By Hassan Gimba

An Igbo adage says that when an anomaly persists for one year, it becomes the norm. So slowly, steadily but surely, it is becoming a norm, an accepted aberration, for a president in Nigeria to appoint himself as a minister. It is like saying in a country of 200 million-plus, there is no one good or capable enough to hold that particular office except the man entrusted with the running of the nation.

By Ikeddy Isiguzo

A bank once filled prime time television with a message asking us to imagine that one day cars will run with water. The power of imagination! It takes one to a future that not many see; a future that seems foolish, or unimaginable because it has not been imagined.

By Funke Egbemode

Before King Ahmed Ottoman went to war, he locked his beautiful wife, Queen Ottoman, in a private room and gave the key to his best friend, Mousa, telling him: if I’m not back in four days, open the room and she’s yours. Ottoman got on his horse and went to war. Half an hour later, the king noticed a cloud of dust behind him. It was his friend, galloping fast towards him. “What’s wrong?” The king asked panting. Out of breath, Mousa responded: “You gave me the wrong key.”

By Azu Ishiekwene

“Subsidy on petrol will go, sparking initial higher prices and demand for higher public sector wages by union leaders who know the truth but prefer to play to the gallery. To tackle the scandalous difference between the official and black-market exchange rates, expect the new government to adjust the official rate from the current N430-450/$ to around N550/$ in the first instance”

By Bola Bolawole

While he was visiting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently, the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, said he would give the president one year of grace before rating his performance in office. As would be expected, Tinubu and or Soyinka haters have read negative meanings into that. Soyinka, some have said, was only shying away from critically examining Tinubu’s performance so far. To others, it is a tacit admission by the Nobel Laureate that Tinubu has not done anything worthy of positive evaluation in his first six months in office.

By Prof. Femi Olufunmilade

The latest figure of casualties, as I write, regarding the attacks on Plateau communities during the yuletide, is 164. Total number of affected communities is put at 23. But the communities, by another account, are 64 based on a tally of the entire communities attacked similarly since the so-called bandits set their gaze on the Plateau, beginning from the wasted years of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration.

By Emeka Obasi

There is anger all over the globe as Super Eagles continue their Humpty Dumpty fall from the high walls of soccer. Veterans are even more worried as chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup look abysmal.

By Emeka Obasi

Chief of Defence Staff, Chris Musa, spent his early years in Sokoto, his place of birth. From primary education in Marafa Danbaba to Vocational training in Gaummi, he remained in the Caliphate until the end of secondary school at Federal Government College, Sokoto in 1985.

By Funke Egbemode

Husbands can and do defect because defection is a two-way street. If wives can defect, so can husbands. If a woman doesn’t get too old for touching and pampering, a man is also entitled to warmth, kiss and cuddle. A bull is always a bull. His charging power may reduce but charge he must. He doesn’t even want to be told or reminded that he’s not charging hard like of old. He may not be as fast and furious as he was 30 years ago but it is still dangerous to leave a bull unattended.

By Chido Nwakanma (on Public Sphere)

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu displayed outstanding dribbling skills pre-Christmas and scored a goal for the government. It was a positive step. However, because it has the features of Maradona’s Hand-of-God goal, prejudice, short-termism, and reluctant acceptance cloud it. Nevertheless, President Tinubu deserves applause.

By Hassan Gimba

Rivers, a state so rich because God blessed it with an abundance of crude oil and gas, is named after the many rivers that border its territory. Forty per cent of Nigeria’s output of crude oil is produced in the state. It also has deposits of silica sand, glass sand and clay.