Benin Artifacts and The Choice Facing Robin Hood, By Azu Ishiekwene
When you find two people from the Benin kingdom talking these days, chances are that they are talking artifacts. That kingdom never ceases to amaze […]
Azu Ishiekwene
How Do You Want the Result, Senator? By Azu Ishiekwene
Kicking the can down the road is government art. Once politicians maneuver themselves into office, they govern by repeating the promises they made and hope […]
Lauretta Onochie As Metaphor, By Azu Ishiekwene
The refusal of the Senate to confirm Lauretta Onochie, President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominee as national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is a […]
The Party Is Over, Really? By Azu Ishiekwene
If the defections from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) continue at the current pace, the only people left […]
Ataga and the woman in the Mirror, by Azu Ishiekwene
In one of my early journalism classes, my teacher, Olatunji Dare, said nothing sells like a judicious mix of crime, sex and money. It’s well […]
A President’s ‘missing’ iPad and other perils, by Azu Ishiekwene
Awkward moments are human, and hardly call attention when mere mortals are involved. But when the high and might trip, they make the headlines. Both […]
The Minister’s Code, By Azu Ishiekwene
There’s a growing feeling in high political circles that the media is too free for its own good, and maybe also, for the good of […]
What Twitter Ban teaches the World about Nigeria, By Azu Ishiekwene
The Nigerian government thinks Twitter is the greatest source of its misery. After straining at the leash for months, it couldn’t resist swatting the microblogging […]
What is the endgame in Nigeria’s South East?
Azu Ishiekwene Nigeria has been struggling with insecurity for over a decade. Against reasonable expectations six years ago when President Muhammadu Buhari was voted in, […]
COVID-19 Stories By Children, By Azu Ishiekwene
It all seems like memories from a distant past. But it’s not. This time last year we were in a lockdown. The world was under […]
The Travails of Malam Nasir El-Rufai, By Azu Ishiekwene
The list was long and the contents harsh and threatening. The notices may have been issued separately, but they landed like a packaged digital bomb […]
Coup Talk and Echoes of a Banana Republic, By Azu Ishiekwene
These days, it seems all right to play with fire. The blaze started like a solitary spark in Mali in August when the streets, the […]
Busybodies Outside The Gates, By Azu Ishiekwene
Bill and Melinda Gates had barely finished saying the “D” word when all kinds of marriage counsellors and grief-mongers besieged social media with suggestions of […]
‘Follow Me To The Market…’, By Azu Ishiekwene
Everyone has their meal of the day, and mine happens to be dinner. Having dinner, for me, is a ritual, but one that has evolved […]
First Jollof, Now Twitter. What Next? By Azu Ishiekwene
Something Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said reminded me of British political journalist, Andrew Marr. Journalism, Marr wrote in his book, My Trade, is […]
Generational Tension And Children Up In Arms, By Azu Ishiekwene
I was visiting a senior over the weekend when our conversation devolved into the soul of the Nigerian banter: how is the country going, I […]
The Audacity Of Anarchy, By Azu Ishiekwene
There was a BBC News story in February that caught me between laughter and bemusement. The news channel reported, in very strong language matched only […]
Brazil, Zambia And Echoes Of A $1.5bn Nigerian Repair
By Azu Ishiekwene Brazil has proved a disaster in the management of COVID-19, but there are other areas where we can use their examples. Like […]
Monguno Is Damned In Translation, By Azu Ishiekwene
Last week, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Mohammed Babagana Monguno, stripped the government bare in public only to try hiding the ugly sight with fig leaves […]
The Story Of The Naira-For-Dollar Promo, By Azu Ishiekwene
It would seem harsh to judge the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) solely by its intentions, especially in the last four or five years. In […]
Governors take fools’ ride to next level, By Azu Ishiekwene
If there was any doubt that governors are underworked and overpaid, this week proved it. This is not the old, familiar sitting governor […]
Can This Grandmother Save The World? By Azu Ishiekwene
As the World Trade Organisation (WTO) formally announced the appointment of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director General this week, a Swiss newspaper received her with […]
Bobi Wine and the old African brew, By Azu Ishiekwene
After the presidential election in Uganda, it dawned on me that there are two people in the country who don’t fear President Yoweri Museveni: […]
Buhari, Sleeping At The Wheels Is Not An Option, By Azu Ishiekwene
If you were on a holiday to Nigeria from Mars last week, you would almost certainly cut short your stay to avoid what looked like […]
Ebele Obiano’s Designer Vaccination, By Azu Ishiekwene
Whether Jean-Jacques Rousseau mis-credited the words to Marie-Antionette in Confessions or not, Nigeria is happy to supply a modern-day princess who has earned the title of Her […]