Tales by moonlight thrives on call-and-response give-and-take. “Story, story,” the storyteller invites the audience, honey in his voice, suspense in his eyes. “Story!” the audience booms back. “Who knows the meaning of this proverb? A fish rottens from the head,”…

I met him through Ferial Haffajee, a fellow judge on the CNN African Journalist of the Year panel for several years and also a fellow member of the board of the World Editors Forum in those early days. Ferial is…

Rotimi Amaechi Following the successful conclusion of the opposition African Democratic Congress’ (ADC) presidential primary election, which expectedly threw up former vice President Atiku Abubakar from northern Nigeria as candidate, the party has announced Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, from the south,…

The spilling of Nigerian blood on the streets of Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban has become grimly routine. In May 2026, however, the response shifted. Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North in Nigeria’s National Assembly, told the Senate what many Africans…

Unwritten peace and unity codes should become written in the hearts of all reasonable stakeholders in Nigeria. Presidential candidacy should be structured in a manner that the North and South rotational presidency should be adopted by lovers of peace and…

Think of the teacher who spent three decades shaping young minds, the nurse who worked through countless difficult nights, and the civil servant who gave a lifetime to public service. For each of them, retirement should arrive as a season…

Picture this: A man buys land somewhere in Lagos. He pays in full, takes possession, and begins building. After some years, he tries to use the property as collateral for a business loan. The bank’s solicitors raise a problem: the…

When most Nigerians hear about mining disasters, they often imagine collapsing tunnels, exploding dynamite, or landslides swallowing workers whole. These are visible tragedies. They leave behind twisted earth, broken machinery and scenes of chaos. But there is another kind of…

Mama Kemi now skips breakfast so that her children can eat lunch. Her tricycle-driver husband spends N7,000 daily on fuel that cost N1,500 when President Bola Tinubu took office. Not long ago, she pulled her eight-year-old daughter from private school…

When Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo (aka Sunday Igboho), went into exile in Germany, what did he learn about the country? I recall he made some videos showing off the ambience of the well-ordered streets to preach to Nigerians about…

…serious governance cannot coexist with such superficiality when there are real problems to solve. It is high time we weaned ourselves of useless colonial and bureaucratic practices that add no value to the country. This obsession with title over substance…

National Democratic Congress (NDC) We need to make progress as a nation. We need institutional mechanisms that keep elected officials in check within one party, working for their constituencies and country. We need to stop political prostitutes and nomadic politicians…

NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (left), presenting a souvenir to his counterpart from the UK, Jonathan Powell. As SDP4 convenes in Abuja, there is a clear ambition on both sides to deepen cooperation across defence, counter-terrorism, cyber security, strategic communications, maritime…

Introduction The relationship between the media and security agencies has become one of the most important issues in Nigeria’s democratic development. In recent years, there have been several instances in which journalists and media organisations have come into conflict with…

I have had the challenge and privilege of leading universities on three continents: Africa, North America, and, most recently, Europe, at the American University in Bulgaria. But I will never forget in a hurry my experiences at the American University…