Opinion

OPINION By Valentine Obienyem WE began preparing for the conference over a year ago, and it finally came to a rewarding close yesterday. I am referring to the 6th African Philosophy World Conference, held from 22–24 September 2025 at the University of Douala, Cameroon, with the theme: “Decoloniality and Transcoloniality in African Philosophy.” Together with Prof. Charles Nweke, I presented a paper titled “Decolonization of Democracy: Rethinking African Governance Models.” Having long reached the zenith of lecturing, Prof. Nweke graciously asked me to make the presentation. One can only imagine how many conferences he has spoken at over the years. His decision was clearly an act of mentorship, and I deeply appreciated it. It made me wonder: do conference presentations still exci...

OPINION By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu “The judiciary have a wide scope for making political decisions.” J.A.G. Griffiths, “Constitutional and Administrative Law’ in Peter Archer & Andrew Martin (Eds), More Law Reform Now, 55 (1983) THE judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on 19 January 2006 concerning the state of emergency in Plateau State came down 20 months after the proclamation and 14 months after the emergency had expired. When it was eventually issued, the judgment was worse than an anti-climax. The most important thing about the decision was not the jurisprudence of the court but when the court chose to hear the case. Nearly two decades later, the same Court is likely to repeat a familiar script, serving as an apex enabler of power amok. The people...

Photo courtesy: X By RAREVIEW The recent revelation that the Third Mainland Bridge, one of Lagos’ most critical transport arteries, requires major rehabilitation has stirred both relief and suspicion in equal measure. Experts who examined the bridge have reportedly discovered issues with its underwater structures, sparking fears about the long-term safety of millions of Nigerians who rely on the bridge daily.At the center of this debate is the proposed N3.6 trillion rehabilitation project. The question on the lips of many is whether this astronomical figure will be subjected to the normal procurement process, or whether it risks becoming another channel for mismanagement in Nigeria’s long history of infrastructure projects marred by opacity.The Third Mainland Bridge has over the yea...

OPINION By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu THREE different decisions of the highest court in the country over the past two decades illustrate how the judicial conspiracy against popular sovereignty in Nigeria has prospered. In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that elections in Nigeria are not governed by any foundational or legal principles. In other words, Nigeria has no legal standard for a free, fair or credible election. The same court has ruled that in organizing elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not bound by its own administrative regulations and guidelines. So, INEC can behave with impunity as a lawless institution, and citizens and political parties have no right to have any expectations of the commission. The court has equally held that in Nigeria’s ve...

OPINION By Austin Orette WHILE Africans opine about imperialism of the west and others, the least talked about and the most lethal of all the isms, is the imperialism of religion in African society. We can criticize our tribes; we can criticize our politicians and politics but the moment we try to examine the role of religion in our backwardness we are considered pariahs. Soon or later a death decree or fatua is issued. Why is it so? What is so special about religion that cannot be criticized? All over the world, religion has led to the death of many. Any comment on religion that is not in good light is considered blasphemy and the penalty is death. Why this and why Africans should kill each other because of foreign religions. How did these religions enter our society with so m...

By Obike Ukoh OPINION THE rush by politicians in opposition political parties to join the ruling party is worrisome. The worry is heightened, when the defection of a politician that won election on the platform of another party, defected to the ruling party and the defection was celebrated.  These defections, now part of Nigerian political life, have now raised serious fundamental question. Is it a crime to be in an opposition political party? Definitely, the answer is no. In a federation like Nigeria, there are two levels of opposition: federal and state levels, one may even add a third, the local government. If your party is not in power in this two levels, automatically it will be in the opposition. Late Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, a one time National Chairman of All Nigeri...

OPINION By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu “Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom the government, through this Constitution, derives all its powers and authority.” Section 14(2), Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended. In 2007, the contest to rule Nigeria was between two sons of Katsina State. From the Katsina Emirate, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua ran on the ticket of the then ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to succeed outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo. His elder brother, Shehu, had served as Obasanjo’s second-in-command during military rule from February 1976 to October 1979. From the Daura Emirate, also in Katsina State, Muhammadu Buhari, who also served alongside Obasanjo and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua in that military government, was the leading...

OPINION By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu THE legal career of Joseph Chukwuma Otteh, whose mortal remains were committed to earth on 20 June 2025, could easily have been different. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife in 1988, very much one of the best students in the set. In 1989, Joe enrolled as a lawyer in Nigeria. He had every opportunity to deploy his prodigious talents and considerable skills in pursuit of personal fortune, and no one could have begrudged him. Instead, he chose the path of legacy and impact through the pursuit of an unpredictable career in the defence of the excluded and marginalized. As a lawyer, Joe worried about two intractable and interrelated problems: delay in justice delivery and judicial performance. His inte...

OPINION By Reuben Abati I was absent on The Morning Show from Tuesday to Friday last week, because I was away in Gusau, Zamfara State, and later, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. I had been invited by the Zamfara state government to be the anchor of the maiden media chat of the Governor of the state, Dr. Dauda Lawal. I had seen one or two interviews that others had conducted with Dr. Lawal, and I felt it would be good to engage him. When you have an interviewee who is articulate and brilliant, the job of the interviewer is quite easy. Even when you forget to ask a particular question, such guests who know their onions, would frame the questions themselves and provide the necessary response, making your work easier. Besides, it was a star-studded panel of interviewers. I had alr...

OPINION By Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN INTRODUCTION YELWATA in Benue state has been drenched in blood. Last October, I launched 50 books at the same time in Abuja to mark my birthday. One of the books is titled “Blood on the Niger and Benue: Nigeria’s Grim Insecurity Situation”. Everything said in that book has just bee reenacted in Yelwata, Benue State. In the quiet hours of Friday night, June 13, 2025, the farming village of Yelwata in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State lay cloaked in the familiar darkness of rural Nigeria. There was no forewarning, no alarm. Only sleep. Then, like a storm without thunder, horror descended. Armed men, suspected to be killer Fulani terrorist herders, emerged from the shadows and set upon the defenceless community with brutal p...