Columnists

LOOKING for a child has been a most harrowing challenge for a great number of men and women. The Bible has the agonising story of a woman regarded as mental because of her continuous wailing as she sought a child.

A REFUGEE can be described as a person who has been forced to leave his or her country due to persecution, which could be attributed to his/her race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social affiliation, or as a result of disaster, either natural or man-made such as massacre, genocide, war, inferno, earthquake, terrorism, climate change and famine, just to mention but a few.

THE last is not heard yet of the face-off between some leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the new leadership of the National Assembly. The manner of election of principal officers of the NASS on June 9 did not go down well with some leaders of the party. The NASS went on…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari is beginning to sound like a broken record. Since his inauguration more than three weeks ago, he has maintained one line: The race isn’t a 100-metre dash and time is required to finish well. He is talking as if he only knew about the marathon race ahead after May 29, and now…

CONGRATULATIONS on your ascension of office as First Lady of Nigeria of your respective state. I am sure each of you knows a thing or two about Sickle Cell Anaemia (SCA). Your country is renowned for having by far the largest population of ‘sicklers’ in the world. Scientific estimates hold that between four and five…

THE 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) in Section 14 (2b) states: “The Security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” The exercise of power to ensure the security and welfare of the people of Nigeria is the main function of any government of the country. As far as I have…

FEW days ago Professor Pat Utomi lamented that interlopers and agents of darkness have hijacked our change project again. In that piece, Utomi reflected on the June 12, 1993 Saga and the sordid event of June 23, 1993 and the formation of the Concerned Professionals. Prof. Utomi lamented that we lost the June 12, 1993…

OTUNBA Timothy Olufunmilopeda Adebanjo, founding editor of the defunct Daily Express, former Special Adviser on Information to former President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and a foremost chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) worked vigorously for change. Utilising his wealth of experience, professionalism and intellect, this man of the people whose Otunba Funsegbuwa Villa gates at Idowa in…

OBIKA’S wife is threatening him with divorce because the latter has lost his status as the breadwinner of the home. Pauly invested his capital in a joint business with a group of friends which turned out to be an illegal drug business.

IN less than six months’ time, our respective governments will come together in Paris to agree an international deal which will shape our future commitments to dealing with climate change.

DAYS have turned into weeks since May 29, 2015, when Muhammadu Buhari assumed office as President of Nigeria. But the much promised change is nowhere in sight and seems to have died with the election campaigns.

Inaugural lecture by Prof. Benedict Bernard Benapena Naanen, BA (Nigeria), MA, PHD (Dalhousie), Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, University of Port Harcourt