Punch

Dialectic, dialectics, or dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned argumentation. Political economist, Karl Marx, who wrote about dialectical materialism, drew attention to the resolution of contrasts in society, with his submission that first, there is…

The Yoruba say the death of an age mate is sending a proverb; that the time of going to heaven, or hell, is nigh. English poet, John Donne, puts it this way, “Any man’s death diminishes me/ because I am involved in mankind/ and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls/ it…

you shouldn’t be too surprised that there are probably disgruntled retired military officers all over the country, from the North and South, Christian or Muslim, or any of the socio-economic classes of Nigeria. An accidental encounter with a former Nigerian civil war hero, who yielded his command of the amphibious division of the Nigeria Army…

In July 2015, the US President, Barack Obama, acknowledging that then newly minted Nigerian President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), had a “very clear agenda” to defeat extremism, committed $5 million to fight Boko Haram insurgents. In May 2018, President Donald Trump promised to sell military helicopters and light aircraft to assist Nigeria in fighting…

The news is that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has dropped the idea of suggesting its own cut-off point which used to serve as the minimum below which no candidate could be admitted into a Nigerian tertiary institution. Recently re-appointed JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, announced that though tertiary institutions would still use JAMB’s…

In these days of religious fanaticism, revivalism, or extremist religious practices, laced with intolerance and ideological insurgency, one is compelled to ask if the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council that promotes accommodation between the two Abrahamic religions of Islam and Christianity still exists. The reason for this query is the near-absence of its voice, if not total…

Simon Kolawole, publisher of The Cable online newspaper, wrote, “I hate to imagine what… public office holders who end up as ethnic champions must have quietly done against other regions (of Nigeria) while in (sensitive and powerful federal public) service (positions).” Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, now Director of Publicity of Northern Elders’ Forum, worked in the Office of…

The House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to investigate ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government that are diverting budget releases to other purposes. The Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, alleged that MDAs often deny receiving funds after the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation…

Nigerians should not be fooled by the diversionary tactics of the political class who suggest region and religion as criteria for choosing the next President. The real issues are the right structure and the competent man to do the job, not an ethnic nominee. It’s therefore absurd for the Southern Governors’ Forum to insist that…

Acting leader of Yoruba Afenifere, octogenarian Ayo Adebanjo, suggests that the commanding heights of state violence are (mostly) in the hands of the Fulani who seem to have captured the Nigerian state to their advantage only. And while those of the same ethnic, regional or religious persuasion as most of the Service Chiefs act like…