Systems & Society
Columns on Nigerian institutions, infrastructure, democracy, energy and government.
38 essays
IN Part I of this series, published on February 9, 2026, I posed a simple but uncomfortable question: what would a regionally coordinated mineral value-chain system actually look like under Nigeria’s existing constitutional order? Since then, developments within Nigeria’s solid minerals sector have reinforced those concerns. At the Africa Commodities Conference and Exhibition held in […]
If indeed 60 percent of a nation’s university students are involved in crime, then the implications go far beyond campus misconduct. It means future political leaders, business executives, academics, civil servants, and professionals may increasingly emerge from a culture shaped by fraud, bribery, and illegality. And the future is between five and 15 years away. […]
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, was established in 1960 at the Baghdad Conference by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela to coordinate oil production and protect the interests of producing nations. The United Arab Emirates joined in 1967, becoming part of a system that shaped the modern oil order through collective […]
THE departure of Adebayo Adelabu as Minister of Power presents an opportunity for structural reset in a sector long managed through incremental adjustment rather than deliberate redesign. The word “Penkelemesi”—“peculiar mess”—popularized by Adelabu’s grandfather—aptly describes Nigeria’s power sector. From recurring grid collapses to chronic underperformance, it remains a study in systemic dysfunction. From recommendation to […]
When airlines in a country of Nigeria’s size begin to contemplate a nationwide shutdown due to the skyrocketing price of aviation fuel, the issue should not be treated as a routine commercial dispute. It is a warning signal of a deeper problem—a system under strain. At such a moment, the relevant questions are about resilience: […]
A new monitoring committee raises a deeper question: whether coordination mechanisms solve gas-to-power failures or reveal weaknesses in existing institutions.
Democracies fail not only when institutions are captured, but also when institutions, acting within their mandates, produce outcomes that weaken the system they are meant to protect. At the center of democracy are three guardians: political parties, electoral umpires, and the courts. When these institutions act with clarity, coordination, and discipline, democracy strengthens. When they […]
A systems account of how capable states build reserves and policy buffers before global oil and gas shocks reach households and firms.
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