Reporting News and Opinions
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.
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.
As Nigeria prepares to mark another Independence Day on 1 October, I have been reading a speech delivered on 31 December 1983 by a young Brigadier, Sani Abacha, announcing the overthrow of the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari.
the Doctrine of Necessity’s cheeky cousin: the 2008 Supreme Court blockbuster Rotimi Amaechi v. INEC & Ors. If Nigerian politics is a Nollywood script full of plot twists, this case was the director yelling “cut!” and rewriting the ending after the credits rolled.
If you are an African policymaker/technocrat/leader who has been following the World Bank’s development advice for the last say 30 years, this finding would shock you.
