By Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a lucky man. He is a lucky husband and a lucky father. The President may not be forgotten in a hurry, long after he has served out his tenure as the leader of Nigeria, the largest Black so-called democracy in the world. I say so because of two major figures who have added glamour to the tenure of Mr President: his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, a former senator, and his son, Mr Seyi Tinubu, an accomplished lawyer and entrepreneur. Both personalities have used their proximity to the highest political office in…
Author: National Update
By Douglas Baye-Osagie dbayeosagie@yahoo.com It is sobering to see the Vice President of Nigeria lead a team of Governors to the Benin Republic to study the operations of a textile mill. Vice President Shettima flew into Cotonou, and pictures from his official verified Facebook page, _Kashim Shettima_, on 24th July 2026 carried a sentence: “drawing practical lessons from Benin’s approach to agricultural value chain.” The images tell a story we should not be telling in 2026. Not long ago, the story was reversed. People came to Nigeria. Buyers came. Investors came. Technicians came. They came to learn how we did…
By Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko This is certainly the season of intense competition among politicians in Nigeria to show off their foreign-educated children in the mass media, for whatever reason. Perhaps they do this to let the rest of us—the wretched of the earth, in the words of Frantz Fanon, the French psychiatrist and political philosopher—know that they are building political empires and grooming successors who will take over from where they stopped destroying Nigeria. Some of these politicians were once governors who purportedly built state universities but would never send their own children to those institutions. This is indeed their…
Senator representing Kano South, Suleiman Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila, has criticised recent comments by United States Senator Ted Cruz on Nigeria’s security situation, warning that portraying the country’s challenges through a narrow religious lens risks deepening divisions and undermining efforts to restore peace. In a statement issued on Friday, Kawu said attempts to characterise Nigeria’s complex security crisis as a conflict targeted solely at one religious group misrepresent realities on the ground and could encourage policies that do not reflect the country’s security dynamics. He noted that the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump had previously removed Nigeria from the…
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has rejected former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s allegation that he financed the failed 2002 impeachment plot against his administration, describing the claim as politically motivated, unfair and an attempt to shape public opinion ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Atiku’s response came a day after Obasanjo alleged in a letter to former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba that the former Vice President gave then Speaker of the House of Representatives, the late Ghali Umar Na’Abba, ₦5 million to commence impeachment proceedings against him while they were both in office. Responding in a statement issued on Friday…
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has alleged that his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar, orchestrated and financed the failed 2002 impeachment attempt against his administration, claiming the former Vice President was determined to succeed him “by hook or by crook.” Obasanjo made the allegation in a letter addressed to former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, while responding to remarks attributed to Osoba concerning his relationship with Yoruba political leaders. According to the former President, the impeachment campaign originated within the Presidency and was driven by Atiku, who he claimed had begun positioning himself for the presidency from the onset of their…
Douglas Baye-Osagie dbayeosagie@yahoo.com Athletics historians can’t wait for a better opportunity than now to believe Nigeria is on the verge of winning one of the most elusive gold medals in our sports history. Despite a rich avalanche of great sprinters, a men’s 100m gold medal at the Commonwealth Games has been embarrassingly evasive. For 96 years, the Commonwealth Games have rolled around like clockwork. The gun first cracked in Hamilton 1930, the steel city of Canada. Then it echoed in London 1934, and through the Commonwealth in cities like Sydney, Auckland, Cardiff, Kingston, Edinburgh, Kuala Lumpur, Manchester, Brisbane, Victoria, Delhi,…
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State following the killing of at least 23 farmers in Sauna/Ruwan Gora community of Talata Mafara Local Government Area, arguing that the scale of violence now constitutes a constitutional emergency. The rights group said the latest massacre underscored the collapse of security in the state, alleging that armed bandits now exercise near-total control over vast territories while residents remain exposed to killings, kidnappings and displacement. In a statement issued on Friday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko,…
The United States has renewed pressure on Nigeria to stem the cycle of violence in Plateau State following the killing of nine relatives of prominent cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, warning that persistent attacks on Christian and other vulnerable communities in the Middle Belt demand urgent action. In a strongly worded statement released on Friday, Washington described the killings as “horrific” and called on Nigerian authorities to identify and prosecute those behind the attack, while strengthening security measures to prevent a recurrence. The US expressed sympathy with the bereaved families and said the incident underscored growing concerns over the deteriorating security…
The Presidency on Thursday launched a scathing attack on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over reports that individuals acting on his behalf petitioned the administration of United States President Donald Trump regarding President Bola Tinubu, accusing the former presidential candidate of internationalising Nigeria’s domestic politics and undermining the country’s sovereignty. In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said Atiku’s pursuit of the presidency had eclipsed the restraint and sense of national responsibility expected of a former vice president and elder statesman. According to the Presidency, taking political grievances…