Author: Jonathan Nda-Isaiah

SO the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security wants us to pray away hunger. Yes, you read that right. In a country where millions go to bed hungry, our brilliant officials have discovered the ultimate solution: prayer and fasting sessions for “divine intervention.” I nearly choked on my morning tea when I read this. After the predictable public outcry, they quickly backtracked, claiming they’re not organising prayers to address food insecurity. Too late, the cat is already out of the bag. But wait, there’s more. We’ve watched governors organise prayer sessions for security and development. I remember one governor…

ANOTHER day, another massacre in Benue State. This time, over 200 innocent souls were cut down in cold blood in Yelewata and Daudu communities in Guma Local Government Area. Just 48 hours before this latest carnage, 25 people had been slaughtered in two other communities in Makurdi LGA. My thoughts on this? We have reached a point where condemnation has become a useless ritual. We have perfected the art of outrage without action. As usual, we are getting the same tired script from our leaders. President Bola Tinubu directs security agencies to fish out the killers. Opposition members blame the…

ON Thursday Nigerians marked another June 12 Democracy Day celebration, and I can’t help but wonder if we’re celebrating or commiserating. Twenty-six years of unbroken democracy – that sounds impressive on paper, doesn’t it? But when you peel back the layers, what exactly are we celebrating? Let me be clear from the start – I’m not one of those armchair critics calling for military rule. God forbid! Anyone suggesting we return to khaki rule should have their heads examined. But that doesn’t mean we should be popping champagne either. The irony of celebrating democracy on June 12 is not lost…

I THOUGHT the former minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi was being misquoted as usual when he said he is hungry. You know the fake news epidemic we have in this country. I had to google the quote to see the full story. Hear him: “We don’t want to move the country forward. My passport was seized in Germany, I did nothing. My offense is that I’m carrying a green passport. They kept me for nearly 30 minutes and I was going for a medical check up in Vienna. So if you’re not ashamed, I’m,” Amaechi said. “Nigerian elites are not…

THE Peoples Democratic Party has outdone itself this time. When the Federal Capital Territory Administration task force sealed their national headquarters on Monday over unpaid ground rent, the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, declared it “the height of irresponsibility” and a threat to democracy. I had to read Damagum’s statement three times to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating. So when did paying your debts become an assault on democracy? When did fulfilling basic obligations transform into political persecution? Trust our politicians to always turn molehills into mountains and make themselves martyrs when caught red-handed. The PDP owes ground rent…

JUST when you think you have seen it all, our lawmakers have come up with a brilliant idea that would make even the most creative Nollywood scriptwriter green with envy. A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act, 2002 to make it mandatory for Nigerians of maturity age to vote in all national and state elections has scaled second reading in the House of Representatives. Let that sink in for a moment. So these are the same lawmakers who have consistently failed to deliver on their basic legislative duties, the same ones who have turned the hallowed chambers…

JUST when we thought we could finally sleep with both eyes closed, when we heard the fairy tale that Boko Haram was technically defeated, the terrorists have returned with a vengeance that should make every Nigerian shake their head in disbelief. The audacity! The sheer bloody audacity of these animals. They didn’t just return quietly. No, these degenerates decided to announce their comeback by sacking entire military formations, carting away weapons worth millions, and leaving our brave soldiers fleeing to their villages like civilians. Is this the same military that was supposedly winning the war against insurgency? Five soldiers killed…

NIGERIA’s political landscape is being reshaped before our very eyes. The chess pieces are moving across the board with calculated precision, as defections sweep across the nation like wildfire in the harmattan season. Make no mistake about it – we’re witnessing a high-stakes power play that threatens the very fabric of our democratic experiment. Last month, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori shocked the nation by defecting with his entire cabinet to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). As if that wasn’t dramatic enough, Delta lawmakers in the House of Representatives followed suit, effectively turning a PDP stronghold since 1999 into…

SO the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has struck again, this time arresting popular Lagos socialite and businessman, Emeka Okonkwo Daniel, known to many as E-Money, for allegedly spraying United States dollars at an event. According to sources within the commission, he was picked up on Monday night at his residence in the Omole area of Lagos for violating the Foreign Exchange Act. But E-Money is not alone in this crusade against “currency abusers.” I also recall that popular crossdresser Bobrisk was arrested on April 4, 2024, for Naira abuse, which eventually led to a six-month conviction by Justice…

RECENTLY, former Minister of Defence, General T Y Danjuma (rtd), once again hammered on the need for citizens to defend themselves against marauding bandits and terrorists. His statement, made during a staff get-together in Taraba State, has reignited the debate on self-defense in a country drowning in insecurity. “The warning I gave some years ago is still as valid today as it was then. Nigerians must rise and defend themselves,” the elder statesman declared, insisting that citizens cannot continue sitting idly by while criminal gangs massacre people unchecked. To be sure, this isn’t the first time Danjuma has made such…

IF the kidnapping of a retired Brigadier General doesn’t shock you, then perhaps nothing will. When I heard that former National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) Director General, Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga, spent 56 days in captivity, I was stunned. But what left me completely dumbfounded was learning that military brass had to gather money to pay his ransom. Let that sink in for a moment. A General – not some random civilian like you and me – a General! To be sure, Brigadier General Tsiga was violently taken from his home in Tsiga Town, Katsina State on February 5, along…

JUST when we thought there was a lull in the killings across the country and we were beginning to praise the service chiefs, violence has resurged with alarming ferocity. The peace we briefly enjoyed has been shattered by a wave of attacks that have left communities across multiple states reeling in grief and fear. The recent bloodbath in Plateau State paints a grim picture of our security situation. Death tolls continue to rise as search teams comb through bushes, recovering bodies of those who fell victim to senseless violence. In Bokkos Local Government Area alone, 52 people have been confirmed…

ON a week meant for celebration, 16 northerners traveling home for Sallah festivities met their end in the most horrific way imaginable – burned alive by a mob that appointed itself judge, jury, and executioner. What crime warranted such barbarism? Simply being northern hunters with Dane guns returning to Kano. Trust our citizens to always take matters into their own hands when it comes to dispensing “justice.” The Uromi incident represents everything wrong with our society’s approach to security and ethnic relations. I’m still struggling to process how a community can harbor so many savages ready to douse fellow humans…

IF you’ve been paying any attention to the Nigerian political landscape in the last two weeks, you’d think we were watching a political thriller rather than witnessing governance. President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State has turned what should be a serious constitutional matter into a national spectacle that has everyone talking, arguing, and taking sides Trust Nigerians to turn everything into a debate. From former presidents to Nobel laureates, everyone seems to have an opinion. Goodluck Jonathan, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Wole Soyinka – the list of political commentators is endless. The Nigeria Bar…

ON Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the entire state assembly. Almost immediately, the internet was flooded with Tinubu’s own words from 2013 condemning then-President GoodluckJonathan for doing the exact same thing in northeastern states. Trust Nigerians to always remember the receipts. In that 2013 statement, Tinubu, then ( Action Congress Of Nigeria)ACN National Leader, called Jonathan’s emergency declaration “a dangerous trend in the art of governance” with “barely disguised intention to muzzle elected governments.” He accused Jonathan of using security challenges as an excuse to remove…

ON Monday, former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai dropped a political bombshell by announcing his defection from the All Progressive Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). I wasn’t shocked. Anyone following the political undercurrents knew this divorce was just a matter of time. My thoughts on this? It’s both calculated strategy and genuine frustration. El-Rufai’s press release cited the party’s deviation from its founding principles, but there’s always more beneath the surface in Nigerian politics. To be sure, El-Rufai was no ordinary APC member. As one of the architects who built the APC foundation in 2013, his…

IN a significant move that could reshape Nigeria’s creative landscape, the Federal Government has partnered with Creative Park Limited to establish a 30-hectare Creative City in Abuja. This development, sealed through an MoU signed by Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa and Mr. Bayo Omoboriowo, signals a promising new chapter for our nation’s cultural and creative industries. I’ve been following Nigeria’s creative sector for years, and this partnership couldn’t have come at a better time. Our creative talents have been punching above their weight globally – Afrobeats dominates international charts, Nollywood ranks among the world’s largest film industries, and our digital content…

NIGERIA’s war against counterfeit pharmaceuticals has entered a new phase. And it’s about time. On Wednesday, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, the director-general of the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), disclosed that her agency had seized illicit drugs worth over N1 trillion. One trillion. Let that sink in. What’s more alarming isn’t just the astronomical figure, but what it represents – a shadowy industry thriving on human suffering, with operators who will stop at nothing to protect their deadly trade. “I have two policemen living in my house 24/7 in Abuja and Lagos. I don’t have a life.…

WHEN the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, announced the nationwide enforcement of Third-Party Insurance Policy starting February 1st, I didn’t need a crystal ball to predict what would follow. Like clockwork, reports of police harassment and extortion began flooding in, including a particularly disturbing video of officers assaulting a pregnant woman in Akwa Ibom State. To borrow from Nigerian street wisdom, the IGP has effectively “opened shop” for his men. In a country where police checkpoints have become unofficial toll gates, adding another “verification requirement” is tantamount to creating fresh opportunities for extortion. Let’s be clear about what’s really…

WHEN I first read about the proposal for 31 new states in Nigeria, I had to check if I wasn’t reading satire. But no, this is real – the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review is actually entertaining proposals that would take Nigeria from 36 to 67 states. Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. Let’s put this in perspective. We’re talking about creating new states at a time when most existing ones can barely pay salaries. Many governors are essentially running to Abuja every month with a begging bowl, waiting for federal allocations like children waiting for pocket money.…