Joshua King's Free Press

The first to present his case seems right until another comes and examines him.  Making cases as to why a candidate should be hired to take office for a term is often what happens at a political window. But we can only assume that such cases are right, we do not truly know how effective they are until there is a challenge or when it is too late. It is this challenge of ideas, cases, positions, propositions and even character that make democracy tick. The formal setting to present voters with an opportunity to test these cases, positions and propositions is a debate. On Friday 14th December, 5 vice presidential nominees spoke at the BON/NEDG debates. It was carried live by most local media stations in Nigeria. Make no mistake though, what we saw and listened to were no debates only group interviews. It was a mockery compared to what debates are supposed to be and what obtains elsewhere. Recent comments before the debate showed that many Nigerians, some of whom yours truly con...

The Auction of Ekiti The umpire announced the date of the election Ekiti people were to make a decision A lot of noise during the campaigns And perhaps even more complains Election day however was something else What took place set off alarm bells It was an auction not an election Bidding to batter votes for money is an auction The winners bid the most The losers are the auctioneers and they lost For they cannot tell apart bidder from bidder What difference is there between seller and peddler? Auctioneers are hungry the bidders mock Thumb for us, eat well today and best of luck Here eat our red porridge and sell us your votes My red porridge is bigger and all I ask are your votes Said a bidder known as Red John Silver Try mine said another bidder Green John Silver What difference is there between seller and peddler? Asked the auctioneers He is a rogue cried Red John Silver And he’s a wolf accused other John Silver And so the auctioneers confused ...

Nigeria's biggest problem today is not corruption. President Obasanjo on May 29 1999 bemoaned corruption as the bane of our woes. The international community also speaks of it because it affects them and their investments in Nigeria. We have been distracted by that narrative. It's a major issue but not our biggest headache. Under development is another issue. With huge infrastructure bottlenecks we are rightly placed under poverty. Education is also a terribly horrible issue nagging for our attention as is healthcare and security. But the biggest issue facing Nigeria is lack of VISION. Nigeria needs to define what it stands for to the Nigerian people and how it will relate to the world. Some nations developed this over years; we must decide quickly or descend continually into a pit from whence it shall become impossible to emerge. I have a vision that Nigeria will rise up and live up to its potential. I have a vision that Nigeria will become a commonwealth to people of Nigeria ...

OBASANJO’S EPISTLE TO PRESIDENT BUHARI AND MATTERS ARISING   News of ex-president Obasanjo’s letter to Buhari has not waned. As of the time of this writing, Obasanjo is still trending on Twitter and the contents of his letter is shaping the political dialogue of Nigeria. How can one man be such an influence as to completely alter the discuss? That would be the subject of another piece. The Obasanjo brand is indeed consistent with his letters in the past 3 decades. A quick tour of history would remind the reader that 1.             He had written a shorter letter to president Shagari after which incumbent president Buhari struck. 2.             He also wrote one to Buhari which was not quite popular but soon saw the end of that regime. 3.             He went ahead to write twice to military president I...

I saw a post on Facebook with the question: If given the opportunity, who would have been the best ruler of the seven kingdoms? A simple answer could not cut it for me, I got tempted to write. Lord Eddard Stark. The father of Rob, Sansa, Brandon, Arya and Rickon Stark was a just and noble man. He teaches his children to be same. He was quite valiant in battle. Honour is the word that best describes him. However, his honour was also his weakness. He could not deal decisively with Cersei when he had the chance offering them an "honourable chance to get away". Of course that was his undoing. Cersei would later go on to say: This is the game of thrones, you either win or die. Verdict: A decent honourable king but unable to make hard decisions. Stannis Baratheon. Hated by his brothers Robert and Renly respectively but determined nonetheless. Stannis' claim to the throne was based on Ned Stark's discovery of Lannister incest. His desperation led him to the battle ...

Yesterday the world hailed Dr. Martin Luther King jr. He was celebrated more in the United States by African Americans and indeed white people and Latinos. His speech, "I have a dream" still ranks 1st among public speeches given in the last 250 years of mankind. Dr King was not just an orator. He stood for something greater than himself. He stood for justice, equal rights and the end of segregation. It was not an easy struggle. Police brutality was targeted at the African Americans and shops were marked "whites only". The injustice and wickedness faced by the African Americans were terrible. Many could not even sit quietly in a bus because a white man had to sit down first. Make no mistake, there were other freedom fighters in his day. But Dr King insisted on non violence and non resistance. A certain Malcom X accused him severally and bitterly for leading the African people astray. But Dr King would not resort to hate speeches, threats or even calls for sece...

Recently, a girl asked me to explain relegation in the football context. It was fairly easy. A set number of teams that finish at the bottom of a league must descend to the lower league the next season. The concept of relegation is one that is not only applicable in competitive football but in many other aspects of life.   But teams don’t just get relegated. Relegation is not an act of God or an act of marginalization nor does it come as a result of conspiracy by other players in the league. Relegation has one key determining factor: poor form over the season. The teams that get relegated failed to find form during the greater part of the season and in the end, must go down. Teams must struggle to find form, rhythm and confidence to carry on in the fixtures of a season. Football managers are quite inclined to ensure the lasting of form. They have different assistant coaches who keep looking at the players, scouting opponents, training and generally doing everything w...