OLU IBEKWE

A free trade agreement was signed this Wednesday, March 21 between forty-four African countries. A Continental Free Trade Area (Zlec) has therefore been created. For the African Union, this agreement is essential for the economic development of the continent. Moussa Faki, chairman of the AU Commission said, in conclusion of a summit of the organization in the Rwandan capital ” The agreement establishing the Zlec was signed by 44 countries “. One of the most powerful economies, Nigeria, abstained in the signing of this agreement. To give more time for consultations in his country, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari decided not to go to Kigali. In Nigeria, there is some opposition to this agreement. In addition to Nigeria, there are Eritrea, Burundi, Namibia and Sierra Leone. Protectionist countries, like Algeria, signed the agreement. The African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat who disclosed the number of signatories to the African Continental Fr...

On the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrated this March 8 around the world, several voices are rising to claim better places for women. In most countries, it is difficult to find a parity. But in Africa , there is one exception: Rwanda. With more than 61% of women in the Chamber of Deputies, the country is at the top of the world rankings. A country that remains a model in several fields. But in the case of women’s representation in the Assembly, it is a reference case. While they already had a respectable place in some key institutions, women saw their numbers increase in recent elections in 2013.  Of the 80 seats in the Rwandan Parliament, 51 are occupied by women. Since 2008, Rwanda has been at the top of the IPU (Interparliamentary Union) world ranking of women in national parliaments. An important place reserved for women which is the fruit of several initiatives taken for decades. After the 1994 genocide that killed 800,000 people , s...

• Thuli Madonsela: It was expected that the public protector would remain a harmless chapter 9 institution without speaking truth to power. Madonsela changed that, and delivered the reports that probed Zuma’s Nkandla pile and the capture of the state-owned enterprises under his leadership. It set the tone for some of the most damaging court findings against Zuma and the executive. • Mogoeng Mogoeng: When Zuma appointed Mogoeng as leader of the judiciary, there were fears that the chief justice was too conservative and would be a lapdog of the president — as he was depicted in a Zapiro cartoon. Under Mogoeng’s leadership the judiciary has stayed fiercely independent, and made landmark judgments in terms of keeping the executive on its toes. It was Mogoeng who wrote and delivered the unanimous 2016 judgment in which the constitutional court found that Zuma had failed to “uphold, respect and protect” the constitution in the way he dealt with the public protector’s State of Captu...

Among a few other lessons Nelson Mandela left us, Humility, Honorable, Heroic, Inspiring, Iconic, Influential are a couple of words among a few others that could be utilized to portray the man we all know as Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela was detained for a long time by the South African politically-sanctioned racial segregation government Mandela stood up against the South African apartheid government that was committing egregious human rights abuses against black South Africans. Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and went on to lead the way for the abolition of apartheid in 1994. He was elected as South Africa’s first black president that same year. Nelson Mandela has departed on December 5th, 2013 having walked among us as a man for 95 years, this African hero will always be remembered in history. Nelson Mandela’s Life and Death: 7 Things You Can Learn From Nelson Mandela’s Life. Have Faith In Justice Nelso...

Former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido has written to members of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, informing them of his decision to fly the party’s flag for the 2019 presidential election. Lamido in a letter to all PDP members across the country said the party needs to reposition the country but must first re-take power in 2019. Lamido lamented that the nation has departed from the dreams of its founding fathers. He wrote, “Today, 57 years after the independence of our dear country, can we in all sincerity claim to have achieved the dream of our founding fathers? Where did we fail and from where did we begin to fail? Nigeria with its natural endowment and human capacity cannot be forgiven for being otherwise. “We cannot even demonstrate our ability and capacity to meet domestic, regional and global challenges which currently seems to overwhelm us.” “The PDP will and must lead the nation back into a bright, progressive, and innovative future,” Lamid...

ON 21 st October, 2017. PROTOCOLS: THE TRUE POSITION OF STATE LEADERSHIP OF PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) IMO STATE CHAPTER. 0.1 We are not unmindful of the expectation of residents of Imo State who have so far endured over six (6) years of misgovernance under the Okorocha Administration, that our Great Party The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Imo State ought to put her house in order quickly so as to win the 2019 gubernatorial and other elections in Imo State to salvage the situation in our beloved Imo State and truly provide the dividends of Democracy. We must also caution that the plethora of intra party disputes is not an exclusive preserve of our Great Party but is prevalent in all political parties in Nigeria even the newly registered ones that have not participated in elections before and as it were “have nothing to share” . It may well be that our nascent democracy is still passing through some teething problems as we progress in efforts to achieve a tr...

Kola nuts have only just begun to make an appearance in the western world, but they have a lengthy history of use throughout West Africa. The cultural, religious and spiritual importance runs deep throughout countries like Nigeria and Niger. Perhaps originally chewed during social occasions, and to alleviate moments of hunger, the kola nut now has deep spiritual meaning. It’s used throughout religious ceremonies to aid in divination, prayer, communication with ancestors, and during funeral ceremonies. It was brought outside of West Africa in the 1800’s by a man named John Pemberton. He was a pharmacist responsible for the creation of the original cola flavored (the word cola comes from Kola nut) carbonated soda. Originally the soda was created with kola nuts, coca leaves and sugar and had strictly a medicinal purpose. However, considering coca is now a banned substance, it’s not surprising that the recipe quickly changed in order to become the cola we see sold everywh...