it. They wished it. In the end, that is what happened on Saturday Read more
Africa, Eid-al-Fitr and the virus
This year’s eid-al-fitr, the Muslim festival marking the end of the month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast for 29 or 30 days, in observance of one of the Five Pillars of Islam, was celebrated on Saturday and Sunday May 23/24, but it was a Read more
COVID-19 and Nigerian banks
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the entire world – the future of everything and the world of work, but perhaps the most visible effect of this disruption is most felt in the financial services sector, the markets and the global economy. Read more
Corona blues
To the relief of many Nigerians who had been inundated with conspiracy theories about the status and whereabouts of President Muhammadu Buhari, and his level of involvement in the war against COVID-19, the President, obviously in response to Read more
“E ku Corona o”
The Yoruba people of South Western Nigeria, described by one English Language dictionary as the fun-loving people of the Southern part of West Africa have a habit of greeting people over everything. Whatever the matter is, they just like to greet, Read more
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