Silent Radios, Dark Zones: The Fatal Flaw in Nigerian Policing by Lawson Akhigbe

IGP Abbas We all know the scene from the movies: a lone police officer pulls over a suspicious vehicle on a dark highway. Before stepping out of the squad car, they unclip a walkie-talkie from their shoulder. "Control, this is Alpha-Alpha 4, checking a vehicle license plate…" This is the standard image of modern law …

Who Holds the Purse? Extra-Budgetary Spending and the Disappearing Power of the Legislature in Nigeria by Lawson Akhigbe

National Assembly One of the enduring mysteries of Nigerian governance is the ease with which public money appears to materialise whenever an executive official makes an announcement. A governor wakes up and approves N5 billion for flood victims. A president announces N10 billion for a health emergency. A state government declares N20 billion for security …

Subcontinental Nigeria

What are the biggest mistakes people make when visiting your country? Visitors come to visit Nigeria as a single, homogenous entity and they miss the entire picture. It isn't just a country; it is a map of ancient kingdoms, distinct linguistic families, and entirely different ecological worlds stitched together. That they are visiting one country …

Comparing Donald Trump to Nero’s Excesses: Another Roman Analogy Under Scrutiny by Lawson Akhigbe

The impulse to reach for Roman emperors when critiquing modern leaders is understandable. Nero (r. 54–68 CE), like Caligula before him, embodies decadence, tyranny, and civilizational risk in the popular imagination. As discussions of Trump’s second term (2025–2028) continue, some commentators explicitly invoke Nero to highlight perceived narcissism, norm-breaking, extravagance, and authoritarian tendencies.But, as with …

Caligula in a Red Tie? Or Just Another Loud Emperor? Lawson Akhigbe

Screenshot History has a habit of recycling its characters, sometimes as tragedy, sometimes as farce, and occasionally as a reality TV reboot with nuclear codes. Which brings us to the question: is Donald Trump a modern-day Caligula, or are we flattering him, and terrifying ourselves, by reaching for that particular analogy? Let’s proceed with caution. …