I never heard of Igbanke until 2001. They are six clans of an Igbo subgroup in Orhiomwhon Local Government Area of Edo State. Shortly after the demise of the Obi of Onitsha, HRH Ofala Akukalia Okagbue in November 2001, I visited the Obi’s palace (Ime Obi) in Onitsha to report about preparations for his burial and […]

The world came together on a warm April morning in Rome. Under Bernini’s wide colonnade, a simple wooden coffin lay, almost shy against the grand marble of St. Peter’s. It held the body of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, better known as Pope Francis; it also carried a final message, passed without words. As I watched the funeral, […]

From last week, continues the statement by  Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, explaining why he permitted the meeting of the Western House of Assembly  following the Action Group crisis and the subsequent declaration of a state of emergency in the Western Region It must be on the strict understanding that there will be no police protection within […]

The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, is in a celebratory mood as more politicians defect, depleting the ranks of the rival Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In what was like a tsunami in Delta State, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor Ifeanyi Okowa and their political appointees, defected. However, such defections are not unexpected as the ruling party, […]

On 13 December 1972, Zambia’s founding president, Kenneth Kaunda, signed into law the Constitution (Amendment) Acts, numbers 3,4 and 5 ending the country’s First Republic and ushering in a new constitution for the country, which promised a “One-Party Participatory Democracy” under “one and only one party…., namely, the United National Independence Party (UNIP).”