Playing Maradona with Statistics
- Details
- Category: JIDEOFOR ADIBE
- Monday, 18 July 2011
- By Jideofor Adibe
In his highly regarded book, Lying With Statistics (1954) the American writer, Darrell Huff, discusses the funny business of lying with figures, telling us how intentional or unintentional errors could lead to inaccurate conclusions. Though Huff was not a statistician, his book, which he had meant to be a witty introduction to statistics for the general reader, quickly became one of the most widely read statistics books in history. When in late June
Obasanjo: A re-reading
- Details
- Category: JIDEOFOR ADIBE
- Thursday, 30 June 2011
- By Jideofor Adibe
Obasanjo, a popular hate-figure, has once again been boxed into a corner, painted as a bugaboo and turned into a media punching bag. This is an episodic thing. Obasanjo’s utterances have powerful echoes, which often wake up his army of critics. In far away Geneva, Switzerland, Obasanjo claimed on Wednesday June 15 2011 that his successors in office have lacked the spine to fight corruption. Speaking during a debate organised by
Yes, we do need a bicameral National Assembly
- Details
- Category: JIDEOFOR ADIBE
- Thursday, 02 June 2011
- By Jideofor Adibe
The N10bn loan scandal rocking the House of Representatives (HOR) seems to have added to the public angst against members of the National legislature. Repeated financial scandals coupled with the recent allegation by the CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi that some 25 percent of the country’s annual budget are spent on the two Chambers of the National Assembly (NA) have led to calls for the country to adopt a unicameral legislature - to save cost.
Another take on June 12
- Details
- Category: JIDEOFOR ADIBE
- Wednesday, 29 June 2011
- By Jideofor Adibe
June 12 has come to mean different things to different Nigerians. For some, it is a celebration of a triumphal moment in our history while for those on the other side of the story at that time, it is a date they would rather blot out from the country’s history. What is clear however is that the chain of events unleashed by that annulment coupled with an external environment that was moving towards the globalisation of democracy helped to
Zoning: The Fire Next Time
- Details
- Category: JIDEOFOR ADIBE
- Tuesday, 24 May 2011
- By Jideofor Adibe
From all indications the issues raised by the PDP’s zoning and power rotation arrangements during the party’s acrimonious presidential primaries are far from resolved. At that time the anti-zoning lobby advanced several arguments why zoning and power rotation arrangements were either not good for the country or should not be a hindrance to Jonathan contesting. The zoning proponents too had their own arguments. In the end Jonathan
