Mind, Body and Country by Njideka Maduka

B y Njideka Maduka I didn’t plan to write a memorandum on Nigeria’s National Policing Bill today. Honestly, I didn’t. A few weeks ago, during one of our paper review sessions on radio, my team and I discussed the proposed National Policing Bill and mentioned that the Presidential Working Group on the Bill, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, had invited Nigerians to make submissions. We talked about it, as we have done with several issues surrounding the proposed reform of policing in Nigeria. But I did not immediately think, “I should write a memorandum.” Then this morning, August 13, 2026, I saw the story again in the newspapers. And there it was: 5 p.m. was the deadline for public submissions. While discussing the story on air, I suddenly said to myself: “I think I should contribute.” And that was how it started. After the programme, I began putting my thoughts together. Initially, I thought it would be straightforward. I would simply write down my gen...

By Njideka Maduka Journalist On Tuesday, September 24th, Nigeria’s oil sector found itself in the eye of the storm, the consequences of which will be revealed in the days to come. Oil unions- the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), led by Festus Osifo and Williams Akporeha respectively, strongly rejected the Federal Government’s alleged plan to sell off 30–35% of its stakes in Joint Venture (JV) oil assets. (FG currently holds between 55% and 60% of such assets through NNPCL.) They argue this move would: - Weaken NNPCL financially   - Put Nigeria’s oil sector in foreign hands   - Undermine national budget contributions   - Strip the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of its stability   They’re also resisting proposed amendments to the PIA, warning that frequent changes will scare away investors and destabilize the sector. But here’s something I’ve...