LAURETTA ONOCHIE

Let us begin with agriculture. Or rather, let us pretend to begin with agriculture, because that is what the 2026 budget does best. The federal government has allocated record sums to farming, irrigation, and livestock development across all tiers of government. Northern states alone are throwing hundreds of billions at the problem — Jigawa earmarked N75 billion for agriculture, Kaduna dedicated 11.65 percent of its nearly N1 trillion budget to food security, and Kano set aside N26 billion plus another N64 billion for water supply to support irrigation . On paper, this looks like a government that cares about hunger. On paper, a lot of things look good. On paper, I look like someone who has their life together. But here is the hilarious part — and by hilarious, I mean the kind of hilarious that makes you want to weep into your garri. Despite all this money being budgeted, hunger is tightening its grip on Northern Nigeria like a bankruptcy on a lottery winner. An estimated six million p...

Mr. President, there is a question that hangs in the air, refusing to dissipate. It is asked in the quiet corners of living rooms from Kaduna to Lagos. It is debated with hushed urgency on social media timelines. It is whispered even within the corridors of power. And it demands your attention, not as a political favor to an adversary, but as a solemn duty to the Constitution you swore to defend. Who, Mr. President, wants Mallam Nasir Elrufai dead? One does not need to hold a medical degree to understand a simple biological truth: a human body denied food and medicine, day after day, will eventually break down. What began as a high-profile corruption investigation now carries the unmistakable stench of a protracted, calculated, and perhaps even deliberate campaign of attrition. Mr. President, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, an agency of your government, has allegedly become an executioner dressed in the garb of a law enforcement body. Let us rev...

EDUCATING THE IGNORANCE. Over the last few years, I have been searching the Nigerian Constitution for the phrase, "It's the turn of the North, It's the turn of the South". Here are the facts by Yusuf Shehu Tijani At the expiration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s present tenure, the Southwest would have been in power for 12 years. The South for approximately 18 years. And if the South pushes for another 4 years, it would be 22 years. 22 years to 10 years is not only unfair but unjust. This is not a matter of sentiment; it is a matter of balance, equity, and the moral foundation upon which our fragile democracy stands. Ordinarily, the North should take over in 2027 and make up the eight years before it returns to the South to maintain a fair balance and avoid tension moving forward. This is not a concession; it is a correction. It is not agitation; it is alignment with an unwritten but deeply respected protocol that has guided stability since 1999. President Umaru Musa Yar'A...

At critical moments in a nation’s history, clarity must replace confusion, and courage must overcome fear. Nigeria is at such a moment. There is a growing pattern where the judiciary—particularly lower courts—is being drawn into matters that the law has already settled as strictly internal to political parties. This is not just a legal anomaly; it is a strategic pressure point aimed at weakening opposition structures, creating artificial crises, and distracting from the real democratic contest. But the law is not silent. It is clear, consistent, and emphatic. The Supreme Court of Nigeria has repeatedly drawn a firm boundary: March 21, 2025 Judgment: “No court has jurisdiction to entertain cases bordering on the internal affairs of political parties.” In the SDP vs INEC decision, the Court reaffirmed that: “The internal affairs of political parties are for the parties alone to determine” and remain “beyond the reach of external interference.” The Electoral Act 2026, Section 83...

COLLEGIATE: What Does This Mean For Nigeria? The African Democratic Congress (ADC) wants to change how leaders work together in Nigeria. I have broken it down in such a way that primary school pupils can understand.  Instead of one person winning and controlling everything, ADC wants a team of leaders working together—like classmates doing a group project. Think of it like this: Imagine your class is choosing a class captain. Old way : One child wins and makes all the decisions. New ADC way : The captain works with other top students as a team so everyone helps lead. Now, the key ideas explained simply: 1. Shared Leadership (Working Together) No one person is the “boss of everything.” It’s like having a team of prefects, not just one. Everyone helps make decisions. 2. No Fighting After Elections Usually, when people lose, they get angry and leave. ADC says: “Even if you don’t win, you’re still part of the team.” So : No quarrels No sabotage Everyone stays united 3. Strong Rules in ...

  President Tinubu says he is Buhari and Buhari is him! The audacity of duplicity from a man who not only during and after the APC primaries campaigned distinctively by distancing himself from his predecessor and went on to rein abuses on the latter and even denigrated all the achievement of the latter as being a disastrous adventure.   President Tinubu decried Buhari’s competence. He called him names, derided him as weak –“O de nsunkun” for Buhari's stand in respecting the rule of law and our democracy.  Under Buhari, he seized the Saraki National Assembly, the Oshiomhole APC structure, got his loyalists to deride President Buhari. In short, he funded hostilities against Buhari. Let us ask Tinubu what happened to Buhari’s programmes to erdicate poverty in Nigeria? Why did he systematically dismantle them if he was Buhari and Buhari was him? The Social Safety Nets Under Buhari (2015–2023) The Buhari administration built the most formalised social protection architect...