Author: TheScrutinyNG

By Kassim Afegbua I have read so many contortions and translations of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s advisory to Peter Obi over the latter’s visit to Edo state a week ago. If only they understood Okpebholo’s tenor in making that remark, all the twists, contortions and conclusions would be needless. What is right is always right: as a matter of course, Peter Obi ought to extend courtesies to the incumbent governor of Edo state, Governor Monday Okpebholo, before such a visit. Indeed, as a former Governor this is known to him. At the moment, he holds a position that makes it mandatory…

By Kassim Afegbua  After suffering unprintable names, from being unlettered, to being a panel beater, he endured odious campaigns without boundaries, and remained unfazed and unruffled. Governor Monday Okpebholo, naturally a man of few words, speaks louder by action than words. Step by step, he soldiered on and eventually trounced his opponents. Till date, Asue Ighodalo has not recovered from the pummelling which Okpebholo hauled to him. It is obvious albeit, that Governor Okpebholo has an enormous overflow of God’s anointing and grace which have combined to break obstacles in his way. Watchful, tactful, diplomatic, God-fearing, emotionally intelligent and psychologically…

By Kassim Afegbua  What we hear now in political  discussion, hovers around Politics of Entitlement and of Monologues. It is now Politics of “Our North” and their Nigeria. Politics of sprawling poverty and weaponization of destitute rural folks; a tailored army for political thuggery drawn from the barracks of the Almajiris. These people were the trump card for the Northern politicians, who out of season are our collective conundrum. If anyone took a tour from Gwagwalada to Kaduna, Kaduna through Zaria to Kano, Jigawa to Katsina, Abuja to Jos, to Bauchi through Damaturu to Maiduguri, the obvious would be the…

A Federal High Court in Abuja has been urged to order the detained leader of the proscribed separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu to enter a defence in the terrorism charge in respect of which he is being prosecuted. Prosecuting lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), who made this request during Friday’s proceedings, also urged the court to reject the no-case submission made by the defence. He prayed the court to instead, order him to explain why he engaged in terrorism activities that promoted violence and destruction, including the killing of not less than 170 security officials. Awomolo,…

Nigerian governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) have condemned the attack on the people of Yelewata and Daudu in Guma Guma local government area of Benue State, and assured of solidarity to restore peace and security to the state. The Forum, in a statement signed by its chairman and Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, commiserated with the Benue State governor, Fr. Hyacinth  Alia, the government and people of the state over the devastating attack on the Yelewata and Daudu communities. No fewer than 200 lives were lost when bandits attacked the communities on Saturday. The governors…

By Ismail Omipidan  A man must stand for something. That was what former Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, demonstrated on Friday, May 23, when he hosted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar at his home in Ilesa. Atiku, once regarded as the architect of the progressives’ woes in the South-West in 2003, was received with warmth and open arms by Aregbesola in company of his political disciples. Although, it is one thing to stand for something, and quite another for that cause to be considered noble or otherwise. It is undeniable that only cowards sit on the fence. In this…

By Olawale Olaleye One irreducible takeaway from QUALITY education – guaranteed – is that it obliterates every form of ignorance and its markers from the life of an individual. This is why a certain saying appears very famous in the academic environment, even at the foundation level.  “If you say education is expensive,” the academic will gladly advise you “try ignorance.” However, when a professor, who supposedly worked really hard to earn the degree and not honourary, believes that the answer to an evident leadership challenge can be located in prayer, then it is finished. In fact, it’s game over.…

By Kassim Afegbua “Let those who have ears, hear;” so goes the common saw. Now landlords are fastidious about who their tenants are; and that is positive! Edo State Government has been in the news over Governor Monday Okpebholo’s stand on the ravaging activities of cult members, at intra and inter-cult levels, as well as kidnapping episodes. His stand is clear, and he is not deterred by polemics. This ugly situation obviously festered when the immediate past government jettisoned its job, to face securing the office of the Governor in the 2024 election. It may have been inadvertently or quite…

The Federal Government has tendered a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the death certificate of the former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, allegedly murdered by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in 2012 for alleged non-compliance with the sit-at-home order. The death certificate was tendered by its 2nd prosecution witness, identified as BBB, in the ongoing trial of the detained leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, at the Abuja division of the Federal High Court. He was in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awolowo SAN, who informed the court that though the…

By Gboyega Akosile In the last few weeks, I have consistently reviewed the activities of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Lagos and I have come to one conclusion: he is more of a statesman than a politician. He has weathered the storm on many fronts and remains calm amidst what seems like distractions. As I settled down at my library a few hours before embarking on this piece, my eyes caught the quote of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam that “If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun”. As I read and read again, my…