The response by the President's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Cardinal John Onaiyekan's television interview reveals a troubling misunderstanding of constitutional democracy. It also exposes a growing tendency within this administration to confuse criticism with disloyalty and accountability with discourtesy.
The Double-Entry Ledger of Suffering: How Nigeria Taxes the Poor Twice and Delivers Nothing Once by Lawson Akhigbe
Reform, when it comes, will be welcomed. The question is whether the reformers are counting the same things Mama Chioma is counting. So far, the evidence suggests they are operating from entirely different ledgers and that only one of those ledgers is written in the ink of lived consequence.
Punching Down is Not a Policy by Lawson Akhigbe
PM Kier Starmer As of June 29, 2026, the 1824 Vagrancy Act has officially been repealed by the Labour government led by Kier Starmer. For over two centuries, this archaic law did something truly remarkable in its cruelty: it made the catastrophic misfortune of having nowhere to live a literal crime. Under the Act, sleeping …
Continue reading "Punching Down is Not a Policy by Lawson Akhigbe"
The Phones No Longer Ring: Nigeria’s Rent Economy, Explained in Missed Calls by Lawson Akhigbe
Yusuf Buhari There are economic textbooks, there are IMF reports, and then there is the most accurate indicator of Nigeria’s political economy: the call log on the phone of a man close to power. Yusuf Buhari, son of Nigeria’s late president, has accidentally written the clearest thesis on Nigeria’s rent economy without citing Adam Smith, …
Edo State’s International Day of the Disabled: A Reality Show Nobody Asked For by Lawson Akhigbe
Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani There are many ways to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Some countries showcase policy reforms. Others highlight accessibility innovations. But in Nigeria—ah, Nigeria—we always find the express lane to absurdity, overtake common sense on the bend, and park comfortably in Season 1, Episode 1 of “Government: The Reality …

