Reporting News and opinions
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.
Whether the subject is healthcare, trade, infrastructure, peace in the Middle East or now Iran, there is a familiar rhythm. An announcement. A flourish. A declaration that success is “very close.” Then another announcement. Then another. Like a magician whose favourite trick is promising that the rabbit will appear in just one more hat.
For over three decades, the South Carolina Republican became one of Washington’s most recognisable political figures, surviving scandals, ideological earthquakes, party revolutions and presidential feuds with the resilience of a cactus in a drought
In the southern forests, priests and priestesses of the goddesses in the rivers that run through them, are known to demand bottles of Fanta to open consultations or before any water infrastructure project commences. In the northern forests, gangs of bandits - usually ethnic Fulani - who use them as operational bases, crave bottles of Fanta as well.
The uncomfortable reality is that kidnapping in Nigeria increasingly resembles a functioning market. In this market, fear is the currency, human beings are the commodities, and safety has become a product available only to those who can afford to buy it.
Centre for Nigeria Progress 