All Posts in Category: News

New Olu of Odoşęnlu Receives Staff of Office

New Olu of Odoşęnlu Receives Staff of Office

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

As I was about to retire, my wife stressed the need to upgrade our country home at Odoşęnlu, Ijebu-Ode. It was clear that I would not settle in Geneva, New York or Nairobi as a number of my UN retiring colleagues tend to do. These choices for many UN retirees are easily explainable. Returning to home countries after socializing with an international oriented cosmopolitan group for decades tends to be traumatic. As a result, UN retirees tend to die off on an average of five years if they served till the very end. Of course, a few died a day after retirement as a result of accidents and some make it well beyond thirty years.

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New Olu of Odoşęnlu Receives Staff of Office

    

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Sit-Tight Presidents Syndrome: A Changing African Past

Sit-Tight Presidents Syndrome: A Changing African Past

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

With independence realized from colonial rule, Africa had its fair share of sit-tight Presidents. The continent started off with one-party states that knew only one leader who satisfied demands for elections but making sure that these “African Kings” regularly and purportedly scored over 90% of votes cast. Then came a spate of “African Kings in military uniforms” who equally stayed put in power and died in office and were succeeded by their sons or carefully chosen loyalist. Of course, there were those who had mother luck smile on them and acquired power against all odds like Daniel arap Moi but who in turn stayed put only to be eventually swept aside by historical pressures towards democratization given the push for multi-partyism.

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Sit-Tight Presidents Syndrome: A Changing African Past

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Operation Amotekun: Part One, Two and Three

Operation Amotekun: Part One, Two and Three

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

I lived in Nairobi for 11 years working for the United Nations on peace for Somalia. It meant I went into Mogadishu where I had earlier lived for two years (before the UN’s evacuation), on as needed basis. I was part of the UN’s support of the unending peace dialogues and conferences.

As I am wanting to do in many aspects of my life and shocked by the situation in Mogadishu, I thought through, planned and concluded that if Nigeria were to implode, I would choose to live in Nairobi or Accra if I must become a refugee. I enjoyed and made friends from far and wide in the city. But I knew and know that refugees have little choices. It depends on which country and/or community is willing to accept them.

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Operation Amotekun Parts 1-3

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Ọmọlúwàbí and Ojude-Oba

Ọmọlúwàbí and Ojude-Oba

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

The Ijębu people of Nigeria took on and domesticated the Durbar concept over a hundred years ago. The historical background to Ojude-Oba (Durbar among Ijębus) was well articulated in a Facebook posting by Engineer Kayode Sote last year. There is no doubt that the current paramount King of the Ijębus Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijębuland went far in modernising Ojude-Oba and made it a major annual carnival that is now on the cultural tourism circuit of Nigeria.

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Ọmọlúwàbí and Ojude Oba

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My View on The Viral Video on Ibrahim Idris

My View on The Viral Video on Ibrahim Idris

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

The IG that I Knew was not an Imbecile
The viral video on Ibrahim Idris, the Nigerian Inspector-General of Police (IG), ostensibly portrayed as not being able to read a speech is of serious concern to Nigeria and beyond. The right question should be why we could entrust a major security apparatus to such a man. This video lends credence to the position coming out of the Nigerian Senate that Ibrahim Idris is not fit to hold such a high office. So, is the video a case of the Yoruba saying on causation/correlation to the effect that: “Aje ke l’ana, omo ku l’eni, tani ko mope Aje ana ni o pa omo je” (the Witch carried yesterday and a child died today, who does not know that the child was killed by the Witch)? Of course, I cannot conclude that the video came out of the Senate or those in support of the institution that is engaged in a power tussle with the IG.

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My View on The Viral Video on Ibrahim Idris

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Instability in Nigeria: The Maizube Farm Deliberations

Instability in Nigeria: The Maizube Farm Deliberations

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

That Nigeria is politically charged and bereft of safety and security would be an understatement. Terrorists are competing for who can surpass the other in wanton destruction of lives. Drums of separation are recently getting louder among many nationalities. Kidnappings once restricted to the Niger Delta has now made travels except by air, a harrowing experience. Banditry goes on as usual as stupid people engage in rituals for money. The situation, rather than improve, has worsened in the last five or six years.

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Instability in Nigeria The Maizube Farm Deliberations 

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From Panama to Paradise Papers

From Panama to Paradise Papers 

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

The ripple effects of the Panama Papers are still on in many jurisdictions. Now we have a new leak which, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), include confidential documents of a Bermuda based law firm, Appleby Group Services Ltd, files from Asiaciti, a trust company, as well as documents from company registries in 19 secrecy jurisdictions. The Paradise Papers were first shared with German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and the ICIJ and partner media outlets. Premium Times claims to be the only news outlet invited to participate from Nigeria. The new leak that became public on November 5, 2017, contains 13.4 million files on offshore accounts of private investors, both individuals and corporations from around the world.

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From Panama to Paradise Papers

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From CFA to ECO: What’s in a Name?

From CFA to ECO: What’s in a Name?

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

In international politics, there are no permanent friends (at least not one that colonized you), but permanent interests. The CFA is a neo-colonial relation between 8 former colonies of France except Guinea-Bissau which was colonized by Portugal. It is in the interest of France to maintain the relations with its former colonies in spite of hushed tones of dissatisfaction from those pretending to be African leaders.  Countries collaborate if it’s in their respective interests. Many a time, countries operate on how to better their selfish interest. So, France or Britain, (in the case of Nigeria), must not be blamed for always trying to protect their respective interests over and above those of their respective former colonies. It is for Africans to wake-up, use their brains and brawn for change instead of stupidly praying to God/gods of others and expecting freedom through miracles!

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From CFA to ECO 

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Do Africans Still Need Safari Tourists Disguised as International Election Observers?

Do Africans Still Need Safari Tourists Disguised as International Election Observers? 

By Babafemi A. Badejo, PhD & Nana K. A. Busia, Jr., PhD

Since the ushering in of multi-party politics in African states, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the early 1990s, observation of elections by external organizations is one of the mechanisms employed to ensure free and fair elections in the respective African countries.

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Do Africans Still Need Safari Tourists Disguised as International Election Observers 

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Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

We tend to easily sensationalize and fail to examine history very closely. I don’t know if I am alone but we are, in my view, far from the euphoric commentaries on developments on the Korean Peninsula. Rounds of high-level meetings are not holding for the first time in or on the Korean Peninsula. They are taking place after the ones of 1994 and 2000.

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Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula 

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