What Twitter ban teaches the world about Nigeria, By Azu Ishiekwene
“Twitter is not Nigeria’s problem and Buhari does not need the futile mission of waylaying citizens on social media. Nigeria’s problem is that Buhari’s government […]
Column – Thursday
COVID-19 stories by children, By Azu Ishiekwene
It all seems like memories from a distant past. But it’s not. This time last year we were in a lockdown. The world was under […]
The travails of Malam Nasir el-Rufai, By Azu Ishiekwene
•Gov Nasir el-Rufai The list was long and the contents harsh and threatening. The notices may have been issued separately, but they landed like a […]
Coup talk and echoes of a banana republic, By Azu Ishiekwene
These days, it seems all right to play with fire. The blaze started like a solitary spark in Mali in August when the streets, the […]
Busybodies outside the Gates, By Azu Ishiekwene
Bill and Melinda Gates had barely finished saying the “D” word when all kinds of marriage counsellors and grief-mongers besieged social media with suggestions of […]
‘Follow Me To The Market…’ By Azu Ishiekwene
Everyone has their meal of the day, and mine happens to be dinner. Having dinner, for me, is a ritual, but one that has evolved […]
First Jollof, Now Twitter. What Next? By Azu Ishiekwene
Something Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said reminded me of British political journalist, Andrew Marr. Journalism, Marr wrote in his book, My […]
Generational tension and children up in arms, By Azu Ishiekwene
I was visiting a senior over the weekend when our conversation devolved into the soul of the Nigerian banter: how is the country going, I […]
The audacity of anarchy, By Azu Ishiekwene
There was a BBC News story in February that caught me between laughter and bemusement. The news channel reported, in very strong language matched only […]
Brazil, Zambia And Echoes Of A $1.5bn Nigerian Repair, By Azu Ishiekwene
Brazil has proved a disaster in the management of COVID-19, but there are other areas where we can use their examples. Like what to do […]
My Vaccination Story, By Azu Ishiekwene
It wasn’t planned. I was seeing off my neighbour and friend on Thursday evening when one of the officers of our estate residents’ association called out to […]
Monguno is damned in translation, By Azu Ishiekwene
Last week, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Mohammed Babagana Monguno, stripped the government bare in public only to try hiding the ugly sight with fig leaves […]
The story of the Naira-For-Dollar Promo, By Azu Ishiekwene
It would seem harsh to judge the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) solely by its intentions, especially in the last four or five years. In a […]
Ganduje’s Genius Is His Hypocrisy, By Azu Ishiekwene
There’s a model for managing rebels in government that the American political drama, “Designated Survivor”, teaches so well. In one of the episodes after the […]
Okonjo-Iweala: Can this grandmother save the world? By Azu Ishiekwene
As the World Trade Organisation (WTO) formally announced the appointment of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director General this week, a Swiss newspaper received her with […]
Nigerian bandits have their cake and eat it, By Azu Ishiekwene
The fight against terror in Nigeria has been a theatre of the absurd. What began as a tiny spark of itinerant fanatics taking a pledge […]
Buhari, sleeping at the wheels is not an option, By Azu Ishiekwene
If you were on a holiday to Nigeria from Mars last week, you would almost certainly cut short your stay to avoid what looked like […]
Ebele Obiano’s Designer Vaccination, By Azu Ishiekwene
Whether Jean-Jacques Rousseau mis-credited the words to Marie-Antionette in Confessions or not, Nigeria is happy to supply a modern-day princess who has earned the title of Her […]
How Will Africa Remember Donald Trump? Here Is How, By Azu Ishiekwene
US President Donald Trump may have lost re-election but he would be escorted out of the White House on Tuesday night with a special prize: […]
Place where angels fear to tread, By Azu Ishiekwene
You cannot inspect the wreckage of 2020 closely without seeing the rubble of spectacularly failed forecasts by reputable seers. I’ve seen, in many forums, fans of […]