Tag: Nigeria

Posted on

Rewritten from 2017: The Fine Art of the Birthday Bill-Board: Why the Governor Doesn’t Get the Joke by Lawson Akhigbe

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State was turning 58, and he has a shocking, counter-cultural request for his inner circle: Please, stop spending millions to paste my face on the front page of the newspapers.
According to a poignant statement from his Chief Press Secretary, John Mayaki, the Governor was deeply worried about the plight of vulnerable street children. To fix this, he wanted his well-wishers to take the massive budgets usually reserved for full-page birthday spreads and donate them to the WeCare Trust orphanage.

Posted on

The Day the Aura Shattered: Why Nigeria Needs Its Own “Not the Nine O’Clock News” Moment by Lawson Akhigbe

Remember the good old days when politicians were treated like minor deities? Back in the UK, leaders ascended to power wrapped in such thick layers of pomp, circumstance, and blind reverence that you could practically smell the incense. Accountability? Never heard of her.

Posted on

Nigeria’s judicial budget

Nigeria’s judicial budget is a complex, contentious issue at the intersection of constitutional design, fiscal federalism, political power dynamics, and the practical realities of justice delivery. While the 1999 Constitution (as amended) enshrines judicial independence including financial autonomy the implementation reveals deep gaps between legal provisions and on-ground realities.

Posted on

The Mirage Government: How Nigeria Governs Without Knowing What It Knows by Lawson Akhigbe

It issues pronouncements, launches programmes, commissions projects, publishes budgets, announces reforms and produces an endless supply of political speeches. Ministers hold press conferences. Governors commission flyovers. Presidents announce ambitious economic transformations. Political parties publish manifestos promising a better Nigeria.

Posted on

If Wishes Were Horses, These Are the Horses I Wish to Ride by Lawson Akhigbe

There is an old saying that if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. In Nigeria, if wishes were horses, the beggars would still be waiting for the federal allocation to buy the saddle, the state governor would claim ownership of the horse, and the local government chairman would invent three new wards so his cousins could ride too.

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com