Point One

Africa was missing on the radar last Monday as President Donald Trump took the oath of office that heralded his return to the White House. Neither in his guest list nor in his inaugural speech and other speeches shortly after did the continent get any attention. It is only hoped he would come round to picking interest in the axis after he settles into office for his second term. Trump broke with tradition for his re-investiture to the United States presidency by opting for a coronation-style event. Presidential inaugurations in the US used to be a domestic affair: the president and vice-president took their oaths with American officials, past presidents and other local dignitaries present on the steps of the US Capitol building. The public watched from surrounding grounds. Inaugural speeches were typically saved for when the presidents arrived in the White House. But the event last Monday featured on-site inauguration address and was an international affair witnessed by foreign dignita...

Naira abuse and sacred cows  George Orwell in his satirical work, Animal Farm, espoused the famous doctrine about all animals being equal, but some being more equal than others. It is a doctrine you find playing out, if to varying degrees and in different shades, in all human societies including Orwell’s own Western society, not just the old communist Soviet society about which he wrote. It is no different in our societal context.  When the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) bared its fangs last year to tackle naira abuse, you would think doomsday had dawned for all naira abusers. Welding Section 21 of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act 2007, the agency early in April arrested cross-dresser and social media celebrity Bobrisky (real name Idris Okuneye) for defacing naira notes by spraying the currency at a party. Although Okuneye tendered an apology for his indiscretion, he was dragged before a Lagos court that convicted and jailed him for six months without an ...

Today is January 6th, a significant day in the United States’ political calendar. It is the day when Vice President Kamala Harris, as president of the American senate, must swallow the bitter pill of overseeing a joint session of Congress that will officially certify the victory of President-elect Donald Trump at the election held on 5th November, last year. She would thereby be also certifying her own loss at the poll. Trump as Republican candidate trounced Democratic opponent Harris in the election, dashing her hope of becoming the country’s first female commander-in-chief and securing a return to the White House after he himself had suffered defeat in the 2020 election by outgoing President Joe Biden. Under U.S. law, Congress on the sixth of January following a presidential poll meets at 1 o’clock in the afternoon in a joint session where state electors, known as the electoral college, would present a slate of votes for certification by the national legislature. This procedure forma...