Essays and Commentary

2025

- The Tragedy of an Evil Genius: Review of Ibrahim Babangida's 'A Journey In Service' (The Republic)

- The African Union Is Giving Djibouti’s Diplomatic Model a Try (World Politics Review)

- Can Nigeria's Centre Hold? A Look at Recently Created Regional Commissions (The Republic)

- 2025 Will Be a Year of Change for Africa’s Continental Leadership (World Politics Review)


2024

- Ghana's Democracy Is Not the Outlier It Is Made Out to Be (World Politics Review)

- Ondo 2024 Governorship Election and the Hallmarks of a Recessive Democracy (The Republic)

- Mr Tijani Goes to Abuja (TechCabal)

- What Really Shaped the 2024 Edo Governorship Election? (The Republic)

- Nigeria Is Coming Apart at the Seams (World Politics Review)

- Is Nigeria Better Served with Parliamentary Governance? (The Republic)

- The Niger-Benin Rift Spells More Trouble for West Africa (World Politics Review)

- The Saga of the Kano Emirate (The Republic) - Winner of The Republic's Best Politics Essay 2024

- So far so disappointing: Tinubu's first year (The Continent)

- What has President Tinubu achieved in his first year in office? (Democracy in Africa)

- Mali's Military Misadventure (CDD Blog)

- Geopolitical Competition is Reshaping West Africa (World Politics Review)

- Togo's Constitutional Crisis (CDD Blog)

- What Next for President Faye? (CDD Blog)

- Alliance of Sahel States (AES): Yet Another Regional Bloc in West Africa (CDD Blog)

- Credible elections are needed to avert future coups (with Jumo Ayandele) (Africa@LSE Blog)

- Senegal: A Model Democracy in Crisis (CDD Blog)

- Nigeria’s elephants in the room (Africa Is A Country)

- Three major lessons from a year of elections in Nigeria (Democracy in Africa)

- The African Cup of Migrations (Foreign Policy)

- On Eagle’s Wings (AFCON 2024 coverage) (Africa Is A Country)

- ECOWAS’ Setbacks Reflect Nigeria’s Waning Regional Influence (World Politics Review)

- Analysis: Is Ivory Coast’s AFCON the latest African ‘sportswashing’ case? (Al Jazeera)

- A Region in Uncertainty: 2024 in West Africa (CDD Blog)


2023

- Identity, personality and bias (The Continent)

- The politics of hosting AFCON (Africa Is A Country)

- Liberia welcomes a familiar face (CDD Blog)

- The next coup: Coming to a state near you? (The Continent)

- There is no youth monolith (Africa Is A Country)

- Rounding off a Year of Elections - Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi go to the polls (CDD Blog)

- Is the next coup coming to an African state near you? (Democracy in Africa)

- Coups Are Exposing the Shortcomings of Africa’s Regional Organizations (World Politics Review)

- Too Big to Fail? Evaluating the Tinubu Cabinet (CDD Blog)

- Tinubu’s cabinet nominees: Renewed hope or recycled tropes? (African Arguments)

- Will Nigeria Reclaim Its Role as a Regional Power? (Foreign Policy)

- Niger Coup d’état - A Test for West African Democracy (CDD Blog)

- Uncertain Future for Sierra Leone's Democracy (CDD Blog)

- Victorious (Individualism in Sports and Politics (Africa Is A Country)

- Is the Party Over in Nigeria? Personality rules in a country where political parties were once kingmakers (Foreign Policy)

- Nigeria’s political evolution? Reflections on the 2023 elections (CDD Blog)

- Can Nigerians be optimistic about the future? (Stears)

- Could Adamawa elect Nigeria’s first female governor? (Premium Times)

- The United States of Nigeria: How Feasible Is Restructuring in the Aftermath of Recent Constitutional Amendments? (The Republic)

- The God(win) of Small Things: The Challenge in Finding Apolitical Central Banker in a Partisan Landscape (The Republic)

- Analysis: 2023: Nigeria’s most consequential year since 1999 (Premium Times)

- Big Brother as a Window Into Nigerian Politics: Why Do We Respond to Reality TV and our Elections so Differently? (The Republic)

- 2023 Polls: How Winners Emerge (The Explainer)


2022

- Analysis: Why Nigerians shouldn't focus on presidential elections alone (Premium Times)

- Life Imitates Ball: Geopolitics, Qatar and the FIFA World Cup (The Republic)

- Analysis: Nigerians are dissatisfied with democracy. This is how to solve the problem (Premium Times)

- Analysis: The international implications of Nigeria’s 2023 elections (Premium Times)

- Towards 2023 Elections: Uncertainty as campaigns begin in Nigeria (Premium Times)

- A Decision for Nigeria: The 2023 Elections (Democracy Paradox)

- The Inevitability of Bola Ahmed Tinubu: The Unsurprising Candidacy of APC’s Presidential Nominee (The Republic)

- The Game Before The Game: The Ekiti and Osun Gubernatorial Elections in Nigeria (Democracy in Africa)

- In the Mould of Aminu Kano: Rabiu Kwankwaso and the Kwankwassiya Movement in Kano (The Republic)

- Nigeria's New Kingmakers (Democracy in Africa)

- More than a pastime (Africa Is A Country)

- How do you solve a problem like the NTA? (Culture Custodian)

- A Heartbeat of An Election Away: What Will 2023 Mean for Yemi Osinbajo? (The Republic)

- The Obasanjo Doctrine: The Importance of Foreign Policy in Present-Day Nigeria (The Republic)

- The Dilemma of a Ruling Party: The Challenges Ahead of APC’s Quest to Retain Power (The Republic)


2021

- From Well-Worn Fatigues to Well-Tailored Suits - Review of Joseph Garba’s ‘Diplomatic Soldiering’ (The Republic)

- What well-trodden routes to power tell us about Nigerian politics (African Arguments)

- Assault on Nigerian diplomat in Indonesia : Call for action (Punch Newspaper)


2020

- The state vs federal debate for policing in Nigeria (Stears)

- Measuring Crowns for New Nigeria (Culture Custodian)

- On Awards, Nollywood and Our Heritage of Storytelling (Culture Custodian)


2019

- Don’t blame INEC: It is designed to fail (Stears)

- Governance is not Politics (Stears)


2018

- Are Nigerian Political Parties bad for our Democracy? (Stears)

- The 37th Governor (Stears)


2017

- Mayor of the F.C.T.? (Stears)

- Nigerian Presidential Succession: Who Comes Next? (Stears)



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