Author: Abiodun KOMOLAFE

Jokes apart, I am a fan of Nyesom Wike, the current Governor of Rivers State. He is visionary and a revolutionary. He is also bold and sincere! Like Rauf Aregbesola, the amiable former Governor of Osun State, Wike has the capacity and a bias for action. He is also a listener’s delight! The governor is a role model for how to be a good leader, especially when matters involving politics in a terrain like ours come to the fore. A man with a big tent and a sterner stuff, Wike speaks truth to power without fearing any foe or minding…

There is a need for a society to exist, to be conscious of its existence, and to have a vision. The values of the society determine the type of politics it gets. The type of politics it gets determines the profile and approach of governance obtainable within the given society. And the kind of governance determines whether or not a nation will be built. To put it bluntly, while a society’s vision determines its development, the society dictates the type of politics that is doable, and the kind of governance pattern feasible, because politics is not something that serves itself.…

By nature, development ‘belongs to those who know it, not those who have it or can buy it.’ It is like a picture, which one keeps working on. Parochialism, on the other hand, is a cultural entrapment. It is evil! With it at work, extant philosophies are laced with the cultural sentiment that a people cannot develop beyond their social thoughts. Once the ruling paradigm in the public administration is ‘awa-n-tiwa’, the society is doomed, with the social thoughts and concomitant expectations most certainly not extending the frontiers of knowledge or the ideas of development. Embracing parochialism lends itself to…

One of the greatest shortcomings of Nigeria’s existence is that she has never evolved into a nation. The amalgamation of territories, imposition of the colonial masters, the unfortunate intervention of the military and its attendant maladministration of the civil society, and the corruption-infested politicians have not given the country that opportunity to realize its potential. To be honest, it is because Nigeria’s handlers have different motives and an opposed understanding of the concept of development that her journey to nationhood has remained an illusion. As we know, there is no generally acceptable interpretive understanding of the concept of development. For…

When the history of Osun State is written for posterity, one of the critical areas of intervention where Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s name will be written in gold is education. While other areas of his Midas touch are already in the public domain for inquiring minds to behold, the recently-upgraded College of Education, Ilesa to the University of Ilesa necessitated this piece. On Tuesday, September 27, 2022, Governor Oyetola assented to the law seeking to upgrade the College to a full-fledged institution of higher education. According to the governor, the “carefully conceived as a thoroughly entrepreneurial and innovative” University of Ilesa…

Being a former British Colony, Nigeria had the political misfortune of being bequeathed with a public administration system that was based on a ‘Migrated Social Structure’; and it could not have been otherwise. After all, it’s the only systemic public administration structure known to the British. Consequently, and right from the outset, the tools of public engagement at all levels, in particular, struggled with the norms and values of Nigerians. Absent the domestication of the intrinsic norms, ethics and usage of the colonial administrative system over a period of time, the emergent system acquired a life of its own; deformed,…

Let me start this rather short Tribute by stating that the story of my contact with Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and my eventual employment at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) are already well-documented in the manuscripts of my future book. Let me also confess that this event-filled connection was the culmination of the timely interventions of men like the retired Archbishop Olukayode Akinyemi of the Anglican Archdiocese of Kwara; and Oba Oladele Olashore, the late Ajagbusi Ekun of Iloko-Ijesa in Osun State, in the affairs of my life. When, even with the possession of entry requirements, all hopes of…

The Osun Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) has announced October 15, 2022 as the date for Local Government and Local Council Development Area elections across Osun State. According to the Commission, “all the inhibiting factors and circumstances against the conduct of the elections have been ameliorated.” However, the Osun State Chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to boycott the elections because they would “be wasteful” as well as run afoul of “the provisions of Section 28 of the Electoral Act 2022.” From the look of things, Osun PDP seems to be a lone ranger as other political parties…

When we were growing up, we were treated to the fact that, whether things were convenient or not, elections, globally, were contests; that membership of a political party was a thing of pride; and that, in a contest, ‘you win some, you lose some.’ We were told that, in every contest, a candidate from a pool of aspirants would always emerge; and that, ‘while those who win end up thanking their stars’, losers would always go back home, most likely looking forward to fighting another day. Well, these contextual explanations become necessary, especially when one considers the experiences of the…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)-monitored party presidential primary elections have come and gone and, as the saying goes, the rest is history! With various candidates pushing private agenda, diverse groups’ interests being articulated, and differing institutional preferences already being canvassed, all eyes are now on the 2023 General Elections. In all, interesting times await Nigerians! That said, it is no longer news that, no matter how difficult it is to measure the impact of religion or religious beliefs in politics in Nigeria, it remains contestable in the public domain. However, the interesting thing is that the candidates of the…