Candidates of the West African Senior School  Certificate Examination will sit for the English paper on Wednesday, May 15. May failure not be their portion – so says the spiritual me. The exam comes days after the results of the…

Last week, the Ijebu of South-West Nigeria rolled out the drums to celebrate Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, as he celebrated his 90th birthday and 64th anniversary as the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland. Everyone, royalty, nobility, the well-heeled and…

Periodic election is one of the cardinal principles of democracy. Nigeria started having elections over a century ago. The quality of our elections has been debatable. Winners score the election management body high while losers castigate the Independent National Electoral Commission. As…

In about four months, all African countries – minus Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) – shall converge on Beijing for the ninth Forum of China-Africa Cooperation. I consider the 2024 FOCAC historic because it is the first to be hosted…

After alleging his life and family were in danger, FirstNews editor, Segun Olatunji, walked out on his job and the messy situation of Nigeria’s state security agents going feral on him. Their actions were not out of character. When a…

Yesterday, 27 May, one of Nigeria’s iconic figures in the entertainment sector turned 80: Ken Calebs Olumese, an Esan man from the university town of Ekpoma as he likes to describe his home town of which he is proud, as…

Thirty-six years ago, in Providence, Rhode Island, I met Tito, a scrawny Italian with a scraggly beard and a resolute spirit. Working together in an automobile battery factory, Tito taught me the power of cooperative collaboration. He shared an Italian…

Elders are invaluable in any society and are especially cherished by Africans. They play different roles, including offering advice to younger ones who might be at loggerheads over one issue or the other. The tact, the wisdom with which they conduct themselves as well…

The flight had on board people that were headed to Nigeria from the U.S., and a few other European countries via Istanbul. Less than two hours into the flight, the announcement that unsettled a lot of us was made.  ‘‘Is…

There are two sugar substitutes that I can beat my chest about their benefits and their zero-calorie status. They are stevia and monk fruit. I will talk about them later. This week, I would like us to familiarize ourselves with…

In his inaugural speech on 29 May, 2023, President Bola Tinubu vowed to tackle the lingering insecurity in the country. “Security shall be the top priority of our administration because neither prosperity nor justice can prevail amidst insecurity and violence,”…

As a young journalist at The Punch in 1980, I appeared one morning at Eko Hotel, as it was then known, to interview newly-elected Senator Joseph Tarka. Mr. Tarka, whose son, Simeon, had also been elected to the House of…

On a hot afternoon on May 16, 2020, former President Muhammadu Buhari stood at the forecourt of the Aso Rock Villa, squinting into the distance. Few situations keep the President of Nigeria at that part of the complex, one being…

I watched an interview on a national TV days ago and was shocked to hear the interviewee, a professional in the real sector, use the phrase, ‘should in case’. It is an ageless tautological expression that experts rightly condemn. Well,…

Since the discovery of oil in commercial quantity and the subsequent payment of royalties by multinational corporations, the Nigerian government has learnt the easy way of making money or earning income. The economy has always been run as a rent-seeking…