Author: Ha-Joon Chang Publisher: Random House, 2007 276 pages. You’ve probably heard the Gospel of Free Market: if a country wants to break the cycle of poverty and achieve economic growth and prosperity, it should deregulate, open up its market, welcome investors, and unleash the power of the private sector. Nationalisation is anathema; protection is
The creation of states was, as far as I can tell, a “joker” deployed by the then Federal government to diminish regional identity and regional aspirations. Remember this was in the wake of the pogrom and the civil war. We must therefore view the current idea to proliferate (non viable) states with curious eyes and
The debate about the restructuring of the Nigeria has generated a wide range of responses from all sections of the Nigerian society. Former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida is among latter day advocates who have joined the chorus for restructuring of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In short, restructuring is the new fad in town. Understandably,
When you pick up, on a typical day, the arguments of atheists and agnostics against the Christian worldview, you almost always get the sense of straw men on the loose. You hear of god up there “in the sky”, of faith portrayed as emotional crutch, once relevant in the infancy of humanity, now useful only
I have observed with interest and then consternation how the African literary landscape has been dominated with fiction in the past two decades or so. Fiction is now the in thing, and there are not a few awards available, including awards from western patrons. Yet, while Africans, especially youngsters on social media, entertain themselves with
In a rentier economy dominated by patron politicians feeding off the proceeds of crude oil, Aliko Dangote stands apart as one who is, at least, making his money from actually producing things. A non politician, an industrious businessman making things happen in a difficult environment, a patriotic Africanist determined to do business only in Africa,
The news surrounding the struggle of innonson motors is unfortunate, but hardly surprising. Ambitious entrepreneurs make things happen against the odds, but even the most ambitious entrepreneurs will find it especially hard in such a debilitating environment like Nigeria, where the fundamentals are just not working First, in order for manufacturers like Innonson cars to
In the first installment of this series, we focused on the idea that the advent of Daddy Pastors is associated with the struggle for domination and control. In this series, we want to explore the issues of ignorance and fear. In short, we say, if “Daddy Pastors” are launched by the desire to control and
In his second epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul was quick to point out that, while he had the responsibility as a leader of the church to correct and rebuke erring believers, and encourage church discipline, he was still but a “fellow-worker”. It is not, he said, “that we have dominion over your
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am very delighted to be here with you today on this occasion of the annual parliamentary lecture organised by the National Association of Oyo Students[1]. I thank the organisers for inviting me. It is encouraging to see this assembly of vibrant youth coming together with patriotic zeal and passionate