Category: Columnist

By Michael Kunnuji This year, the city of Ikorodu joined the club of cities with one million inhabitants or more, going by the UN population estimates and projections of major urban agglomerations. With a 2022 estimated population of 1,041,166 inhabitants, it is currently Nigeria’s 12th largest city, and the third largest city in the Southwest after Lagos and Ibadan. It has a higher population than several state capitals, including the capital cities of Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo and Osun. Ikorodu is currently more populous than cities like Ilorin, Owerri, Warri, Jos,…

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By S. O. K Shillings The executive arm articulates and implements the policies and programmes of government. In the parliamentary system, it is the Prime Minister and the cabinet that is called ‘Government’. The people must decide the amount of power to invest in the ‘prime’ ruler and also the mode of choosing him. These two factors determine the kind of person who could emerge and the strength of enforcement of state policy directions. In the presidential system, it is the President that has both powers of the head-of-state (a…

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By S. O. K. Shillings Esq Nigeria has 36 States and a Federal Capital Territory. At independence in 1960, it was 3 regions of Northern, Western and Eastern regions with Lagos as Federal Capital. In 1963, the Midwest Region was carved out of the Western Region to make it 4. In 1967, the 4 Regions were dissolved to create 12 States including Lagos State. In February 1976, 7 new States were created from the 12 to make it 19 along with Abuja as FCT-designate. In 1987, Government carved out Akwa…

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By Oke Godwin Olaoluwa Going by public expectation, any of the candidate of the two leading political parties is projected to win the presidency race. The presidency seat is about to go right in 2023 Atiku abubakar, the presidential flagbearer of the PDP, was a former vice president who oversaw the privatisation of some government enterprise. He also supervised the deregulation of the telecom sector. He is also an astute entrepreneur with business interest spanning across different sectors of the economy. In his agenda, he has never hidden the fact…

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By S.O.K. Shillings Some of the basic principles and pillars of democracy are: 3 Arms of GovernmentAll democratic governments are agreed on 3 arms of government, to wit: legislature, executive and judiciary. The configuration differ in climes, but they are ever present. Are they enough, especially in third world countries where the practice of democracy is bedevilled by abberations? In the United Kingdom, there is a parliament fused with the executive arm headed by the Prime Minister. What is the King/Queen of England? A sovereign that the 3 arms serve?…

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By Waliu Adeyeri It is a sober Sunday in the ancient city of Owo, Ondo State, as ‘UNKNOWN GUN MEN’ attacked the St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa in Owo. Although the number of casualties is yet to be ascertained, reports have shown it as another successful mayhem unleashed on Nigerians in the country. In the words of the governor of the State,  Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, “It is a black Sunday in Owo. Our hearts are heavy. Our peace and tranquility have been attacked by the enemies of the people. This…

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Albert Einstein said and I quote: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil but by those who watch them without doing anything.” Many questions to which answers cannot be easily got are always in people’s minds when faced with ugly behaviours that are gradually becoming a trend in a society which has produced a lot of eminent persons. My Division, your Division, our Division, Ikorodu would have enjoyed more development than its present state if we had all been honest enough to shun unhealthy rivalry and…

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By S.O.K. Shillings Our democracy is a big vessel heading for the iceberg. It is a wrong formula. Change is inevitable. The symptoms of failure are clear to see: 1. There is a palpable disconnect between governments and the people. ASUU is on strike for months but the Minister for Education is busy with campaign to be President. It does not answer the Lincolnian definition of ‘democracy’. 2. There is clear failure of the social engineering machinery which is most evident in the failure to control corruption. 3. The departments…

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By Oke Godwin Olaoluwa I have decided not to raise any comment on the brouhaha ongoing in my constituency, ikorodu constituency II. Reason, this is political season hence there are frayed nerves. As a stakeholder, I am challenged to make a personal opinion on salient issued raised by our revered lawyer, barrister SOK shillings on the above Subject matter. I respect Barrister SOK shillings alot. I am an avid reader of his articles. Always Insightful, critical in analysis and balanced. I carefully read his article on the above Subject matter…

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By S. O. K. Shillings Esq From the inception of the 4th Republic in 1999, the leaders of thought in Ikorodu Constituency 2, had an agreement to rotate the constituency’s House of Assembly representation among the 3 major communities of Igbogbo/Bayeku, Ijede and Imota. The agreement assures Ijede and Imota that they would not be dominated by Igbogbo which has a larger population than the two others combined. True to the agreement, Ijede took the first shot and spent two terms. Igbogbo came after through Late Hon. Shotomiwa of blessed…

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