LAURETTA ONOCHIE

  There is a bitter irony unfolding in Niger State. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu bears the traditional title Jagaban of Borgu. But beyond traditional titles, ceremonies and political symbolism, he occupies a position carrying a far greater constitutional responsibility: President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And today, the question from the traumatised communities of Niger State is painfully simple: Who will protect the people? The latest report of gunmen invading a mosque during Friday prayers and abducting worshippers is yet another frightening reminder that insecurity is no longer merely disrupting ordinary life. It is invading farms, roads, villages, homes—and now places of worship, all under a Jagaban. People went to the mosque to pray. They were not combatants. They carried no weapons. They were worshippers observing Juma’at prayers. Yet armed men entered their sanctuary and carried Nigerians away from Borgu, under Jagaban. THE...

Welcome To Atiku's Affordable Nigeria.  Fuel is not just what Nigerians put in their cars. Fuel moves the farmer. Fuel moves the food. Fuel moves the worker. Fuel moves the student. Fuel powers the small business. Fuel moves Nigeria. So when President Tinubu removed the Fuel subsidy without notice, Nigerians went into shock. From then on, chaos took over homes and businesses across the nation. Many local businesses closed down. Shoprite, Netflix, etc., fled the country.  The gains of the Subsidy Removal only benefited Tinubu, his family and cronies. They grew fatter and  their pockets swelled while Nigerians sank in abject penury, barely affording a meal a day. Poverty skyrocketed with pain and anguish, everywhere. When the price of energy explodes, the price of almost everything follows.  A few days ago, the incompetent and insensitive Ignoramus Aso Villa Occupant panicked. He fell apart, after reading that his foremost challenger, the ADC Presidential Candidat...

YOU CANNOT TURN 2015 TO 2023. There is something increasingly confusing about the narrative being presented to Nigerians in the last few days. When President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office on 29th of May 2015, Nigeria was confronted by a genuine salary crisis at the state level. Twenty-seven out of the 36 states were unable to meet their salary obligations. Some workers had accumulated months of unpaid salaries. That is not folklore. It is not tale by the moonlight. It is part of Nigeria's documented history. Pres. Buhari spoke and agonised about it. The Nigerian Media, made headlines out of the issue.  The Buhari administration responded with an extraordinary financial intervention designed to help distressed states clear salary arrears. The relief package had several components: First, $2.1 billion from Nigeria LNG proceeds was shared through the Federation Account. Second, the Central Bank of Nigeria established a special intervention facility through which distressed states co...

There are controversies that disappear with time. There are others that refuse to die because the questions at their centre have never been satisfactorily put to rest. As Nigeria marches towards the 2027 presidential election, the controversy surrounding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's educational history belongs firmly in the second category. This is not a matter that should be settled by insults, partisan loyalty or political intimidation. It should be settled by records. Because there is one rule of education that even a child understands: You cannot build something on nothing. THE LESSON FROM UNILAG More than half a century ago, the University of Lagos was confronted with an admissions scandal associated with one of its senior administrative officers, Mr. Owosho, then a Deputy Registrar. Accounts of the 1974 affair describe an investigation into students who had gained admission using fraudulent examination results and qualifications. The scandal involved verification with the We...

In recent months, some politically naive Nigerians have argued that the existence of more than one opposition party in the 2027 presidential election will automatically guarantee victory for the incumbent incompetent and docile president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. While this argument may appear persuasive on the surface, it does not accurately reflect how democracy works in practice, nor anywhere in the world. A healthy democracy is not designed around one ruling party and one opposition party. Rather, it is built on political pluralism—the freedom of citizens to establish, join, and support political parties that reflect different philosophies, ideologies, and visions for governance. Political parties are not merely electoral vehicles. They are institutions founded on principles, values, and policy preferences, except the All Progressives Congress, which has now lost its foundational values and principles. Some political associations place greater emphasis on free markets, others on social w...

In politics, character is often revealed not in moments of triumph, but in moments of temptation. I recently watched a video in which former Abia State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, recounted an episode from Nigeria's political history. According to his account, some governors were prepared to support Alhaji Atiku Abubakar's emergence as President while President Olusegun Obasanjo was still in office. Rather than seize the opportunity, Kalu said Atiku knelt before them and pleaded that he could not betray the President under whom he was serving. Whether one agrees with Atiku politically or not, the story speaks to a quality that is increasingly rare in public life—loyalty to principle over personal ambition. I had my own encounter that reinforced this impression. Late in 2025, while I was in the United Kingdom for personal reasons, I received a WhatsApp message directly from Atiku Abubakar requesting that we meet to discuss our political association in the African Democratic Congre...