www.newstower.ng

Menu
Facebook Twitter Youtube

Category: People

From Indigenous Apprenticeship to Formalized Professional Practice: The Igbo Business System and Omniversity Imperial College’s Competency-Based Evaluation Framework

Posted on by admin50

 

 

Professor Tokunbo Akeredolu-Ale PhD

 

 

The Igbo apprenticeship system stands as one of Africa’s most coherent indigenous models of professional formation, enterprise succession, and competency validation. Its logic is not academic credentialism but verified capability, ethical conduct, economic relevance, and social trust.

 

Apprenticeship within the Igbo system is governed by clearly understood norms: learning occurs through immersion, assessment is continuous and observational, recognition is earned through demonstrable mastery, and progression culminates in formal settlement that confers independent professional standing. These principles align directly, not symbolically but structurally, with the professional practice education, evaluation, and qualification architecture of Omniversity Imperial College.

 

Omniversity Imperial College Lagos Nigeria is positioned deliberately as a professional practice education, executive development, and competency validation institution. Its institutional logic mirrors the Igbo apprenticeship philosophy by operating exclusively within Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning, Competency Based Education, Structured Recognition, and ISO aligned governance frameworks. Just as the Igbo system does not rely on classroom examinations to determine readiness, Omniversity does not operate within Nigeria’s statutory university degree framework and does not award NUC regulated academic degrees. Its awards are explicitly professional, practice based, competency validated, and industry aligned, reflecting the same distinction the Igbo system has always maintained between learning and formal academic schooling.

 

In the Igbo apprenticeship model, the master practitioner functions as both mentor and assessor, continuously evaluating the apprentice’s technical competence, judgment, reliability, and ethical comportment.

 

Omniversity Imperial College institutionalizes this role through qualified assessors, professional panels, and evidence based evaluation processes. Assessment is grounded in portfolios, documented experience, applied projects, interviews, and competency mapping rather than abstract theory. This approach formalizes what has historically been informal but rigorous in Igbo commercial culture: the validation of real capability through sustained performance under supervision.

 

The settlement phase of the Igbo apprenticeship is the system’s ultimate validation mechanism. It represents recognition that the apprentice has achieved professional independence and is worthy of trust within the commercial ecosystem.

 

Omniversity’s *practice qualifications* perform an equivalent function within modern professional governance structures.

 

The *Bachelor of Practice* recognizes foundational competence and readiness for workforce participation.

 

The *Master of Practice* validates advanced applied mastery and leadership capability.

 

The *Doctor of Practice* confirms terminal professional authority grounded in industry impact and governance competence.

 

Each award is explicitly non academic, legally distinct from university degrees, and transparently positioned as a professional recognition of demonstrated capability.

 

This mirrors the Igbo principle that recognition follows proof, not aspiration.

 

The *Professor of Practice* designation at Omniversity further reflects indigenous recognition traditions.

 

In Igbo society, elders and master traders who have demonstrated sustained excellence, mentorship, and community impact are accorded elevated status and authority.

 

The *Professor of Practice* title similarly recognizes distinguished professionals with verifiable industry leadership and societal contribution. It is not an academic professorial rank and is not governed by statutory university rules. Instead, it aligns with global Professor of Practice norms that emphasize lived expertise, governance maturity, and professional legacy.

Regulatory clarity is a central strength of Omniversity Imperial College Lagos Nigeria’s framework and resonates with the Igbo system’s respect for defined roles and boundaries.

 

Under Nigerian law, universities are statutory degree awarding bodies, while professional institutes operate under corporate and professional governance.

 

Omniversity functions lawfully as a professional education provider, a practice qualification awarding institution, and a competency assessment body. It does not require NUC accreditation because it does not claim degree awarding university status. This clear separation mirrors the Igbo distinction between traditional trade mastery and formal Western education, each respected but not conflated.

Professional governance affiliations with bodies such as NITAD and CILRM further reinforce institutional legitimacy without misrepresenting academic authority. These affiliations support ethical standards, leadership development, and professional practice validation while explicitly not conferring academic accreditation. This governance model is consistent with the Igbo apprenticeship tradition, where legitimacy derives from peer recognition, guild like accountability, and reputation rather than state certification.

 

Omniversity’s integrated professional pathway reflects the structured progression embedded in the Igbo apprenticeship system. Advancement is sequential, competency driven, and evidence based. No level is honorary or automatic. Each stage demands verifiable performance, ethical alignment, and industry relevance. Certificates and transcripts carry explicit legends clarifying their professional, non academic nature, ensuring transparency for employers, partners, and regulators. This mirrors the Igbo emphasis on clear social signaling, where one’s status is understood through demonstrated role and function within the community.

 

Honorary distinctions at Omniversity Imperial College further parallel traditional Igbo recognition practices. In Igbo society, exceptional contributors to commerce, leadership, education, and community development are publicly honored based on merit, impact, and character. Omniversity’s honorary framework follows the same logic, awarding recognition strictly on demonstrated societal, educational, business, organizational, and leadership impact. These conferments are not earned through coursework and do not substitute for professional practice qualifications, reinforcing the integrity of both earned and honorary recognition.

 

In synthesizing indigenous African practice with globally intelligible professional frameworks, Omniversity Imperial College does not imitate tradition but formalizes it. The Igbo apprenticeship system provides historical proof that competency based, practice driven education produces resilient professionals and sustainable economic ecosystems. Omniversity Imperial College translates this proven logic into a structured, legally compliant, and internationally legible model of professional evaluation and recognition. In doing so, it affirms that Africa’s indigenous knowledge systems are not inferior precursors to modern education but foundational architectures upon which credible contemporary professional institutions can be built.

 

*Professor Tokunbo Akeredolu-Ale* _PhD_ President Chairman BOT GC Omniversity Imperial College Missouri USA and Lagos Nigeria

www.omvic.us

+2348185000488

+2347068431124

2026: A YEAR OF RENEWED EXPECTATIONS

Posted on by admin50

 

Senator Sunday Steve Karimi 

My Dear People of Kogi West Senatorial Zone, I send you greetings for the new year 2026. As a district in Kogi State, the previous year threw up peculiar challenges for us. Most worrying was the security unsettledness which upset the historical calm and serenity for which our district is reputed. Vagrants infiltrated our communities, abducted some of our loved ones and in instances, took some away before their time. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.

 

As your elected representative in the upper chambers of the federal legislature, permit me to assure you that this new year holds positive promise for our people on many fronts. Of common concern to us all is the condition of the Abaji-Lokoja; the Kabba-Isanlu-Egbe and the Kabba-Iyara-Omuo Ekiti roads which are at the core of day-to-day movement and socioeconomic activities for our people. We are unrelenting in our engagements with the federal government and I can assure you that there will be noticeable improvements in the new year. Please take this to the bank.

 

The disturbing security situation is equally receiving necessary attention. We have all seen an abatement in insecurity across the country in recent days. The *Forest Guards,* an amalgam of trained local hunters and vigilantes put in place by the administration of President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, are being deployed to various states to support ongoing security management efforts. Terrorist activities are calming in the aftermath of Nigeria’s collaboration with the United States of America, (USA), to hit the strongholds of evil in parts of the country.

 

The Nigerian military has also revved up synchronised air and land clearances of cells and camps of bandits across the country. Kogi State and Kogi West will not be left out of this gradual security sweep. Gradually and assuredly, we shall be able to sleep with our eyes closed in times to come.

 

Mr President has shown faith in Kogi West in the area of appointments and recognitions for our people since the inception of his administration. The appointments of Prof Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), and Prof Gbenga Solomon Ibileye as Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Lokoja, (FUL), in recent weeks, is evidence of President Tinubu’s continuing confidence in the quality of human capital available to Nigeria from Kogi West.

 

Political activities will be on the ascendancy in the new year with the formal release of the 2027 electoral calendar by INEC. It behoves us in our district, to rally support for President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, whose *Renewed Hope Agenda* continues to impact the country in positive ways. We stand to benefit more with the continuity of a leader who has done as much for us as President within his initial two and half years in office. He will indeed do more.

 

I conclude by admonishing our people to keep hope alive and glowing. Better days beckon.

 

I thank you for your attention and wish you a most eventful and prosperous 2026.

 

 

*Senator Sunday Steve Karimi*

*Senator Representing Kogi West Senatorial Zone*

*Chairman, Senate Committee on Services*

To be your best in 2026

Posted on by admin50

 

 

By Ayo Oyoze Baje

 

 

Quote:

 

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are learning to do.”

 

– Pele

 

 

My dear committed readers, faithful fans and fellow citizens of our country called Nigeria, you are most welcome to the new year, 2026 Being a pre-election year heightened by the peurial penchance of the political desperados to hang on to power at all costs;apprehensions are truly high. The sordid scenario is worsened by the tax masters who are out there to squeeze whatever is left of the pauperized populace daily struggling under the survival mode

in a harsh and inclement business environment With all of these and of course,

the on going battle against insecurity being fought in collaboration with the US military through airstrikes we, as a people are gradually gravitating towards the Darwian law of the jungle, exacerbating the survival of the fittest.

 

 

The bitter truth therefore, is that we should be prepared for eventualities, as events unfold But the million naira question remains-how are we going to navigate the thorny and twisted paths to fashion. our ways to survive the hard times?

 

 

According to Charles Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species,’ it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is best able to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.” What that means is that we should be

willing, ready and capable of adapting to the environmental dynamics as they come.

 

 

But first and foremost we should be grateful to our Almighty Creator that we are part and parcel of 2026.. Are we not truly lucky? Yes,we are. So, big congratulations to you that you are still

alive, hale and hearty at this challenging moment in time. We must admit that it is not by our power, wisdom or might but by the sheer grace of God. Yet, the critical questions remain: How do we make the best of this new year? How do we bring out the best in us and succeed against all odds? The answers are not far-fetched.

 

 

Talking about odds, we must first and foremost swallow our base, primordial sentiments of both ethnicity and religion and admit that the harsh economic realities on ground could all have been prevented, with selfless leadership in place. But here we are currently battling with a debatable “Renewed Hope”.

 

 

Is it that of insecurity, with Nigeria ranked sixth on the Global Terrorism Index,GTI,

characterized by the wanton wasting of precious human lives as evidenced by the spate of blood-letting in Zamfara,Sokoto, Plateau and Benue states? Or, is it the high inflation rate, including that of food, fuel, school fees, rent and sundry consumables? These were worsened of course,by the sudden removal of the fuel subsidy by Mister President back in May 2023, without adequate plan for meaningful palliatives to ameliorate the suffering of over 133 million multi-dimensionally poor citizens? No matter how concerned he is about our suffering by the increase in the salaries of federal government workers, it does not make adequate impact by throwing money at self-cteated problems. Rather, you come up with sustainable policies to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. That might perhaps, explain why not a few multi-national manufacturing companies have exited the country and the well woven web of the ‘Japa Syndrome’ has become an alternative to some concerned citizens. One can go on and on.

 

 

But for those of us who still strongly believe in the great potentials inherent in the vast and varied resources that God has graciously blessed Nigeria with, how do we bring out the best in us? The answers are deep down there inside each and everyone of us, like the precious pearls of gold and diamond buried within the earth.

 

 

As yours truly has kept highlighting one year after another, this moment of the new year is that for sober reflection. Each of us is like an artist with an open canvas right before him. The pictures we paint on it, with the different colours and strokes would largely depend on the individual’s experiences. Whatever our ambition and projection for the year might be, they would be influenced and informed by what we see, hear, smell, eat as well as the people and places we have encountered over the years. And of course, the concrete actions we have taken to drive our dreams to the sunlight of reality.

 

 

The hard fact is that we have under utilized the huge potentials God has endowed us with. Put simply, each and everyone of us can do much better than we have been doing. According to experts on psychology, as revealed by Norman Vincent Pearl,

none of us has used more than 25% of the enormous powers God has deposited within us.

 

 

That brings into focus Bryan Adams inspirational note that:”Your potential is unlimited.Aspire to a higher place.Believe in your abilities, in your tasks, in your judgement”. But do we really know all the timeless treasures and golden goodies lying within us? No, we do not. And even the ones we are able to identify, we do not believe in them, with some of us underrating what they can do for us. So, where do we begin from?

 

 

Where else but from God, our all-wise, all-powerful, and all-gracious creator? He alone knows the all-important reasons for creating each and everyone of us and what sterling attributes He has abundantly deposited in each of us. Whatever religion we practise, it is therefore, significant for us to go to our maker with praises and supplication for all He has done for us and ask Him to reveal what He has blessed us with. It is important also to: “Know thyself and to thyself be true” as the wise ones have rightly admonished.

 

 

Going further, it is easy for us to know what these attributes are by answering the pertinent questions. What good things do I love to do, and do them so effortlessly that they bring me inner joy, satisfaction and fulfillment? What are my skills, talents, and hobbies?What do others find difficult to actualize but I find it as easy as dotting the ‘I”s and crossing the ‘T”s? What do other people quickly identify me with, once my name is mentioned? Whatever it is, never look down on them because that is the key to open your doors of Divine Destiny.

 

 

It could be to draw, to paint, to design clothes, shoes and bags. It could be to farm, to repair broken down gadgets, or to build houses. It could be to crack other people’s ribs, as a jester or comedian. That is your calling. Never look down on your God-given gifts. For instance, ace comedian, Ali Baba once trekked all the way from Ikorodu to Victoria Island, VI, Lagos in search of a white-collar job which he did not get. But once he identified his ability to make others laugh and honed it, his life trajectory changed for good! Now, people take flights from across the globe to seek for his service.That is it.

 

 

The next step to take is to work on your talents. It all starts with your mindset. Control it. Your subconscious mind is a fertile field. Sow life-giving seeds in it. Develop a Positive Mental Attitude, PMA. Do away with all negative thoughts. It takes absolute belief or faith in God and the abilities He has given you. It takes character, confidence, courage, commitment and self discipline. It takes hard work, humility, and honesty of purpose. It takes perseverance, learning and sacrifice, as the late Brazilian soccer genius and legend, Pele rightly mentioned, and as highlighted in the introductory quote.

 

 

Interestingly, all these sterling qualities the world has seen exhibited year after year, by unarguably one of the most consistent footballers the world has ever been blessed with, who is none other than Cristiano Ronaldo. He keeps shattering most soccer records, by not only bagging the most international goals ever scored by an individual, as well as achieving feats across different leagues but by being an embodiment of practice, passion, perseverance and persistence,while the world waits for him to reach the fantastic feat of reaching the remarkable 1,000 goals.

 

 

All these bring to the fore, Benjamin Franklin’s beautiful admonition, that: “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement and success have no meaning”. That shows us the significance of the power of creativity. It simply means the ability to bring out new, unique and valuable perspectives to either existing products and conditions, or coming up with new ones. We all need this attribute at this trying time of economic hardship. As ace music producer, Kenny Ogungbe wisely stated, when you are holding up a partly filled cup of water you view it as either half-filled or half-drained. The choice is yours.

 

 

To underscore this point, Charles Darwin, brought the idea of the ‘Origin of Species’ with the ‘ Evolution Theory’ to the public sphere back in 1859. He explained that through the law of natural selection, as it favours only those who can easily adapt to changes. To do so we have to deploy our sense of creative ingenuity. And that is what the inventors of electric cars have done to gradually phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles. In a similar scenario, solar- powered panels have come to gradually take over other sources of electric power supply. To survive the excruciating economic situation in the country, several Nigerians should refuse to give up against all odds.

 

 

As Ray Kroc, the man who bought over the Mc Donald’s franchise aptly stated:”Persistence pays”. We are all familiar with the inspiring story of the American, Abraham Lincoln who failed in business twice,lost in politics several times and suffered personal tragedies but eventually clinched the much elusive post of the president of the United States as he was elected in 1860. What about the scientists who came up with the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep in 1996? Did you know how many times they tried before succeeding? 277 times! What would have happened if they had given up at the 276th trial? The answer is yours.

 

 

My dear brother, sister, friend and fan, if Mercy Johnson did not give up hope as a pure water seller in Lagos; if Victor Osimhen saw the sun smiling behind the dark clouds as a street hawker in Lagos, if Patoranking did not lose focus as a rat-killer seller and Funke Akindele was not discouraged by the Nollywood movie makers, who wrongly described her as lacking the attributes of a blockbuster movie artist, why should you?

 

 

But wait awhile. What was the common aptitude amongst the five of them? They believed in their abilities, in their dreams, in their tasks and in their judgement, as Bryan Adams wisely stated. So should you.

 

 

But remember, that whatever idea you plan to work on, you cannot do it alone. As Sam Walton rightly noted: ” Individuals do not win, but teams do”

 

 

Welcome to 2026, the year of limitless opportunities and possibilities. Keep going forward, against all odds.

LITERARY LUMINARY, TUNDE OLUSUNLE, BESTOWED PRESTIGIOUS OGO OKUN AWARD 2025

Posted on by admin50

By Ebinum Samuel

 

 

 

The prestigious Ogo Okun Award 2025 was yesterday conferred upon the distinguished poet, journalist, scholar, and author, Dr Tunde Olusunle by the *Yeye Oge Ti Ile Okun/Initiator, Ile’Ya Omo Okun Generational Foundation (IOOGF)* in Kabba, Kogi State. He was ably represented by Dr. Stephen Adewumi of the Federal University Lokoja.

 

Olusunle, a former presidential aide, Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors (FANA) and respected teacher of Creative Writing at the University of Abuja, was honoured for his immense contributions to Nigerian literature, journalism, academia, and community development.

 

His prolific career, spanning decades, has seen the publication of powerful poetry collections, incisive journalistic commentary, seminal scholarly works, commitment to community services in Okun land and the world over, all of which have cemented his place as a vital voice in the national and Pan-African literary landscape.

“We’ll never celebrate Christmas” – Pastor Kumuyi says it’s ‘idolatry practice’

Posted on by admin50

 

 

The cleric insisted that the practice has roots the church considers unbiblical.

Since this ministry started, we have never said we are going to a Christmas retreat. Never. We don’t celebrate Christmas. It actually comes from an idolatrous background,” he said.

Christmas Has Idolatrous Origin, Kumuyi Says

Speaking to the congregation in a widely circulated video, Kumuyi maintained that the church has never recognised Christmas since its establishment.

He explained that the festival is tied to idolatrous traditions, which makes it unacceptable to the ministry.

He stressed that Deeper Life has never organised any Christmas retreat or Christmas-themed programme.

December Retreat, Not Christmas Celebration

Kumuyi clarified that what people often assume to be a Christmas activity in Deeper Life is actually a December retreat, strictly focused on prayer, spiritual renewal, and reconnecting with God.

In his words; “We always call it a December retreat, a time for those gathering together because of the holiday period to reconnect ourselves to the Lord, to give everything we have, and to love more.”

The holiness preacher also cautioned against attempts to introduce Christmas traditions into the church, describing such efforts as attempts to bring practices he believes are contrary to biblical worship.

He added; “When you find any section of the church where anyone wants to introduce the idolatry of mystery Babylon that is called Christmas… we do not allow it.”

He urged worshippers to remain steadfast and uphold the church’s long-standing doctrine on the matter.

Pastor Kumuyi further emphasised that the church prioritises spiritual devotion, prayer, and love above merrymaking, partying, drinking, and other activities commonly associated with Christmas celebrations.

He encouraged members to stay focused on God rather than worldly festivities.

Despite global Christmas celebrations, Deeper Life Church continues to hold its annual December retreats across Nigeria and internationally, maintaining its stance on spiritual growth over traditional holiday celebrations.

Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, PhD, (second right), Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation with fellow inductees at their installation today, as Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration of Nigeria, (FCPA), at the auditorium of The Polytechnic, Ibadan. The ceremony was presided over by FCPA Registrar, Dr Uche Okereke

Posted on by admin50

Definitions, Not Lives: Bishop Kukah’s Convenient Theology

Posted on by admin50
  -By Abdul Mahmud     Most Reverend Matthew Kukah has spoken again. This time, he tells Nigerians that the country is not experiencing a Christian genocide. He cites numbers, he questions sources, and he dismisses claims of persecution. He reminds us that genocide is defined by intent, not by pools of blood and burnt out churches. The bishop speaks as if death can be measured only by some theological precision. He speaks as if suffering requires validation from the Vatican. He speaks as if the cries of widows, orphans, and Christian communities terrorised across northern Nigeria are hearsay unless confirmed by his office. Bishop Kukah has carved a niche for himself in Nigerian public life. Once, he poked the eyes of oppressors with fearless sermons and daring speeches. He once seemed a gadfly to power. He once understood the language of moral outrage. Today, he prefers the language of caution. Today, he interprets atrocities for two conveniences: those in charge of the nation-state and the convenience of his new theology. He does not question. He reduces horrors to mere numbers, questioning whether they can even be called horrors without an explicit intent behind them. He argues, with calculated sophistry, that genocide exists only when intent can be proven. Let us examine his reductionism. Kukah insists that unless a death can be tied to explicit intent to destroy Christians as a group, genocide cannot exist. He reduces complex realities into legalistic formulas. He discounts decades of chronic violence. He ignores the systematic targeting of communities based on faith. He dismisses eyewitness testimony as anecdotal. He scorns journalistic accounts as unverified. He trusts only his own calculations or those sanctioned by the Vatican. He elevates protocol over pain. He hides behind definitions while lives are extinguished, clergy men taken away or killed. Just yesterday Sunday (November 30-2025), the Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State was attacked. The pastor, wife and worshippers were abducted. Last week, Venerable Dachi was killed by his abductors – yes, in Bishop Kukah’s home state of Kaduna. Yet, he insists that genocide exists only when intent to destroy a group can be proven. This is a dangerous simplification. The international legal definition, as contained in the 1948 Genocide Convention, does indeed mention intent, but intent is not the sole criterion. Genocide encompasses acts committed with the knowledge that they will destroy, in whole or in part, a group. Systematic killings, forced displacement, destruction of homes, religious sites, and cultural institutions all count. One does not need a signed decree from the oppressor to establish genocide. The logic of intent alone ignores the lived reality of victims. Villages emptied of life, churches torched, children orphaned, communities terrorised – these are visible consequences. To demand proof of a private mental decision by the perpetrator before naming genocide is to demand the impossible. It is to turn suffering into speculation. Scholars such as Raphael Lemkin, the man who coined the term genocide, emphasised that genocide is a process, a series of actions aimed at annihilating a group. Lemkin spoke of destruction through systematic oppression, not only through explicit declarations of intent. Legal scholars have expanded this understanding to include acts that produce predictable, devastating outcomes for targeted groups. Intent is important, but intent is not an escape hatch for those who reduce horror to definitions convenient to power. When Kukah speaks as though genocide can only exist with direct intent, he removes agency from the perpetrators while dismissing the lived experiences of the victims. He creates a loophole where terror, displacement, and massacres are rendered morally neutral because the legalistic proof of intent is hard to extract. This is not scholarship. It is a moral abdication. It is an evasion of responsibility. It is the language of those who interpret the sufferings of the many for the convenience of a few.   Genocide is not a theological abstraction. It is a social and human reality. It is measured in homes destroyed, lives cut short, and communities erased. It is seen in the fear that spreads across a region when faith alone becomes the marker for death. And no amount of definition by intent can erase these facts. Reducing genocide to intent alone is to argue that mass death is meaningless unless sanctioned by the conscious declaration of the killer. It is to ignore the predictable cruelty embedded in systemic attacks on a group. It is to allow killers to operate under a cloak of invisibility while the world debates whether the numbers and patterns satisfy a technical definition. This is why Kukah’s insistence is not merely wrong. It is dangerous. It is a subtle way to obscure reality and grant impunity. It is an intellectual exercise that leaves victims behind. By anchoring genocide to intent alone, Kukah dismisses history, legal scholarship, and moral obligation. He overlooks the fact that intent can be inferred from patterns of systematic harm. He ignores that international tribunals regularly rely on the consequences of acts to establish genocidal intent. He closes his eyes to the evidence that is in plain sight. He reduces horror to a debate about whether someone, somewhere, consciously decided to destroy Christians. He renders fire and blood secondary to paperwork and memos. In doing so, he betrays not only history but the very communities he claims to serve. Though Kukah’s transformation from gadfly to the powerful into a defender of obsequious authority seems complete, it is only fitting to contrast him with priests of his kind who stood for truth to the very end. Enter Father Oscar Romero who stood in the pulpit while soldiers murdered the poor outside his window. He did not wait for permission. He did not demand audited statistics. He called out the machinery of terror. He mentioned the names of the dead. He counted their tears, their homes, their broken families. He did not hide behind definitions of intent. He recognised that injustice is self-evident. He acted because silence was complicity. He paid with his life. Contrast Kukah with Paulo Freire, the author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Freire understood that education is liberation. He knew that suffering must be named before it can be confronted. He rejected reductionist reasoning that blunted the edge of oppression. He demanded dialogue with the oppressed. He demanded the courage to see power as it functions. He understood that the world is not a ledger of intent. It is a battlefield where the powerful impose structural violence on the weak.   Also, contrast Kukah with South American priests who fought on the side of the poor. They did not measure genocide in intent. They counted what was visible. They confronted killers, militias, and corrupt governments. They challenged impunity. They refused to normalise cruelty. They understood that faith demands solidarity with victims. They embodied that courage that does not calculate permission before speaking truth. They knew that silence is a language that the oppressors understand well. Kukah’s words on the floor of the Knights of St. Mulumba echo as reductionism. Pure and simple. He cites 1,200 burnt churches every year and asks rhetorically, “In which Nigeria?”. He questions why nobody asked the Catholic Church. He refuses to accept reports from victims, journalists, human rights organisations, or even other Christians. He elevates his own office as the sole arbiter of truth. He reduces genocide to intent alone as if fire, blood, and terror cannot speak for themselves. One wonders how he reconciles his words with his vocation. How does one preach the gospel of love and yet sanitises terror with numbers and legalistic definitions? How does one counsel peace while dismissing sufferings? How does one command moral authority while parroting the language of the oppressors? Once, Kukah feared the powerful. He was our much-sought after and regular speaker at the Church and Human Rights Workshops of the Civil Liberties Organisation in the early 1990s at Ijebu-Ode and elsewhere. Now, he comforts power and the abusers of the right to life. Once, he demanded accountability. Now, he reframes accountability as optional. Once, he was the gadfly. Today, he is the evangelist of the oppressors. Nigeria does not need semantics. Nigeria does not need definitions that absolve killers. Nigeria does not need ecclesiastical interpretations of genocide. Nigeria doesn’t need Kukah’s theology of convenience. Nigeria needs truth. Nigeria needs courage. Nigeria needs religious leaders who speak to sufferings, not around them. The women whose husbands were murdered need a voice. The children who saw their schools torched need witnesses. The communities forced to flee their lands need validation. They do not need a lecture on intent. If genocide is only what one proves in court, then the crime has already won. If suffering must be verified by the Vatican memo, then the dead are silenced twice. If terror requires sanction from hierarchy, then the victims remain irrelevant. This is the dangerous gift of reductionism. It allows moral authority to be divorced from moral courage. It allows words to mask horror. It allows convenience to masquerade as wisdom. Bishop Kukah should remember Romero. He should remember Freire. He should remember priests who risked their lives and comfort to defend the defenseless. The world remembers their courage. The world remembers their solidarity. The world does not remember bureaucratic definitions that sanitise violence. The world does not remember numbers when names are forgotten. The world remembers those who speak for the voiceless, not those who repackage terror as a matter of semantics. In Nigeria today, churches are burnt. Villages are attacked. Lives are lost. Families are destroyed. Fear spreads. And yet, what we hear from Bishop Kukah is that genocide cannot be named. We hear that intent alone matters. We hear that numbers without Vatican verification are hearsay. His words are a monument to reductionism. His words are a guide for those who would obscure horror. His words betray the moral responsibility of religious leadership when faith demands more, demands courage, demands naming the suffering and demands standing with the victims even when power pressures one to be cautious. Faith is not a tool to sanitise terror. It is a sword against oppression. And that is what Kukah seems to have forgotten. Bishop Kukah once poked the eyes of oppressors. Today, he seems to shield them. He once championed truth. Today, he sanitises horror. He once had the voice of the oppressed. Today, he theologises convenience. History will judge him. History will remember the voices he ignored. History will remember that genocide is more than intent. History will remember those who spoke for the dead while the living waited for validation from men in suits and pulpits. Nigeria needs more than definitions. It needs courage. It needs truth. It needs religious leaders unafraid to name horror and challenge impunity. Bishop Kukah has chosen another path. He has chosen the path of convenience and of reduction. And that is the tragedy of his moral retreat. Unfortunately, the retreat is what his New Theology of Convenience is about.   ***Abdul Mahmud is the President of the Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL).                

NAPTIP places Speed Darlington on watchlist

Posted on by admin50

 

 

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has placed Nigerian rapper Darlington Okoye, popularly known as Speed Darlington, on its watchlist after he reportedly failed to honour an invitation to the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.

The development was announced by NAPTIP’s Director of Legal and Prosecution, Ijeoma Mary Amugo, during a press briefing on Monday to kick off the 2025 edition of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

According to Amugo, the agency had invited the musician to answer questions regarding a disturbing claim he made during a live Instagram session in May. In the viral broadcast, Speed Darlington allegedly boasted about having sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl—an act that amounts to sexual involvement with a minor and falls under NAPTIP’s mandate to investigate.

Fielding questions from journalists, the NAPTIP’s Director of Prosecution said the rapper tried to intimidate the agency.

NAPTIP further said it has not been able to trace Speed Darlington to a known address, making it difficult to get him to answer for the alleged crime.

“So what he did was to preemptively try to intimidate us by going to the social media to say that he wouldn’t come and that he wouldn’t respond to us, that we are kind of sitting on his human rights.

“So we tried our best to physically locate him because you have to locate the suspect before justice will be served,” Amugo stated.

She said, “So, as I’m speaking to you, the last report we have is that he’s outside the country and we have not heard from him yet. We have placed him on watch list. Anytime he enters Nigeria, NAPTIP is going to continue the investigation from where we stopped. So that is the status of the case for now.”

Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello said the agency would be fine-tuning its implementation strategies to tighten the noose on offenders.

“Nigeria is making efforts to deal with the rising cases of human trafficking across the country.

“However, enforcement remains a challenge, given societal attitudes and cultural norms,” he said.

WEEK FUNSO OWOYEMI LOCKED DOWN LAGOS FOR WIFE, DAUGHTER

Posted on by admin50

 

By Tunde Olusunle

 

 

Thursday January 11, 2024, all roads led to the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Ikate, Surulere, Lagos, for the formal admission of Otunba Funso Davies Owoyemi, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Accountants, (FCA), into the septuagenarian rungs. Those who know FDO as acronymed from the initials of his names, know him for his social unobtrusiveness and reticence. This is despite his humongous achievements as an astute professional, conscientious husband, consummate parent, devoted community leader and revered elder statesman. Turning 70 in our kind of environment with its many viccissitudes was worth giving thanks to God and inviting friends and family to join the celebration which was just what Otunba Owoyemi did on that occasion.

Nearly two years later very recently, there was compelling need for a double-barreled encore in Owoyemi’s family. It was the occasion of the engagement of one of his six delectable daughters, Oluwasolape, to her hearthrob, Precious Adeniran, on one hand, and the 70th birthday of his beloved wife, Mrs Rita Abeke Owoyemi, his inseparable partner of five decades. Beginning from Thursday October 30, 2025, therefore, Otunba Funso Owoyemi was going to lock down Lagos for the following half a week to commemorate both landmarks. And from Lagos and beyond, family, friends, associates and acquaintances rallied steadily behind the Owoyemis as they celebrated their own.

 

Chief (Mrs) Rita Abeke Owoyemi

 

The highbrow Rosetree Event Centre, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos, hosted the engagement ceremony of Oluwasolape and Precious. Expectedly, it had the orderly, organised imprimatur of FDO, classy without being exhibitionist, the best of Nigerian culture on display as the two youngsters pledged their futures to each other before the world. Lagosians continue to raise the bar of ceremonial sophistry though, ever giving their upcountry guests novelties to think about. Fulfilment was writ large on the faces of the older Owoyemis who have devoted a considerable segment of their more recent years joyfully oversighting the lateral flourish of their family, with the addition of more and more grandchildren.

Sunday November 2, 2025, the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Ikate, Surulere, was the venue of the 70th birthday thanksgiving of the Owoyemi matriarch, Chief (Mrs) Rita Abeke Owoyemi. It was a packed Sunday service which coincided with the annual “Adult Harvest” of the church, which was going to keep guests and parishioners in church for a long duration. The Rt. Rev. Akinpelu Johnson the Vicar and Archdeacon, led the proceedings. The excitement of celebrating with the Owoyemi family, despite Lagos’ typically unpredictable rain descent, however, overshadowed every proclivity to boredom and restlessness. Guests proceeded to The Podium Events Centre, Lekki, Lagos for the post-thanksgiving reception thereafter.

The socials were a celebration of the finest aspects of Nigeria’s cultures. Otunba Owoyemi’s kinsmen from Yagbaland in the Okun hemisphere in Kogi State, matched their in-laws from Owo in Ondo State with costume, dance and displays. It was a most befitting tribute to the life and multitasking career of a wife, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt, who worked her way to Nigeria’s exchequer, the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), from humble beginnings. Starting out in Secretarial Studies, Mrs Owoyemi with the unflinching support of her redoubtable husband would go on to become a public administrator in her own right. She trained at the Crown Secretarial College and the Pitman’s College, both in London, where she earned a Diploma and a Higher Diploma in Secretarial Studies.

 

Chief (Mrs) Rita Abeke Owoyemi

 

Within the same period, her husband, Otunba Owoyemi earned his badges as a charterered accountant and management professional. The couple wedded in London Borough of Hackney in 1979 and welcomed their first child, Olumuyiwa, one of their two sons, before returning to Nigeria during the regime of President Shehu Usman Shagari in 1980. Mrs Owoyemi began a lifelong career in the CBN in 1981 and grossed three and half eventful decades in service before her retirement at 60 in 2015. She has since redoubled her focus on mentoring and supporting not just her children and their offsprings, but siblings, relatives and adopted children, while also supporting her husband as they both age gracefully together.

Mrs Owoyemi’s commemoration was a harvest of testimonies from a broad spectrum of people and publics she encountered and impacted in a most eventful life. Siblings, childhood peers, schoolmates, colleagues, members of church, voluntary and social organisations, stepped forward to speak so glowingly and eloquently about a rare breed who has lived her life principally for others. The second child of her nuclear family, fate thrust leadership upon her when she lost her older sibling and she had to fill in spontaneously as Numero Uno in the family and pathfinder, a role she has played so very ably and gracefully.

The Owoyemis had very good company at the twin ceremonies. Former Ministers in the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR at the programme, included Chief and Justice (Mrs) Bayo Ojo, SAN, CON, and Asiwaju and Chief (Mrs) Kola Jamodu, CFR. Prince Olusola Akanmode, Chief of Staff to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, GCON; Arc Yomi Awoniyi, FNIA, former Deputy Governor of Kogi State; Aremo (Dr) and Chief (Mrs) Yemi Ogunbiyi, former Managing Director of Daily Times of Nigeria Plc, and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro. Rear Admiral Okanlawon Oni, (rtd); AIG Tunji Caulcrick, (rtd); Brigadier-General Benjamin Ipinyomi, (rtd); Ambassador Kayode Shinkaiye; Chief (Mrs) Florence Omotehinwa; Justice Suyi Olateru-Olagbegi and Justice and Mrs Adeniyi Ademola, (rtd), equally added colour to the event.

Mr Eniola Bello, Managing Director of Thisday Newspapers; Mr and Mrs Akin Opeodu, FCA; Mr and Mrs Kunle Owuye; Dr Kola Ibirogba; Otunba Sam Olu Owa; Chief Kunle David; Chief and Mrs Korede Adedayo; Chief Tosin Atewologun; Chief Jide Oni as well as Mr and Mrs Bayo Ibirogba, honoured the milestone. Chief Kayode Soyombo; High Chief Tobi Oduyale; Chief Sanmi Fabode, FCA; Hon Deinde Abolarin; Mr and Mrs Iyiola Oyefeso; Otunba and Mrs Babs Alatise; Engr and Mrs Owa Adewale; Captain and Mrs Ade Olopoenia; Mr and Mrs Uwa Ehanire; Elder Tunde Alogbo and Chief Tunde Odunewu, all kept faith with the Owoyemis. Not forgetting Members of “Klub D’Aspirers” and the “Long Table” respectively.

It was indeed a fitting and memorable week of landmarks which the family of Otunba Funso Davies Owoyemi, FCA, will savour and treasure for decades to come.

Tunde Olusunle, PhD, Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), is an Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Abuja

13-year-old student, Seth, wins UBA Foundation essay competition

Posted on by admin50

 

MEET OUR AUTHOR of the WEEK, the award-winning essayist and author, 13 year old

EBUNLOLUWA OLUWATIMILEHIN

 

By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan

 

 

 

History was made in Lagos on Tuesday, as 13-year-old Ebunoluwa Seth Oluwatimilehin, of Igando Community Senior High School, Igando, a suburb of Lagos, emerged as the overall winner of the 15th UBA Foundation National Essay Competition, thus becoming the youngest winner in the 15 years of the competition.

 

Ebunoluwa, a public school student in SS2, also emerged as the first male winner in over eight years, as female winners have repeatedly dominated the competition. He clinched the grand prize of N10m educational grant to be used for his future studies at any African higher institution of his choice.

 

According to a statement from the foundation, an elated Ebunoluwa expressed his joy, stating, “I am incredibly grateful and overwhelmed. This competition has shown me that passion and hard work truly pay off.

 

It has been an amazing journey that has deepened my love for writing and expressing my ideas.”

 

 

The second-place winner, Njoku-Kelechi Emerald of Christian International High School, Owerri, received a N7.5m educational grant, while the third-place prize of N5m educational grant was awarded to Bayero Fatima Auwal of Cornerstone Montessori Schools, Gudu, Abuja.

 

 

In addition to the monetary grants for the top three winners, all 12 finalists were awarded brand-new laptops and other educational materials to support their academic pursuits.

 

The 2025 edition received several thousand entries, with significant participation extending beyond major cities into rural communities across the country.

 

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, who commended the Foundation’s 15-year commitment to the initiative, explained the competition’s strategic role in reviving a culture of reading and writing among youth.