As the convoy of the governor took off in a frenzy along the smooth beautiful road from the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, my phone rang. The governor himself, the cynosure of attention, was on the line. “Your Excellency Sir”, I answered in a hurry. “Please Sir, kindly go back to that bereaved family where we just stopped briefly. Find …

I make it bold to say that the most important day in a person’s life is his or her birthday! It is an important day when one’s personal flight touches down, marking the beginning of your journey on earth. However, some people choose not to celebrate their special day. Worse still, some do not even commit their birth dates to …

Payment is an important driver of commerce and socio-economic development. The evolution of payment is today revolutionizing society. Across the African continent, technology intertwines with tradition forging a path toward financial inclusion. As digital payment infrastructure expands, businesses flourish and communities thrive. The once-insurmountable challenges of accessing financial services are being overcome, opening doors of opportunity for individuals and enterprises …

My 12th June was hectic as usual; it started very early in the day as I led my parishioners to pray against destiny destroyers. There are many intriguing cases of destinies that were, well, inexplicably destroyed in the Bible; a few examples were Abel, whose offering God accepted but who, as a result, got killed by his brother Cain whose …

Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj lamented on Saturday that they were stranded at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, blaming Arik Air for failing to meet its schedule. It was gathered that this crippled operations of most of the international hajj operators under the Association for Hajj And Umrah Operators Of Nigeria Lagos zone as scores …

On our return trip from Ibadan, a sad commentary on the business model that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) is running poked us in the face. At the splendid Omi-Adio station (aka Ladoke Akintola), the travelling contingent was merely a little more than half of the number of people we left Agege with (something needs to be done to the …

Within minutes of the release of the video of President Bola Tinubu signing the students’ loan bill into law, it was trending on Twitter as was the name of Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, who sponsored the bill in his former life as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Apart from the Nigeria Maritime University which was charging N81,500 per …

Kofo Obasanjo-Blackshire tries to appeal to a global audience in her seminal book, Pillars of Statecraft, which would be presented to the reading public tomorrow in Lagos. This is a book of towering ambition, examining the deeds, and also the misdeeds of men whose actions have had consequences on the fortunes of their nation and also on mankind. A country …

The House of Representatives on Thursday rejected a motion seeking to declare emigration of young Nigerians abroad, known as japa syndrome as a national emergency. This followed the adoption of a motion by Hon. Philip Agbese (APC-Benue) who was based in United Kingdom before becoming a lawmaker in Nigeria during plenary. Presenting the motion, Agbese said statistics from the Nigerian …

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has disclosed that about 75 pregnant pilgrims have been referred to hospitals in Makkah and Medina for urgent medical attention. The commission said despite an awareness campaign against pregnant women embarking on Hajj, many had ignored the counsel by “sneaking” into Hajj. During a chat with journalists in Makkah on Wednesday, Usman Galadima of the …