Niyi Olarewaju

Words cannot describe this The barbarism at plain sight The goriness of the wanton killings The horror of the unprovoked destructions And then the big question The perpetrators of such dastard acts Are they humans too? Our psyche is battered and tormented Our heart is broken and it bleeds Our eyes are swollen and pregnant Pregnant with the flood of tears The flood of tears big enough to drown us And I can't stop asking What has happened to our humanity? Like pencils, humans have become tools Tools to a priority that is misplaced Blind we are to the handwritings Like the vulture long beaten by the rain You know not where the rain starts beating you How will you know where it stops beating you? They have eyes but they don't see Educated but the mind is ignorant Developing but the mind is crude Progressing but the mind is medieval Lessons on the sanctity of human life And life's dignity and decency The question keeps coming What have we done to ...

As the Nigerian 2019 election is fast approaching, with campaign activities gaining tract and the nation's electoral commission ramping up preparations, it is pertinent to also critically appraise the options presented Nigerians in this election. In this article, I will primarily focus on the presidential election which of course draws the biggest interest, and which is also, the most important in this round of elections. Interestingly, unlike other elections since the military handed over power to the civilians in 1999, there seems to be very little optimism and excitement about the 2019 presidential election. In 1999, we were all excited about the prospect of returning Nigeria to democratic governance after about 15 years of military rule. In 2007, it was fascinating to see the nation transition from one democratic government to another. The 2011 presidential election was special in its own way, because of the unique stories of the top candidates in that election. The climax o...

With the turn of events in the last two weeks, it has become imperative to grasp the new realities of Venezuela, especially with the United States’ recognition of Mr Juan Guaidó as acting President, which triggered other countries to either recognise Mr Guaidó or the incumbent President, Nicolas Maduro. But for starters, it is worthy to mention that America is no longer that dependable and reliable ally the world used to know. Today’s America is a far deviation from the American that helped rebuild Europe post-world war II, or the America that helped lay the foundation for strong economic successes in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. In fact, America’s foreign and economic policies today are the complete opposite of everything that led to the huge successes in these countries decades ago. Hence, the need to be cautious in embracing America’s dictates especially in Venezuela which presents a very unique case. While it may sound very scintillating to hear America’s support for Mr Juan G...