Author: Fridayposts

Former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, in this interview with BAYO AKINLOYE speaks about his struggle for the enthronement of democracy during Gen. Sani Abacha dictatorship and his optimism about President Muhammadu Buhari’s capacity to tackle corruption Looking at your activities as a United States Ambassador to Nigeria and as an activist who led the struggle for enthronement of democracy during the dark days of military rule under Gen. Sani Abacha, how do you feel now that Nigeria is celebrating 17th year of uninterrupted democracy? There is nothing of which I am more proud than, despite all…

British Airways is evaluating its routes to Nigeria, adding to aviation industry pressure on the Federal Government as sister carrier, Iberia, and United States competitor, United Airlines, halt flights to the country as traffic stutters and currency controls delay access to revenue. The United Kingdom carrier is struggling to repatriate its share of the $575m […] British Airways may exit Nigerian routes Source: Business

KAYODE FALADE examines the transition of President Muhammadu Buhari from a military dictator to a democratic president As the country celebrates another anniversary of its return to democracy, one cannot but look at the captain of the nation’s ship, President Muhammadu Buhari, a one-time military Head of State. The 73-year-old former soldier is having a second stint at driving the Nigeria’s ship of state. For his first watch, Buhari clinched the baton of leadership through a coup d’état which ousted the democratically elected government of Shehu Shagari, and bringing to an end the Third Republic. It was on  December…

It is exactly one year since Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Ahead of the official commemoration of his ascension to power, Buhari spoke with some journalists on the issues that have dominated his reign. Excerpts: Looking at the last one year, how would you assess what has happened in terms of your expectations when you took office, the challenges you met and the progress made or lack of it? I am sure you will recall that during our campaign, we identified three problems for our country. First was security — the…

The Federal Government is working out details for issuing a debut sovereign sukuk this year and may also sell a Eurobond, the Director-General, Debt Management Office, Abraham Nwankwo, has said. He said the DMO had yet to determine the size of a potential sukuk deal and was working with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the […] Economic downturn: FG to sell Eurobond, issue sukuk Source: Business

In spite of their demanding schedules, the governors of the 36 states in Nigeria have their individual styles. We take a look into their wardrobes Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina) Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007, the 66-year-old Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, has an age-appropriate style. He loves to wear babariga and tagiriya (traditional Hausa cap). He favours cool colours. Grey, beige, cream, sky blue and brown are some of his favourite colours. He also exhibits a penchant for patterned fabrics. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano) His mode of dressing is clean and crisp.…

Actress, Bose Alao, has been married to Nigerian-born Beninoise footballer, Rasaq Omotoyossi, for eight years. They open up on their love story How did you meet your wife? Rasaq: I met her for the first time on June 19, 2007. Prior to that meeting, I had seen her in a movie and tried to reach her. I even discussed her with a friend of mine who was close to some movie practitioners. I succeeded in getting her telephone number and the rest is now history. What endeared you to each other? Bose: When I saw him, I fell in…

{$inline_image} Background My name is Bolanle Ninalowo but I am popularly called Nino. I have seven siblings and I am a native of Ikorodu in Lagos State. I spent the first 15 years of my life in Nigeria. I relocated to Chicagoand I lived there for  15 years. I studied Accounting at Devry University and Marketing at Keller Graduate School of Management, both  in America. Career I did use my degree to gain employment in various firms in America and Nigeria, before I decided to pursue my passion for acting. I was once a banker; I worked with Bank One.…

I will have the privilege and gratitude to be celebrating a birthday in the next couple of days. When you start marking your birthday in decades then you know its gratitude time! I am well aware that I now have less time on earth than I have already spent and that’s a sobering fact to acknowledge. However, there’s also something quite liberating about that realisation. Next year will be the big year that is traditionally celebrated so I will spend this birthday and the year leading up to it taking stock and contemplating how I want to go forward.…

There are days when it would be raining and thundering, and the meteorologists would come up on television to forecast that, “There is a 70 per cent chance of thunderstorm this afternoon.” My reaction would always be, “Really? Just 70 per cent? I am already being repeatedly jolted by thunder and then told that there is 70 per cent chance of it happening?” The number is meaningless for those already living the forecast. For them, the chance is 100 per cent and it is harsh. Such is the reality of writing about human difficulties by representing the parameters in…