On his 69th birthday today, Sunday, 13 July, we say to a truly outstanding African who long ago was decorated with the World Bank/IMF African Scientist of the Year Award: Ad multus annos

Nnaji represents not so much contrasts as a tapestry. It was once widely thought that excellent sports people wouldn’t do well academically.

He excelled in both at the national level, enabling him to win a full-funded scholarship to the United States, where he also set a record in both areas.

It is still believed in some quarters that scientists are crazy people, or wacko professors as the late President George Bush called them, but Nnaji is thoroughly organised, cultured, humane and socially engaged.

It is widely thought that scholars can’t be successful businessmen, but Nnaji is now an internationally recognised entrepreneur.

On Tuesday, 1 July, while travelling with him from Enugu to Aba, his phone kept on ringing endlessly. Typical of him, Bart Nnaji took every call and addressed each caller patiently, carefully, and politely. One call struck me in particular. It was a widow from his rural community, who reported that her husband’s kinsmen had decided to seize her village compound, leaving her and her grown-up children with no ancestral home.

Wondering why the local folks should take such an oppressive step, he quickly made inquiries which revealed that the kinsmen were not keen on seizing the widow’s land. They were not happy that since she lost her husband, a successful and well-educated professional, about 10 years ago, she and her children have not been visiting home, though they live in Enugu, which is only 20 minutes away.

So, the kinsmen pulled the stunt of property seizure to force her and the children to start coming home regularly and identify robustly with their community and its people.

Why did this widow turn to Nnaji for intervention? Probably because the former minister of Power, who has also been the minister of Science and Technology, is the most prominent and influential person in Umuode in Nkanu East Local Government Area, one of the smallest communities in Enugu State.

But it is more likely because, unknown to most Nigerians, Nnaji, recipient of four national honours, is the chairman of the community’s land committee, an office he takes with utmost seriousness, just as he does with his chairmanship of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Prize for Science Committee and his chairmanship of the Bells University of Technology Governing Council.

It’s one of the reasons why he travels to this rural community at least every two weeks and holds endless meetings with peasant farmers, cleaners, palm wine tappers, gate men, civil servants, failed traders, university lecturers, professionals, etc.

This position must be one of great trust because land disputes are a major source of communal fights in the South-East, Nigeria’s smallest geopolitical zone by land mass. Some land cases from the South-East have lasted in courts for up to 100 years, with most getting to the Supreme Court.

Four days to the widow’s distress call, Nnaji was in Abuja to attend the 25th anniversary of the African Export-Import (AfriExim) Bank, where he was on the panel of experts that included former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to discuss the strategies for Africa’s rapid development.

He has a more than a passing interest in AfriExim Bank affairs. The continental bank provided the $50 million facility used to resuscitate and complete the $800 million Aba Independent Power Project by Geometric Power, a company he founded and leads as the chairman.

The Aba project is today the biggest single investment in the South-East and Nigeria’s foremost power integrated power project.

Whereas Sahara Energy owns both the Egbin Power generation company in Lagos and the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, the power produced from Egbin is supplied to the national grid, unlike in Aba, where electricity generated from the Geometric Power Plant in Aba is used in the Aba Ring-fenced Area, comprising nine of the 19 local government areas in the state.

The fact that Nnaji can immerse himself in very local matters and at the same be a most respected player in Africa and beyond — he brought Jeff Immelt, then the CEO of General Electric, which was the world’s most capitalised and admired firm, to Nigeria in 2012, his first and only visit to Africa — is a rare attribute.

Following a study that spanned 25 years involving thousands of participants, David Rooke of Harthill Consulting in England and William R Torbert, a leadership professor emeritus at Boston College, a leading Jesuit university in the United States, developed the theoretical framework of seven leadership action logics, the most effective of which is called the alchemist action logic.

Alchemists handle contrasts seamlessly, and very few people in the world can do it. In a well-anthologised article published in Harvard Business Review of April 2005, the authors described the alchemist as a person “with an extraordinary capacity to deal simultaneously with many situations at multiple levels.

The alchemist can talk with both kings and commoners. He can deal with immediate priorities yet never lose sight of long-term goals.”

In this essay, which Harvard Business Review editors selected in 2011 as one of the best 10 articles on leadership ever published in the journal, Rooke and Torbert were able to identify only six alchemists in the 25-year research, the most prominent being Nelson Mandela. Only Mandela could attend the World Rugby competition and wear the Springboks cap and shirt, a symbol of Apartheid South Africa.

Before anyone could wonder if he had sold out, President Mandela raised his clinched fists and raised them to the crowd, symbolising Blacks’ resistance to racism and oppression.

Rooke and Torbert quote Tokyo Sexwale, a top ANC activist as observing that “only Mandela could wear an enemy jersey. Only Mandela would go down there and be associated with the Springboks… All the years in the underground, in the trenches, denial, self-denial, away from home, prison, it was worth it. That’s all we wanted to see.”

Nnaji represents not so much contrasts as a tapestry. It was once widely thought that excellent sports people wouldn’t do well academically. He excelled in both at the national level, enabling him to win a full-funded scholarship to the United States, where he also set a record in both areas.

It is still believed in some quarters that scientists are crazy people, or wacko professors as the late President George Bush called them, but Nnaji is thoroughly organised, cultured, humane and socially engaged.

It is widely thought that scholars can’t be successful businessmen, but Nnaji is now an internationally recognised entrepreneur.

On his 69th birthday today, Sunday, 13 July, we say to a truly outstanding African who long ago was decorated with the World Bank/IMF African Scientist of the Year Award: Ad multus annos.

C Don Adinuba is a former commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment, Anambra State

Former President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has died at the age of 82. He passed away on Sunday afternoon at a clinic in London.

The news was confirmed in a statement shared by his longtime spokesperson, Garba Shehu, via his personal X (formerly Twitter) account.

The statement read:
“INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHIRRAJIUUN.
The family of the former president has announced the passing of Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London.
May Allah accept him into Aljannatul Firdaus. Amin.”

President Buhari, a retired Major General, served as Nigeria’s Head of State from 1983 to 1985, and later as a democratically elected President from 2015 to 2023.

His legacy spans decades of influence in Nigerian politics, governance, and public service.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has declared that the Niger Delta region will strongly oppose any attempt to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the upcoming 2027 general elections, asserting that the President enjoys solid support in the region.

Speaking during the grand finale of the Niger Delta Development Commission’s (NDDC) 25th anniversary held on Saturday in Port Harcourt, Akpabio drew comparisons to the 2015 political scenario that saw former President Goodluck Jonathan ousted.

He stated that this time, the region would not allow a repeat.

In a statement issued by his media aide, Anietie Ekong, on Sunday, Akpabio said:

“They did it before and conspired to remove our son, President Goodluck Jonathan. This time around, the entire Niger Delta region has decided to speak with one voice.”

“Let those conspiring against President Tinubu hear this loud and clear on his mandate we stand. No conspiracy formed against this government that has recognised the Niger Delta shall prosper.”

Akpabio praised President Tinubu’s commitment to the Niger Delta, citing the administration’s recent interventions and projects.

He pointed to the establishment of new institutions such as the University of Environmental Sciences in Ogoni and the Maritime University in Okerenkoko, describing them as unprecedented.

“This is the region that produces the wealth of the nation. We have the right to choose who manages our resources. People should not think anyone can just become president without consulting the Niger Delta,” he said.

The high-profile event drew several dignitaries including former President Jonathan, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume, who represented President Tinubu, Rivers State Administrator Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), federal lawmakers, ministers, traditional rulers, and other stakeholders.

Akpabio also expressed concern over the history of leadership instability within the NDDC, attributing stalled projects and inefficiency to frequent changes and political interference.

“Each new leadership came with fresh ideas, abandoning projects initiated by their predecessors. That’s how we ended up with over 14,700 abandoned projects across the region,” he lamented.

He recalled overseeing the long-delayed completion of the NDDC headquarters during his tenure as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, a project that had been abandoned for more than two decades.

However, Akpabio praised the current management of the Commission under Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, noting that the stability of the board is now restoring focus and effectiveness.

“I am satisfied with the current NDDC leadership. President Tinubu’s decision to allow the board to complete its full term is commendable and is helping the Commission fulfill its mandate,” he said.

In his remarks, former President Goodluck Jonathan also applauded the current administration for maintaining continuity in the NDDC leadership.

He described it as a vital step toward sustained development in the region.

Delivering a goodwill message on behalf of the President, SGF George Akume reiterated the federal government’s dedication to the Niger Delta.

He highlighted the ambitious 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, which he said would complement the East-West Road and stimulate economic growth across the South-South region.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has recorded a sweeping victory in the Lagos State local government elections, winning all 57 chairmanship positions and 375 out of the 376 available councillorship seats.

The results, announced on Sunday by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), confirmed that the APC triumphed across the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

However, the poll delivered a surprising twist in Ward D of Yaba LCDA, where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Babatunde Dosunmu, secured a rare win, defeating his APC rival.

Dosunmu, a former APC member who recently joined the PDP, emerged as the only non-APC candidate to clinch a councillorship seat.

LASIEC reported that the elections were largely peaceful, though voter turnout was relatively low. Allegations of irregularities were raised in some wards, but officials described the overall conduct as orderly.

The newly elected chairmen and councillors are scheduled to be sworn into office later this month.

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has revealed that former Kano State governor and presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is currently in discussions with members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking in an interview, Lawal disclosed that several high-ranking political figures from both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ADC have been engaging Kwankwaso with the aim of drawing him into the coalition.

He described Kwankwaso as a highly influential and respected political figure whose presence would be a major asset to any political movement.

“I am aware that people have been holding meetings with Kwankwaso,” Lawal said.

“And clearly, Kwankwaso is welcome in the ADC coalition because he belongs to the group of influential figures who can bring a large following.”

He emphasized that members of the ADC coalition are not preoccupied with party identities but are more focused on attracting influential individuals with grassroots support.

“The coalition is not about political parties, but about individuals moving into it. It is not the logo or letterhead paper that we’re after. It’s the people who make up those parties. They can come in individually or in groups. They are welcome,” he explained.

Lawal also commented on the possibility of Kwankwaso joining either as an individual or alongside his supporters, noting that the coalition is open to both scenarios.

“Whether Kwankwaso joins with just his supporters or along with the NNPP, they would be welcomed either way,” he said.

Asked whether the ADC coalition is targeting the structure of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Lawal clarified that the focus is not on entire party platforms but on people.

“It is not the logo or letterhead paper that we’re after. It’s the people who make up those parties.”

He further explained that even if Kwankwaso ultimately decides not to formally join the ADC, many of his followers may still choose to do so independently.

“Even if Kwankwaso himself doesn’t join the ADC, many of his supporters are likely to join on their own.”

In addition, Lawal noted that some local government branches of the NNPP could eventually align with the ADC, regardless of the national leadership’s stance.

He disclosed that influential politicians from across the country are already aligning with the ADC, but often doing so discreetly.

“Big individuals in the states are joining the ADC, but they are not saying they are joining us from the NNPP or the PDP. Atiku joined the ADC and he didn’t say the PDP is joining the ADC.”

Lawal reaffirmed that the coalition’s focus remains on the grassroots, where political strength is built and sustained.

“The coalition is focused on the grassroots level, where politics truly matters.”

Senator Seriake Dickson, representing Bayelsa West, has publicly declared his support for the reinstatement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central to the Senate.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended on March 6 following a dispute with the Senate leadership over a controversial change in the chamber’s seating arrangement.

She alleged that the new seating order was a deliberate attempt to marginalize her.

The controversy deepened when she appeared on a national television program, accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of targeting her in retaliation for reportedly rejecting inappropriate advances, an allegation that Akpabio has firmly denied.

However, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Binta Nyako, ruled on July 4 that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension was unlawful and ordered her immediate reinstatement.

Reacting to the court’s verdict, Senator Dickson emphasized that he had never supported her suspension.

He expressed hope that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan would return to her legislative duties promptly.