Archives for February 2014

The Nigerian government’s decision to outlaw gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender/LGBT relationships raises cogent issues not only about individual rights but also about the extent to which the state is justified in circumscribing those rights. At the core, however, is how to reconcile conflicting and parallel wills, specifically, those of the individual, the society to which s/he belongs, and the international community, howsoever defined. The same-sex prohibition law poignantly raises the … [Read more...]

That Femi Aribisala thoroughly dislikes Muhammadu Buhari should by now be beyond doubt. He has made no secret of his loathing for the former military Head of State or his horror at the prospects of Buhari re-emerging as an elected President. His Premium Times article of 21 January 2014 titled “Why Buhari will never be president of Nigeria” gave me an idea of his grudge--and the depth of his feeling—against Buhari. The article started with the run-in which Aribisala had with the State Security … [Read more...]

In the first part of this article, I argued (and still maintain) that no deed or utterance capable of triggering a crisis in 2015 would go unchronicled. As if on cue, two things happened after I posted the article online. First, Dokubo Asari repeated his earlier threat to spread mayhem and destabilize Nigeria should the electorate make the mistake of electing a presidential candidate other than his own in 2015. The constitution, he insisted, made it mandatory for Nigeria to keep his kinsman, … [Read more...]

Unlike my previous posts, this (and subsequent ones) will be brief and to the point. And the point in this article is what each and every one of us must do today to secure his/her place in tomorrow’s history. By tomorrow, I mean 2015. It is no longer news that the year is viewed with foreboding by practically every Nigerian. Signs of anxiety are palpable. The US it was that first foresaw our country going down under in 2015. The worst-case scenario has since been sketched on our mind. Preachers … [Read more...]