columnist

Naira: Comedy inside a tragedy

By Dakuku Peterside On Sunday, August 15, 1971, the United States economy was literally facing a firing squad. The Dollar was in a mess. Price gougers were everywhere and foreign exchange was cruel to the Dollar. The newspaper headlines were…

Growing helplessness of Nigerians over insecurity

By Dakuku Peterside The impact of insecurity in Nigeria is significant, encompassing substantial losses in terms of lives, economic setbacks, and the emergence of humanitarian crises. Many citizens find themselves in precarious situations with limited access to basic needs. While…

Enemies of fuel subsidy removal

By Late Prince (Dr) Samuel Ibiyemi, Founding Publisher, Nigerian NewsDirect First published in 2012 The real enemies of subsidy removal are those saddled with the responsibility of checking excesses of government officials but prefer to overlook them. The ultimate aim…

Wishful thinking as a state strategy

By Dakuku Peterside It is cultural in Nigeria to wish your loved ones a prosperous new year. There is nothing wrong with having such lofty aspirations. Of concern is that, lately, this culture has crept into governance and development. Our…

2023: Reflections and future outlooks

By Dakuku Peterside The passing 2023 was a year of significance for Nigeria’s political and economic landscape. Reflecting on the year underscores the need for heightened vigilance against the emergence of small ,yet consequential political challenges that threaten our democratic…

Cashless festivities

By Dakuku Peterside The world is moving into a new financial epoch. The era of physical currency is fading, making way for the rise of a cashless society thriving on digital transactions. In a cashless world, financial inclusion is both…

FDI: Tackling poor signaling 

By Dakuku Peterside Nigeria faces unprecedented economic uncertainties and desperately needs to “bend the curve” on most economic indices. Even the optimistic people among us struggle with what to hold onto to defend our slide into economic quagmire. This results…

The drum for electoral reforms

By Dakuku Peterside John Dewey, an American philosopher of the 20th century, argued that “we do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” At the core of this statement is the critical role of reflection in the…

Dark chapter for the Judiciary 

By Dakuku Peterside In 1961, the Prime Minister of Nigeria, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, enjoined Justice Adetokunbo Ademola to “never waiver from the truth” and charged him that if he committed a crime and was brought before the justice, he should…