Published Articles

July 17, 2023 | By Umar Yakubu

Until the process of vying for political office is reformed by reducing the expenses involved, with the perquisites of public office sanitised, alongside the curbing of the other attractions of political office, every chairman of EFCC will be brought down by the political system, whether s/he performs or underperforms. Does the EFCC have its own faults? Certainly, loads of them.......

July 7, 2023 | By Umar Yakubu

In principle, subsidy is not bad as some have been made to believe. It’s a requisite for economic growth and development. Why ours seems like an enigma is the ‘other hand’ we don’t want to talk about because most are either engaged in it, while others are waiting for their turn to do so. The cancerous hand of corruption! Although it was not in their campaign promise, let us be aware that much may not be achieved until the fingers of that hand are cut off......

June 4, 2023 | By Umar Yakubu

What if we built more refineries
a vision we hold dear
to accommodate our growth
as population does appear.
No longer letting our refineries decay
year after year
preserving their essence,
their value held near.......

May 17, 2023 | By Umar Yakubu

The Nigerian media space has been awash with intense discussions about politics, cash limitations, corruption and all the negativities of the normal media. So, it was quite a relief that someone decided to talk about governance, on which most of our problems are centred. In partnership with the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an Abuja-based think-tank, Agora Policy, organised a one-day programme to discuss a book by Zainab Usman on “How Nigeria can build a post-oil economic future”......

April 11, 2023 | By Umar Yakubu

Since they know we are a disengaged public and are assured that there are no consequences for poor or ill-timed decisions that negatively affect the commoner, they have come again! They just informed us, without consultations, that they are borrowing another $800 million as a palliative to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal......

October 21, 2022 | By Umar Yakubu

An annual ranking of universities worldwide places Stanford University in the top five. In terms of research, it is among the best. The university has made several intriguing discoveries regarding the human mind and its limitations to reason, as well as how well-established facts do not always cause individuals to change their beliefs, in one of its research wroks on human psychology......

August 22, 2022 | By Umar Yakubu

There is something I always find quite interesting whenever I visit the United States Embassy’s visa section in Abuja, regarding applicants for the US visa. As you park before the barricaded area, it’s the typical Nigerian setting we are all used to. It’s bubbling, with tons of people all trying to offer services. From taking photographs and assistance with the filling of forms to good wishes that you get the visa. On one hand, they are simply trying to earn a living, and on the other hand, they see applicants as fortunate to even have an opportunity to ‘japa’ out of the country.....

April 6, 2022 | By Umar Yakubu

Neo-Marxists have, for ages, argued that capitalism mainly serves the rich, as they consume most of the world’s resources. To a large extent, they argue that Karl Marx was right in calling for the transformation of the global economic system. Of recent, two spectres and forces of the unjust social (dis)order are haunting Nigeria — that of massive poverty and that of vast income inequality, alongside an unholy alliance of undemocratic politicians, businessmen, and public servants, who ensure that these spectres remain unchanged....

November 18, 2021 | By Umar Yakubu

There is no doubt that the legal profession is a noble one. Starting in England, and now in just about every part of the world, for over 200 years, the profession has produced the best of minds. In various ways and in different degrees, many of them have promoted the advancement of humanity in all spheres. Back here in Nigeria, deep-thinking legal luminaries have contributed to nation-building, deepened democracy and promoted Socratic virtues....

September 17, 2021 | By Umar Yakubu

For lack of a viable alternative, we have chosen democracy as a system of governance. The problem with our kind of democracy is that it’s all about numbers. The winner takes all! The composition of those who make it win does not matter. It is despicable, but that is the reality. Political parties are not meant for good people alone. It’s for everyone: the good, the bad, and the notorious....

September 6, 2021 | By Umar Yakubu

From generation to generation, there seems to be a trend whereby the past is subjectively adjudged to be better than the present. Most older people would then passionately defend their generation as the best thing that ever happened to humanity....

May 2, 2021 | By Umar Yakubu

I recall a movie by one of my favourite actors, Mel Gibson, titled, Ransom. The plot was about a multi-millionaire’s son being kidnapped with the assistance of crooked police officers. The ransom payment of $2 million was agreed to be delivered by Mel Gibson, the father....

January 24, 2021 | By Umar Yakubu

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor in Germany. Despite threats to his safety, he loudly and consistently criticised the Nazi regime very publicly. The regime saw him as a threat, and to preserve his life, he fled the country to seek asylum in the U.S.A....

November 6, 2020 | By Umar Yakubu

Following the preventable disaster of a “leaderless” protest, which unfortunately, but predictably, turned violent, a most welcome movement transmogrified into an orgy of destruction, anarchy, and the theft of property in nearly states of Nigeria. Billions of naira of public and private property were also needlessly vandalised....

July 10, 2020 | By Umar Yakubu

Some of us have been restrained from making comments about the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Mustapha Magu. There are several reasons for this, but most importantly, it may be wise for one to await the outcomes....

April 22, 2020 | By Umar Yakubu

Starting with George Washington of the United States, each president employed a private secretary to assist with handling official matters. However, it was not until 1857, during the tenure of President Buchanan, that the U.S. Congress created an office called the “Private Secretary at the White House”....

March 15, 2020 | By Umar Yakubu

His Royal Highness, Muhammadu Sanusi II has been deposed and was initially banished to Nassarawa State. Within three days, he effectively used the legal instrument to regain his freedom and move to Lagos to be with his family. All things being equal, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje should be in power till 2023....

February 25, 2020 | By Umar Yakubu

In the social psychology of studying human behaviour in groups, there is a concept that describes a situation where large groups of people refuse to accept an empirically, verifiable, factual reality. That concept is called denialism. It’s basically the denial of overwhelming evidence of a matter....

January 10, 2020 | By Umar Yakubu

Last week, a lot happened in the international arena. The highlights are that a serving officer, General Qasem Soleimani of Iran, was killed in a targeted drone strike by the United States of America on Iraqi soil, along with other Iranian and Iraqi officials. In retaliation, Iran responded a few days later with some missile strikes at American military bases in Iraq....

January 3, 2020 | By Umar Yakubu

Nigeria went through a lot in 2019. On the good side, we had national elections, steady economic growth, a diversified economy, stable monetary policies, less public sector corruption; and substantial investments in infrastructural development in the areas of water, roads, rails and electricity....

September 28, 2019 | By Umar Yakubu

The appointment of the Economic Advisory Team last week was received with delight by progressive minds. Apart from the constant lot that has a problem ready for every solution, the announcement was well-received mainly because of the quality of the seven ‘eggheads’ who were selected to advise the government on matters related to the economy....

June 26, 2019 | By Umar Yakubu

The general elections are over and 29 governors have been sworn in. As at June 12, 29 states had presence military presence, supporting the Nigeria Police on security measures. The Nigerian Army are in virtually every state in the North-East, the South-South, North-Central and North-West....

May 12, 2019 | By Umar Yakubu

The performance of Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is essentially a visit to the Holy land of Makkah to perform some set of prescribed rituals. It is obligatory for every Muslim at least once in their lifetime, provided the person is healthy and financially capable. Umrah is termed as the ‘lesser’ pilgrimage, which is however not compulsory....

April 7, 2019 | By Umar Yakubu

Five Nigerians, all in their twenties, were arrested in Dubai for committing armed robbery. These supposed tourists bought tickets, obtained visas, boarded a plane to Dubai in the endeavour to rob some of millions of dollars. Many would agree that was a genuinely stupid move....

April 3, 2019 | By Umar Yakubu

Sometime last week, after the routine Federal Executive Council meeting, one of the items released to the press concerned the approval of N1.4 billion for the design of the new 12 storey complex in Abuja. The proposed design is for one of the spoon-fed government departments, the Department for Petroleum Resources....

March 1, 2019 | By Umar Yakubu

Just like fake news, divorce rates seem to be on the rise, trending mostly in the northern towns of Kano, Zaria, Katsina and Bauchi. A quick survey from open sources, interviews and, primarily, discussions and observations from close circles of relations, indicate a disturbing surge of divorced and unhappy women who are blindly and surely grouping under several torn and unreliable umbrellas....

December 14, 2018 | By Umar Yakubu

Since the turn of the 20th century, democracy has been vigorously promoted and generally accepted as the most effective and acceptable form for administering good governance. Although different countries operate different styles of democracy, mostly designed to suit their local circumstances, the ultimate intention of this system of government is for citizens to be empowered in choosing their leaders....

November 20, 2018 | By Umar Yakubu

The media space is currently inundated with stories of how China donated some tons of rice worth a few million dollars to Nigeria for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and food insecure people in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States of about 4.4 million people. With our usual reactionary nature, different stakeholders....

June 3, 2018 | By Umar Yakubu

Over the last few decades, economically and technologically advanced countries, mostly in Western Europe and the United States of America, have received a deluge of immigrants from developing and underdeveloped countries. Between 2000 to 2010, the U.S. received over 1.6 million immigrants from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana and Kenya....

February 26, 2018 | By Umar Yakubu

For the last 25 years, Transparency International (TI), a body comprising eminent persons from various countries, releases yearly reports on the corruption of about 180 sovereign nations. The findings or reports, termed, the ‘Corruption Perception Index’(CPI) ranks these countries and territories based on their perceived levels of, primarily, public sector corruption....

September 28, 2017 | By Umar Yakubu

A lot of furore has been generated in the public space ever since it became known that the House of Representatives had passed through the second reading, a bill sponsored by Honourable Umar Jubril, seeking the establishment of a Non-Governmental Organisations Regulatory Commission....

August 21, 2017 | By Umar Yakubu

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) is a department that is legally and operationally under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. It was a member, until its recent suspension, of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units....

August 15, 2017 | By Umar Yakubu

Coming out of dozens of years of military dictatorship that had been criticised for a broad range of nefarious activities, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, upon the assumption of office in May 1999, was faced with the debilitating profile of Nigeria in the international community, pertaining to its perception of corruption....

July 29, 2017 | By Umar Yakubu

It’s 2017, and the race for available electoral posts in 2019 have begun. Governor Fayose of Ekiti State already has posters littering the cyberspace in the name of vying for the presidency. Former Vice President Atiku Abukabar is exploiting, well within his rights, every possible avenue to sell his ideas for a better Nigeria....

By Umar Yakubu

Stumbling across an online newspaper item credited to Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), harping on Nigerians to insist on leadership change during the upcoming elections, I had to ponder whether ‘the anti-corruption czar’ has bothered to ask Nigerians through any form of survey to reasonably determine whether they feel they are poorly governed....