The Human Project

In Nigeria, if bad governance doesn't kill us, fake news will do the job. The recent elections in Nigeria has proven that, coupled with the rapid increase in parody accounts on social media, particularly twitter. Every Tom, Dick and Harry had a field day opening and operating twitter accounts in politicians' names and conveniently including “parody” in the bio. Most people went ahead to use these accounts to spread fake news. Tweeps were conveniently retweeting and trending information that never existed. Politicians and their spokespersons  (and this is not me defending them. Dem sef don too do) had their jobs cut out for them, struggling to explain and exonerate themselves from fake news everyday. First of all, what is a parody? A humorous piece of writing, drama, or music which imitates the style of a well-known person or represents a familiar situation in an exaggerated way. Let me give you a few examples. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (parody of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)...

  As a first time mom, I watched my son go through pain after his circumcision. I kept asking why there is no anesthesia for babies. Why should a new born go through such pain? I couldn’t sleep for days, secretly nursing the thought that his tender skin might never heal. Now, imagine an adult in that situation. Won’t he scream down the hospital building? Babies are really strong, and circumcision is a necessity as the health benefits are enormous. Can we say the same of tribal marks? Why give a baby several cuts on his/her face with a hot knife laced with ash? The creepiest part is that the parents seem unbothered amid heart-wrenching cries from those children. How do they sleep at night after allowing their children go through torture at such tender age? I would really like to know whether the local tribal mark giver made them a special portion to drink so they can lose their parent instincts. Let’s consider a brief history of tribal marks. From the Yoruba in the southwest, to...

  It is not a secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on many businesses and educational institutions all over the world. Many companies have shut down and as a result, a good number of people have lost their means of livelihood. Some have managed to survive the wave, but their quality of delivery is poor compared to how it was before the pandemic. While many businesses are struggling, some others have embraced a whole new landscape of innovation which has helped them scale through the crisis successfully. In the words of Sarah Kirby, “those who fail to change will be left behind, exposing their employees to increased risk of financial distress, facing layoffs and closures.” [1] Some companies have even recorded their best numbers; COVID-19 has reinvented the future of work for managers who have taken the opportunity to do better. So why have so many failed and what can be done to fix it? Like Sam Adeyemi stated, “leadership remains the core catalyst for driving creat...

Human trafficking is a very disturbing issue that has triggered the concern of government and indeed many NGOs. People all over the world are victims of human trafficking both in their own countries and abroad.  It consists of the transferring, harboring and receipt of a person or persons, often done in violent or deceptive ways, using threat or coercion. Victims are sexually exploited or made to do labor or services through the use of force or coercion. Some of the fundamental challenges surrounding human trafficking in Nigeria include lack of knowledge of the actual volume, nature and impact of trafficking. Also, it would appear that there is a gap in enforcement mechanisms. Despite the seriousness of the crime, the government and law enforcement agencies do not seem to pay much attention to it. Human trafficking often goes ‘under the radar’ of the government. They have prioritized some key crimes and focused on fighting them. Human trafficking needs to be one of these priorities...

All over the world, women have been marginalized in virtually every sector. Particularly, in Africa, we are confronted with the sad reality of dominant masculinity and barbaric norms where women are nearly shut out of the political, economic, family and traditional systems; basic education for the girl child is considered a waste, talk more of higher education. I am yet to see a female head a classical traditional African system; traditional leadership is clearly earmarked for men and men only. This challenge of women relegation has persisted even in this era where education has been internationally recognized as a human right. The damage caused by the failure to realize that women make up about 50 percent of the African population (see World Bank data) has thrown Africa into multiple crisis economically, politically and otherwise. The earlier it is realized that empowering women through quality higher education is empowering the social, economic and family values of the African societ...

  In September, we talked about a religious/traditional practice that infringes on the rights of children- THE ALMAJIRI SYSTEM. Do you think the Almajiri system is bad for us? Well, wait until you meet the reeeeaaal rock star- THE CORPSE WATER RITUAL! In this 21 st century, some communities still force widows of dead men to drink water from washed corpses of the deceased in order to prove their innocence. In other words, if the family of the deceased has reason to believe that the widow had a hand in his death (and they always have a reason to believe so), they initiate the ritual. What is that? About 4 months ago, a 34 year old widow, Chioma Asomugha from Anambra state, raised the alarm that her in-laws were trying to force her to drink water used in bathing her dead husband’s corpse. You can read the story here . Thankfully, she resisted them. So, in case you think this barbaric practice doesn’t happen anymore, this is 2021 and human beings are still practicing it. Where is ...

Over 200 million people, many tribes and religions, countless cultures and traditions; we are free to practice whatever way of life we choose. However, the Constitution is supposed to be the rallying point, where we can strike a balance in order to ensure that we do not abuse our happiness and freedom. In other words, traditions are harmless until they are found to be contrary to natural justice, equity and good conscience. Sadly, with the way certain practices are carried out by some groups of people in Nigeria, the questions that readily come to mind are: is the Constitution really the Grundnorm? Are some religious/traditional practices greater than the provisions of the Constitution? One of such practices is ALMAJIRI practiced in northern Nigeria.   Is Almajiri a bad practice? The word “Almajiri” is derived from the Arabic phrase “Al muhajirun”, meaning “an emigrant”. It usually refers to an emigrant who moves from his home to stay with a popular teacher in the quest for ...