Category: Random Thoughts

TODAY’S ANIMAL FARM By Tony Ekata

October 1, 2024

My son has just put Matric behind him, and I am very happy – perhaps happier than him. For one, the haunting spectre of having to cough up some seven thousand rands (about 500 US dollars) to re-enrol the National Senior Certificate examination, if he had failed, has been put to rest. In addition to…
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NIGERIA: PARADISE LOST? By Tony Ekata

October 1, 2024

First published January 5, 2017 The tale is told Not by a few About days of yore When our land was covered with dew And with milk and honey. The days when money was not our problem but how to spend it: When a few naira flew you to New York and back. The…
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WORTHLESS NOTE OR WORTHY SON?

September 20, 2024

By Tony Ekata September 21, 2024 “Who get dis 20 nala?” The question came from the tiny voice of a little boy. As I looked up from the church programme I was reading, I could see that he was not more than six or seven years old. There he stood, a few paces from…
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Abuja Accord: Beyond the Hugs: By Tony Ekata

September 14, 2024

Wednesday January 14, 2015, will remain a major milestone in Nigeria’s political journey as, on that day, leaders of the country’s major political parties signed a peace pact, ahead of the February 14 presidential election, to reject pre and post-election violence. This was a pleasant turn of events for concerned Nigerians and the international community.…
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The Edo 2024 Gubernatorial Election and the Debate Imperative: Part 2

August 23, 2024

One may ask, “How do we know that Senator Okpebholo will allow the people currently speaking for him to manipulate him for their personal benefit if elected?” It is simply because he said so himself in the public space. He pledged at the APC State Secretariat Benin City on Tuesday 30th January 2024, when he…
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Edo 2024 Gubernatorial Election: The Debate Imperative By Tony Ekata

August 21, 2024

The Edo State 2024 off-season gubernatorial election is barely one month away. Each passing day comes with renewed campaign vigour by the candidates and their supporters. It is difficult to say if the campaign frenzy is more on the ground or on social media platforms, where friends are turning into temporary enemies because of different…
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Power and Insularity: By Tony Ekata

August 1, 2024

“I’m not worried about the exchange rate they are pursuing because your salary should be in Naira and you are not an importer or exporter, are you?” – APC National Leader, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu I am worried. Very worried. It’s long past midnight where I am and I’m unable to sleep. I had been…
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The National Identity Scheme: The more you look the less you see – By Tony Ekata

February 29, 2024

The National Identity Scheme: The more you look the less you see (First published December 30, 2020) The Nigerian government has extended the deadline for telecommunications companies to block SIM cards not integrated with national identification numbers (NINs) to 9 February 2021 at the latest. This is no breaking news. The extension was agreed on…
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The real tragedy of the Fourscore building collapse – By Tony Ekata

February 28, 2024

“Buildings collapsing are a regular occurrence in Nigeria.” – eNCA The above is the thrust of eNCA, South Africa’s foremost private television network’s coverage of the Fourscore building collapse in Lagos, Nigeria’s Johannesburg. It is no doubt a damning and rather hyperbolical synopsis of the tragic incident that changed the skyline of…
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Who Will Wake Our Power-men From Their Slumber?

February 25, 2024

They have amassed massive wealth from our commonwealth Leaving the common man with no food on his mat And no means for his health. With a pair of corrupt eyes They peer from within their tinted SUVs At fellows who not long ago were their peers Until a verdict from a Supreme Cult of power…
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Who Needs a President That Can Fight Corruption?

February 7, 2024

WHO NEEDS A PRESIDENT THAT CAN FIGHT CORRUPTION? I don’t know whether we know how idiotic it sounds when people keep chorusing that Nigeria needs a president that can fight corruption. I do know, however, that people in saner climes would be laughing at us for seeking someone to teach us what we already know.…
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