Nigerian Academic Excellence Magazine (NAEM)

By Ben AHANONU  Of late, there had been boisterous noise or rather bombastic postulations and imputations that are more like emotional outpouring than factual attestations from some quarters and by some notable individuals about why Chief Ikedi Ohakim (whose emergence as the Governor of Imo State under the banner of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), a party founded and funded by former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, was like an act of providence due to the failure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to produce a candidate for the election) lost the 2011 gubernatorial election despite the advantage of incumbency - yet I know that such subjective claims are smartly pointless and to no avail. You may recall that the then ruling PDP expelled Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, who won the party’s primaries after which the  PDP, in obedience to the Supreme Court ruling affirming Ararume’s candidacy, withdrew from the election thus paving the way for the realignment of forces that eventually bro...

  The Chairman and Chief Executive of MARCON Group, Barrister (Prince) M. O.  Nlemigbo has refuted the allegation that he grabbed land at Nkaraha, Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area (LGA), describing it as calculated propagation of falsehood and a futile attempt to tarnish his image and hard-earned reputation by an ingrate called Chinedu Akpaelu and his fictitious group of misfits that benefitted from his scholarship programme but now masking under the aegis of an unknown and non-existent Ohaji-Egbema Youth Movement, OEYM, to accuse him of what he knows nothing about and has nothing to do with. In a press statement he personally signed, Chief Nlemigbo disclosed how he acquired the land in question, and how the father of the said Chinedu Akpaelu called Matthew Akpaelu had before now tried to seize the land but died in the process after swearing to an oath administered by selected traditional rulers of Imo State along with four others. The statement reads in full: "My attention ...

By Ben AHANONU  Again, Nigeria is standing at the crossroads; in fact, on the edge of a precipice. Is the country about to explode? Tempers are rising, many are very angry, some are shouting blue murder, some are issuing threats, some are spreading falsehoods, others want instant justice, dark clouds hang forebodingly overhead, some are calling it karma, there are claims and counterclaims, some are indifferent, some are wailing and as usual, arrests have been made by the police in the aftermath of the Edo massacre and some of those arrested might be innocent citizens, who are unconnected with the heartless and condemnable killing of 16 people in Uromi, Edo State.  To say the least; it is absolutely wrong for one to kill a fellow human being with the flimsiest of excuses, and unjustifiable reasons - it is wicked in the main and unconscionable before God Almighty. I was utterly shocked and devastated when I learnt of the heinous incident. According to local reports, the victims,...

By Ben AHANONU  Recently, the Appeals Court in Abuja, gave the Federal Government (FG), approval to challenge the judgement that barred the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from reopening the trial of former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu. In two separate rulings by a three-member panel of Justices, the appellate court granted an extension of time to enable the FG to file processes to set aside the September 29, 2021, judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which stopped the EFCC from prosecuting the former governor, who is currently representing Abia North in the Senate. Senator  Kalu, who was the Governor of Abia State from 1999 to 2007, was earlier convicted and handed a 12-year jail sentence by the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court. The trial court convicted him alongside his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited and a former Director of Finance in the state, Mr. Jones Udeogu, over an allegation that they stole about N7.1billion from the Ab...

By Ben AHANONU  The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a mandatory, post-tertiary education scheme, established by Decree No. 24 of May 22nd, 1973,  by the military administration of Gowon as a post-civil war initiative aimed at promoting national unity and integration.  Since 1973, graduates of Nigerian universities, and polytechnics under the age of 30,  have been required to take part in the National Youth Service Corps programme for one year and Ahmadu Ali served as the first Director-General (DG) of the NYSC until 1975. The NYSC was established to promote national unity and patriotism, foster self-reliance, inculcate discipline, provide practical experience, and encourage community development among others but the question is to what extent has the aims been achieved in more than half a century of its existence? Objectively,  the concept of NYSC is fantastic but in practical terms, it is a disaster, given the fact that the scheme is bedevilled by system...

 By Ben AHANONU  For quite sometime, Rivers State has been in the spotlight because of the seemingly intractable political impasse between the incumbent Gov. Fubara now suspended and his predecessor, Barrister Nyesom Wike. The first time I met Wike was way back in 2015 at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, and he came across as a vibrant man exuding goodwill, charm and confidence. It was a chance encounter but with lasting impression. Then he was a minister. When he eventually became the Governor, he brought that charm, goodwill and confidence to bear on his office and was able to achieve a lot in eight years as the Governor of Rivers State. Nyesom Wike literally changed the landscape of Rivers State with the countless roads and flyovers he constructed that made the then Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to give him the nickname, 'Mr Projects.' Nyesom Wike is a thoroughbred, rugged and smart politician that understands the intricacies of the game fully and pitches his tent where...