Centre for Nigeria Progress

Nigeria Army There is a growing fashion among Nigerian political intellectuals to speak about insecurity as though the country merely suffers from “poor coordination” or “weak intelligence architecture.” The language sounds modern. References to drones, cyber intelligence, intelligence fusion centres and homeland security structures create the image of a state preparing for 21st-century warfare. The …

Continue reading "Nigeria’s Insecurity Crisis: Reinventing the Wheel While Ignoring History by Lawson Akhigbe"

The President of the United States has apparently found time between his war drums over Iran and the endless speculation surrounding his own health to direct the American Department of War to “protect Christians in Nigeria.” (Punch Newspapers) The headline is dramatic. The politics are emotional. The reality is far more complicated. Nigeria is not …

Continue reading "Protecting Christians in Nigeria ~ Or Manufacturing a Headline?"

The ink was barely dry on the registration papers of the newly aligned opposition forces before the predictable script began to play out once again. With Atiku Abubakar emerging as the presidential flag bearer for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and his closest rival, Chibuike Amaechi, swiftly rejecting the outcome Nigerian politics is witnessing a …

Continue reading "The Ageless Ambition: How Atiku’s Quest for Power Keeps Fracturing Nigeria’s Opposition by Lawson Akhigbe"

There is a dangerous lie Nigerians tell themselves every election season: that the country is a democracy in the classical sense of the word. It is not. Elections happen, yes. Ballot papers are printed. Television stations host debates. Politicians crisscross the country in convoys longer than funeral processions for forgotten empires. But beneath the noise …

Continue reading "Nigeria’s Real Governing Philosophy: Èmi Ló Kàn by Lawson Akhigbe"