Author: Chief Editor

Ayo Olukotun Nothing brought into focus the people-centred dimension of a vibrant democracy more than the rage and spontaneity of the ongoing protests in Minneapolis, United States. A couple of days back, George Floyd, a middle aged black man, had passed on as a result of a police officer putting his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly five minutes during which other policemen in the vicinity looked non-challantly on, ignoring the victim’s wails and anguished cries for help. The firing of the offending and colluding policemen in the seemingly premeditated murder of Floyd had done little to appeal the outraged…

Guardian Editorial Is Nigeria better off than it was five years ago? As President Muhammadu Buhari marks the end of his first year of the second term and fifth year in office today, Nigerians who have invested their hopes in him are eminently qualified to assess his administration, evaluate performances in all areas and pass their overall verdict. Although reputation managers of the president and party acolytes have expectedly embarked on an image-laundering, assessing the five-year-old government is far beyond sycophantic loyalty expressed in flattering sentences. Yesterday, the president’s chief reputation manager reeled out about nine thousand words worth…

Task force submits report to Buhari on Sunday 182 new cases bring total to 8,915 with 259 dead The federal government is to engage 800,000 volunteers nationwide to sensitise Nigerians on the dangers and spread of COVID-19, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, said thursday in Abuja. He added that another 880 people were trained on sample collection, packaging and transportation. And faced with an upsurge in the number of cases and shortage of bed space, the government is considering repurposing hotels and schools to serve as quarantine and isolation centres for…

The late Kobe Bryant’s induction into America’s basketball hall of fame has been postponed to 2021, US media reported on Wednesday. Bryant, who died along with eight others in a helicopter crash in January, was scheduled to be inducted into the Massachusetts-based Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on August 29. Former NBA stars Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and six others are also slated to be enshrined next year due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic. “We’re definitely cancelling,” Hall of Fame spokesman Jerry Colangelo told ESPN on Wednesday. “It’s going to have to be the first quarter of next year.…

NBA superstar LeBron James was among the US athletes taking to social media in outrage over the death of a black man in Minnesota after a white policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Four Minneapolis police officers were fired Tuesday as a video showing one of them kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who later died, sparked protests. Los Angeles Lakers playmaker James contrasted the incident with the kneeling protests of former NFL star Colin Kaepernick in 2016. Kaepernick was ostracised by the NFL for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem…

Niran Adedokun Benedict Ayade, Professor of Environmental Microbiology, law graduate and Governor of Cross River State, was at his most vulnerable last Thursday. At the inauguration of an odd body, known as the Cross River State Anti-Tax Agency, the governor’s lacrimal gland betrayed him as he dropped tears uncontrollably. It was for effect that could only have been lost on those who are sworn not to see anything good in the petite academic turned politician, who has had the burden of piloting the affairs of the South-South state for the past five years. Even yours truly was taken in by…

Joel Nwokeoma Everything about it was shrouded in secrecy and seeming insincerity. At other times, it was grand equivocation, as events began to unravel. It is the story of the celebrated arrival of the Chinese medics last April in Nigeria. The authorities spoke from different sides of their mouth on who they came for and what they actually were. Initially, we were told they were all top-notch medics coming to help the country deal a decisive blow to the emergent pandemic and share hands-on experience with Nigeria’s frontline medics. The Secretary to the Federal Government and Chairman of the Presidential…

Abimbola Adelakun When the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, reacted to the allegations of corruption levelled against him, he added a touch of flippancy to the schtick. During a live Instagram interview with the publisher of Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu, Obasa brazenly stated, “money is meant to be spent.” The rest of his refutation of the allegations suggests he might not be losing too much sleep over those accusations. Only a court can pronounce Obasa guilty of all the financial rascality he has been accused of, but I am certain of two things: First, there is…

• Dreams of winning AFCON, qualifying for Qatar 2022 World Cup Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick, has restated that there was no time the ability of Coach Gernot Rohr to lead the Super Eagles successfully was called to question. Stating that the delay in the renewal of the German’s deal was to ensure meticulousness, the NFF boss assured Nigerians that the Super Eagles would be up and doing in future contests. Twitting yesterday via his official handle, Pinnick submitted: “I am happy to announce that the NFF and Gernot Rohr have concluded all contractual discussions, and he will…

•Says data shows drug effective in early stages of COVID-19 •Tests end in September •Jonathan asks Africa to look inward for solutions •FG increases testing laboratories to 28 •276 new infections raise tally to 8,344 with 2,385 persons discharged, 249 dead •US company begins clinical trial of vaccine Notwithstanding the decision of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to suspend clinical trials of Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) will continue the experiment in Nigeria, the agency’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has said. She said yesterday on a…