Obasanjo’s Last ‘Dance’ of Shame

“Between age and Maturity is but a great chasm”-Author

Ever since he wrote the controversial letter late 2013, to president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan that literally sent tongues of fire dropping on the polity as they did on the Apostles on Pentecost day, General Olusegun Obasanjo, former military head of state and former president of the Federal republic of Nigeria between 1976-1979, and 1999-2007 respectively, has been on the media both local and international for the ‘wrong’ reasons. When he is not lambasting one political foe, he is seen in the gathering of political opponents romancing with them to send a bad message to his political party, the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). When he is not criticizing the president, he is with  tongue in cheek campaigning for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) for reasons best known to him but which cannot be separated from how he has been literally shut out from the day to day business of the PDP and the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan both at the national level and at his home state of Ogun where his former ally, Buruji Kashamu has all of a sudden become his nemesis. So it is understandable, why the man has been raising dust like a fish out of water. He never imagined it will turn out this way. He thought it would have been business as usual. He was disillusioned.

Will Jonathan’s Goodluck Avail him this time?

No matter how philosophers and ancient thinkers would want us to belittle the terms “luck”, “fate”, “fortune” or “providence” in human existence, what remains as a fact is that this terms, have huge influence in who gets what, when and how,  and to a great extent dictate the general course of a man’s life.

The 'Curse' of Religion

First of, I must start by apologizing to the readers of this blog however few our numbers may be now for having left this space for quite a number of  time without any prompter. The reason however, to discerning mind is not far-fetched- Academic constraints.  With virtually less than four months to become a graduate of Law, it is only inevitable that I must have more than enough on my table to deal with (i.e. if I’m able to scale through LW502 Nigerian Company Law (1) without a carryover, no thanks to my abysmal performance in the C.A. Test. I insist you all don’t want to know how poor I performed; but we won’t be discussing that here.

A Chat with a Lagos Taxi Driver

When the luxury bus owned by the “Young Shall Grow” transport company finally pulled off at the Iddo terminus after several stops at Iwo, Berger, Ilesha, Ife, Ojere, Ojota and what have you, it was so obvious that the longest journey I have had so far in my history  of travelling have finally come to an end. A journey that lasted a little more than fifteen hours and one I would not forget in a hurry.

NANS and Student Unionism in Nigeria: A Contemporary Contradiction

“The blind leading the blind is not so bad, what is more jarring is the blind leading the sighted”

I had intended  dedicating this column to setting the final agenda for the presidential candidates of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), and in doing that, possibly analyse the chances of both candidates (since it has become clear that Nigerians will be practically making choices between either president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, or  General Muhammad Buhari) on account of how they have both led their campaigns and the overall perception of Nigerians as I feel it, only to be cut short of doing that by the INEC chairman , Professor Attahiru Jega’s spasmodic vacillations that finally led to the polls being called off to a later date, at a time most Nigerians were gearing up to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

TERRORISM AS A GLOBAL PHENOMENOM: THE AFRICAN, CUM NIGERIAN SPILL OVER

When few years ago, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in an address, referred to ‘Terrorism’ as a “global phenomenon, which has come to stay”, the media went agog if not frenzy with the report and pundits including this writer, vilified him for such uncouth statement least expected from a leader who even though he is required to be truthful to the led, also has to fill their cups of hope at all time, lest they lose hope in the nation that it is their duty to protect and nurture at all times. But years on, it appears those who had thought otherwise, have come to see the phenomena through the same lens the president had seen it earlier on as activities of terror in the last couple years have lent credence to what could pass as the clairvoyance of Mr. President no thanks to the heightened crusade of terror and bloodletting that has spilled into almost every continent from Europe to America, from America to Asia and Africa appears to be her youngest issue.  It is instructive to add that those of us, who vilified Mr. President for such remarks, were not oblivious of the truism of the report, our grouse way back was the bluntness of the president and the unwritten complacency laced in it. That terrorism has become a global affair therefore needs no emphasis, hence, why it informs the troubles of this article.

Dear Mr. President, we’ve had Enough of this ‘Fresh Air’. [An Open letter]

“Turning and turning in this widening gyre;

The falcon cannot hear the falconer

Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the land.

The blood doomed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned.

The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity”- W.B. YEATS

Dear Sir, I’ve at many times nursed the ambition to pen you this missive. Of particular mention, was during the twilight of last year when open letters littered all sections of the media, both print and electronic. But it appeared that any time I pick up my ink to write, somewhere out of the blue, a voice from within tells me to give you another benefit of doubt, that everything will soon be fine and so I have all these while taken a chill to see if common sense will drown the lust of power which many have attributed to your continuous grip or hold onto the seat of power. Let me categorically say that I share in their single story of you, irrespective of how incomplete they may be.