COLUMNS

Cameron, Côte d’Ivoire:  I weep for Africa

Daily Dispatch October 31, 2025

BY ZAINAB SULEIMAN OKINO Watching the news of the recent elections in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire broke my heart. Once again, Paul Biya — at 91 years old — has been declared winner of Cameroon’s presidential election, extending his more than four decades in power. In Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane

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Dictatorship by benevolence?

Daily Dispatch October 22, 2025

By ZAINAB SULEIMAN OKINO Less than two years into President Bola Tinubu’s first tenure, everything about him and all decisions now revolve around politics and politicking toward his reelection in 2027. Not that he ever took his gaze off that all-important year—the year of final consolidation, of crowning glory for a man who has been […]

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ADA, ADC, APC: Without substance, What’s in a name?

Daily Dispatch July 8, 2025

By Zainab Suleiman Okino Nigerian politicians appear obsessed with the alphabetical positioning of political parties’ names and their corresponding acronyms on ballot papers. This obsession has created a frenzy among the political elite in their scramble to incorporate an “A” into their party names. The phenomenon manifested prominently in the new opposition coalition’s

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LG autonomy: The mess gets messier

Daily Dispatch October 23, 2024

By Zainab Suleiman Okino When the Supreme Court delivered its landmark judgment on financial autonomy for the 774 Local Governments (LGs) in July 2024, many believed salvation had finally reached the grassroots. The verdict was expected to empower LGs to make decisions and take actions without seeking approval from state governors, potentially ushering in much-needed […]