Azu Ishiekwene

A pig with naira sign in his eyes and a fist full of naira notes

What Will They Eat When They Finish the Money?

We are also not told of the extent of scrutiny by the Senate committee – only that the committee was so impressed it may well have approved the N140 billion for three months blindfolded. But the details provided in the LEADERSHIP report of Friday, October 3, capture the elephant in the room. It gives details of the three-month budget, with an imprint all over of the type of concession typically made when parties are in an overwhelmingly delicate position behind closed doors

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an image of the Nigerian map with the book 'The Harold Smith Story'

How to Drink from a Poisoned Cup: Harold Smith and the Nigerian Story

Okotie-Eboh, whose first appointment as Labour Minister was “like a child presented with the keys of a sweet shop,” sold government assets and pocketed the money without fear of a reprimand because he was as serviceable to British political interests as he was to his own. The British handed over the reins of power to a significant number of notorious politicians who, over the years, would make a fine art of notoriety

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an image of Late General Jeremiah Useni, symbol of justice and Chief Mike Agbedor Abu Ozekhome

Useni’s Fight for London House from the Grave Shames Us

I desperately hoped that Ozekhome, a senior advocate of Nigeria and equivalent of a King’s Counsel, whom I hold in high esteem, would say it was not true; that what Judge Paton said about him recruiting his son, a young lawyer, to invent and contrive evidence to produce a charlatan to take over the property of General Useni who he said was his friend and client, was mistaken. However, in an extraordinary interpretation of the judgment that left many speechless, Ozekhome told LEADERSHIP that the judgment was “not an indictment.”

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cartoonised image of armed bandits

An Unusual View of Banditry

To speak Lawalese, the Zamfara State governor or any governor in Nigeria’s North West, who is interested in tackling insecurity, might need more than executive authority to succeed. They would need, in addition to state police (which I support fully), to understand the social psychology of the enemy they’re dealing with. Otherwise, we might be worse off in two times twenty months or whatever time Lawal might need

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image of former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan dressed in his normal cap, and another in a Hausa cap, side by side

Why Jonathan Won’t Contest, Whatever the Courts Say

Not that he cannot throw his hat in the ring, damning any legal consequences. Or because 10 years after he left office, life seems better retrospectively than it was. Whatever anyone might say, when Jonathan looks in the mirror, his incompetent five-year record looks back and responds with the question, Can this be true? The former president cannot believe his good luck

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Nigeria’s Top Oil Boss Walking into A Trap

Among beneficiaries of the squalid mess – who would also be pleased by another futile round of multi-billion dollar rehabilitation – is a contractor responsible for importing “blend” from Malta, from which the Port Harcourt Refinery produces something like petrol and diesel. This is the trap Ojulari is walking into as he contemplates keeping the refineries.

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An image of Putin and Trump on a backdrop of the Russian and American flags, with Trump clapping

Putin As the President’s Medicine

When Putin came, it was different. Not only did Trump wait for him on the tarmac, applauding as the Russian president walked the red carpet to meet him, they both travelled in the Beast, a rare privilege that bypassed a carefully planned last-minute attempt to prevent a one-on-one summit.
For Putin, the special one, Trump wangled a one-on-one….What is it about Putin that fascinates Trump so much?

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