THE Federal Executive Council, FEC, this week approved N722.3 million that will fund the activities of eight field forensic auditors who have been hired to shine their torchlights on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC…as in seriously investigate over 12,000 abandoned projects.

According to the World Bank, thanks to the oil price collapse and COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria is likely to plunge into a severe recession – the worst economic decline we have experienced since the 1980s.

OLUMIDE Akpata – fondly known as Olu to some of his friends – is the new president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA; and I am absolutely delighted – not just for him but for the legal profession.    

A FEW weeks ago, a friend of mine adopted a very sobering new WhatsApp profile picture – a plaque on which the following words are inscribed:

By Duno Kogbara LAST year, a landmark anthology to which I contributed was launched in London. Titled “NEW DAUGHTERS OF AFRICA” and edited by the British-Ghanaian cultural icon, Margaret Busby, the book celebrates the work of 200 women writers of African descent and, as its publisher Myriad puts it, “charts a literary landscape as never […]

By Donu Kogbara SOCIAL media – defined as websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or participate in networking – is under constant attack from those who regard Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc, as hotbeds of lies and libellous material. It is certainly fair to say that social media platforms are full […]

I FELL in love with Classics – ancient Greek and Roman literature, history, philosophy and mythology – as a child. Latin was my favourite subject at school; and I’ve never forgotten the following question, which appeared in the Satires of Juvenal, the Roman poet who made his mark in the first and second centuries after the birth of Christ:  “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” It means: “Who will guard the guards themselves?” or “Who will watch the watchmen?”

WHEN it was announced, two days ago, that Mrs Opunimi (or Nimi) Akinkugbe was the Governor of Ondo State’s ambassadorial nominee, some Ondo indigenes got miffed and decided to kick up a huge fuss.

I DON’T know Mrs. Aisha Buhari, but I’ve always had a soft spot for her feisty, say-it-like-it-is personality, which doesn’t quite rhyme with her chubby-sweet baby face. And when she went public with bitter complaints about some of the people who surrounded her husband in 2016, I defended her on a BBC Television programme. And I’ve continued to adopt an indulgent attitude towards her occasional outbursts because I am also one for straight-talking. In fact, I am far worse than Mrs. B because I sometimes utter expletives for emphasis when something or someone has upset me.

MONICA, a Nigerian lady who doesn’t provide her surname and simply describes herself as “a concerned citizen”, has made a video that someone sent me via WhatsApp. I hope it goes viral on the internet.

MATTHEW Hassan Kukah, the always forthright and sometimes controversial Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, recently expressed the view, during an Arise TV interview, that Northern Nigerian political thieves are even worse than their Southern counterparts.

By Duno Kogbara LAST week, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo (“EK”) Clark, the famous Niger Deltan activist and patriarch, celebrated his 93rd year on this earth. A documentary honouring him was aired on the main TV channels; and a dazzling array of distinguished household names – including Chief’s illustrious siblings, Professor JP Clark and Ambassador BA Clark […]

So much has been said and written about Mallam Abba Kyari, the most high-profile Nigerian COVID-19 casualty so far.  
He was controversial, to put it mildly.

MELINDA, the wife of Bill Gates – Microsoft co-founder, tycoon and philanthropist – has said she fears that the bodies of people who have been killed by the coronavirus will litter the streets of Africa.

I THINK it is fair to say that the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has never before had a CEO who is more perfectly suited to the circumstances that prevail on his turf.