“Some have compared her with Trump, which is nonsense. The only way she resembles Trump is in her plain speaking, which is a rare quality in politics. Comparing Badenoch to Trump for depth, intellect, or character is a disservice to demagoguery for which Trump has no equal”
The Fuss about Kemi Badenoch Read More »
Governors are concerned that the reform may not energise people and enable investment. Manufacturers also have these concerns, including the potential inflationary impact of an incremental hike in the VAT rate from the current 7.5 percent to 15 percent in six years. They worry that it does not address the economic realities of the different regions, may worsen existing inequalities, and may not benefit local economies. I have a slightly different concern. Centralising VAT and tax collection despite genuine concerns about a poor federal structure is ill-advised
The Trouble with Giving to Caesar Read More »
With improvements in infotech and biotech, it seems that what AI can not do does not exist… Journalists, for example, used to think of themselves as the masters of storytelling in a hurry and God’s gift to the world as gatekeepers. We’re humbler now
Is AI Coming for the Journalist? Read More »
Trump 2.0 will do at least two things for the world. It would further hasten the internal decay of the US by aggravating racial tensions and emboldening right-wing excesses. Two, Trump’s America First ultra-
insularity and his off-the-fly foreign policy style will distance the US from its traditional allies and enable crazies around the world, like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, to run amok. This sounds more like saying that if US voters were happy to be seduced by their worst selves, they deserve what they get.
Unusual Reasons Africa Wanted Trump to Win Read More »
An inconvenient point, dear former First Lady, is that Kamala Harris is part-paying a backlash from Barack Obama’s era that your husband didn’t do enough for people of colour, especially blacks. This is a race of margins, and despite his charm and eloquence, your husband and former president has struggled to convince black male voters that Harris will serve them well
Tight Race: Letter from Abroad to Michelle Obama Read More »
Twelve years after Mambilla was supposed to have been completed with all its transformative promises in power, rail, roads, infrastructure, and jobs (not to mention the missing N30 billion Obasanjo left in the project account), we’re still in a rut, stewing deeper and deeper in the misery of rolling blackouts and collapsing grids
Nigeria: Three Stories, One Message Read More »
I wouldn’t write off the government, however tempting. If Tinubu’s shock therapy has been disjointed, and his economic policies severely criticised by a despairing public, the tax-and-spend remedy by The Financial Times, the West’s standard response to budget deficits – apart from the added trope about transparency and corruption – is hardly the cure in Nigeria’s case for at least two reasons
Does it Still Make Sense to Trust Tinubu? Read More »
Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy and its most populous, has offered a muted, somewhat confused response to the Israeli-Hamas war. The official line, worn for use after decades of lip service and repeated at this year’s UNGA, is a two-state solution. That’s also the official position of the African Union (AU). However, the precarious, almost 50-50 Muslim-Christian population leaves the Nigerian government walking on eggshells in Israeli-Palestinian matters
How Africa is Paying for Pursuit of the Last Hamas Read More »
Many [such] newspapers are harmless because they do not know how or when to strike. They are in themselves unloaded guns. But teach the man behind them how to load and what to shoot at; they become deadly
LEADERSHIP: A Story Still Telling 20 Years After Read More »
In case you missed it, Senator Babafemi Ojudu shared a viral message last week: Asue Ighodalo was a member of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu transition committee after he was elected Lagos State governor in 1999. In another life, Ighodalo, a dyed-in-the-wool Lagos Boy, might have been on Tinubu’s side, as Obaseki once was. What politics can not divide does not exist
Home Run for Oshiomhole Read More »