Author: Editor

Ben Ezechime, Enugu  A Senior Lecturer in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Proffessor Oguejiofor Ujam, has been reportedly kidnapped by gunmen along Ugwuogo-Opi-Nsukka road. Ujam, who is the Dean, School of General Studies (GS), was reportedly kidnapped on Sunday morning as daredevil men of the underworld resumed hostilities on the road. The Enugu State command of the Nigeria Police are yet to comment in the incident. Proffessor Ujam is of the Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, UNN. It would be recalled that an official of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), identified as Emeason Chima, was also kidnapped on…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu  Umuada Igbo, an umbrella body of Igbo daughters in the South-East, Delta and Rivers States, has called on South-East state governments to immortalise late President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo World, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu. The President General, Umuada Igbo Nigeria and in Diaspora, Chief Kate Ezeofor, made the call in a speech during the brief stop over of Iwuanyanwu’s remains at the Ohanaeze National Secretariat in Enugu on Saturday. According to Ezeofor, we are here gathered to pay our last respect to Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, a great son of Igboland who lived and died in the service of his…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu  Hon. Aka Eze Aka, the Chairman of Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State, has praised God for blessing him with a child after 21 years of marriage. Speaking at a reception after the dedication of the child, Jesoeme Okikeabia Eze, in Enugu, Aka, described the coming of the child as a blessing not only to his family but to all those who are facing similar challenge. “It is a culmination of Gods grace at work, we give thanks to God because after 21 years of marriage, I now have a child.  “I say thank you to…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu The National Universities Commission (NUC) has commenced verification of 18 degree programmes for the take-off of the Federal University of Allied Health Sciences, Enugu (FUAHSE). It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had on March 15, 2024, approved the conversion and upgrade of the former Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy to the Federal University of Allied Health Sciences for human resources development in health and social welfare sector. Consequently, the university in its inaugural senate, approved 22 programmes in five allied healthcare faculties while the NUC directed the verification of 18 out of the…

Maxim Uzoatu The committed Thespian, Greg Mbajiorgu, is making commendable waves. Among theatre practitioners and scholars in South-Eastern Nigeria, Greg Mbajiorgu stands out for many reasons. Firstly, he may be regarded as the progenitor of solo dramatic literature in Africa since he is the first African to publish a solo dramatic text. Secondly, in addition to being the first from the South-East to improvise a full-length solo performance, he is also among the very first playwrights from the region to publish a drama on climate change (Wake Up Everyone) and Poetics of Environmentalism (Plastics, Plastics Everywhere). Thirdly, he is the…

By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu There is a new hard-hitting book on my desk entitled This Fiction Called Nigeria: The Struggle for Democracy by Adewale Maja-Pearce.  It has just been published by Verso, in London, UK, and Verso, in Brooklyn, New York, US, in this year of our Lord.  Adewale Maja-Pearce does not pull his punches in his prolific engagements in public intellectual pugilism. He packs quite a punch, and comes strongly recommended by such eminent worthies as Jeremy Harding of London Review of Books who writes thusly: “Adewale Maja-Pearce is Nigeria’s most dependable journalist.”   There is no denying the fact…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu  The Programme Advisor, ActionAid, Blessing Ifemenam, has said that ActionAid was encouraging the governments at all levels, to support sustainable models for food system in Nigeria. Ifemenam said this at the Enugu Youth Summit on Agroecology and Food Systems organised by ActionAid in partnership with the South Sahara Social Development Organisation (SSDO), in Enugu. She said that agroecology was a climate resilient sustainable approach that incorporates ecological principles into farming practices, adding that it emphasises the sustainable management of natural resources. “We encourage the government to support sustainable models for food systems such as agroecological production owned…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu  Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah  has hailed the leadership qualities of the late President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu. Mbah described late Iwuanyanwu as a quintessential statesman, who committed and devoted his life to the pursuit of peace and progress across the country. The governor stated this on Saturday during a Day of Tribute organised in honour of the Igbo leader in Enugu. According to him: “Iwuanyanwu was ‘an Iroko,’ whose exit will be greatly felt across Nigeria, especially in Igboland. “Iwuanyanwu was such an iroko, deeply rooted in our culture. “Iwuanyanwu raised himself, a…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu  An Officer of Federal Roads Safety Corps  (FRSC) has reportedly been kidnapped along Ugwuogo-Opi road in Enugu State. Reports said that the officer, Mr Emeason Chima, who is attached to RS4.211, Ugbokolo unit of FRSC, was kidnapped around Maduka University in Nsukka, Enugu State. A reliable source said that the abductors have made contacts with his office demanding  ransom of N50 million before the officer could be released. According to an official of FRSC who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Chima was driving alone in his car when he was attacked and abducted. Some motorists who…

Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has approved the payment of N75, 000 minimum wage to Civil Servants in the State. Governor Nwifuru announced this shortly after a Holy Mass at Government House Chapel, Abakaliki on Sunday. A statement by His Media Aide, Monday Uzor, quoted the Governor as saying that the decision followed careful review of the current economic situation in the Country especially as it affects the workforce. According to the Governor, the least paid Civil Servant on grade level 2 will enjoy full minimum wage of N75, 000 while from grade level 3 and…