Author: Obayomi Abiola Benjamin

Recently, Justin Trudeau was in the province of Quebec for a townhall meeting with citizens. He has been holding townhalls across Canada. An Anglophone Quebecois woman asked him a question in English, he responded in French saying he preferred to respond in the official language of the province. Although French is the language of Quebec, there is an Anglophone minority in that province. English and French being the two official languages of Canada, the Anglophone minority woman deserved to have her question answered in English. The national outrage was swift and major. The Prime Minister was condemned everywhere. Such was…

Fellow Nigerians, let me warn quickly that a new circus has come to town and there is a theatre of the absurd ongoing in the city of London. The patrons are very important personalities from Nigeria who have turned the supposed illness of our dear President Muhammadu Buhari into a stage play. At the rate these medical tourists are going, Nigeria may be empty of all its fat cats as they jostle to pay obeisance lest anyone accuses them of nonchalance and of plotting against the President or wishing him dead. Yes, we can be that petty in this clime.…

As part of the commitments of the House of Representatives to open up more revenue sources for Nigeria through legislative tools, it has organised a public hearing on bills that focus on how to boost and explore gas utilisation for revenue generation and accelerate private investment in the product. Declaring the public hearing open at the National Assembly, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara, who was represented by the chief whip, Hon Alhassan Ado Doguwa, said the proposed legislation will help to create an enabling legislative order in which gas shall no longer be a footnote…

If the former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan claims the billions of Naira found in her bank accounts were gifts from friends and former Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu also says the $9.77 million found in his house were gifts from friends, it’s high time I changed my present circle of friends. I need friends who can offer me cash gifts in Euro, Pounds and Dollars. So, if you don’t hear from me anymore, it is because I have concluded you do not know how to give what true friends give to…

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele yesterday offered an insight into why oil marketers and dealers in petroleum products have been facing difficulties in getting foreign exchange to procure fuel overseas. Emefiele, whose representative appeared before the Nnanna Igbokwe-led House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on the Reduction of Petrol Prices explained that the progressive decline in the amount of foreign exchange available to the CBN was responsible for the apex bank’s inability to meet the demands of oil importers and marketers. The inability of the marketers to get forex to import fuel could lead to the scarcity of…

The Federal Government’s anticipated National Economic Recovery Growth Plan, NERGP, will be ready before the end of February. The NERGP focuses on five broad areas namely: macroeconomic policy, economic diversification and growth drivers, competitiveness, social inclusion and jobs, and governance and other enablers. The government, through the plan, is targeting a growth rate of seven percent between 2017 and 2020. Mr Akpandem James, the Media Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, in a statement on Friday in Abuja, stated that the plan is expected to be formally launched by President Muhammadu Buhari. It…

THE West African Examinations Council, WAEC on Friday commended the government of Osun for boosting education system through the introduction of innovative technological device. The examination body rated Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s interventions in education as “second to none” in Nigeria especially in the provision of massive infrastructure. A statement by the Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor signed by Director, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, quoted the Head of the Nigeria National Office of the council, Mr. Olutise Isaac Adenipekun, as stating these when he led the delegation of the national management of WAEC to the Governor in Osogbo.…

President Buhari’s administration, its supporters and well-wishers, do not want Tu Baba to have his say in a democracy. They do not want him to organize a protest against the direction of Nigeria under President Buhari’s supervision. They have denigrated him. They have abused him. They have abused his father and mother. Those who defend the musician’s right to agonize and organize in a democracy have been surprised by the ferocity of those determined to silence the man. I think that Mr. Innocent Idibia’s traducers – the Buhari administration and its voices in the public sphere – have a better…

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Worldwide, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has said there is dearth of good leadership in the country, adding that the church is the worst hit. Adeboye explained that the problem of corruption in Nigeria was traceable to lack of contentment and greed. The cleric spoke on Wednesday in Ikeja, Lagos, during the Third Annual Birthday Public Lecture organised by the church to commemorate his 75th birthday.  Adeboye, who was represented by his wife, Folu, expressed sadness at the lack of true leadership in the society, calling for a return to cultural values.…

Following the 2015 general election, I decided to write a book, not only to find out why and how President Goodluck Jonathan lost but also to interrogate the recruitment process that keeps producing lacklustre leaders who are neither prepared nor have a clear vision of what they would do in office. In setting a deadline of November 2016 for the publication, I thought I had enough time on my hands. However, a discussion with Dr Chidi Amuta, who has in recent years become a professional mentor, changed my thinking when he suggested that for the book to be authoritative, I must…