IN my humble view, Nigeria has had only three statesmen at its highest level of governance. These are Zik, Balewa, and OBJ. A statesman is a senior male politician widely respected for integrity and an impartial concern for the common good. If we go beyond the politician, I would add the names of Ernest Shonekan […]
May 2010
Yar’Adua’s ‘Untimely’ Death
Vanguard 12 May 2010 THERE is an aspect of the life and times of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua worth examining. This aspect holds the key to understanding the way that the late president sought to exercise power and to reshape the post-Obasanjo presidency he inherited. When, on 29 May 2007, the late president declared the […]
Guns Against the Journalist
Vanguard, May 5, 2010 IT was as if someone poured cold water over me the other day when I read from a friend’s posting on Facebook that Tayo Lukula, a journalist, was murdered, somewhere in Ogun State. I do not recall ever meeting Tayo face-to-face, but I remember him with pleasure as one of the […]