Klint's

                                                                                                                    It is true that Nigeria is plagued with corruption, not to mention other malignant factors aiming to halt the growth of the economy materially, technologically, spiritually,what-have-you? An attempt to adopt an eclectic solution to all of the nation's problems is an act of tilting at windmills; it is nearl...

I really struggled to muster up the courage to write on this topic because I know it's an area that is quite sensitive and knotty, and also because regardless of the direction of this piece, the topic will lead not a few to question my Christian faith. However, I choose to Traverse! About a year ago, I had my first real brush with the bad side of alcoholism:it was a beautiful Saturday night and we were all together in the house in what you'd refer to a party mood. However, my intention was to just take a few shots of the alcoholic beverage on display just to have a feel once more:of course, this was before I got irked by something I can't really remember or which I just choose not to mention. The moment I got angry, my very casual desire to just have a taste of alcohol turned to an unquenchable thirst and sickening desire to on the one hand, 'forget my sorrows' and on the other hand, prove myself as one whose head can 'carry' any quantity of alcohol. I ...

I am very gutted. Really, I'm angry. I'm not surprised though. Neither am I disappointed. The thing is that we have consistently disappointed ourselves. We make nonsense of our potentials. I totally expected it. In fact, I would have been surprised if it didn't turn out this way. It's sad that I am lamenting now given that in the words of one of my very respectable Classmates, all the Lamentation has been done in the Bible! I'm sure that by the time you are reading this piece, The games of the 31st Olympiad in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil would have ended, and "let us go back to the drawing board" which is by far, the most used phrase in Nigerian Sports would reverberate across every Radio and Television Station in Nigeria. Anyways, the Olympics has ended and Nigeria surpassed all expectations by winning the 'Golden Bronze' medal in the football event. Yes! That bronze medal was truly golden given that it was the Country's first medal at t...

By Udomo Ali The incessant attacks on the female gender by the domineering male category with regards sexual violence have become rampant. Sexual violence, particularly rape, is an offence against the integrity of a person that tends to humiliate the charisma and personality of the victim in a dehumanizing way. What is the reason behind rape? Can it be said to be the advent of technology whereby people try to put in practice their sexual urge from the viewing of pornography on the media? Or can it be traced to poor parental education and defective upbringing? More recently, it has been attributed to the exposure of sensitive body parts by the females thereby arousing the sexual urge of the males which results in them satisfying such desire by all means. A close study of these possible reasons cannot humanly justify the offence of rape. What then, can literally, be ascribed to be the reason for the commission of rape? Rape has been adjudged by most jurisdictions around the world as a...

Controversies and political ruckus has been the unfortunate identity of Nigeria's politics. Very much recent is the re-awakening of the BUDGET PADDING PALAVER even in the present face of technical recession. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara in a speech sometime ago alleged that he cannot be tried for the alleged budget padding. He hinged his argument on two points. The first was that he, as a law maker (particularly as Speaker), is protected by Section 30 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act. That Section states as follows: "Neither the President or Speaker, as the case may be, of a Legislative House nor any officer of a Legislative House shall be subject to the jurisdiction of any court in respect of the exercise of any power conferred on or vested in him by or under this Act or the standing orders of the Legislative House, or by the Constitution". Going by the clear wording of this section, it would seem that Speaker Doga...

So I claim to be a moralist, but in me is tongue lashing as a virtue. I claim I am a Christian, but mock your imperfections or issue. I see you sag your pants; I know it is wrong, but pretend to feel you. Next I learnt you are in jail, and I am the quickest to cast or judge you. Pretence, that now rains heavy, it has pretty much got intense. I must have misled you upon my confirmation of your soar ventures; it did not just make real sense. We called the Devil a liar, but I still wrote him your death sentence. My mind is filthy and evil, why will I want to refute it? I see you cheat in exams, and I am like HEY BRO YOU CAN MAKE IT. All deception! All was simply for my pleasure. Watched you expelled, it was game over, I promised I was done with the adventure. Well there were several people with issues worse than BRO, and my promise broke beyond fathomable measure. How possible it is to know the truth, but stick to cruel intentions and pocket it like treasure.  I am evil. If only you ...

Papa has always referred to Ikenna as “that small boy”. I would hear the phrase repeated over and over in their evening congregations over fat bottles of beer. They would talk about Ikenna’s new found wealth and lack of respect for elders until their money runs out and no one else calls me to get them beer or cigarettes. They would talk deep into the evening, falling back to kolanuts for respite from their now empty pockets. Then they would disperse each to his own house, with papa coming back to rouse a sleepy house with his shouts for food. It’s not Ikenna’s wealth or lack of courtesy that makes him curious from my perspective, it’s the shape and size of his head, the basic thing my mind runs to whenever I use mama’s grinding stone. It is always funny watching him throw his head back and forth in his emphatic mannerisms, gesticulating here and there about how much transformation he was going to bring about in our town if we vote for him. The ...

The Court is said to be the last hope of the common man. In the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (CFRN 1999), it is the adjudicatory body and also responsible for interpreting and applying laws. It seems however, that in the course of interpreting laws, the courts have turned into law makers themselves. While that is pardonable, it is quite disquieting that the courts have begun to engage in acts that cause a legal confusion rather than explain, in clear terms, what the law is. In the case of Amaechi v INEC (2007) 18 NWLR (Pt. 1065) 98 the court held that Amaechi, who was the rightful candidate if his party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), should be sworn in as governor, although he didn't contest in the election because his name was wrongly substituted by his party. The court's ratiocination was that it was the party (the PDP) that won the election and not the candidate. This judgment raised a lot of controversies as leading jurists such as ...

Just Yesterday, I wrote on my Facebook page that we are all Biafrans, and not a few people saw it as my own endorsement of the Biafran agitation for secession. It was easy for them to draw the conclusion that I had given up on the idea of a United Nigeria. Some expressed their surprise, especially given my earlier disapproval, and sometimes, disgust at the struggle for secession. Well, what they failed to understand is that we have always been Biafrans! By the way, "We are All Biafrans" is the title of a collection of essays by a Social Critic and Activist, Chido Onuma. Before I go on, let me say that the idea of Biafran statehood died far back in 1970, at the end of the Civil war, and it really dawned on us in 2013 with the release of Chinua Achebe 's Civil War Autobiography, "There was A Country ". So, as far as I know, there will never be a country known as Biafra but the struggle for secession and independence by different parts of Nigeria will continu...

This Government is becoming notorious for it's proclivity for technicalities... First, it was last year ending when the President informed the whole world that Nigeria had technically defeated the scourge of Boko Haram. Then, just a few weeks back, the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun confirmed what we already feared about the Nigerian Economy; according to her, the Nigerian Economy was technically in a recession. Well, it's not news anymore; we feared it would get to this point but what still startles me is her failure to admit the obvious reality that is starring at us. Why go through the stress of telling us that we are technically in a recession when every key indicator points to the fact that we have been experiencing a full blown recession since the turn of the year. Well, enough of my rants; the question is, now that we are in this mess together, how do we get out of it as soon as possible before our economy slides into a depression ? First, let me explain economic r...