Author: Osmond Agbo

The unfinished work of Africa’s liberation is not merely political or economic; it is psychological. We need not abandon faith, but we must unmask its misuse. We must recognize when religion serves liberation and when it serves control. We must reclaim the ability to question, to value substance over spectacle, and to prioritize collective progress over empty promises of heavenly reward. The first time I watched the video clip of Charlie Kirk’s murder, I knew I had made a huge mistake. The assassin’s bullet was brutal and merciless, an image now lodged in my mind like a splinter. I wailed…

That day, all I wanted was a quick dash to Chicken Republic. Simple mission: rice, chicken, maybe a few slices of yam with stew to top up the reserves. But in Lagos, no outing is ever truly simple. A short trip can turn into a full cultural immersion. The moment I hopped into a korope, that miniature bus that looks like it was designed by someone who thought humans were made of rubber, I knew food wasn’t the only thing I was about to collect. What I got instead was a buffet of fresh street lingo, served hot and unfiltered.…

The tragedy is that imagined suffering is not harmless. Chronic anxiety triggers cascades of stress hormones, raising blood pressure, impairing sleep, weakening immunity. Our bodies pay interest on emotional debts we do not owe. We rehearse pain, and in doing so, we harm ourselves twice: once in anticipation, and once if it comes, in reality. Our one and only daughter has gone off to college. Madam and I dropped her off the weekend before. As we made the four-hour drive from Houston to Baton Rouge along I-10, the road stretched ahead, both endless and fleeting, as if time itself were…

It’s also easy to dismiss this memoir as the musings of someone born into privilege, destined to succeed regardless of effort. And yes, Otedola’s background undeniably gave him a head start. But this line of criticism collapses under closer scrutiny. For every privileged heir who becomes a billionaire, there are dozens more who squander their advantages and end up struggling to pay their bills. Privilege may open doors, but it does not guarantee resilience, vision, or the capacity to recover from crushing failure. What Otedola’s story illustrates, whether one admires or resents it, is that success, even when aided by…

..the unpalatable reality is that in Nigeria, institutional checks and balances, the very scaffolding of democracy, are now a mirage. The judiciary, legislature, police, and electoral body have been reduced to instruments of regime entrenchment. The only force that could realistically disrupt this entrenched order is fear, the fear, on the part of those in power, of mass, unpredictable, and potentially violent public backlash. I was minding my own business, staring dismally at Delta’s underwhelming low-budget Jollof rice and resigned to the dreary choice between chicken and fish, when a man, leaning forward from the row behind, tapped me on…

In 2017, the Nigerian Immigration Service disclosed that over 10,000 Nigerians perished in a mere five-month span while attempting to flee. Nearly half drowned in the Mediterranean; the rest succumbed to the desert’s merciless embrace. Such figures, while staggering, cannot begin to encapsulate the sorrow of entire communities emptied of their youth. A few days ago, a haunting image surfaced on my Facebook feed that I cannot unsee; sun-bleached human remains lying half-buried in the arid vastness of the Sahara Desert. No plaques. No mourners. Just a silent testament to lives extinguished by thirst, exhaustion, and despair. These were not…

So while I agree that men have contributed their fair share to the commodification of female bodies, I think it’s overly simplistic to suggest that women are helpless victims of male fantasy. Many women are powerful agents of their own choices, sometimes tragically so. The desire to look like “that girl” on Instagram and “pepper” them or to stand out in a friend group as the flyest babe often drives decisions just as forcefully as any man’s gaze. It was sometime last year that I first encountered Funke Egbemode’s writing. Though I cannot recall the precise title, the thematic current…

True growth demands courage not cowardice. To acquire a new skill, especially in a rapidly evolving world shaped by younger, more agile minds, we must be willing to look foolish. To accept instruction from those we once tutored. To admit ignorance in spaces where we were once experts. Sometimes, the younger teacher will mock your slowness. Sometimes, the digital platform will remind you of your obsolescence. And yet, this is the heat that tempers steel. This is the pressure that creates diamonds. In a previous essay, I explored a debilitating cultural affliction I termed the Beggar’s Mindset, a condition rooted…

…We must stop rewarding laziness and entitlement with guilt-laced generosity. There’s nothing noble in enabling irresponsibility. Instead, we should uplift those who are trying, those who are willing to learn, to build, to work. I found myself seated beside an American woman on a flight bound for Nigeria recently. Stephanie (not her real name) was making her second visit to the country, having connected online with a young Nigerian man. This time, she planned to spend several weeks deepening their relationship. Over the course of our nearly 12-hour journey from Atlanta to Lagos, we had ample time to engage in…

Why is it that when violent religious extremists ravage communities, burn schools, kidnap schoolchildren, and behead soldiers, the state preaches understanding and forgiveness, but when an Igbo man calls out injustice, he becomes a threat to national security? It’s been over two years since Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office as Nigeria’s president. For many of us who had grown tired of the vindictive ethnonationalism that defined Muhammadu Buhari’s reign, Tinubu’s emergence sparked a flicker of hope. For all his flaws, Tinubu had always styled himself as a bridge-builder, a master political negotiator, a man who built coalitions across Nigeria’s fractious…