Point One

South African Grammy-winning artiste, Tyla, will no longer hold a concert in Nigeria during her upcoming world tour. She has pulled Lagos from the list of 34 cities she earlier announced for a musical globetrot scheduled for later this year to promote her new album, A*POP. Although there was no reason cited for updating the list, the 24-year-old had faced a clamour to perish the thought of having a show in Nigeria over anti-immigrant aggression in her country. She had scheduled to make a stop in Lagos on 22nd December as part of the world tour. Just before the singer adjusted her itinerary, an online petition titled “Ban Tyla from entering Nigeria until xenophobic attacks stop in South Africa” made the rounds and garnered thousands of signatures. After she unveiled her initial tour plan on social media, Nigerians raised a campaign to forbid her from coming for a performance here because she failed to speak out against xenophobic violence back home. Tyla isn’t the only South African cel...

With the strategy applied in the recent hostage recovery in Oyo State, Nigeria may have hit on a useful template for dealing with the menace of terrorist kidnappings. If adopted and adapted in tackling abduction cases nationwide, the template could help rein in the tyranny of abductors and frustrate allied complicities that have made the crime into a thriving industry.  Forty-four out of 46 pupils and teachers mass-kidnapped by suspected Ansaru terrorists in Oriire council area of Oyo State on 15th May were recovered by security operatives after 56 days in captivity. Two of the kidnapped teachers did not make it back because they were killed by the terrorists while the ordeal lasted. Terrorists belonging to Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, commonly known as Ansaru, had stormed three schools in Oriire local government  area near Ogbomoso, where they abducted 39 pupils and seven teachers including a grammar school principal. An assistant headteacher and a commercial ...

 Last week, we began running a paper delivered by former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, at the public presentation of A Collection of Essays: Readings on the Legislature by Hamalai, Ladi in Abuja. In the paper titled ‘Some Reflections on the 2026 Electoral Act and Nigeria’s Electoral Democracy,’ the ex-umpire, a leading political scientist, reviewed Nigeria’s journey in electoral democracy and dissected the 2026 Electoral Act. The portion excerpted last week reviewed legislative frameworks for elections since 1999 and major provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 as they will impact future polls. The concluding part of the paper runs following: 3.0 Grey/bad provisions in the 2026 Electoral Act Regardless of the lofty intentions of the 2026 Electoral Act, of adding value to the integrity of Nigerian elections, there are issues of serious concern, and some areas for further contemplation; so as to offer clarifications, remove...

 Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, recently delivered a paper at the public presentation of A Collection of Essays: Readings on the Legislature by Hamalai, Ladi in Abuja. In the paper titled ‘ Some Reflections on the 2026 Electoral Act and Nigeria’s Electoral Democracy ,’ the ex-umpire, a leading political scientist, reviewed Nigeria’s journey in electoral democracy and dissected the 2026 Electoral Act, highlighting the key provisions as they impact on the political system. The paper will be run in two instalments in this column as input to the national conversation on the electoral process. Body text of the presentation goes thus: 1.0 Background to the 2026 Electoral Act •Good constitutional provisions and primary parliamentary legislation are necessary and required as the legal framework for elections in representative/electoral democracies such as Nigeria. In Nigeria, and in a few other electoral jurisdictions, suc...

Since the United Kingdom exited the European Union bloc in 2016, i.e. Brexit, No. 10 Downing Street has become a veritable bed-and-board for short stays. Prime Minsters come and go in rapid succession, with the seat of British government now awaiting its seventh occupant within a decade.  Vacancy opened up again with Keir Starmer announcing his resignation last Monday after just two years in the saddle. Sir Keir was elected leader of the Labour Party in April 2020 and became prime minister on 5th July, 2024 following Labour’s landslide general election win. He will leave Downing Street as the shortest-serving Labour prime minister in history. His time in office is taking longer than those of his immediate predecessors from the Conservative Party, namely Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, but will be behind all six previous Labour prime ministers. Speaking in Downing Street early last week, Starmer acknowledged he was not best placed to lead Labour into the next general election and had inf...

United States President Donald Trump prides himself as an ace dealmaker. He boasts that with his art of dealing, he could overawe any other world leader into terms that advantage his own country, including juggernauts like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, even enfant teribles  like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Not that he has demonstrated this as a proven fact, though.  He just signed off on a pact to end the war his administration has waged with Iran, and it isn’t so certain he got the best for America and allied interests. Actually, many perceive the pact as tilted in Iran’s favour and not justifying the exertion on a four-month-long war that came out stalemated. Trump signed the 14-point pact dubbed  memorandum of understanding at a post-Group of Seven Industrialised Nations (G7) dinner in France on Wednesday. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed from Tehran, even as a ceremony was fixed for Geneva to formalise the signing at the w...