If I’ve learned anything these past 35 years of journalism, it’s looking for a story in every situation. It wasn’t different when I left home for the airport on December 14, except that this time, the story found me. My Uber driver started the conversation: “Are you Mr. Azu of… An accidental Christmas story – … Read more
The news from Ghana was not how John Dramani Mahama’s opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), defeated Nana Akufo-Addo’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). The news was how Akufo-Addo managed to survive a full second term. Towards the end of his first and for much of his second term in office, he … Read more
Word of the Year 2024 – By Azu Ishiekwene …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>> I was watching the evening news on Monday night when two presenters used a word at different times that jolted me. I’ve heard and seen that word used often, especially by millennials and Gen Z, but I didn’t entirely pay heed because … Read more
Nigeria: Three stories, one message – By Azu Ishiekwene …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>> Three – maybe three and a half – stories go to the heart of why Nigeria appears stuck in a rut. And for some strange reason, all of them are rooted mainly in energy and power. The first is about … Read more
Nigeria: Three stories, one message – By Azu Ishiekwene …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>> Three – maybe three and a half – stories go to the heart of why Nigeria appears stuck in a rut. And for some strange reason, all of them are rooted mainly in energy and power. The first is about … Read more
Does it still make sense to trust Tinubu? – By Azu Ishiekwene …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>> This was tough to write. My heart resisted it, but I yielded to my head. The petrol in my car, a 2.0-litre 2012 Tokunbo Camry, was at half-tank the day before writing. When pump prices went from … Read more
How Africa is paying for pursuit of the last Hamas – By Azu Ishiekwene …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>> When the Israeli-Hamas war started one year ago, it didn’t look like it would last long. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise to avenge the deaths of over 364 Israelis killed and dozens taken hostage … Read more
LEADERSHIP: A story still telling 20 years after – By Azu Ishiekwene …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>> Several good things happen in the bedroom, often the place of rest and renewal. Sometime in 2004, Sam Nda-Isaiah and his wife Zainab conceived the idea of a newspaper there. She told the story before of how her husband … Read more
Home run for Oshiomhole – By Azu Ishiekwene …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>> The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had barely finished announcing the result of last Saturday’s Edo governorship poll when I got a call to eat the humble pie. Senator Adams Oshiomhole, the man I called a product vendor in my last article, had pulled … Read more
The journey to Yenagoa, after 19 years – By Azu Ishiekwene …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>> When I was invited to Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, in June, I didn’t know what to expect. I had not visited the place since 2005. Even though I had been to nearby Rivers and Delta States several times, Bayelsa didn’t cross … Read more