Ahmed Dodo

The 2015 elections are around the corner, and top on the list is the presidential election, which could be the decisive factor that would determine the continued existence of the country. Ahmed Dodo examines some of the intrigues that might shape the election and the chances of the contesting parties the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressive Party (APC) in the race. Perhaps no election in the history of Nigeria has been more controversial and more decisive than the forth - coming general elections; Most importantly the presidential election. Who occupies the Nigerian seat of power- Aso Rock, come May 29, 2015? This important question seems to be the watershed that would determine the continuedF existence of the most populous nation in Africa, and a practicable answer is expected to surface on the 28 th , of March, 2015, through the ballot box.   But like everything created and done by man under the sun divergent views and interest h...

Look around and you might notice the disgraceful sight of various ethnic social cultural groups parading themselves as serving the interest of their tribes and people. They come outside in the open to advocate for unity, but hide under the cover of their tribes and religion to secretly preach ethnic jargons at their meetings. This is Part of the problem with my dear country Nigeria, and part of why we still fight over indigene ship and breed the reprehensible settler syndrome.   Try dating or marry a woman from anywhere in Nigeria, the first question that is bound to confront you is where are you from? Wish tribe are you? And what religion do you belong?   Many young men and women have been denied their rightful privilege to choose and wed their heartthrobs based on these feeble excuses of tribe and religion differences. Yet, we all go to the same markets to sell and buy, without discriminating against the tribe or religion of the person spending the cash. How many ...

    To set the record straight, I am very proud to be a Nigerian any day, anytime and anywhere. in fact, I won’t trade this big rich country for any other on earth. I love my country no be small. But, I have, just like many other citizens of this great giant of Africa long been aware that there are some problems confronting this beloved nation. To be honest, most of these hitches are ordinary man-made lacuna created by my fellow country men and women over the years since our freedom from our colonial masters who unwillingly imposed themselves and their ways of life on us. How else should we describe a country as big and rich like ours, with abundant human and capital resources, but still lag behind in this 21 st century, despite our abundance. Part of our problems over the decades has always been as a result of greed, self centeredness, myopic reasoning, ethnic sentiment and religion bigotry. I tell you this, go anywhere in Nigeria today, the story is the same ever...

The history of Abuja was originally the south western part of the ancient Habe (Hausa) Kingdom of Zazzau (Zaria). It was populated for centuries by several semi-independent tribes. The largest of these tribes was the Gbagyi. Other areas where they are predominantly found are in Niger and Kaduna states, and also in Nasarawa, Kogi and Kwara states in central Nigeria. The Gbagyi’s are the most populated ethnic group in the FCT and their major occupation is farming, pottery and hunting. They are the original settlers of Abuja the federal capital city of Nigeria, and the Gbagyi language is the most widespread. They are known to be noble, peace loving accommodating and warm. Their hospitable and cordial nature earned them the phrase ‘ Muyi shi Gwari-Gwari’ ( Which means let’s do it like the Gbagys). Interestingly the word Gwari, which the Gbagyi are famously called, is the name of a particular yam in Gbagyi. The Gbagys are culturally soaked people, who despite the over-whelming forc...

You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them. But when you've robbed a man of everything, he's no longer in your power - he's free again.- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn                  Sometimes it seems those selected or elected to rule us are more of aliens than human beings like most of us. This is so, because of their inhuman and unsympathetic attitudes to their fellow countrymen and women as they carry out their myopic policies, especially in the federal capital territory Abuja, where Nigerians are daily tormented, brutalized and dehumanized in the name of land swap and demolition. This same capital that was supposed to be   home to all Nigerians have since been hijacked by a greedy few, not even the indigenous inhabitants of this city have been spared from this insensitivity and madness, all purported to bring out a man-made master plan –the Abuja master plan. What about the God’s made master pl...

“As long as I have any choice, I will stay only in a country where political liberty, toleration, and equality of all citizens before the law are the rule.”    - Albert Einstein I don’t know how you might feel, but I think it is important to voice out my worries and publicly lament the deplorable condition in my dear country, Nigeria. Though, it is said to be untraditional for an African man to cry out, I will rather cry out than allow a few of my fellow country men and women, whom we had erroneously entrusted into their kleptocratic hands, the affairs of our country, to kill me in silence. As such, I see it as an obligation to myself, my nation and importantly to God, to openly lament on their woeful performances over the years. I am highly piqued by the insecurity in our dear nation and the dehumanized face of poverty as it has boldly taken over most homes. The insincerity of our leaders and their wasteful years on the seats of power is nothing that gladdens the h...

  “ A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men” - Thomas Carlyle There have been various suggestions by different thoughtful minds on the need to do away with a few living human species among us here in Nigeria, where a few group of men and women   have over the decades turned us into modern slaves in our own country. These segregated few have greedily before and after independence forcefully inherited our collective national treasure. They cut across all the political zones and have been enjoying the vast rich wealth of this nation to the detriment of the majority of the population. To be honest, it takes an animalistic feeling for someone to wish his fellow human being death, but the current situation in my dear country is quite frustrating and pathetic which could instigate a rational thinker to wish for the demise of some of his country leaders.   The Nigerian ‘rich few’ to be candid, are extremely greedy and sometime inhuman to their f...