Focus

Days before the people of Edo go to the polls to elect their governor the Economic and Financial Crimes commission has warned local banks to be on the lookout for “illicit transactions” before or after the vote. When banks believe bribes, backhanders and kickbacks are an inevitable part of the political process, you know your…

At the just ended retreat for his ministers at which they reviewed their first-year performances, President Muhammadu Buhari was upbeat that his administration has shown probity and accountability in the manner it has tackled the problem of corruption. To a partisan watcher of the president, he may have got accolades but not to a dispassionate…

The water resource bill which was first introduced in 2018 but was rejected by the 8th assembly, has faced a barrage of criticism following its reintroduction in the 9th assembly.

In the last nine months, over 28 professionals have volunteered time, energy, skills, and resources to expose the monumental corruption enduring at the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC). While it is discouraging to suspect that government’s body language appears to be promoting, rewarding and protecting corruption in this case, recent development, notwithstanding, shows truth is gradually…

If our democracy is to thrive and survive people must believe that their vote counts – just look at Mali. West African elections used to be so easy – for some politicians at least. With enough money and the right patrons, certain candidates could cease campaigning and just pick whatever margin of victory they thought…

As a digital democracy campaigner, I believe African governments must use digital technology to be more open about their activities. Transparency through technology is the most effective way of tackling corruption and building public confidence in our political institutions. But having government officials film themselves plotting to pocket coronavirus relief funds and then putting the…

It is disgusting to read the statements credited to the Acting Executive Director Projects of the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr Cairo Ojugboh, in The Vanguard of Monday, August 31, published under the headline: 'Probe: Nigeria’ll break if we release list of looters in NDDC — IMC'. It is safe…

Nigeria is Africa's largest economy – but we are pretty old-fashioned when it comes to money. Although many Nigerians are used to receiving money electronically from relatives overseas, at home the vast majority of people prefer physical money to digital payments and would rather queue up at a kiosk for cash than pay for something…

The governments have tried their best but failed and now, it is time for Africans to ignore the governments and build a new nation through the power of private sectors. Africa is where it is today because the governments have been the ones making all the economic decisions which have not brought any economic growth…

Kenya, the largest economy of East Africa, is on the verge of falling into a debt trap and losing a part of its sovereignty to China thanks to unscrupulous and dodgy deals it had to be agreed with in order to secure funds for construction of a railway line between port city Mombasa and Nairobi.…

Real leaders know that self-praise is no praise – but why has no-one told our politicians? Imagine you heard that someone you knew was paying people to go around saying nice things about them. You’d think they were pretty pathetic, right? Sadly, this kind of behaviour is becoming all-too-common in Nigerian politics. Abubakar Malami this…

Since the civil war in Nigeria, not many incidents have shaken the nation as the Boko Haram insurgency cum rural banditry in Northern Nigeria. Between July, 20-26, the International Organization for Refugee, IOM reports that the attack in Katsina and Kaduna states alone affected 1,374 individuals with 18 injuries and 17 fatalities. From the United…