THE FRAME

Could Tehran’s growing influence over two of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints fundamentally change the balance of power in the Middle East? There are moments in international politics when a military development in one country suddenly becomes a problem for the entire world. The latest Houthi advance in Yemen may be one of those moments. The reported capture of key positions around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait , including Perim Island, has dramatically changed the strategic picture in the Red Sea. The Houthis have also captured Mokha and consolidated their position along Yemen's Red Sea coast. Because the Houthis are closely aligned with Iran, this development has immediately raised a much larger question: Is Iran gradually moving from being merely a powerful regional actor to becoming the dominant strategic power of the Middle East? The answer is not yet a simple "yes." But something much more important may be happening. Iran is accumulating...

What Nigeria Must Learn from the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 When Identity Becomes a Weapon History has repeatedly demonstrated that nations do not descend into catastrophic violence overnight. Before the machetes, there are words. Before the mass graves, there is propaganda. Before neighbours become enemies, there is usually a prolonged process of psychological separation—an intentional or politically exploited transformation of “us” and “them.” This is perhaps the most important lesson Nigeria must learn from Rwanda. Between April and July 1994, Rwanda experienced one of the most horrifying episodes of mass violence in modern African history. In approximately 100 days, between 800,000 and one million people were killed, overwhelmingly Tutsi civilians, alongside moderate Hutus who opposed or resisted the extremist campaign. The killings were not spontaneous. They were preceded by years of political manipulation, ethnic polarization, dehumanizing propaganda, militari...

This week, Bauchi State has once again been thrown into a vortex of political controversy, public anxiety and grave security concerns following a viral video interview involving a man identified as Hassan and the popular social-media personality known as De English Alhaji. The interview, which has travelled with astonishing velocity across social-media platforms, contains allegations of an exceptionally serious nature against the Distinguished Senator representing Bauchi South Senatorial District, Senator Shehu Buba Umar. Let us be unequivocally clear from the outset: an allegation is not a conviction, a viral video is not a judicial verdict, and public outrage is not a substitute for evidence. Yet, allegations of terrorism, banditry or complicity in violent criminality are far too consequential to be casually dismissed as ordinary political gossip. According to recent media reports, Hassan made several allegations during the recorded interview concerning Senator Shehu Buba...

The recent political theatrics and manufactured outrage surrounding the alleged “anointing” of Dr. Yakubu Adamu as a preferred successor to Governor Senator Bala Muhammad Abdulkadir Kaura deserve to be confronted with facts rather than empty political grandstanding. Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that Governor Bala Mohammed indeed considers Dr. Yakubu Adamu worthy of succeeding him. So what exactly is the crime? Is Dr. Yakubu Adamu not a Nigerian? Is he constitutionally prohibited from aspiring to become Governor of Bauchi State? Has any competent court of law ever pronounced him incapable, disqualified or unfit to occupy public office? The answer is an emphatic NO. Therefore, attempting to portray the political support or preference of a serving governor as humiliation to Dr. Yakubu Adamu is nothing more than a baseless political brouhaha, intellectual gymnastics and desperate propaganda designed to manufacture controversy where none exists. A TRUE SON OF THE SOI...

 (A critical look into Dr. Musa Babayo Talban Katagum's arguement)  In fact, let us have the courage to revisit every subsidy that directly protects the purchasing power, productivity and welfare of ordinary Nigerians. This is not a demand for reckless spending. It is a demand for economic realism, social justice and intelligent government. No amount of economic terminology, complicated statistics or impressive vocabulary can convince the ordinary Nigerian that life is better today than it was before the removal of the petrol subsidy in May 2023. The question Nigerians should be asking is simple: If a policy is economically sound on paper but makes millions of citizens poorer, more vulnerable and less secure in practice, should government stubbornly continue with it—or should government redesign it? I believe Nigeria must redesign it. THE SUBSIDY REMOVAL WAS SOLD AS AN ECONOMIC NECESSITY When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy o...