#historicalcontext — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #historicalcontext, aggregated by home.social.
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The Inquisitor’s Gavel: Oshiomhole, MOWAA, and the High Cost of Political Spite by Lawson Akhigbe
Central to the indictment was the breathless lamentation over the demolition of the old Benin Central Hospital. Listening to the rhetoric, one would assume the facility was a pristine sanctuary of modern medicine arbitrarily flattened to make way for art. -
Blessing Agbebaku: From Suspension to Speakership — And Back Into the Political Storm
Yesterday’s political victim can become tomorrow’s political kingmaker. Yesterday’s opposition politician can become tomorrow’s occupant of the very office controlled by the political establishment he once opposed. -
Kemi Badenoch’s maiden speech in the Commons
I am also burdened by the weight of expectation. You see, Madam Deputy Speaker, Saffron Walden has not had a maiden speech since Rab Butler’s in 1929. He held three of the great offices of state, but I am most proud that, as a Conservative Minister, he introduced the Education Act 1944, which gave every British child a statutory right to free secondary education.https://lawakhigbe.com/2026/08/19/kemi-badenochs-maiden-speech-in-the-commons/
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The Invisible Invasion: Britain’s Immigration Panic and the Arithmetic It Cannot Face By Lawson Akhigbe
Black people account for roughly four percent of the population of England and Wales. More of them are in the EastEnders cast than are arriving on the asylum route in any given year. Yet Britain has contrived to make this the defining political question of the age. We should talk about that. -
The ICC’s Selective Blindfold: Sharp Justice for Africans, Soft Landing for the Powerful by Lawson Akhigbe
For years the International Criminal Court has operated like a colonial-era court with better stationery and a more solemn logo. The docket groaned under the weight of African cases while the architects of certain adventures in Libya, Iraq, and beyond somehow remained mysteriously unburdened by the same enthusiastic pursuit of accountability. The rule of law, we were solemnly told, was universal. The application, it turned out, was rather more exclusive. -
UK anti-immigration social media accounts traced to Sri Lanka and Vietnam ByMarianna Spring
The "Great British People" Facebook page, which purports to be from Yorkshire, has had 1.3 million views for its latest video of an elderly white British man crying about his pension. Other videos show reporters discussing "the overwhelming scale of mass immigration" and asking viewers if they miss "the Britain we used to know". -
Edo State: A Historical Analysis of Its Colonial Origins, Ethnic Composition, and Linguistic Heritage by Lawson Akhigbe
To truly understand Edo State today, one must trace its lineage back to the colonial provinces that formed its core: Benin Province and Afemai Province. -
How King Leopold II Of Belgium Killed 10 Million Africans In The Congo – Harrowing Details
King Leopold II of Belgium laid claim to the Congo and declared it his territory while exerting physical threats to the indigenous people of the Congo (Kongo). He declared the people and the land to be his property, and he quickly turned the country into a moneymaking venture for himself and his throne. -
The Law Is a Blunt Instrument by Lawson Akhigbe
In the fearful months and years following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, Western democracies faced an unenviable dilemma. Their citizens demanded protection from an enemy that recognised no borders, wore no uniforms and deliberately targeted civilians.https://lawakhigbe.com/2026/08/12/the-law-is-a-blunt-instrument-by-lawson-akhigbe/
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Irish War of Independence vs Irish Civil War: What’s the Difference? By Fearghal Fitzgibbon
The War of Independence followed on from the unsuccessful Easter Rising in 1916. While the Rising had little support from the Irish population, the British crackdown hardened public opinion against British rule. Subsequent events such as the Conscription Crisis helped Sinn Féin, an Irish nationalist party, to a landslide victory in the 1918 general election. Establishing their own parliament, Dáil Éireann, they declared independence while the Irish Republican Army (IRA) fought a guerrilla campaign across the island. -
Britannia Waives the Rules: Reform UK Ltd and the Audacity of the Uncomplicatedly Delusional By Lawson Akhigbe
There is a particular kind of political confidence that is indistinguishable, to the untrained eye, from clinical detachment from reality. It is the confidence of a man who, having just won a hand at poker, concludes that the laws of probability no longer apply to him. It announces itself loudly, dresses in a flag, and mistakes the echo of its own voice for the applause of nations. Ladies and gentlemen, Reform UK Ltd has had a good week at the local elections, and the results are as instructive as they are alarming, not merely because Nigel Farage’s vehicle of nationalist ambition has won council seats, but because winning appears to have emboldened the party to say the quiet parts of its manifesto even louder, with the serene self-assurance of people who have never had to read a treaty. -
The Rules for Thee, but Nary for Me: How International “Justice” Lost the Plot by Lawson Akhigbe
For decades, we were instructed to nod politely at global summits while elites proclaimed that the rule of law is universal. Except, like a discount gym membership, universality apparently comes with fine print, blackout dates, and VIP exemptions reserved exclusively for nations backed by Western firepower. -
Abacha-Era Corruption: A Deep Dive into Nigeria’s Most Notorious Kleptocracy (1993–1998) by Lawson Akhigbe
This was enabled by authoritarian control: no independent legislature or judiciary, weak oversight, and a patronage network treating public coffers as extensions of personal or regime power. International complicity—lax due diligence by banks—facilitated laundering through U.S. institutions and bond deals. -
Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel)
The Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, popularly known as the Oputa Panel, remains one of the most significant yet controversial attempts at transitional justice in Nigeria's history.https://lawakhigbe.com/2026/08/06/human-rights-violations-investigation-commission-oputa-panel/
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The Steve Oronsaye Report
The Steve Oronsaye Report formally titled the Report on the Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions, and Agencies is a landmark 800-page public service reform blueprint submitted to the Nigerian government in 2012.https://lawakhigbe.com/2026/08/05/the-steve-oronsaye-report/
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The Graveyard of Ideas: Why Nigeria’s Un-Gazetted Reports Carry Our Future by Lawson Akhigbe
There is a specific, quiet corner in Abuja where Nigeria’s most brilliant ideas go to die. It isn’t marked by a monument, but by dust. It is the graveyard of panels, commissions, and committees a place where billions of Naira and thousands of hours of expert labor are neatly bound into volumes, submitted in front of flashing cameras, and promptly forgotten. -
The Eternal Quartermaster By Lawson Akhigbe
Nigeria's army has been described as mighty on paper many of its soldiers 'ghosts' who exist only on the payroll, much of its equipment stolen and sold to insurgents."The Economist, October 2021https://lawakhigbe.com/2026/08/01/the-eternal-quartermaster-by-lawson-akhigbe/
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FEC (Federal Executive Council) Approval Process in Nigeria: Overview and Key Details
FEC approvals typically involve Executive Council Memoranda (ECMs) submitted by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Here’s the structured workflow: -
When the President Outsources Hunger to the Churches by Lawson Akhigbe
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently delivered a masterclass in presidential fatalism. In his own words: -
The Samson Strategy: How the Tinubu Government Pulled the Temple Down on Itself Over PFIPC by Lawson Akhigbe
The Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration appears to have forgotten that rule in its handling of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) controversy. In its determination to destroy the credibility of one man, Prince Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, it may have inflicted collateral damage on something far more valuable: the credibility of official government documentation itself. -
The Speaker as a Herald: How Edo’s Power of the Purse Got Turned Upside Down by Lawson Akhigbe
On the surface, it sounds like great news for infrastructure. But listen closely to the phrasing: "The Governor has told me that he’s going to construct so many roads… The Governor has even approved the construction… Another road that the Governor has said he will also do…" -
Bola Ahmed Tinubu: The Most Nigerian of Nigerian Presidents? By Lawson Akhigbe
In that sense, Tinubu may be regarded as the most “Nigerian” of Nigerian presidents—not necessarily as a compliment, but because he appears to encapsulate many of the contradictions, ambiguities and controversies that have long defined Nigerian politics. -
Rolls-Royce Sermons from the Glass House by Lawson Akhigbe
The First Lady’s remarks therefore landed less like moral guidance and more like a billionaire nutritionist advising a famine victim to eat sensibly.https://lawakhigbe.com/2026/07/26/rolls-royce-sermons-from-the-glass-house-by-lawson-akhigbe/
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From Nuclear-Free Nonsense to Net-Zero Farce: The Loony Right Joins the Schoolyard Antics Club by Lawson Akhigbe
History doesn't repeat, but it does enjoy a good remix. The Loony Left had its turn playing council-level foreign policy. Now the Loony Right is giving it a go with environmental policy. Same schoolyard energy, different decade, fresh set of headlines. One can only wonder what the right-wing papers will call them. The Sensible Pragmatists? Or will the satire wheel turn full circle? -
“l did not kill him, he died on top of me,” says mistress of late Head of State Gen. Sani Abacha by Emmanuel Oladesu
“I did not kill him, he died on top of me,” that was the confession of the lady who was with former military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, when he suddenly passed on. -
The Nigerian Police Force: A Colonial Machine That Never Changed by Lawson Akhigbe
To understand the modern Nigerian Police Force, one must first understand its origins. The uncomfortable truth is that the institution was never created to protect ordinary Nigerians. It was established to protect the interests of those who ruled Nigeria, first the British colonial administration and later the Nigerian political elite that inherited the colonial state. -
The Silence of Friday: How J.M. Coetzee Flipped the Script on Robinson Crusoe
In 1986, South African Nobel Laureate J.M. Coetzee looked at Crusoe’s island and saw something entirely different: the blueprint for colonial trauma. -
When the Court Said “No” and the Military Said “Watch Me”: The Landmark Case of Emmanuel Olatunde Lakanmi v. Attorney-General (West) [1971] By Lawson Akhigbe
Lakanmi & Kikelomo Ola v. Attorney-General (West) & Others [1971] 1 UILR 201 is that story. It is a case about constitutional limits, corporate accountability, the rule of law -
If Acts Happened Today, Would We Call It Communism?
For many, "communism" has become less a political philosophy and more a conversation stopper. But is every effort to use our shared resources to care for the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable really communism? This article examines the difference between political labels and biblical principles, comparing the teachings of the early Church with today's political rhetoric. -
You don't need weapons if you have Soviet umbrellas made in Bulgaria and distributed by Romanian importers from warehouses in Russia.
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