Author: Abiodun KOMOLAFE

Right now, the Yorubas must have to build a leadership that honours their legacy. Again, remember the treaty that ended the Kiriji War, which sparked a rebirth in learning and progressive thinking! This led to a thirst for education, resulting in an explosion of investments in community scholarships, sponsoring individuals to pursue higher education and the establishment of numerous primary and secondary schools. These efforts contributed significantly to the economic development of the Lagos Colony, driven by Yoruba entrepreneurship both within the colony and from the hinterland, as captured in the 1920 publication, ‘The Red Book of West Africa’. This…

Available records show that the first public electricity generation took place at Pearl Street Station in New York in 1882 and that electricity generation in Nigeria began in Lagos in 1886. Therefore, one can safely say that this year marks the 142nd anniversary of commercial electricity globally. It also means that all this talk about artificial intelligence as if the world wants to come to an end is the same way the world looked at electricity as a game changer almost a century and a half years ago. Put simply, railways were the game changers of an era before electricity…

We are in a time of pronounced change of thinking in a positive direction in Nigeria after decades of misadventures. To support this change, we must focus on the key policies and drivers of reform to assist them in their endeavours. A crucial aspect of this transformation is transitioning from a consumption-based economy to one driven by productivity, essential for achieving sustainable development. To achieve this, there is an urgent need for the prioritization of revenue collection to redirect Nigeria’s very economic foundation. While we may not subscribe to the ‘great man theory of history’, the individual chosen to drive…

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the 2026 Ekiti and Osun governorship elections are less than 27 and 28 months respectively. In Osun State, it is believed in the All Progressives Congress (APC) family circle that former Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s tendency worked for the then Candidate, now Governor Ademola Adeleke and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the July 2022 election. Prominent among this tendency were Wale Bolorunduro and Kolapo Alimi who eventually became the State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment. On the flip side, it is also believed that a major tendency in the PDP, as represented by the Shuaib Oyedokuns…

There is a ticking time bomb in Kano and President Bola Tinubu has to move in quickly in a statesmanlike way to diffuse it. f centuries of upholding the tradition have brought peace to the ancient city just as we have in Ibadan, why uproot hundreds of years of history? Of course, that’s why Abdullahi Ganduje, the immediate past governor of Kano State, has to accept responsibility because he triggered this crisis. Like it or lump it, Governor Abba Yusuf and former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso also played politics. But then, Yusuf didn’t hide it, that he would remove Aminu Ado…

Let’s come to the issues of recruitment and selection. All over the world, leadership is what changes history. Think of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, led by leftist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, aka, Vladimir Lenin, and come to terms with the fact that followership is just extras in a movie! Or, was it ‘the people’ or a determined leadership comprising a few people like Awolowo, who made the deserved changes during the Action Group days? Was it ‘the people’ who built Ghana’s Volta Dam as a testimony of tenacity and human courage for which Kwame Nkrumah was ultimately sacrificed? In…

There is a problem with the institutional framework in which the Nigerian state as presently constituted is based. To have democracy, good governance and credible elections, there must be institutional reforms and great accountability in government. The three are interwoven, only that we tend to think that democracy is all about elections. In any case, the fact that those ingredients are currently missing is an indication that Nigeria still has a long way to go. After all, without democracy and governance, there can’t be credible elections. To put it politely, Nigeria, even as we speak, has very weak institutions, and…

The trajectory of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has always been in the news for negative reasons. For instance, among its past Directors-General, we have those who have faced corruption charges in the law courts. But the new helmsman, Anthony Ekundayo Mobereola, has a high reputation for integrity, performance, and delivery on expectations. He has renewed hope amongst the maritime stakeholders that the organization’s ship will be redirected along the right path. People who have interfaced with Mobereola have spoken glowingly about his high value for professionalism, vision, patience, and a striking resemblance to public etiquette in…

The purported ranking of states by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), based on their performance in the 2023 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE), is the focus of this piece. In the said publication, ‘Lagos State, which hosts many private schools and is home to virtually all Nigerians, is in the 6th position. The next Southwest state is Ekiti, in the 11th position. Others are Ondo: 13th; Ogun: 19th; Oyo: 26th; and Osun: 29th. Edo State came 3rd. Even Kwara State out-performed most of the Southwest states as it clinched the 18th position.’ WAEC has since denied “any association”…

The charade of Nigeria is never-ending! Only recently, one of Nigeria’s best-known cross-dressers, Idris Okuneye, alias Bobrisky, was arrested on charges of abusing banknotes. He was later convicted and sentenced to six months in prison. Not long after, popular socialite, Pascal Okechukwu, aka Cubana Chief Priest, was also arrested for alleged naira abuse and he’s already being prosecuted. Nigerians wait to see how events unfold! In the considered opinion of this writer, jailing Bobrisky is, to say the least, amusing! It’s too pedestrian! As things stand, Nigeria’s revenue target reportedly stands at N18 trillion. Of course, that’s pathetic! Where things…