The first reality that is worth celebrating is that “Global Square”, the Sunday Sun back page column, authored by Kenneth Okonkwo, is six years old this week. The first edition of this column featured on the 25th day of August, 2019. Unbelievable! Global Square has featured about 300 articles celebrated worldwide by my avid readers and admirers as being informative, educative, and scholarly. This can only be God, who inspires me, through His divine wisdom, to write and inform Nigerians, and indeed the global audience, on current affairs and current realities of our time and age. To Him be all the glory, amen.
The Sun Newspapers, the publishers of Sunday Sun, deserves tangible commendation for the confidence reposed in me to be the columnist of the Sunday back page column. Special appreciation to Onuoha Ukeh, Managing Director of The Sun Publishing Ltd, who first assigned the column to me. The newspaper displays the highest level of professionalism in its publications by encouraging freedom of expression and creativity in its non-interference attitude to intellectual works. Once you write the truth with empirical facts, The Sun Newspapers will publish your work, no matter whose ox is gored. The newspaper is non-partisan, without ethnic or religious bias, and this attribute contributes in making the paper one of the most widely read and circulated papers in Nigeria.
Special thanks go to my special readers for their faithful followership to this column. First to come to mind is the indelible remarks of one of Nigeria’s great publishers, business moguls, philanthropists, and the past Ohaneze President-General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu of the blessed memory, who, despite his obvious busy schedule, confessed that he was addicted to Global Square. Hear him, “Dear Kenneth, I wish on behalf of the Council of Elders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide to express our deep appreciation to you for your weekly feature in the Sunday edition of The Sun newspapers. Your articles pay glowing tribute to your high intellectual capacity, vast knowledge of Nigeria problems and a deep patriotic disposition in analysing and handling Nigerian problems. Keep it up and God bless you. Best Regards, Chief Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu CFR, OFR, MFR (AHAEJIAGAMBA NDIGBO) Chairman, Council of Elders Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide. May the soul of Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, and the souls of all the faithful departed, continue to rest in perfect peace. Amen.
Great intellectuals of the legal profession also lent their kind words and observations to the value this column is adding to the society. People always believe that lawyers are difficult to please because they are learned. But in the matter of this column, my learned friend and Noble Silk, Senator Edward Pwajok SAN, seemed pleased with Global Square, and bared his mind thus: “Your column is so enlightening and enriching that I have decided to tuck the page among the cherished documents I preserve somewhere in my study. It is commendable and noble that you spend valuable time to write. The high quality of your writing is a reflection of your deep knowledge and painstaking research. Well done.”
The entertainment world is not left out as Sam Awuzia, the founder of the ZAFAA Africa Movie Academy Awards, who recognises and awards the prestigious Best African Actors and Actresses awards to deserving African artistes, and celebrates them in the United Kingdom and around the world, had this to say about Global Square: “I’m so passionate about Nigeria, and your input makes me do more. Even when people tell me to give up and I watch you on the box, you change my heart and I know you mean well for Nigeria. I loved you as a great actor, but now I adore you as a great African. God bless you, Ken.
Whereas some of my beloved readers like Aminu Kani are simple in their commendation, “I enjoy reading you for your forthrightness and bluntness,” other numerous friends and fans simply wax theological in their commendations. Bitrus Yahaya submitted, “The erudite scholar, may your ink continue to flow ceaselessly in wisdom. Thanks for being a blessing to this generation.”
To all these accolades, I humbly say amen and amen. Words are not enough to express my gratitude to my readers for this special recognition. It has once more proved to me that my foray into the pen profession was an answer to a divine call for equitable solutions to Nigeria problems. I specially thank you for making out time to read the column religiously every Sunday and occasionally encourage me with your soothing words to soldier on. May the good God bless you all and your family, amen.
The temptation to devote this edition to the celebration of the sixth anniversary of this column is high but the call to duty of informing and educating Nigerians on current affairs is equally or even higher and more tempting. The quest for free and fair elections, which is the only safeguard to our democracy, is worth devoting part of this happy day to. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted by-elections on the 16th day of August, 2025, into some constituencies that spread into the North and South of about 13 states, from Kano, Zamfara, Taraba, etc in the North to Enugu, Ogun, Edo, Anambra, etc, in the South. From Senatorial seats, House of Representatives seats, to House of Assembly seats in the states.
The incompetence of INEC was revealed in the amount of time wasted before the conduct of the elections. Some of the vacancies have lasted for years without replacement, thereby denying the constituencies of representation in the different legislative houses. There’s no excuse why unexpected and sudden vacancies in elective positions should not be replaced within 90 days after the vacancies occur.
The elections, as usual, were substantially marked by sufficient controversies, corruption, and incompetence to raise unacceptable alarms to the expectation of free and fair elections in 2027, which may be a defining moment and year for our democracy. Specifically, allegations and evidence of violence, thuggery, vote-buying, and manipulation were rife. It was a case where state institutions and personnel of INEC were colluding openly and brazenly to assist the politicians to buy the votes of voters and to deny and disenfranchise registered voters from participating in the elections in many constituencies where they had bye-elections. In Kano State, about 288 suspects armed with dangerous weapons were arrested in Bagwai/Shanono constituency. The police boss disclosed that exhibits recovered from the suspects included guns, dangerous weapons such as bows and arrows, cutlasses, knives, stones, catapults, clubs, and others.
The partisanship of some of the security agencies was also noticeable. The ruling party, as usual gets away with any infractions perpetrated on election day while the opposition parties are maltreated and hounded for any imaginable and unimaginable infractions. The infractions of the ruling party are treated with deodorants while that of the opposition parties are tackled with insecticides – apologies to Shehu Sani. It was glaring when some uniformed personnel were assisting some parties in vote buying without consequences.
Although the All Progressives Congress caused no major upsets, by virtue of the state of the economy, it ought not to be getting any votes now under a free, fair and credible election. The APC lost its senatorial and house of representatives seats in Anambra and Oyo by-elections, and managed to pick one or two seats somewhere else ending up maintaining the status quo as it was before going into the election. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) under David Mark was not really on the ballot as majority of the contestants were chosen before the unveiling of the new executive by July 2, 2025. Even the Anambra State gubernatorial candidates to be held in November, 2025 were chosen before the unveiling of the new executive. The main test of the strength of the ADC is the 2027 general elections.
From the experience of the by-elections, if we do not have electoral reforms immediately, any discussion that has to do with 2027 is at best a joke or at worst a war. Therefore, let all well-meaning Nigerians and civil society organisations add their voices and clamour for electoral reforms prior to 2027. Otherwise, the sham and shenanigans of the by-elections will be re-enacted in 2027. Low turnout was reported in the by-elections and this will be worse in 2027 if voters do not receive the assurance that their votes will count.
Electronic transmission of results from the polling units to the collation system for use in the collation of results should be mandatory, so that everyone would have the authentic results before manipulation of the manual results in the collation centres. All elections should be same day to avoid bandwagon effect and low turnout if held in two separate days. Multiple collation levels should be eliminated and replaced with only one collation centre for each election. The requirement for oral testimonies of witnesses for every polling unit should be jettisoned in favour of authentic duly certified documentary electoral evidence. Electoral offenders must be severely dealt with, regardless of whom they are. INEC should be held responsible for any lapse in the election and the officials relieved of their duties and prosecuted in deserving circumstances. Anything short of these makes the survival of our democracy in 2027 very unlikely.
Credit:The Sun