by Simon Kolawole In his civil war memoir, There Was a Country, which turned out to be his last work, he maintained his age-old assertion that the rest of Nigeria was at war with the Igbo, and that the only thing uniting Nigerians is their common hatred for the Igbo. It was like making a... Read More

‘There Was a Country’, alison-Madueke, chinua achebe, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, Dr Alex Ekwueme, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, Ibrahim Babangida, igbo, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, simon kolawole

March 17, 2013

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Simon Kolawole: Mr. President, what’s going on here?

by Simon Kolawole Another message you have sent out, Your Excellency, is that the anti-graft agencies are wasting their time. You are telling them: “If you like investigate, prosecute and get conviction. I am eagerly waiting here to pardon the crooks!” Dear President Goodluck Jonathan, I wish to inform you this morning that more and... Read More

Abdulsalami Abubakar, diepreye alamieyeseigha, Goodluck Jonathan, nigeria, olusegun obasanjo, pardon, reuben abati, simon kolawole

March 3, 2013

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Simon Kolawole: Repent… for the end is nigh!

by Simon Kolawole The end of oil boom seems nigh, expect things change rapidly. We are faced with the prospects of low investment, depleting reserves, global production glut, reduced exports and sustained drop in crude oil prices. Our leaders, especially the president and the governors, must repent. Let me scare you a bit – crude... Read More

economy, Muhammadu Buhari, nigeria, Oil, shehu shagari, simon kolawole, U.S.

January 20, 2013

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Simon Kolawole: Opposition and the Nigerian project

by Simon Kolawole Many Nigerians are disdainful of the PDP – but the question is: what is the opposition all about? What are they offering us, beyond tough-talking press statements? I’m a young, politically conscious Nigerian and, should I say, someone whose vote is up for grabs in 2015. First of all, I do... Read More

2015, opposition, PDP, simon kolawole

January 13, 2013

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Simon Kolawole: Industry and the Nigerian Project

by Simon Kolawole Maybe there is something about the Nigerian market that we don’t understand. This is a country plagued by poverty, yet the people are very hungry to make phone calls! Let’s say I have $10 billion “change” and I don’t know what to do with it, why should I invest it in Nigeria?... Read More

Adams Oshiomhole, Dangote Sugar, Hugo Chavez, industry, MTN, Olaitan Oyerinde, simon kolawole

January 6, 2013

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Simon Kolawole: This troubled Nigerian project

by Simon Kolawole …the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party in power since 1999, does not seem to have an articulated vision. Even if there is a vision, the consistency and strategies required in implementation have been awfully missing. During a one-week business trip to Dubai with a friend last November, we spent most of... Read More

Dilma Vana Rousseff, Goodluck Jonathan, Idris Wada, nigeria, olusegun obasanjo, PDP, simon kolawole, south korea, vision

December 30, 2012

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Simon Kolawole: Love in the season of cholera

by Simon Kolawole I have argued on this page a million times that our problem is not so much our ethno-religious differences but how we manage the negative symptoms of these differences. How do you preach love when blood-thirsty men are lurking around, looking for their next victim – in the name of God? But... Read More

boko haram, Lastma, nigeria, Religion, simon kolawole, Tony Blair, Tony Elumelu

December 23, 2012

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Simon Kolawole: One burial and six funerals

Beware of Boko Haram this season! It is very predictable that the militants will try to carry out attacks during this festive period. That is a no-brainer. Life is nothing but unpredictable. As I arrived at the Port Harcourt airport on the morning of Saturday, December 15, 2012, I met the former managing director of... Read More

Andrew Azazi, Bayelsa, Goodluck Jonathan, patrick yakowa, Port Harcourt, simon kolawole, ThisDay Backpage, Timi Alaibe

December 16, 2012

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Simon Kolawole Live!: Such a hard road to travel

But despite all the work being done over the years by FRSC, we are still battling the scourge of road crashes. What if there was no FRSC? Is it me or are we not losing too many lives on our roads? Maybe I’m a bit emotional about this because of my... Read More

Featured, Hard Road, opinion, simon kolawole

November 18, 2012

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Simon Kolawole: God loves a cheerful giver…

I know many Nigerian billionaires who cannot be bothered with putting a kobo into charity, yet they keep benefitting from the system. If you think I am about to mount the “pulpit” this morning to ask the “congregation” to “donate” generously, you are correct. But it is not to buy a private jet. Rather, it... Read More

aliko dangote, Goodluck Jonathan, lionel messi, mike adenuga, pat utomi, simon kolawole, zlatan ibrahimovic

November 11, 2012

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Simon Kolawole: Obama is an inspiration, any day

Nigeria is like this today because the enemies of progress have been calling the shots in critical positions. No, no, no. I am not about to write a tribute to U.S. President Barack Obama for winning a second term, although he more than deserves some praise. In 2008, his victory owed largely to the novelty... Read More

barack obama, elections, INEC, nigeria, simon kolawole, Voting

November 4, 2012

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Simon Kolawole: Indeed, there was a starved country

Gowon and Awolowo could have done much more to help the dying and diseased civilians. And, clearly, Ojukwu fatally erred by refusing to accept the conditions for the delivery of relief materials. There has been some mayhem over Professor Chinua Achebe’s civil war memoir, There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra. Achebe accused... Read More

Biafran War, blockade, chinua achebe, Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo, simon kolawole, starvation, Yakubu Gowon

September 4, 2012

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Simon Kolawole: Critics, cynics and the president

This is the trick: Jonathan should not fall into the mistake of grouping all his critics together. He will be missing the point if he regards anyone who raises any issue with his administration as an enemy. When a presidential spokesman begins to react to beer-parlour gossips about his principal with a full-page newspaper article, then... Read More

criticism, President Goodluck Jonathan, reuben abati, simon kolawole

July 24, 2012

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Simon Kolawole: A society of hardliners and bigots

Fellow Nigerians, why are we maiming and killing in the name of religion and ethnicity? We are never going to answer the question the same way. It is poverty, many will suggest. I agree with that position to a large extent—although I am forced to ask why the people of Benin Republic, who are poorer... Read More

ethnicity, nigeria, Religion, simon kolawole

June 10, 2012

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Simon Kolawole resigns from Thisday in protest – ‘He is free to go,’ says Obaigbena

by Hauwa Gambo We reported this morning that the editor of Thisday, Simon Kolawole had been moved – in what appeared to industry insiders to actually be a “move to Siberia”, according to a desk editor in the paper, who wishes to remain anonymous. They were right. See a report from Premium Times below: The editor of... Read More

editor, ijeoma nwogwugwu, Nduka Obaigbena, simon kolawole, ThisDay

Simon Kolawole: There was a legendary Iroko

Simon Kolawole: Mr. President, what’s going on here?

Simon Kolawole: Repent… for the end is nigh!

Simon Kolawole: Opposition and the Nigerian project

Simon Kolawole: Industry and the Nigerian Project

Simon Kolawole: This troubled Nigerian project

Simon Kolawole: Love in the season of cholera

Simon Kolawole: One burial and six funerals

Simon Kolawole Live!: Such a hard road to travel

Simon Kolawole: God loves a cheerful giver…

Simon Kolawole: Obama is an inspiration, any day

Simon Kolawole: Indeed, there was a starved country

Simon Kolawole: Critics, cynics and the president

Simon Kolawole: A society of hardliners and bigots

Simon Kolawole resigns from Thisday in protest – ‘He is free to go,’ says Obaigbena

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