Deep Thought

 Nigeria-2023: Crying Aloud for the Youth II By Prof MK Othman As discussed in the first part of this piece, some parents belabor and overpamper their children, doing everything possible to make them live the sunny side of life. There is another category of parents who shirk away their parental responsibilities. About two weeks ago, there was a program on Freedom FM Radio, Kaduna, which featured a story of an Islamic Scholar who led a team on Da’awah visit to the Correction Center (formally known as “prison”) in Kaduna. At the center, the team came across a young man who gave his father’s name and address in Kaduna town. Afterward, Islamic Scholar traced the father ostensibly to discuss how the young man can be rehabilitated after the young man’s sentence. The Islamic Scholar was shocked by the confession of the father. The man confessed to having 24 children but can only remember the names of four and was aware of the whereabouts of two and had no idea of the whereabouts and what the

 Nigeria-2023: Crying Aloud for the Youth By Prof MK Othman   Demographically, Nigeria would occupy the famous (or infamous?) position of the sixth most populous country in the world by November 2022, the next four months. This projection was recently made by the United Nations, which indicates the Nigerian population ascending to over 220 million people thereby overtaking that of Brazil. In the last fifty years, the Nigerian population has risen significantly. Data available in the 2012 revision of the World Population Prospects by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat indicates that the Nigerian population in 1950 was only 37,860,000 compared to 159,708,000 in 2010. This year, 2022, the proportion of children below the age of 14 is 43.3% while between 15 and 65 years is 59.3% and above 65 years is only 2.8%. The rate of population growth in Nigeria is “one birth in every four seconds and one death in every fourteen

-2023: Ekweremadu’s Palaver, Misgovernance and Way out By Prof. MK Othman Ike Ekweremadu has been a top-ranking politician who has been representing Enugu West Senatorial District in National Assembly since 2003. He was the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate for three consecutive terms (6th,7th, and 8th assembly), totalling 12 years. On February 23rd, 2019, he defeated his closest rival, Mrs Julliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu of the APC with overwhelming 86,088 votes against 15,187 votes. He only lost his attempt to be the Deputy Senate President for the 4th term to Senator Ovie Omo-Agege who secured 68 votes to emerge a winner. Within the confine of Nigerian borders, Ekweremadu is not only a celebrity but a powerful powerbroker who could do and undo to influence the speed and direction of Nigeria’s governance. He is a typical Nigerian political leader. Ironically, Ekweremadu is currently cooling his heels in the prison yard of the United Kingdom awaiting trial. He is being accused of organ h

 Readers’ Comments By Prof MK Othman   I am still on break to allow my esteemed readers air their views on the various issues presented in this Column. Some of the views are edited for clarity and space limitations. Happy Reading   Electoral Reform in Nigeria: Light at the End of The Tunnel? The argument advanced by the NCC does not hold water as per as I am concerned. Telecom regulators should know how best to approach such challenges. If you claim that Telecom MNOs have not covered more than 55% of the country 3G-wise, whose responsibility is it to do it, Engr Aminu or Saidu who are struggling daily to put a meal on their tables?   I recall way back in 2007 when President Obasanjo was leaving the office for late Yaradua, I was involved in the deployment of Vsat from state INEC offices to local governments and connected directly to HQ in Abq. The installed capacity was solar-powered with battery backup,  a LAN port to connect your laptop and a port to connect to a regular phone. I rem