Author: Owei Lakemfa
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Losers, winners and an orphaned nation – By Owei Lakemfa
NIGERIANS last week had no democratic choice but to have their ears on the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal verdict. It was not that they hoped the result would assuage their hunger or reduce banditry which has made a steady inroad in the most protected city, Abuja.
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Babysitting France in Africa – By Owei Lakemfa
FRANCE is a problem. In Africa, it is a man-child fighting hard to retain its feeding bottle. The United Kingdom-based Socialist Labour organised a virtual conference of Africans to discuss this and the current crises in Africa, with an emphasis on the Francophone countries.
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Lunacy, religion and terrorism in a challenged nation – By Owei Lakemfa
AS the new Soun of Ogbomosho, Prince Afolabi Ghandhi Olaoye, emerged on Saturday, September 2, a major issue in the selection process caught my attention.
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Gabonese Coup: The fault is not in the electorate – By Owei Lakemfa
THE scenario has various strands of familiarity. I mean the military coup of Wednesday, August 30, 2023 that removed Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba. An elected African dictator in a well-fortified Presidential Palace finds his palace has become his prison. It is like the fish realising that the water it is swimming in is boiling.
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Nyesom Wike: In Abuja, use a machete, not a sword – By Owei Lakemfa
MINISTER Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, I join many Nigerians in welcoming you to the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, as its minister. You are no stranger to the country’s capital, having been a minister under the Jonathan administration.
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In a tumultuous week: Building BRICS, brick by brick – By Owei Lakemfa
THIS week has been one of the most tumultuous with the plucking of Wagner chiefs from the sky, France’s renewed bid to invade Niger and fires thrashing North America, to the dramatic rescue of Pakistani school children after 16 hours of dangling from a broken cable car hundreds of metres above a ravine.
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Kay Laro: The diplomat as humanist – By Owei Lakemfa
I WAS to attend the International Labour Organisation, ILO, Conference for two weeks in 2011 and was late in making accommodation arrangements in Geneva. I turned to Ambassador Ayo Olukanni, then Nigerian Deputy Ambassador in Vienna, Austria if he had somebody that can
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Beautiful nonsense – By Owei Lakemfa
THERE are optimists. Vice President Kashim Shettima is one. While many lament the negative effects of astronomical fuel price increases which have resulted in drastic traffic reduction on our roads, he sees the reduction as positive.
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When the American hawk decides to devour the Nigerien chick – By Owei Lakemfa
THE threat of the mighty United States of America, USA, on Tuesday, August 7, 2023 to invade little Niger Republic is not for its love of democracy, Nigeriens or Africans. It is basically in the nature of hawks to circle the sky looking for prey, especially chicks.
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Let me breathe, I don’t want to die – By Owei Lakemfa
Two different but related cries ring in my head. “Let the Poor breathe” and “I don’t want to die.” The first is the cry across the country as the masses are being suffocated by inflation and over 90 million poor get hungrier. The second is the plaintive cry of young medical doctor, Vwaere Dias