Side Effects…

DUKE’S DARING MOVE

We all know Donald Duke. The former governor of Cross River State, who turned the city of Calabar into a beehive for tourism lovers in December of every year, is set to test the strength of disruptive politics in Nigeria. The suave and superstar politician wants to be president in 2019. This is a clear dare move in the face of Nigeria’s ‘analogue politics’ that prioritise ethnicity above individual rights to seek political office. Who knows, Duke may be walking into OBJ’s Coalition of Nigeria (OCN). I welcome anyone who dares like Duke. If he wins, we will call it the season of Donalds, but not in the sense of current American politics. ELUMELU’S EXCHANGE

The pilgrimage to Omaha, NE, in the United States, by business leaders to take lessons from America’s business magnate, investor and philanthropist, Warren Buffet, is happening in Nigeria. This time, the pilgrimage is to Nigeria’s stylish banker and billionaire businessman, Tony Elumelu. Well-known for his Africapitalist idea, budding entrepreneurs and business leaders are coming from all over Africa to sit at Elumelu’s feet. It is interesting to also see the military leaders sitting at Elumelu’s feet recently to take business lessons on self-reliance in the production of military hardware and other sophisticated weaponry for the country’s national security. In sharing his business experience with others, Elumelu, a noble business mogul, who has his hands in almost every business you can think of with love for mankind as a philanthropist, is building unusual legacy that we are all proud of as Nigerians. Thank you Tony! OBJ’S BALLET AND BULLET

After doing the “doctoral dance” with his wife the previous night to celebrate his doctoral award, the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, reached for his bullet the day after. It was interesting to know that his victim would be President Muhammadu Buhari—a man he campaigned for to such an extent that he called it quit with his own political party, the Peoples Democratic Party. This letter to Buhari will be the third time Obasanjo is using published letter against a sitting president with whom he once had fellowship. He did with Umaru Yar'Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan. He has done similar thing with some chairmen of PDP and even his longtime friend, late Chief Sunday Awoniyi. They all went down. Will Buhari go down with OBJ’s letter? Time they say, will tell. DOWNTOWN AT DAVOS

Once a special bride, Nigeria is not one of the biggest stories from the World Economic Forum (WEF) this year. We started taking steps backward in the last two years with no serious efforts to reinforce economic ties with countries that were in courtship with us. It is a lesson in foreign relations that this government placed at the bottom. But I got one sound bite from the chief executive officer of Diamond Bank, Uzoma Dozie. ‘‘I am here to tell the Nigerian story, how we are using new technology to drive financial inclusion,” he said. Let’s just call Nigeria’s show at WEF a downtime and not meltdown for now.