Category: Politics

Politics, Travelling

Jerusalem: Land of Uneasy Peace, Religion and Business

Jilomes

This is the fourth part in a series tagged “A Stroll Through Israel”. If you won’t jump into the fourth episode of a Game of Thrones season, you may want to begin with the first article.

Our trip to Israel began with Tel Aviv, then Nazareth, Bethlehem, Rawabi and Ramallah. Having gone through these cities to view Israel and Palestine from a different lens, it was time to tour what is unarguably the most contested piece of hills in this galaxy. From being a space merely contested for mainly political reasons, Jerusalem morphed into the site of a religiously-charged contest, and has now retained the political dimension, making it a hotspot for flares. It is in this context that the #LetsTalkBusiness entourage went on a tour of Old Jerusalem.  Continue reading “Jerusalem: Land of Uneasy Peace, Religion and Business” →

Rawabi
Politics, Travelling

A Day for Palestine

Jilomes

This is the third part in a series tagged “A Stroll Through Israel”. If you won’t jump into the third episode of a Game of Thrones season, you may want to begin with the first article.

When you hear or read of the Israel-Palestine conflict, what comes to your mind? If all you think of is chaos, poverty, oppression and bloodshed, no one would blame you. The media have ensured negativity is groomed in people’s minds. However, there is more to Palestine than the media presents. Join me through a day spent unlearning and relearning about Palestine.  Continue reading “A Day for Palestine” →

Politics, Travelling

A Stroll Through Israel [Part 2]

Jilomes

Israel meets Palestine

It is commonly said that there are two sides to every story. One thing with life is that we sometimes seek to view life in terms of absolutes—right vs wrong, black vs white, good vs evil—but sometimes life isn’t something that can be linearly modelled as it covers more than fifty shades of grey. In this second part of the series, we relive a day spent partly in Israel and partly in land governed by the Palestinian Authority.  Continue reading “A Stroll Through Israel [Part 2]” →

Politics, Travelling

A Stroll Through Israel [Part 1]

Jilomes

The clock had just gone past 8pm local time when the EasyJet plane touched the tarmac at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. It was the end of a five-hour flight that had departed the UK earlier that day. On board were fourteen UK students, stepping into the warm Tel Aviv evening with eyes set on a trip that was months in the waiting. These students were joined by two others who had arrived on earlier flights. For me, it was the end of a four-month wait after an earlier disappointment.  Continue reading “A Stroll Through Israel [Part 1]” →

Change, Politics

Celebrating 100 Days of Excuses

Jilomes

“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy … therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.”

  • Jesus Christ (Luke 12:1 + Matthew 23:2)

In writing this article, I understand that some persons’ sensibilities would be offended; maybe a little more than some. Yet, I choose to write because we cannot continue to shy away from important issues that affect Nigeria’s existence. During the 2015 general elections campaign, the then General Muhammadu Buhari pledged to ban medical tourism by government officials. Today, we are celebrating 100 straight days of President Buhari’s sojourn in London, his second trip this year.  Continue reading “Celebrating 100 Days of Excuses” →

Politics

Theorising Nigerian Hatred

Jilomes

Let me begin with a quote by George Washington Carver. He wrote that “Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater.” Since most calls for secession in Nigeria are linked to hatred of one tribe or region for the other, Carver’s theory stipulates that Nigerians are afraid of something; something so fearsome as to trigger vitriolic hatred.  Continue reading “Theorising Nigerian Hatred” →

Politics

Biafra and the Knifing Calls

Jilomes

In recent times, the Nigerian polity has been flooded with secession calls by Nnamdi Kanu’s organisation, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Kanu’s request has been quite clear: take a knife, carve out Nigeria’s “Biafra region” and let it become an independent nation. In the midst of debates on what areas constitute the requested Biafra, secession calls have also come from other parts of the country. Apparently, many persons are tired of Nigeria’s present composition and feel a divorce is the best way forward.  Continue reading “Biafra and the Knifing Calls” →

Change, Politics

The UK’s General Election 2017: Lessons for Nigeria

Jilomes

Not a few persons are aware of the maxim that “the pen is mightier than the sword”. This quote has been used repeatedly in speeches, articles and books. What quite a few persons know is the existence of a related quote by America’s Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln looked at the democratic process and concluded that “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” Although in literal terms, it is incredulous that paper could be more potent than solid lead, developed democracies have realised that a trusted ballot system not only enables citizen participation but also enables structures for development.  Continue reading “The UK’s General Election 2017: Lessons for Nigeria” →

Politics

RE: Two Years of Real Democracy

Jilomes

On the 29th of May, as Nigerians celebrated “Democracy Day” and the midpoint of the Buhari-Osinbajo administration, I published an article using a selected metric to appraise their performance so far. As we have come to see in the last few years, Nigerians are generally passionate about the leaders they love or hate, and so my article attracted lots of offline reaction in some public chat groups and in personal chats I had with some persons. I have now chosen to do a public rejoinder to respond to some of the issues raised.  Continue reading “RE: Two Years of Real Democracy” →

Change, Politics

Two Years of Real Democracy

Jilomes

For today’s article marking Nigeria’s “Democracy Day”, a quote by Michelle Hodkin should provide a suitable explanatory introduction. The quote goes thus: “Thinking something does not make it true. Wanting something does not make it real.”  Extending this, Philip Dick concisely says that “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” Combining these two quotes, I believe there is a strong enough foundation for this essay. Let us begin.

Continue reading “Two Years of Real Democracy” →