Drug trafficking and the Saudi sword

…also published in Daily Trust   

Following the execution of one Kudirat Afolabi, a Nigerian woman, by the Saudi Arabian authorities earlier this month for drug trafficking, reports emerged that eight Nigerians have already been executed in the Kingdom (probably in this year alone), while twenty-three others are currently on death row.

The federal government has come under renewed criticism for allegedly not doing enough to save Nigerians facing execution in Saudi Arabia, for drug trafficking and other crimes that attract capital punishment in the Kingdom.

Dilemma of explaining Nigeria abroad

…also published in Daily Trust

Not long after I had arrived at my office, two Egyptian colleagues of mine came in casually starting a conversation, which soon centered on the socio-economic difficulties in their home country, Egypt. They kept lamenting what they regard as monumental corruption, unbearable economic hardship and depressing political atmosphere in their country.  

Incidentally, living in one of the highly demographically cosmopolitan countries in the world, i.e. the United Arab Emirates where the percentage of UAE nationals hardly exceeds 10% of the inhabitants, exposes one to circles of acquaintances, friends and colleagues coming literally from every corner of the globe.