He died on Monday, 11th September 2023. He was aged 104 years. Two weeks after his 90th birthday, I called him to ask for a profile interview. I was editor at The Sun newspapers. He agreed – reluctantly. It was to mark his birthday, I’d told him. He gave me time, 10am, and the venue, his residence. I knew his …

This article was written and published seven years ago in Gateway Mail, based in Toronto, Canada when the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo III visited the the Egba in that Canadaian city. It is being reproduced to commemorate the 80th birthday of the revered monarch How many of us know much about our royal father, the Alake and Paramount ruler …

If there is anyone who is not undaunted by difficult assignments – someone society can bank on to take on an existential problem and find a lasting solution to it – that must be Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd). If you put the country’s biggest problem on the table and ask Nigerians for suggestions of trusted hands capable of …

Sylvanus Ukafia, a medical doctor and a pastor, has fun memories of his first encounter with Ray Ekpu. His father, the late Owen Ukafia, an accomplished journalist in his own right, worked at the once bubbling Nigerian Chronicle in Calabar, where Ekpu started his journalism career. The senior Ukafia kept feeding his son daily with juicy stories of excellent journalism exemplified …

The globally recognised measurement for distance is either mile or kilometre, depending on the country. It is logical that the farther the distance, the greater the mileage. This universal truism was tested Monday 10th July 2023 when I found out that the distance between Ikeja and Victoria Island, both in Lagos State, was “farther” than driving to my village in …

“What kind of landing is this”? That was President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015 as the presidential jet made a difficult landing in Malta, which hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that year. The President and his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina; and the others in the aircraft were rattled by what was later explained to …

News of the passing of Chris Mba first broke on Facebook on the page of my fellow Aba ‘Boy’, Uche Nworah who credited CKN (Chris Kehinde Nwandu) as the source. It didn’t initially get through to me until this morning, Friday, 5th May as I listened to song after song of the soft singer on Classic FM 97.3 on Bukola …

What sort of man is Mike Adenuga Jr (MAJr)? Does it sound like a million-dollar question? Don’t worry, let’s get down to it. In answering the question, a biographical account would be appropriate. Indeed, some great story tellers have produced inspiring pen-portraits on him. In 2011, Mike Awoyinfa and Dimgba Igwe wrote a book on Adenuga who was born 70 …

Obiageli Ezekwesili is like a daughter to me. Even when she was a minister, I treated her the same way I treated my biological daughters. She was a dynamic young woman, who is competent, reliable and very enterprising. As she, therefore, clocks 60 today, I cannot but thank God for her life, as I wish her more fulfilling and glorious …

Evening of Wednesday 23rd March 2023, the Abuja home of Onyema Ugochukwu, the iconic economist, journalist, administrator, publicist and statesman hosted the landmark birthday celebration of the mother of the family and Ugochukwu’s wife, Joyce. Events commemorating the milestone began in the earlier hours of the evening with a thanksgiving service at the Methodist Cathedral of Unity, Wuse, Abuja, where …