The Chibok Girls: One Year After

Opinion Pieces, Stories12 Comments

    “Chibok girls saga remains an open sore on the conscience of our nation” – Wole Soyinka

It’s my 50th blog post, and I am dedicating it to the missing Chibok girls. One whole year has passed since an entire set of teenage girls were forcibly taken from their school, the Government Secondary School in Chibok town, Borno State, Nigeria. 365 whooping days! Over 200 girls whose only crime was an ambition to make something of their lives by getting a western education were abducted from their dormitory on the 14th of April, 2014 by the dreaded Boko Haram sect. The Islamist militants have held the north eastern part of the country, and by extension the whole of Nigeria by the jugular for the past six years! However, the case of the kidnapped Chibok girls was the proverbial last straw that broke the camel’s back. Boko Haram hit our last nerve. It was and still is a bad dream…a terrible nightmare which has unfortunately dragged on for far too long.

Epic Battle For The Soul Of Lagos

Politics/Governance6 Comments

The presidential elections have come and gone, with many heaving a huge sigh relief as a result of a potential unrest being averted by the timely concession of defeat by President Goodluck Jonathan. But it is not yet uhuru. The gubernatorial elections in majority of the states of the federation comes up this Saturday. Lagos in particular is on the radar, and understandably so because it is the commercial nerve center of Nigeria, it is the hub which generates a substantial proportion of the revenue of the country. Lagos being the most populous city in Nigeria, the second fastest-growing city in Africa and the seventh fastest- growing city in the world, with a population of about 20 million people has earned all the attention it receives as the microcosm of Nigeria, and so when Lagos sneezes, the rest of the country catches the flu!

Heroes, Villains And The Triumph Of Democracy In NIgeria

Politics/Governance5 Comments

         When God says it’s time…it is time! Change is here – Ololade Ajekigbe

I type this with so much excitement and joy in my heart. History has been made in Nigeria. We are going into the history books for all the right reasons! For the first time in the history of our dear nation, an opposition candidate defeated a sitting president through the ballot box! Whoever thought that day would come, and soon too! Since, Nigerians cast their votes on Saturday, the country has been on the edge as people earnestly waited with bated breaths to hear the outcome of the polls which saw an unprecedented number of people who were hitherto nonchalant about voting in previous elections turn out en-masse to vote for their preferred candidate. Nigerians had had enough! They were ready to take their destiny into their own hands by not only being patient enough to cast their votes despite the hitches with card readers and other challenges, but also waiting for their votes to be counted in order not to be shortchanged in any way.

Between Self-Expression And Privacy

Essay, Stories10 Comments

tmi

In 2013, a teenager in the USA was murdered while home alone. She had tweeted “Have the house to myself everybody gone” a few hours before she was found dead. This unfortunate incident might not be a common occurrence in this part of the world, but it certainly calls for some reflection on the amount of information we choose to share online. The truth is that quite a number of people share far too much information, especially on social networking sites. Once in a while, we are guilty of over-sharing information about our personal lives. You only need to visit the various social media platforms to be convinced of this.

When Sleeping Dogs Lie…

Politics/Governance7 Comments

 “Nigerians, the man to line up behind now is Attahiru Jega. Protect him, protect the March 28  election, protect your right to vote”- Funmi Iyanda

I had made up my mind not to do any piece relating to politics this week. Partly because I wanted a breather from all things political, as Nigeria gets closer and closer to the appointed time for the general elections, and also because of a section of my readers who are not too interested in politics (even though I think everybody should be, especially now) and have missed my more general topics. But, you know how it is; Man proposes, God disposes. As soon as you look away for a moment in these times, something else happens that you simply cannot ignore, which is exactly what happened to me this week.

President Jonathan’s Abracadabra

Essay, Stories6 Comments

When Nigeria’s general elections were postponed by six weeks following claims of inadequate security to ensure a peaceful voting process, there were many speculations as to the real reason why such a move was made, especially as it was just a week to the Presidential and National assembly elections initially scheduled to hold on the…

Postponed Elections And The Valentine’s Day Dilemma

Essay, Stories5 Comments

  It is no longer news that the highly anticipated Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled to hold this Saturday, the 14th of February has been postponed by six weeks. It would have marked the climax to all the politicking and electioneering campaigns that have been in full swing these past few months. But beyond…