The Learner

By Muhsin Ibrahim Religion was central to Bola Tinubu's emergence as the APC's candidate for the 2023 presidential election. We discussed the issue as if it would not end. Since the 1993 annulled election of Abiola/Kingibe (both Muslims), no major candidate and his running mate have ever come from the same religion until now: Tinubu/Shettima (both Muslims). But, as the election approaches (we are, in fact, counting hours), only a few people talk about that. However, religion will play a significant role in the voting pattern. The wild popularity of Labour Party’s Peter Obi on social media and his appeal to foreign media has something to do with his religion. I know this may sound controversial, but it is so. The three other front candidates are Muslims, while Obi is a Christian. Besides this, I can't see a glaring difference between him and NNPP’s Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso per se. Tinubu and PDP’s Atiku Abubakar are in their 70s, while Kwankwaso and Obi are in their 60s. T...

By Muhsin Ibrahim Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, recently claimed he needed ₦70m for his re-election expenses, perhaps on the election day alone, citing a law that grants him this. One wonders how much gubernatorial and presidential candidates need to cover their own re/election expenses. Do you also remember or, better, imagine how much they must have spent purchasing their nomination forms, paying delegates during primary elections and running campaigns in their constituencies before the election day? I remember what Amina J Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, once said during a virtual lecture on democracy. She lamented that we all believe in democracy. However, the model for democracy challenges us. It’s short-term, costly, and highly corrupt. Moreover, INEC plans to spend ₦305 billion for the 2023 elections. I am sure INEC will ask for more money because IPOB attacks its offices in the South-East and ot...

I initially posted this on Facebook. It should be here for other people outside Facebook. Enjoy! We must address the weak argument that no country develops using a foreign language. Frankly, it does more harm than good to us. So many people cite it as a reason not to learn English or to dismiss this essential language. As a result, many miss opportunities, both within and especially outside Nigeria, due to limited English-language skills.   Nigeria was colonised. Like many other former colonies, it is a multilingual country. However, unlike Europe (where Germans speak German, French people speak French, Italians speak Italian, etc.), most former colonies comprise speakers of multiple languages, making it challenging to elevate one above the others without others objecting to discrimination and marginalisation. I know that Tanzania, among a few others, succeeds with Swahili.   The last time I checked, India had more English speakers than the United States. E...