Last Thursday, I had just arrived in Enugu for the funerals of Ezinne Margaret Nebechi Nwomeh of Ozalla in Enugu State when another news of demise hopped in like a demonic apparition. Big brother and friend, Ayogu Eze, senator who represented Enugu North, had passed on. I met Eze 21 years ago there in Enugu. Once the Commissioner for Information …

Akpo Esajere (1954-2024) exited not in the bloom of youth at 70, but his influence outdid his final deadline. His legacy grips memories and imaginations, binding hearts and minds, and making his transition at 70 premature. Esajere was not arrayed in the trappings of wealth or swathed in the cloak of widespread fame, but he was a curator of values, …

The times are tough. It is therefore just appropriate that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has shunned all forms of celebration of his 72nd birthday. He has great dreams. And a proverb says a man who wants his dream to come true does not sleep. That is a proverb Asiwaju has lived all his life and is living even more, now! …

Sitting behind the oval table, with the Nigerian Coat of Arms atop the wall and the portrait of Governor Alex Otti just behind him, there was no mistaken the fact that the Mayor (Chairman) of Obingwa Local Government Council, Chief Eric Egwuibe (Iyi Nenu) was in charge. The flag of the Labour Party stood boldly behind like a batman watching over …

In the heart of Nigeria, lies the ‘Home of Solid Minerals’ – Nasarawa State. A land with a profound tapestry of culture and resilience woven by its women, a testament to their unwavering strength, tenacity, and unyielding spirit of purpose and drive. As we commemorate International Women’s Day on 8th March 2024, under the theme ‘Inspire Inclusion’, it is imperative …

Izoma Phillip Chukwuedo Asiodu, CFR, CON!  What a name!  What a man! It is always a name that fills one with awe, admiration, and sheer respect. Here is one of General Gowon’s ‘Super’ Permanent Secretaries. He was among the first-generation post-independence Nigerian bureaucrats who laid the foundation for the administrative structure of modern Nigeria. He is an encyclopedia of contemporary …

If not for the military coup of 31st December 1983 which torpedoed Nigeria’s Second Republic and threw him into the public glare, he would have remained the anonymous military professional he had always been. About 20 years before that putsch which terminated the administration of the then President Shehu Usman Shagari and threw up Muhammadu Buhari as Head of State, …

Mondays are unique, especially in this part of the world, where we rigidly regard days for special activities such as days for business, social events, and rest. Of all days, Monday is loaded with seriousness and freshness, and as the enigmatic Afro musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti sang, it is a day of huzzling. In Fela’s words, Eko, ko ni gba igbakugba …

There was almost always a familial disputation between his friends, about the most appropriate moniker to prefix to his name, at every point in time. He aggregated quite a number of them over several decades of leading his organisation to deliver global standard, durable public infrastructure as commissioned by an avalanche of government ministries, departments and agencies. Most famous of …

Chukwuemeka Pius Ezeife, Anambra State governor from January 1992 to November 1993 who died last month at 86, hauled himself up by the bootstraps and became an embodiment of progress. He took to apprentice trading on leaving primary school owing to a paucity of funds. Yet, before anyone knew it, he had obtained a doctorate in economics from Harvard, becoming …