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DDG Weekly Column

Nigeria@62: Beyond the anniversary blues

Tomorrow, October 1, 2022, is Nigeria’s 62nd anniversary commemorating the lowering of the Union Jack, the symbol of colonialism on October 1, 1960. Interestingly, it coincides this year with the commencement of political campaigns which was flagged off by the political parties and contestants on Wednesday, September 28. Beyond that, it would seem that many […]

DDG Weekly Column

Consider Nigerians voting with their feet

The rapidly approaching 2023 elections have generated a modicum of excitement despite the fact that voting has never changed much in our political evolution. The Independent National Electoral Commission, which apparently has upped its game, has projected that 95 million Nigerians will vote come next year. To be sure, insecurity still poses a big hurdle […]

DDG Weekly Column

Queen Elizabeth II’s death and celebration of soft power

One of the reasons for beaming a comparative searchlight on the fortunes, travails and vicissitudes of other nations is that, for those who care, they show examples or best practices of how developing nations should best evolve. This is not to say, as modernisation theorists once assumed, that all nations should travel the same road […]

DDG Weekly Column

Will 2023 arrest our trust crunch?

One of the major characteristics of our polity is what is increasingly described as a trust crunch. It is conceived as the fading of trust between citizens and government as well as between citizens themselves. It is not that the trust meltdown, especially as it affects politicians, the political system and governmental institutions is anything […]

DDG Weekly Column

Abacha loot: Have we learnt the lessons?

It is 24 years since the maximum ruler and dictator, General Sani Abacha, passed on in strenuous circumstances. Nevertheless, his name continues to resonate in Nigerian diplomacy, particularly in the humongous amount, codenamed ‘Abacha loot’, which the Western countries have been returning to Nigeria in instalments. Only on Tuesday last week, The PUNCH reported the […]

DDG Weekly Column

Falola: History, a therapy for healing Nigeria

If Nigeria would rebuild its nationalism values to keep a tab on its developmental course, there would be a need for more investment in historical research and studying the subject from primary to tertiary education level as a necessity and not an option Toyin Falola, Distinguished Humanities Professor, University of Texas, Austin, at the Second […]

DDG Weekly Column

Mabogunje: The passing of a remarkable scholarly icon

Mabogunje was not just a national hero, his international reputation helped him to make Nigeria and Africa proud in the international community Distinguished Humanities Professor, Toyin Falola, Premium Times, August 5, 2022 The passing on, last Thursday, August 4, of a foremost African geographer and development expert, Professor Akinlawon Mabogunje, at the ripe age of 90 […]

DDG Weekly Column

Insecurity: The opportunity cost of dilly-dallying

As the opening quote drawn from distinguished academic and poet, John R. R. Tolkien, indicates, there is something strategic about the use or misuse of time. Time can be frittered away or hoarded to good and lasting effect. Time can be employed to manipulate or create, deceive, disguise or upgrade individuals and nations. That is […]

DDG Weekly Column

Insecurity: A nation sleepwalking in utter peril

“You can’t imagine what is going on in Abuja. I went through the DSS Report. 44 reports were given (to the authorities) before the attack on Kuje Prison.” Hon Idris Wase, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives published in Nigerian Tribune, Wednesday, July 27, 2022 Shocking as the revelation quoted in the opening paragraph is, it […]

DDG Weekly Column

Oyeyinka’s panacea for tackling Nigeria’s development reversal

“In the early 1990s, Nigeria’s palm oil production accounted for 43 per cent of the total world production. However today, Nigeria is currently struggling with less than 2 per cent of global output. From a major exporter, Nigeria has become the largest importer of Malaysia’s palm oil in the sub-Saharan Africa Region.” Professor Banji Oyeyinka, […]