THE newly established advisory board on malaria elimination and a ministerial task force by the Federal Government are a commendable initiative. Yet, it is hard to shake off a sense of déjà vu. Since 2020, there has been a series of…
NIGERIA’S aviation industry is generating concerns, as the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Olubunmi Kuku, recently stated that only three out of 22 airports under its management are profitable and contribute…
A new report by the National Bureau of Statistics and the UNODC on corruption in Nigeria cements the country’s soiled reputation as a place of sleaze. Entitled ‘Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends,’ it revealed that about N721…
THE outlook for basic education in Nigeria is alarming, compounded by the shortage of teachers in the states. As the foundation of the country’s education architecture, issues at the primary level have far-reaching impacts on the secondary…
FEDERALISM is the imaginary bedrock of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy, designed to balance power between the centre and the sub-nationals. However, the recent judgement by the Supreme Court concerning local government autonomy has…
THE Federal Government recently announced a 150-day duty-free import window for food commodities as part of efforts to tame soaring food prices, which has resulted in untold privations. Over the past year, families have had to endure…
THE United Kingdom has a new leadership amid changes in the House of Commons in the July 4 polls. While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was sent out of Downing Street, Keir Starmer was voted into government. The election was seamless. Nigeria…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu’s creation of a new Ministry of Livestock Development again underscores the inherent contradictions in efforts at resource management. Besides struggling with sundry economic woes including a debt of N121 trillion,…
THERE is an air of momentous celebration and grateful reflection as Ajibola Ogunshola, the Emeritus Chairman of PUNCH, marks his 80th birthday today, July 14, 2024. In the past eight decades, Ogunshola, born on July 14, 1944, has…
NEARLY five decades into its existence, the ECOWAS socioeconomic super-structure that was constructed in 1975 to foster regional peace is crumbling fast. The trio of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic raised a few eyebrows at the…
IN fulfilment of one of his campaign promises, President Bola Tinubu recently set up a consumer credit guarantee scheme to address issues surrounding access to credit by the public. The President, an advocate of consumer credit, has…
AS the world celebrates the 2024 World Population Day themed, ‘Interwoven Lives, Threads of Hope: Ending Inequalities in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights’ today, it should be a springboard for the Nigerian government to improve on…
NIGERIA’S power sector is shabby, inefficient and has led to wasteful expenditure outcomes. With gross infrastructure deficits and ineffective systems, homes and industries spend trillions of naira annually to provide alternative power.…
OGUN State is under a security siege, and residents are living in fear. Daredevil criminals, kidnappers, ritual killers, armed robbers, and violent Fulani herdsmen are wreaking havoc in the state. The Governor, Dapo Abiodun, must respond…
NIGERIA, rich in diversity and potential, is trapped in a relentless web of insecurity. The Nigeria Police Force, constitutionally mandated to protect life and property, has been found wanting in the face of escalating violence and crime.…
THE reign of impunity and human rights abuse by some officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission under the Bola Tinubu administration is getting worse. In the latest instalment, EFCC officials crudely assaulted a woman during…
ABANDONED for more than a decade, the Abuja Closed Circuit Television camera project represents a missed opportunity in the quest to ensure public safety and security in Nigeria’s capital. Therefore, the completion of the project should be…
NIGERIA is sinking deeper into another debt trap. This is after the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio recently crossed the 50 per cent threshold for the first time since 1991. The Bola Tinubu administration inherited a debt-to-GDP ratio of 38…
NIGERIA’S public universities are under siege. Their woes worsened after the electricity distribution companies applied the new tariffs to them. This has seen an astronomical increase in their monthly bills. Their bills are up over 200 per…
THE new data from the National Agency for the Control of AIDS presents a grim picture of Nigeria’s fight against HIV/AIDS.In 2023 alone, the country recorded 75,000 new HIV infections and 45,000 HIV-related deaths. This alarming surge…
THE Federal Government has taken a giant step forward to combat the menace of plastics in the environment. In this, the Federal Executive Council recently approved a ban on single-use plastics, also known as on-the-go plastics. The ban…
FRESH revelations about Nigerian civil servants who have remained on the government payroll for years after relocating abroad again underscores the pervasive inefficiencies and corruption that have defined the public service. That a…
THE Academic Staff Union of Universities has again commenced mobilisation of its members for another nationwide strike. Its national president, Emmanuel Osodeke, said the union has continued to give the government a long rope as regards…
THERE are pregnant indications that the national minimum saga will roll on for some time without conclusion. Organised labour has been agitating for an upward review of the minimum wage shortly after President Bola Tinubu cancelled petrol…
DISTURBING reports that bandits are levying farming communities have again brought to the fore the imperative of addressing the banditry crisis. The menace has destabilised communities and exposed the lapses in governance, security, and…
INTRICATE intrigues are playing out in Nigeria’s oil industry. These are bound to derail expectations of a reprieve in the form of lower petrol prices with the commencement of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals plant. Part of the…
AFTER hibernating for five years, Boko Haram shattered the relative peace of the North-East again at the weekend, making a bloody mark on Gwoza in southern Borno State. The insurgents let loose young female suicide bombers in the state.…
AFTER one year in the saddle, the time for talking and making promises about the economy is over for President Bola Tinubu. Now is the time to deliver on his avowal to strengthen and rebuild the economy through the private sector. The…
WALE Edun indulged in some chest beating recently that resulted in headlines assuring Nigerians that the country’s economy has been revamped. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy’s job is tough. Still, he will…
IT is a cruel irony that Lagos, a coastal city, cannot provide adequate potable water for its residents. The Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, should revamp the existing water infrastructure, create new ones, and establish an efficient public…