John Azuka-Mbata’s emergence as the President-General (we love big titles!) of Ohanaeze, the Igbo apex socio-cultural organisation, has again ignited the controversy of whether or not the Ikwerres, of whom Azuka-Mbata is one, are Igbo. If Ikwerres are not Igbo, why elect a non-Igbo to lead an exclusively Igbo organization as important as Ohanaeze? And if Azuka-Mbata does not consider …

The atmosphere was electric! The crowd, massive! On this occasion, all let their guards down to have fun. With world-acclaimed Nigerian artistes, including WizKid, Burna Boy, it was all fun. Uncensored. The event was the crossover night of 31 December 2024 to herald in the new year. The organiser of the show was the Lagos State government. The state governor, …

The Lagos State government, led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has been actively working towards transforming Lagos into a smart city. This initiative aims to improve the quality of life for citizens, increase sustainability, and promote economic growth through the use of advanced technologies While thousands of kilometres broadband cables are being laid across the state to enhance connectivity, in the …

While the welfare package was being sorted out, I had called a meeting of the Forum of Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants for Monday, 8 May 2006 to discuss some urgent matters. I told members of the Forum during the meeting that all the prayers we made in our submission, in respect of our welfare, had been approved. Therefore, …

Thursday last week marked a major milestone for residents and commuters in Ikeja’s GRA, as the Lagos State government handed over a revamped network of roads, transforming the daily commute and quality of life for thousands. The state government has been hard at work rehabilitating roads across the state. In fact, they’ve recently completed work on several roads, covering many …

When I told Engr. Rahman Owokoniran, who had just been appointed the Commissioner for Housing, not to eat with Governor Bola Tinubu, he didn’t really think it was a big deal. Well, I wouldn’t blame him because my admonition was instinct-triggered. It wasn’t predicated on any theoretical postulation or empirical findings. But my instinct was somehow correct. It was based …

The Lagos State N3.366 trillion 2025 appropriation bill, signed into law by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Thursday, has once again shown that the Centre of Excellence continues to prove its worth and mettle as a pacesetter for the rest of the federating units. Just like the previous year, the 2025 Appropriation Bill represents a 32.5 per cent increase over the …

What we usually hear is that the government pays compensation to property owners. But like the state of excellence she is, Lagos has taken good governance to another level. Back in December, the state government, through the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), distributed compensation cheques to tenants and business owners impacted by the ongoing development of the Quality Bus Corridor (QBC) …

Dan Agbese was unapproachable at the time I got to Newswatch. I had been reading him over the years, from the time I was an undergraduate. Along with his colleagues, Dele Giwa and Ray Ekpu, he epitomised the highest standards of journalism practice in Nigeria, if not in all of Africa. I was particularly enamoured of his colourful, yet ironic …

In my then 17-year journalism practice, I had interviewed countless personalities with little or no emotion. But in the presence of Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States of America, in his Atlanta, Georgia office sometime in September 2003, I was awed. The interview had been scheduled long before I jetted out of Lagos on a British Airways …