His friends affectionately called him Doki (Hausa for horse), in apparent acknowledgement of his reputation for hard work. A more appropriate epithet would have been Dokin Karfe, a Hausa metaphour for integrity. For, Major-General Mamman Kontagora who died at 69 last Wednesday May 29, lived a truly modest lifestyle in spite of retiring as a well-connected senior military officer and occupying some of the mo ...

In what can be described as the lowest part of the Nigerian education system, a joint team of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC and the National Universities Commission, ICPC confirmed the worst fears of education lovers that the fraud and scams in the financial and government sectors have finally lounged in the tertiary education system. This is evidence that cor ...

It is apparent that the dust raised by the recent, senseless deployment of security officers to their untimely death in Alakyo, Nasarawa State, has refused to settle. The unfortunate incident claimed the lives of no fewer than 75 policemen, including a dozen operatives of the State Security Service, SSS. The Police and the SSS had put the number of their dead or missing officials at 56. They comprised 46 po ...

It is the height of crass irresponsibility and rudderless leadership for any serious minded public officer to mount the podium of public discourse to advertise falsehood and distort facts so unashamedly to please the hollow rituals of his master’s ears. Rather than own up to failure and inability to meet certain targets, they go about whispering “sweet-nothings” as the lullabic tinge to send their master to ...

By  Joseph Coker The period 2007 – 2009 was turbulent for the global economy. The world passed through its worst financial crisis in seven decades as large financial institutions collapsed in the United States of America, across Europe and other parts of the world. The global events also shook the Nigerian economy and triggered the collapse of about 70 per cent of the stock market. The financial turmoil was ...

Fourteen years of uninterrupted civilian rule is indeed  enough assurance that democratic system of government is already firmly rooted on our soil. Irrespective of different political affiliation, religious or ethnic leanings, Nigerians across the divide are of a consensus that democracy is the preferred option. It was by deliberate choice and design that Nigeria chose a presidential system of government m ...

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it”- Aristotle It makes perfect sense that the President and his team would score themselves high in their review of the last 2 years. It is symptomatic of the type of people we have become in Nigeria. We are people who all complain about corruption, squalor, poor maintenance culture, general lack of integrity, disunity ...

If the story teller is foolish, the listener isn’t – Hausa proverb There is a lot of hogwash being hawked around. Every dawn brings forth a new brand of bunkum. But on closer scrutiny, the latest looks and smells like the last. The variables may differ but the plot remains predictably the same. The latest is the ‘discovery’ of an arms depot in Kano with links to Hezbollah. This is cheerless. The Joint Task ...

Dear Dr Abati I trust that this letter meets you and yours well. Let me start by commiserating with you on the recent transition of your beloved mother. May the good Lord rest her soul and comfort you and everyone that she left behind. I should also show some empathy on your apparent frustration at the refusal of a lot of Nigerians, especially the opposition parties to see the good work that you say your bo ...

Today is the first anniversary of the Dana crash that led to the unnecessary death of so many people, victims of an aviation industry that has been incapable of imposing safety standards in an industry where safety is of such paramount importance. The story of our aviation industry is of course a much larger story of a state that has been incapable of assuring the safety of citizens in general from religiou ...