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.

Memo to retiring politician

…also published in Daily Trust

Now that the 2019 election season in Nigeria is over, and as has always been the case at the end of every election season, the winners are already celebrating while looking forward to starting their new tenure. They are also already being lobbied by lobbyists and aspiring political appointees lobbying for appointments as ministers, ambassadors, commissioners, advisers, assistants, etc.

On the other hand, the grieving losers are already coming to terms with their losses, though many of them are preparing to contest the election results in courts, in hopes of reclaiming what they rightly or wrongly consider their rightful mandates.

Invocation for election victory: Whose wish deserves to be granted?

…also published in Daily Trust

It is common knowledge that, towards and during election season in Nigeria, many, if not all, politicians engage the services of some so-called marabouts and prayer warriors under the illusion that they can somehow manipulate circumstances in their favour to win an election.        

This practice is, however, growing into a phenomenon in Kano and potentially northern Nigeria where contending political groups hold special invocation sessions in public, performing prayers, reciting the Qur’an and sometimes offering animal sacrifice, for the victory of their respective candidates.

Gandujegate: How posterity will judge Kanawa

Like their counterparts across Nigeria, Kanawa head to the polls tomorrow for gubernatorial and state legislature elections. However, for them in particular, this gubernatorial election is particularly important, for it determines how posterity will judge them, morality-wise, according to their collective reaction to governor Ganduje’s viral kickbacks-taking video clips.  

Apparently, a significant percentage of Kanawa underestimate the long-term moral implications of this scandal on their collective dignity, with many of them even wondering why bother singling out Ganduje for condemnation since, after all, kickbacks-taking is already a usual practice among government officials in the state and the country at large.