Niyi Olarewaju

Majority of us do not actually know that studying in Germany is way lot easier than schooling in other foreign countries. I never knew of this untill one of my friends back then in my undergraduate days enlightened me on the very enticing incentives Germany offers International Students.    Before my friend hinted me of Germany, i had my energy fully focussed on studying M.Sc Animal Science in the University of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada. But, when i heard of the prospects in Germany, it was not too difficult for me to drop the idea of going to Canada because the German history is something i had always loved long before now. I jumped at it because it will offer me an opportunity to learn more about the Germans. I must emphasis this before i continue, i am not a Travel Agent neither am i doing this for monetary gain, i only felt there is no need withholding very vital information which can positively turn around someone's life. Some people have all what it takes to purs...

Corruption as big as it is in our Nation's life to me is not the biggest of all the problems that face us as a people. Infact, it is a problem which can be easily overcome if only we have leaders with big and realistic ideas and the ability to think and find solutions to our many challenges which corruption is one. Corruption is a systemic-problem; it is a problem created as a result of failure of the system. I believe to solve the problem of corruption, all we need to do is, look inward within the system in other to address it, because for every systemic-problem, there is a systemic-solution. What is needed in tackling corruption in Nigeria is, amending the outdated and ambiguous laws, so as to guide against corruption and strengthen the anti-corruption institutions in other to adequately implement and enforce these laws. With these done, corruption will be drastically reduced and with time, it will become a thing of the past.   As big as the economies of China and India are today...

I found it quite worthy to bring to public glare my experience yesterday's (Sunday) morning at the B' Division of the Nigeria Police Force domiciled in Otapeete in Owo Local Government. I went to the Police Station in company of a very good friend, Mr Bayegun Adelani. Mr Adelani, whom our friendship dated back to our Secondary School days at the prestigious Federal Government College Ido-ani had come around for a wedding ceremony of one of his colleagues in his place of work. After the merriments that usually accompany such occassion, one of the drivers who had been assisting with movement of guests got involved in a minor road accident. We got a call early Sunday morning that the said driver had been in Police detention since the incident happened the evening before (Saturday's evening) Hence, this necessitated our visit to the B-Division Police Station. On getting to the station, one of the Policemen who i guess is the Station Guard was sitting more than 25metres...

Last Wednesday, the International Conference Center, Abuja was alive as President Jonathan rolled the carpets to celebrate his “achievements” since assumption of office. The high point of the event was the reeling out of statistics by coordinating minister of the economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and her colleagues at the federal executive council.   First, I state unequivocally that the statistics cited by Okonjo-Iweala were ambiguous and intended to achieve a dubious purpose. In her presentation, she highlighted that Nigeria’s GDP currently grows at 6.5 per cent (NBS) or 7.2 per cent (IMF). However, she forgot to tell us what it was prior to the inception of the GEJ administration in 2011 and what policy of government stimulated this growth.   In a data obtained from http://www.tradingeconomics.com , the annual GDP growth rate was 7.67 per cent in the first quarter of 2010 and it steadily increased, hitting an all-time high of 8.60 per cent in December of 2010 and had si...

We began the assessment of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration by listing a number of the campaign promises he made in 2011 and added that the achievement of those promises was not easy to measure because in essence, they were just broad generalizations with no targets, deliverables or timelines. Perhaps, that was the point of making such vague promises; so that performance cannot be measured and failures would not be easily evident. This week, we would rely on field visits and the feedback received from readers who responded via email, phone and SMS addresses provided last week. These responses along with other published facts and opinions would form the basis for assessing the President’s performance. Some readers used the platform provided to engage in abuse, diversion and bigotry that the Jonathanians have perfected as response to any questions demanding their accountability. They forget that we are thick-skinned and do not respond to brainless insults. Many more provided ...

We all woke up to the news of the proposed granting of "Presidential Pardon" to a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamaiyeseigha by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on Tuesday prior to the meeting of the Council of State. The news went viral and spread like wildfire on Social Media sites such as; Twitter and Facebook. The vast majority of Nigerians on hearing this, widely condemned such a despicable and inglorious action by a man who has repeatedly claimed "No other government has ever fought corruption like the way his government is doing". Later in the day, after the Council of State meeting ended, it was made known officially that Mr. President has granted a "Presidential Pardon" to his erstwhile Boss whom he served as the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State and still reveres as “his benefactor”. Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was the Governor of Bayelsa State between May 29, 1999 and December 9, 2005. He became very popular when he was detained in...

It is with a great and joyous heart that I write to congratulate you, I am particularly thankful to God Almighty for sparing our lives to witness the occasion of your Swearing-in for a Second-term in office. I pray God grants unto you good and sound health to see you through your tenure and the rest of your life on earth,   I also congratulate you on your remarkable victory at the poll in the gubernatorial election conducted in our dear Sunshine State in October last year. The victory is an empirical affirmation of your political wit and astuteness. No doubt Your Excellency, you are a very intelligent politician who a lot of youths look up to seeking political mentorship, you are a classical example of a well-grassrooted politician, a fact which most of your die-hard political antagonist will not dare to contest. The wealth of experience you promised to bring into governance in Ondo State was one of the reasons I opted to support you in the 2007 gubernatorial election as a 10...