Today: August 14, 2026
LaBode Obanor is a scholar, lawyer, and columnist specializing in global political and economic issues.
In a sharp follow-up to his 2022 critique, LaBode Obanor argues that the Nigerian government continues to treat its diaspora as an economic resource to be mined, enthusiastically courting their investments while continually denying them the right to vote.…
After 109 days of war, the Trump administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran that mirrors the JCPOA it spent years denouncing. The human and financial cost is enormous. The central question now: was the detour through war ever necessary?…
America spent decades lecturing Africa about strongmen and state capture, but Trump’s IRS settlement and $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund are now forcing that same warning home.…
The Strait of Hormuz crisis, carrying 20% of world oil, proves geography equalizes power: smaller nations disrupt trade via chokepoints without matching armies. Ships avoid narrow lanes amid threats, spiking insurance and markets. Suez, Bab el-Mandeb, Malacca face same risks—globalization's valves turn…
President Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address was less a constitutional report and more a symphony of standing ovations, a performance staged for the cameras, where substance was often drowned out by orchestrated applause and carefully chosen guests. As the President…
By LaBode Obanor One year ago, Trump’s Liberation Day was billed as a bold rupture from economic orthodoxy, a declaration of American economic independence, designed to shatter trade imbalances and energize domestic production. In practice, however, it was something else: a massive…
In what could only be described as a dystopian spectacle masquerading as governance, Donald Trump delivered his joint session of Congress (State of Union) address–a rambling, self-congratulatory tirade that showcased the depths of his administration’s dysfunction, the Republican Party’s moral bankruptcy, and…
The United States is not just declining—it is being deliberately dismantled by a ruling class that has abandoned any pretense of serving the public good. With Donald Trump back in power and billionaire Elon Musk granted near-total control over the federal government’s…
The United States, once the self-styled torchbearer of democracy, is now teetering on the edge of oligarchy—a system where the rich few pull the strings and everyone else fights for crumbs. Let’s not sugarcoat it: the “land of the free” has sold…
Incoming President-elect Donald Trump has never been one to shy away from making history—or rewriting it, for that matter. Even well known for his flair for the dramatic, his latest proposals have left many scratching their heads—or perhaps clutching their passports in existential dread.…
