Author: Editor
By Uche Ugboajah There is a saying in Igboland that looking at the mouth of an elder, you would think he never suckled with it. Yet another says when a child washes his hands clean enough, he dines with elders. Those proverbs indeed hold true when we consider the personality of Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu who was born on June 12, 1968, as bombs rained on the people of the Southeast. Odinkanlu has risen from treacherous circumstances and background of his birth to become a global scholar and thought leader today. Yes, Odinkalu is a child of war born into displacement…
By Stephen Obidike I stood in awe. I was at a loss on what to say. I thought I had seen it all before but definitely no. I could not believe the expanse of the land. I could not see the end from where I stood. It has merged with the horizon. The steel structure at the middle is big enough to contain fifteen very tall skyscrapers laid side by side. The well laid out driving paths, parking and lawns made it a beauty to behold. My mind quickly went to the magnificent structures that adorn cities like Singapore, China,…
By Dave Chukwuji In my eyes, you’ll see what’s left of the wildling that once roamed these plains… You won’t see the kid that swam with mermaids dived in the Niger for pennies drank spirits offered the river goddess You won’t see the kid that searched the depth of the river for the carcass of the crocodile Uncle Joe double-barrelled on Ezute No you won’t see him You’ll see me just what is left of what was…
By Azu Ishiekwene On March 26 at the Eagle Square, Abuja, the All Progressives Congress (APC), reinvented a version of consensus politics that ancient Rome and Greece would have been proud of. After years of in-fighting and decay, and fearing that the opposition might rebound, the ruling party finally called its overdue convention. It rounded up aspirants who were jostling for its executive positions and told them, at gunpoint, that it was time to try something new: consensus. Different tendencies in APC had run amok. President Muhammadu Buhari had to put his foot down and cut a deal with governors…
Chukwudike Ndubeze, Awka Transporters in Anambra State have expressed anguish over what they described as the insensitivity of government towards the plight of commercial drivers and transporters in the state. Their feelings were made known at a meeting organised by Civil Rights Concern (CRC), a non-governmental organization, held in collaboration with Anambra State Ministry of Transport, in Awka, the state capital, Wednesday. Enumerating their challenges of operating transport business in the state, the leaders of various transport unions, including Tipper, Taxis, and the Urban Bus Drivers spoke extensively against indiscriminate charges in the system and how it has affected their…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia, & Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki The alleged decision of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to throw its 2023 presidential ticket open to all aspirants from every geopolitical zone has triggered angry reactions and condemnation in the South-East. PDP’s 37-member zoning committee headed by Gov. Samuel Ortom, Wednesday, concluded its assignment, and reportedly recommended that the party should allow all aspirants from every zone to contest unlike in 2019 when the party zoned its presidential ticket to the North. Although Gov. Ortom later denied that his committee recommended that the party’s presidential ticket be thrown open, claiming…
Stephen Ukandu (News/Features Editor) The immediate past President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Wednesday, cheated death as his convoy was involved in a fatal auto crash while driving out of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Two police escorts attached to his convoy, were however, not so lucky as they died following injuries they sustained when the accident occured. The deceased police personnel were identified as Inspectors Ibrahim Abazi and Yakubu Toma. Jonathan in a condolence message described the deceased as “fine officers who were dedicated to their duties and service to the nation.” He condoled with the bereaved families.…
Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki This is as stakeholders from one of the clans, Izzi clan, have rejected the alleged endorsement by some traditional rulers from the clan of Speaker Francis Nwifiru as the clan’s consensus candidate. Ikengaonline gathered that Umahi had called a stakeholders’ meeting of both Izzi and Ezza clans, two out of the three major dominant clans in Abakaliki bloc. The Abakaliki bloc consists of Ebonyi North and Central senatorial zones. While the Izzi can be found in three of the four local governments in Ebonyi North, the Ezzas are dominant in three of the four LGAs in Ebonyi…
Chukwudike Ndubeze, Awka Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, has named human rights activist and scholar, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, maverick entertainer and musician, Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, and Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, wife of Biafran hero, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, as members of Truth, Justice and Peace Committee in the state. The Committee according to a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Professor Solo Chukwulobelu, will be chaired by the former Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Professor Chidi Odinkalu. Other members are: Dr. Joe Nwaorgu, Dr. Udenta Udenta, Dr. Uju Agomoh, Rev. Fr (Msgnr) Jerome Madueke,…
Our Reporter, Abuja The All Progressives Congress (APC) is set to release the cost of its nomination forms for various offices and the schedule for the primaries. The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Felix Morka, stated this on Wednesday, just as he denied the online reports that the Presidential Convention for the party had been slated for end of the month. Morka, addressing the media after the meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) members, said they have commenced discussions on the schedule of the primaries but were yet to conclude. Asked to speak on the meeting of…