Our Reporter, Abuja
The ECOWAS Commission, Asokoro, Abuja, will on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, host the public presentation of three new books by renowned diplomat, public relations expert, and leadership scholar, Steve Okey Onwuka, as part of activities marking his 60th birthday celebration.
Themed “African Leadership and the Youth Crisis,” the event will feature the unveiling of three thought-provoking titles — Africa: Vengeance of the Abandoned, The Dialogue: The Vulnerable and the Desperate, and Songs of Ogadi. Each work offers a deep reflection on Africa’s moral, social, and generational challenges through the prisms of literature, philosophy, and faith.
In Africa: Vengeance of the Abandoned, Onwuka explores the historical roots of the continent’s youth crisis, tracing them to colonial dislocation and loss of indigenous values. The book calls for a Pan-African revival anchored on ancestral wisdom, inclusive dialogue, and cultural renewal.
The Dialogue: The Vulnerable and the Desperate takes the form of a dramatic narrative that interrogates greed, abandonment, and redemption, while Songs of Ogadi, a collection of 30 poems, bridges ancestral insight with youthful yearning, offering a poetic invocation for Africa’s rebirth.
Together, the trio of works forms what observers describe as “a moral manifesto” urging Africa’s leaders and citizens to act decisively in addressing the continent’s deepening youth despair — now reflected in insurgency, migration, and moral decline.
The event is expected to draw leading figures from politics, diplomacy, academia, and the arts.
Dignitaries billed to attend include: Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, who will be the guest of honour; Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, President, ECOWAS Commission – chief host; Mr. Boss Mustapha, Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation – chairman of occasion; Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, African Union Special Envoy on Silencing the Guns – guest speaker.
Others are include Her Excellency, Datiem Chinchibidja, Vice President, ECOWAS Commission – host; and Professor Darma Nazifi, ECOWAS Commissioner for Internal Services – co-host.
The books will be unveiled by H.E. Rochas Anayo Okorocha, Former Governor of Imo State and Founder, Rochas Foundation and Chief (Engr.) Chibuike Achigbu, CEO, CHIMONS Gas Ltd.
Books reviewers are H.E. Julius Sandy, Sierra Leone’s High Commissioner to Nigeria and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and multidisciplinary scholar, Professor Okey Ikechukwu, mni, Executive Director, Development Specs Academy.
According to the organisers, the presentation promises to be “an inspiring confluence of African intellectualism, diplomacy, and literary reflection.”
Guests are expected to be seated by 12:30 p.m., as the event begins at 1:00 p.m. strictly. Attendance is strictly by invitation.
