Baba Aye's

The latest suicide bombings in Gwazo, in Borno State, caught security agents napping. What do you think about the incident? This development cannot, but fill one’s heart with sadness. My thoughts and sympathies go to the loved ones of the over 30 people killed in that synchronised suicide bomb­ings. The extensive use of women and girls to carry out suicide attacks over the years is a pointer to the heartlessness of the top hierarchy of Boko Haram strategy. Between 2014 and 2017, for example, they used over 200 females for this purpose. That is the highest number of the use of fe­male suicide bombers by any terror­ist group in the world. Some of them were earlier kidnapped and then coerced or brainwashed. That been said, it is also important to note that this recent development is a pointer to the point we have always made that it would be an illusion for the Nigerian government to think they can defeat insurgency in the North­east militarily. Without addressing the underlying cause o...

Since the Fourth Republic, the Leftists have been find­ing it difficult to ascend to political power in Nigeria. The late founder of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Chief Gani Fawehinmi and many of his followers tried several times. But, they could not win elections until the party was delisted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Several Leftist political parties which could not make much im­pression were also delisted when the INEC pruned the number of political parties to 18. Presently only the African Action Con­gress (AAC), formed by Omoyele Sowore, is standing as the major political platform of the Leftists. Gbenga Komolafe, a veteran ac­tivist and the General Secretary, Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisations of Nigeria (FI­WON), who spoke to Sunday In­dependent, said the Progressive Left activists, politicians, parti­sans, and polemicists have been very loud about their critique of the neo-colonial order, now well entrenched and institutionali...