Deep Thought

 Nigeria, Greatness and the Missing Link II By Prof. M. K. Othman The picture of Nigeria and its potential to be a great nation was presented in this column last week. It is heartwarming and inspiring to recognize Nigeria’s enormous natural and human resources, but also disheartening to know that these resources are lying idle, with some being plundered. As earlier buttressed, humans are the most important resource, which galvanizes the transformation of other resources to fast-track societal development. How qualitative is Nigeria’s human resource? The major qualitative indicator of human resources in any society is the level of its human capital. Human capital refers to the stock of competencies, skills, knowledge, and personality attributes that individuals embody.  These attributes are responsible for creating a high-quality labor force with appreciable economic, social, and personal values. Labor is the most important factor of production. Human capital is therefore a pri...

 Nigeria, Greatness and the Missing Link By Prof. M. K. Othman In February 2026, Nigeria is 66 years and five months old as an independent nation, free from colonialism, and 113 years old as a nation called Nigeria. The 1914 amalgamation of the British colonies and the northern and southern protectorates into a single country, Nigeria, was carried out by fiat, without consultation with the people. During colonization, the land, its resources, and the people were considered the spoils of the colonial masters. Some people felt, and still feel, that the amalgamation was an “accident of history” that shouldn’t have happened; they argue, “how can over 200 nations be fiercely jam-packed as one nation”? Nevertheless, the country has survived decades of political, religious, and tribal turmoil, plundering, and kleptomania, and still wears the toga of a potentially “great nation of the 21st century”. Can Nigeria achieve greatness in this century? Nigeria is stupendously blessed with both hu...

 Re: Kano Family Killing - Nigerian Youths and Collective Responsibilities By Prof. MK Othman   From youthful exuberance to delinquency and then to full-blown violent crimes, the youths are restive, and we are losing control of the situation, creating a bleak future for the nation. From Bama to Badagary, the story of youth involvement in illicit drug use and crime is pathetic and, more dangerously, creating a monster that requires our collective efforts and responsibility to crush. After a series of write-ups on Nigerian youths and their undesirable behaviors that have become a time bomb, I was alarmed to read a piece by Abdu Abdullahi, an ace writer and public opinion analyst, who cited examples of crimes committed in Kano over the last five years, predominantly by youths. Abdullahi posits that Kano, hitherto a famous center for both Islamic and modern education, cultural fulfillment, and progressive politics, has sadly been redefined and ruled by spontaneous episodes of huma...

 Mai Mala Buni: From Wearing Two Caps to Biomedical Revolution By Prof MK Othman On 8 July 2021, I published a column examining what I then described as “the art of wearing two caps”—a reflection on Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State’s ability to navigate the simultaneous demands of partisan political leadership and subnational governance. The argument in that essay was neither celebratory nor predictive. Rather, it was an inquiry into institutional balance: whether the burden of national political responsibility could coexist with focused attention to the quotidian, unglamorous work of state development. At the time, the conclusion was cautious. The essay noted discipline, timing, and restraint as key ingredients but stopped short of extrapolating long-term outcomes. Almost five years later, events in Damaturu on January 29 and 30, 2026, provide an opportunity to revisit that earlier reflection—not personalities, but process, priorities, and precedent. The commissioning of the B...