LAURETTA ONOCHIE

Carol Ajie is a Lawyer. I am not. I am a Lecturer, Carol is not. I took one look at her petition against President Buhari and her call for the respected leader of the most populous black nation to resign and I thought, "Joker, who set her up?". But that's her opinion from the view point of a lawyer. But as a Lecturer, and a layman in law, I would try to teach Carol one or two lessons she missed or even educate her on how not to make herself a laughing stock.  One lesson Carol must learn first is that lawyers are well respected  across the world and Nigeria is not an exception. However, it takes very little for Nigerians to caste anyone from the height of respectability to the abyss of ignominy and notoriety. If Carol was seeking fame and respect, allowing herself to be used by the likes of Femi Fani-Kayode and Oliseh Metuh has obviously done the opposite. She has drawn the ire of Nigerians. This is because many Nigerians can no longer see any line, not even a thin

It appears the 8th Nigerian Senate, an unpopular set of men and women are still battling for relevance in the Nigerian political space. This has beclouded their judgement so much that they cannot articulately separate the wheat from the chaff. While admitting that there is a tiny bit of substance in their desperation, by and large, it's an outright and deliberate effort to gag ordinary Nigerians and give Pres. Muhammadu Buhari a bad name and image at a time he is enjoying local and international goodwill and accolade.  What we need to do is study the Social Media Bill carefully to understand what the Senators are working at and where they have crossed the line by smuggling in repressive parts.  The Genesis of the Social Media Gag Bill: ▓ The Senate had mud in its face, suffering great humiliation when they admitted Frivolous Petitions against the person of Rt. Hon Chibike Rotimi Amechi and others during the screening of the Ministers.  ▓ The Senators were blind

Oliseh Metuh Is there any one left among Chief Oliseh Metuh's friends who can explain to him the true situation of things in Nigeria? I ask because I am beginning to think that the Oliseh Metuh's of this nation, get really upset that not only are Nigerians now in power, they are also happy with the leadership they chose for themselves.  It's true that Oliseh Metuh, who is now sounding like a broken record, did not correctly read the handwriting on the wall before and during the last election that swept him and PDP out of power. They had it coming but they had plans which did not include the Card Reader. Who is to blame for their misreading the mood of Nigerians who were clamouring for a change of direction but were ignored by the PDP administration of Pres. Jonathan? Who is hounding dissenting Voices? It's also true that during the reign of PDP, they hounded those who did not agree with their oppressive regime using EFCC, the police, ICPC, NDLEA, etc. Ca

Many Nigerians have watched with tongue in cheek as the group known as Ohaneze Ndigbo has paraded itself as the group with the interest of Ndigbo. For starters, let us look at the meaning of Ohaneze Ndigbo. Oha means the ordinary people. Eze means King or in this case, Elites. The phrase Oha na Eze Ndigbo as an organisation would mean an association that is for all Igbo people, irrespective of whether they are elites or ordinary Ndigbo or their social status. But what we have seen in Ohaneze is an organisation that is far from representing the interests of the ordinary Igbo people. The 'Oha' have been completely relegated to the background. For many years, children of school age would be seen at various markets in Eastern Nigerian learning how to use calculators and shunning formal education. Their main ambition, or should I say the life plan for such children by their parents is a life in one of those dingy market stalls, with 10,000 power generating sets and no ventil

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and civil society on Wednesday advocated capital punishment for corrupt officials as obtained in China and India. Making the call at a joint news conference in Abuja, the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, and TUC President, Bobboi Kaigama, said the campaign against corruption must be intensified and sustained. To drum support for the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari, they said the organised labour would hold a mass rally on Thursday in Abuja. Mr. Wabba said the NLC was in support of whatever would address the issue of corruption in the country, including death sentence. “If such capital punishment can happen in China, India and South Africa, it can also happen in Nigeria; whatever measure that will address the issue of this mind-boggling corruption in the country, NLC will support it,” he said. Mr. Wabba noted that corruption had badly damaged the core of the country’s national existen

Abuja – The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Solomon Arase, has ordered an immediate clampdown on persons or group of persons inciting violence and social disorder across the country. This is contained in a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, acting Assistant Commissioner of Police, in Abuja on Thursday. The statement explained that the directive became imperative because of recent activities of members of the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign States of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in some parts of the country. It said that the order empowered the police to arrest anybody fomenting any act of violence or disorder, or any act inimical to the security of the nation. The statement said that the following arrests had been made ; Anambra four, Imo six, Delta11, and Abia one. It further warned that all persons so arrested for inciting violence, irrespective of their class or status in the societ

A former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, and a former Nigerian Ambassador to Japan, Emmanuel Otiotio, on Monday submitted their expression of interest and nomination forms for the forthcoming All Progressives Congress governorship primaries in the state. They became the last set of aspirants to submit their forms at the party’s National Secretariat. After submitting his forms, Sylva told newsmen that he is in the race to salvage the state and complete the good work he started but was not allowed to complete before he was forced out by a combination of forces from within and outside the state. He accused the incumbent governor of the state, Seriake Dickson, of abandoning most if not all the projects he executed when he was governor. Sylva said, “As of 2012, we were poised to celebrate in 2013 one year of uninterrupted power supply in Yenogoa city, I had installed turbans and there is a turban that was 93 percent complete when I was ousted. The outgoing government r