Falana described those behind the threats as “mentally deranged”.
As a prominent human rights activist and lawyer, Falana has a history of advocating for justice and defending the rights of marginalised individuals and communities.
He is the founder of Falana & Falana Chambers, a law firm that specialises in human rights law, criminal law, and civil litigation.
Speaking in the interview, he said: “The only disturbing area in this scenario is the threat to me and one of my two daughters. Some of these guys who I believe are mentally deranged have dared me, ‘If you like, if you go to court, we shall burn your office’.
“They have also sent messages to one of my daughters that if your father goes to court, we shall kill you. I beg your pardon in this country, I just laughed and I asked my daughter, don’t worry, I will take it up.
“I have already taken that up because we must also let these guys know where we are coming from.”
On September 27, 2024, SaharaReporters reported that Falana’s daughter, Folakemi, had issued a strong and unequivocal rebuttal to the recent spate of allegations of bribery and corruption against her family members – her father and her brother, the celebrated Nigerian musician Falz, as well as Nigerian socialite, Idris Okuneye, aka Bobrisky.
In a spirited defence of her family’s integrity, Folakemi Falana dismissed the unsubstantiated claims, emphasising that they are completely baseless and lacking in merit.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria had earlier given VeryDarkMan 24 hours to “retract his offensive and derogatory publication,” against him and issue a public apology while his son, Folarin Falana, aka Falz, in a separate letter also made similar demands.
I am not happy this morning. That is to put it mildly. I should have said that I am sad. I am sad about Nigeria and about her decaying institutions and where they are headed. This is what makes me sad this morning. The result of Global Ranking of Universities has just been released. And what is the outcome? It is a shame. A national shame.
Of the over 274 universities that Nigeria parades only one made the list of the first 1000, called Band A universities. Isn’t that sad? But it is not sad enough. What is sad is that even the only one university that made the list was neither a Federal or State university but a private one and a mission university for that matter. It got nothing from tax payers money or from public budget. That is the shame there.
Here is the result according to Professor Okebukola:
Of the first 1000 universities only Covenant University made the list, numbered among the rank of 801-1000 called Band A universities.
Next is the Band B universities (1001-1200). Only 4 universities made the list namely, Ahmadu Bello University, University of Ibadan, Landmark University and University of Lagos.
Then the Band C universities:1201-1500. Only 6 universities made this band, two Federal universities of technology at Akure and Minna and Bayero university, Universities of Benin, Ilorin and Nsukka.
Next is the Band D: (1501-?): Only 10 made the list: 4 state Universities like LASU, EKSU, LAUTECH and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, and 7 Federal universities namely FUNAAB, FUTO, OAU, FUOYE, UNIPORT, UNILORIN, DANFODIYO, Sokoto.
All together 21 Nigerian universities made the list to be mentioned in the Global Ranking. Two of these made the best list in Band A and B. These are Covenant University and Landmark University owned by the same organ, a Christian mission agency headed by David Oyedepo. Does this suggest something to you? Then wait for the real shock.
Of the remaining 19 universities in Bands B- D, 15 are Federal universities and the remaining 4 are State universities.
Here are the shocks:
No Federal or State university made the list of the first 1000 universities.
No private university made the list except Covenant and Landmark in the first two categories.
Of the 21 universities, 6 are in the North and 15 in the South. Of the 15 in the South, 10 are in the Southwest, 3 in the Southeast and 2 in the Southsouth. Of the 5 in the North 3 are in the Middle Belt North Central and the remaining two in the Northeast. Of the three in North Central two, Landmark and Unilorin are in the same state, Kwara State.
Of the first generation universities only Ife and Nsukka did not make the list of Band B like the others. Nsukka made C while Ife, Great Ife fell, to D.
What does this sum up to? What lessons can we learn from this?
With due respect to Professor Okebukola and others who see this result as impressive and worthy of celebration, I do not. I don’t see what is impressive here. In point of fact I see this as an emblem of national shame and a tragic dramatization in more vivid forms of the misgovernance and maladministration of the universities in particular and even of the Nigerian nation in general. I am particularly sad that a private organization that has no access to public funds, tax payer’s money or subvention or alumni support base is posting a worthwhile results on two of her universities while a Federal university of the first generation like Ife cannot raise its head. Great Ife that was once known and respected globally has now become a Band D university outranked by even Landmark University that was established less than 10 years ago. I am particularly sad about Ife, Great Ife because I know what this university used to be in the days when Scholarship was the watchword of universities. It shows how Nigeria has mismanaged this great university in particular.
The proliferation of universities which has resulted in thinning and depletion of quality academic staff from older universities has led to decline of the university system in Nigeria. The senate just passed another bill turning a polytechnic in Ilaro to a full-fledged university. Soon another university will be established in Iragbiji to placate the new Hegemon. All these will lead to depletion of inadequate existing manpower. The trouble with Nigeria is we tend to overdo everything until we spoil the whole thing. Why do we need 274 universities? Why not rather have 100 that are functional, properly- equipped, well- funded and fully staffed and adequately structured and monitored? Only 21 had a mention in the Global Ranking, what happened to the rest 253? They are missing in the Register of distinction of Global Ranking!
It is a thing of sorrow and shame that more money has come to Nigeria in the last 25 years of the Fourth Republic than at anytime in history; and it is sad that it is during this very period that Nigerian Federal and State universities have suffered the worst reverses, the most terrible decline, most persistent strikes by academic staff due to many reasons. It is this same period that qualitatively, Nigerian universities have been most underfunded, mismanaged and maladministered. With the situation of things in the economy and poverty coming on the generality the university system will even suffer the more and future rankings might even be worse. As lecturers reduce the number of times they go to work due to increased cost of fuel, output will generally decline. All things been equal. Government is spending 96 billion naira to fund pilgrimages to Mecca but the universities, the engine rooms of National Thinking are crying for help and gasping for oxygen for survival.
Although funding is a major problem with our universities and partly responsible for this lacklustre performance, funding does not explain everything. I have said it before that funding is just one factor among many affecting our institutions. There are other systemic factors that I can’t fully go into here. The staffs of Covenant University and Landmark University are not better paid than Federal universities and State Universities. I am not sure they have a better condition of service. Yet their universities posted an impressive result. Does that tell you something? State universities have been charging fees for long and they have resources yet only 4 of them made the list. Federal universities now charge students too for accomodation, and sundry levies running into hundreds of thousands per student, in addition to the Federal subvention however little it is. Yet has there been any improvement? Will there be any even with these? So funding is a factor but underfunding does not explain everything about all the decay we see in the universities. Happily, ranking is not based on physical infrastructures but on the quality of intellectual output and mental exertions and capacity of the participating institutions. I can’t go into that now. It will be the subject of another day.
In the meantime I want to congratulate the World Mission Agency a. k.a Winners Chapel and his missioner Bishop David Oyedepo for this impressive result. Those of you who are always criticising the Church and pastors you now have somewhere else to direct your energies. At least the Church has posted a result for the money she collects and has shown herself a much more judicious manager of men and resources far better than your own government at the State and Federal levels and even your public institutions. It is a shame. A national shame. I am sad this morning.
A 24-year-old man, Usman Mohammed Iyal, has been arrested for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl and attempting to murder her by throwing her into a well in Ambassadors Quarters of Katsina metropolis.
The suspect’s brutal plan was thwarted when the Police launched a swift investigation and rescue operation, leading to the rescue of the victim from the well.
The incident occurred on September 27, 2024, when the victim was sent on an errand by her mother.
According to the Katsina State Police Command, the suspect, armed with a knife, had accosted and threatened the victim, and thereafter dragged her into an uncompleted building where he violently assaulted and raped her.
In an attempt to conceal his crime, the suspect threw the victim into a nearby well and hurled stones down the well with the intent to eventually kill the victim.
The victim’s father, Abdullahi Sabitu, reported the incident at the GRA Divisional Police headquarters, leading to a swift investigation and rescue operation.
The Police successfully rescued the victim from the well and arrested the suspect. The victim is currently receiving medical attention, and investigation was ongoing.
These were disclosed when the Police Command paraded the suspect alongside other suspected criminals at the State Police headquarters in Katsina.
While interrogating the suspect before journalists on why he attempted to kill the victim, he said: “because I don’t want her to expose me.”
The Police Command’s spokesman, Sadiq Abubakar, said the arrest of the suspect and ongoing investigation into the matter have demonstrated the commitment of the Police to addressing violent crimes and ensuring justice for victims in the State.
The remains of a retired police chief, ACP Dorcas Ayodele Fadairo (Rtd), who transited on 29th of September, 2024, will be interred on Friday 18th October, 2024 at Ikoyi Cemetry by 10:am in Lagos. Popularly known as “Aunty Ayo”, the deceased shored up the image of the Nigeria Police Force soon as a music exponent cum impresario, late Orlando Owoh showered her with praises over her kindness and professionalism when he ( Owoh) was an inmate of the then notorious Alagbon police cell in the nineties.
According to a source, late Aunty Ayo was never a merchandise police officer all the years she served the force before her retirement eight years ago. She was a woman in man’s world who performed her official duties with the fear of God, according to the source. The burial arrangements, according to the family, is as follows;
Chairman of the Police Service Commission, DIG Hashimu Argungu rtd mni, has made a case for strict adherence to Corporate Governance in the nation’s public Service stressing that it promotes accountability and business prosperity.DIG Argungu spoke in Abuja at a Management Meeting of the Commission in a paper titled “An overview of Salient Features of Federal Government of Nigeria Corporate Governance Manual for Governing Boards/Councils of Federal Parastatal Agencies and Commissions”.
He noted that the place of Corporate Governance in public and private sectors in developing economic and enterprise activities cannot be overstated.The PSC Chairman said Corporate governance seek to institutionalize best practices in Nigerian Public and Private Sectors and enhances the integrity of the business and working environments.DIG Argungu noted that “essentially Corporate governance is about the way power is exercised over Corporate entities, it covers the activities of the board and its relationship with shareholders or Members, and with those managing the public/private enterprise as well as with external Auditors. Regulators and other legitimate stakeholders “.
He specifically explained that Corporate governance ” is a collection of control mechanism adopted by an organisation in promoting fairness, accountability, responsibility and transparency consistently and equitably in all that it does towards achieving its planned objectives. ” In doing these, every stakeholder in the organisation will have a sense of belonging in the affairs of the organisation, believing that his/her interest, whatever that might be, will be protected”, he explained. The PSC Chairman said the benefits of corporate governance include, transparency, accountability, integrity, fairness and responsibility. Others, he noted are consistency and equitability.
Immediate past governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed, will be at the head of a powerful delegation of alumni of the University of Ilorin to the launch of two books authored by fellow alumnus, Tunde Olusunle, the eminent poet, journalist and scholar. The books are: Orisirisi: Vistas on Contemporary Politics in Nigeria and Toasts, Tributes and Wreaths. The launch is scheduled for Wednesday October 9, 2024, at the Yar’Adua Centre and will be chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), Senator George Akume, CON. Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo is also expected as Chief Host of the programme and will be supported by some of his colleagues. Former Governor Ahmed graduated from the “Better By Far” citadel, the moniker with which alumni and students of Unilorin love to drape their alma mater, about 40 years ago.
The formidable alumni entourage will include the Senator representing Oyo North Senatorial Zone, Fatai Buhari. Buhari, who graduated in the same year with Olusunle in 1985. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation. Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede and former Permanent Secretary, General Service Office, (GSO), in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Olusegun Adekunle, will be on the entourage. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sports Development, Tinuke Watti; Comptroller-General, Nigerian Immigrations Service, (NIS), Nana Nandap and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Lokoja, (FUL), Prof Yemi Akinwumi will be on the party.
Former Executive Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), Dr Victor Babatunde Adeniran; former Director, Policy, Plans and Research, Defence Space Administration Agency, Major Gen Kayode Ogundele, and former Director, Research and and Development, Defence Industries, Kaduna, Brig. Gen John Obasa, (rtd), will be at the event. Legal Adviser to Green Energy Ltd, Olusegun Ilori; Managing Partner, Awomolo and Awomolo Chambers, Eyitayo Fatogun, SAN; Femi Atoyebi, SAN, of OM, Atoyebi and Partners, as well as Tunji Bamishigbin, attorney and film producer, will be in tow. Pioneer Executive Vice Chairman, (EVC) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, (FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera; immediate past Director-General of the National Theatre, Prof Sunnie Ododo and Secretary to the National Broadcasting Commission, (NBC), Franca Aiyetan will honour the event.
Assistant Inspector General of Police, (AIG), Ademola Hamzat, an alumnus of Unilorin will represent the Inspector-General of Police, (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, while AIG (Mrs) Rhoda Adetutu Olofu, Secretary of the Nigerian Police Force, (NPF), a 1986 graduate of the same institution, will also be in attendance. Newly promoted Commissioners of Police, Wilfred Tokunbo Afolabi and Saadat Ismail; former Director in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Director of Arts and Culture, Erelu Ronke Bello, PhD and renowned petroleum engineers, Francis Osasona and Idowu Lawanson, also from the same source, will grace the function.
Hakeem Bello, long-serving media adviser to Emeritus Governor of Lagos State and more recently Minister for Works, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, and Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media, Tunde Rahman, both from Unilorin, will support the event. Seasoned mariner, Sunmola Bakare and his banker wife, Deola Bakare, both Unilorin alumni will be in attendance. Former Deputy Director-General, (Operations) of the National Intelligence Agency, (NIA), Ambassador Agev Apollos Dem; Director of Public Affairs at the National Hospital, Abuja, Dr Tayo Haastrup, who is also the Olumobi of Imobi-Ijesa, Osun State, and Mrs Tayo Olowola, Registrar, Kings University, Ode-Omu, Osun State, are expected at the event.
Professor of mass communication at the East Connecticut State University, (ECSU) in the United States, Gbenga Ayeni, and associate professor of journalism at the Bingham University, Karu, Nasarawa State, Tivlumun Nyitse, will be in Unilorin entourage. Kola Olorunleke and Tunde Akanni, professors at FUL, Lokoja and the Lagos State University, (LASU), respectively will participate at the launch. Chief operating officer of Benjamin Black Group, Dapo Adelegan and his counterpart in Noah’s Ark Communications, Lanre Adisa will equally be at the event.
According to Bolaji Afolabi, Member, Book Launch Media Committee,Tunde Olusunle is an Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Abuja. He is better known as a poet and has previously published three volumes of painstaking verse notably: Fingermarks, (1996); Rhythm of the Mortar, (2001), and A Medley of Echoes, (2022). Forewords to the various poetry volumes were written by Emeritus Professors Femi Osofisan and Olu Obafemi, both recipients of the Nigerian National Order of Merit, (NNOM), Nigeria’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. He previously authored two compendiums of essays: On The Trail Of History: A Reporter’s Notebook on Olusegun Obasanjo, (2006) and Atiku: Perspectives on a Phenomenon, (2023).
The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, DIG Hashimu Argungu rtd, mni today led the Management team of the Commission to receive a strong delegation from the Bureau of Public Service Reforms led by its Director General Dasuki Arabi at its Corporate Headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.DIG Argungu said the Commission will be committed to establishing a working partnership with the Bureau and will be inviting the Director General to come and address the staff on the requirements of the Public Service Reforms.
He said his leadership is going to bring innovations in the Management of the Commission and appealed for the guidance of the Bureau.”We will embrace the Reforms in the Public Service and we are ready to take necessary decisions. We want to bring changes, we have a lot to do to improve policing in Nigeria and we believe that Nigeria is more important than anybody.DIG Argungu said the Commission will continue to seek the advice of the Director General adding that the Commission will soon put in place a quality assurance Unit.The Director General had earlier said they were in the Commission to welcome and congratulate the Chairman and his team on their appointment and promised to support the new leadership to work to improve the quality of life in the country.
Mr. Arabi said the Bureau is set up to drive Reforms in the Federal Public Service. He announced that the Bureau has digitalised the public Service Treasury account adding that the Treasury single account has helped the Government to track its finances.” we have opened Government’s financial system, we generate data and we have the capacity to manage the data, he noted.He advised that the Commission should be prepared to digitalise Police Promotions, Recruitment and Discipline for improved performance system.
The Director General said the Commission should prioritise capacity development in the Commission and the Nigeria Police Force and also ensure that Police Training institutions are equipped. Ikechukwu Ani , the Commission’s image maker disclosed that DIG Taiwo Lakanu rtd, Honourable Commissioner in his brief remarks promised that the Commission will work to deliver on its mandate and in conformity with the requirements of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms.He noted that the new leadership in the Commission is committed to service delivery and will do everything possible to make the Nigeria Police Force more efficient and effective.
CP Olatunji Rilwan Disu psc has assumed duty as the 32nd Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command. He took over on 07th October, 2024, from AIG Benneth C. Igweh psc, mni. who was promoted to an Assistant Inspector General of Police and posted to Zone 7 Headquarters.
Born on the 13th of April 1966 in Lagos State, CP Disu holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Education from Lagos State University, along with two Master’s degrees: one in Public Administration from Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo State, and another in Criminology, Security, and Legal Psychology from Lagos State University.
The CP enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police in 1992. He trained at the Police Academy in Wudil, Kano State. Prior to his current posting, he was the Commissioner of Police Rivers State Police Command.
According to SP Josephine Adeh, the Command spokeswoman, during his media briefing at the police headquarters, Disu assured residents of the FCT of his commitment to a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of crime and criminality. He emphasized that his tenure would prioritize effective law enforcement while respecting the rights of all citizens.
He also called for the public’s support and active participation in policing efforts, highlighting that policing is a collective responsibility.
Recovers large consignments of illicit drugs in Ikorodu warehouse, commercial bus in Taraba
By Ebinum Samuel
A 41-year-old Canadian lady Adrienne Munju has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos for importing large consignment of ‘Canadian Loud’, a strong strain of synthetic cannabis. The suspect was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers on KLM airline flight from Canada at the terminal 1 of the Lagos airport on Thursday 3rd October 2024. During a joint examination of her three bags, Adrienne who was coming to Nigeria for the first time was found with 74 parcels of the illicit substance weighing 35.20 kilograms stuffed in two of her three bags. In her statement, she claimed she was recruited to traffic the consignment through an online platform for 10,000 Canadian dollars upon successful delivery in Lagos. She said she took the offer because she needed the money to pay for her ongoing master’s degree programme in Canada.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports, Onne, Rivers state have intercepted Thirteen Million Two Hundred and Ninety Eight Thousand (13,298,000) pills of opioids including Tramadol, Tramaking Quick Action Tramadol, Tamol-X, Royal Tapentadol and Carisoprodol as well as Three Hundred and Thirty Eight Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Three (338, 253) bottles of codeine based cough syrup, all worth over Nine Billion Seventeen Million Seven Hundred and Seventy One Thousand Naira (N9,017, 771,000) in street value. The opioids were recovered in three containers coming from India, targeted by the NDLEA during a 100% joint examination of the cargoes with men of the Nigerian Customs and other port stakeholders on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd October 2024. Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan seaport in Lagos on Thursday 3rd October intercepted 100 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 50kg. The consignment was packed in 20 parcels each in five jumbo bags concealed in a container with four units of imported vehicles that came from Canada.
Though the container had earlier been cleared out of the ESS Libra Bonded Terminal in Ikorodu but based on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives were able to trace it to a warehouse in Ikorodu where the illicit consignments were discovered in one of the imported vehicles, a Toyota Sienna bus. A suspect, Abubakar Shuaibu Ibrahim has already been taken into custody in connection with the seizure. In Taraba, NDLEA officers on Thursday 3rd October intercepted a commercial bus marked JAL 198 YQ coming from Onitsha, Anambra state to Jalingo. Large quantities of opioids: tramadol, rohypnol and codeine-based syrup concealed in body compartments of the vehicle were recovered when it was searched, while two suspects: Pako Thomas and Emmanuel Anyigor were arrested. Another suspect, Chibuzor Okafor was arrested at Wukari on Wednesday 2nd October with 80 blocks of cannabis weighing 38kg hidden in bags of garri. In Lagos, a suspect Bolanle Ajenifuja was on Friday 4th October arrested at Afo – Media area of Ojo where 700 litres of skuchies, a mixture of local chapman and cocktail of illicit drugs were recovered from her, while three suspects: Ezekiel Akpele; Elijah Michael; and Goddard John, were nabbed same day when NDLEA operatives raided two cannabis farms located at bridge camp, a boundary community between Edo and Ondo states. Not less than 9,966.332kg of the substance was destroyed on over three hectares of farmland with 48kg of the already processed psychoactive substance recovered. With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.
These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Government Science Secondary School, Musawa, Katsina; students and teachers of Akanu Ibiam Memorial Seminary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; students and staff of Community High School, Ile Ogbo, Osun, and students of Dominion Secondary School, Okon, Akwa Ibom state, among others. While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Tincan, PHPC, Lagos, Edo, and Taraba Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), Senator George Akume, CON, will this week lead dignitaries to the launch of two books written by the renowned poet, journalist and scholar, Tunde Olusunle. The governors of Kogi, Usman Ododo; Taraba, Kefas Agbu; Sokoto, Ahmad Aliyu-Sokoto and Zamfara, Dauda Lawal, PhD, will also be in attendance. Elder statesmen including Emeritus National Security Adviser, (NSA), General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, GCON; Ranking Senator and former Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe and the pre-eminent economist, journalist and pioneer Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC) Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, FNGE, CON, will grace the event.
The books on the bill are: *Orisirisi: Vistas on Contemporary Politics in Nigeria,* a *470-page* anthology of *60 essays,* while the second, *Toasts, Tributes and Wreaths* is a *308-page* volume of *46 essays.* Respected newspaper columnist and former Media Adviser to President Bola Tinubu during his years as governor, Segun Ayobolu who wrote the Foreword to *Orisirisi* notes that it is a kaleidoscope “of the many ills that incapacitate our country today.” According to him, Olusunle opens up on “leadership ineptness, monsters corruption, pervasive poverty, galloping inflation and escalating indebtedness.”
In her appraisal of *Toasts, Tributes and Wreaths,* Professor Omotayo Oloruntoba-Oju notes that the volume “masterfully weaves together an embroidery of stories, each thread representing a unique lifetime, a significant milestone and a profound moment in the existence of the narrative *personae.”* Oloruntoba-Oju who is an expert on African, Caribbean and African-American literatures, enjoins readers and literary aficionados to “be prepared to be captivated by the eloquence of Olusunle’s narrations.” This according to her is achieved through a painstaking blend of “research, journalism and prosaic skills.” The collection, she avers ‘is a testament to versatility and depth.”
The event is scheduled for Wednesday October 9, 2024, by 2pm at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Central Area, Abuja. Other dignitaries expected include former governors of Benue and Kogi states, Senator Gabriel Torwua Suswam, PhD, CON, and Captain Idris Ichalla Wada. Senator Ben Obi, CON, *Ojeligbo,* former Political Adviser to the President, and parliamentarians from Olusunle’s home in Kogi State, Senators Sunday Karimi, Chairman, Senate Committee on Services;Barrister Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Jibrin Isah, will be at the function. Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate, Senator Lola Ashiru, (Kwara) has also been invited to the programme. Also expected are Senators Osita Izunaso, (Imo); Okechukwu Ezea, (Enugu); Austin Akobundu, (Abia); Ned Nwoko, (Delta); Smart Adeyemi, CON and Dino Melaye.
Leke Joseph Abejide, Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Customs, (representing Yagba federal constituency will lead his colleagues, notably Dickson Tarkighir, (representing Makurdi/Guma federal constituency in Benue State) and Idris Salman representing Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency, also in Kogi State, to the event. *Orisirisi: Vistas on Contemporary Politics in Nigeria* and *Toasts, Tributes and Wreaths* will be reviewed at the event by Gbenga Ibileye, Professor of English, Member of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, (MNAL) and *orator* of the Federal University Lokoja, (FUL).
According to Bolaji Afolabi of the Book Launch Media Committee, Olusunle, an established and widely studied poet has three published volumes of poetry to his name. He also published two volumes of essays before the pair scheduled for launch. He served on the elite Editorial Board of the Daily Times and worked with three Kogi State Governors, civilian and military as Director of Information and Chief Press Secretary. He was a closet aide to former President Obasanjo, holds a doctorate in Media Arts and is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Abuja. He has authored and published dozens of rigorously researched academic papers in peer-reviewed Nigerian and foreign journals, books and festschrifts, especially on literature, media and communication.
