SAM OHUABUNWA'S PARADIGM

  When Dr John Kayode FAYEMI ( JKF) did the unusual by quickly conceding defeat to Mr Ayo Fayose at the   EKITI elections, I was one of those who hailed him. In my article titled "EKITI Elections: INEC raises its game and Gov FAYEMI redeems the political class ",I concluded that JKF had placed his name in the hall of exceptional democratic leaders. His action was atypical among African politicians. To concede defeat in a political contest without a fight? Even if this was ever going to happen in Nigeria, it was inconceivable that it Would come from an APC Governor. My observation is that the APC Publicity machinery has mastered the art of crying wolf, when there is even no cat in the distance. They spoil for fight, when there was no reason for disagreement. And then to be quiet when there was battle in their backyard was befuddling. Perhaps they were shell-shocked by the convincing trouncing by the PDP, against the run of play, that they lost their voice for...

  Since June this year, the price of crude oil in the international market had been trending down. From a high of nearly 110 dollars per barrel at the peak to 86 dollars per barrel for our sweet Bonny light as at this week. To me it is essentially no news and I am surprised it is making the headlines. What is newsy about an event that is cyclical and predictable. First, the prices of all commodities go up and down and you may say this is about 25% decline from the peak. And so what? Have we not had 50% decline! sometimes much more precipitous than this one. In 2008, we went from 140 dollars to 40 dollars in a matter of days! That is about 250% decline, if I can still remember my elementary mathematics . That was newsworthy if you ask me, not 25 % decline over nearly four months.     To be sincere, if it is news at all, then it is good news! From a global perspective, it must be good news that a commodity that generally contributes to the cost of d...

  This week, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, performed what is most likely to be his last official function as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, transmitting the 3rd amendments of the 1999 constitution to the States houses of Assembly for concurrence or rejection( in part or in full). The smart Alec that he is, he allowed the motion for adjournment of the house plenary sitting to December 3 to be moved and passed before announcing his long expected official defection to APC. By that move, we can only speculate on what could have happened the next day on the floor. I am prepared to bet with my pension income that it would never have been business as usual! I am sure that he understands the popular Nigerian proverb:'cunny man die, cunny man buriam'.    Aminu Tambuwal is a smart, and cunning politician. It is difficult to correctly interpret the coy smile on his face most times. But he is a damn good strategist. Since the return to democratic govern...

We have finally arrived at the Political season. The Pre-political season had been on for over a year ago. The next six months from this October to March next year is the main season and nothing else will matter except Politics. This is the time when governance will be relegated to the background. It will also be time of freedom for the civil servants to do as they like as the political class will be too busy in the field, except to come back every often to 'refill'    Nigerians, this is the time all the money that has  been piled up over the last four years will be spent. Some that had been exported abroad will be repatriated to fund electioneering campaigns and other associated expenses. My rough estimates indicate that at least 1 trillion naira will be spent in Nigeria in the next six months on election related issues alone, outside legitimate government expenses relating to INEC and security for the elections. When you add all up, we may be spending up ...

 Global development is entering a phase where Entrepreneurship will increasingly play a more important role. An analysis of sources of economic growth by the World Bank( 2013), finds that the biggest differences between developed and developing economies are in innovation performances. It emphasizes that while Entrepreneurship and Innovation are very critical for economic growth,they have also become increasingly important for addressing major development Challenges, such as the ones related to poverty, inclusion and sustainability.    According to the World Institute for Development Economics Research( United Nations University), it is expected that Entrepreneurship will continue to make significant contribution to growth and employment generation in advanced, emerging and least developed economies alike. This is a reasonable expectation- one that is supported by recent findings of historians, economists and management scientists.   In the highly industrial...