Ezomo Anthony Aleogho Ayaoghena Dokpesi loved the gazebo in his beautiful Abuja residence. It is made of big rafters and roofed with thatch. A gazebo like the one in Dokpesi’s vast compound is a small building in a house that affords a wide view of the surrounding areas. He ate suya, groundnut and roasted fish. He drank and relaxed there. He loved choice wines and champagne. The workaholic found great pleasure in unwinding at the gazebo by hosting family members, friends, associates and loved ones there. No one was left out. He would sing and dance. Sunny Ade’s music was his favourite. He would laugh. Nay, guffaw.

It was a place for us to taunt and tease each other – me jokingly calling him “my son and my boy whom I paid his school fees, trained and married for with my hard-earned money”. He derisively, but jokingly, telling me “You baga; you bush boy who would shiver before me and could not even dare enter my lush office or room in the 80s”. All and everyone present would laugh. We usually cracked their ribs with such nostalgic jokes.

So, coming to the gazebo on that June 16, 2023, for “A Night with Ezomo @ The Gazebo”, was particularly traumatic for me. I could not dance or sing. I was completely numb. I was transfixed like an insect rendered immobile by some powerful chemicals. So, was it really true the Oghierumhoa of Weppa Wanno Kingdom and Araba of Oshoroland would not get up from somewhere to dance with us? Just anywhere from the shadows? Where was he? I looked around. Imagine for a moment, the scene of a helpless and hapless child looking around for his mother. Dokpesi was nowhere. I broke down. I cried like a baby. Uncontrollably. Publicly. I was inconsolable. I had no shame. Shame? Ha, I conquered it there and then. Reason vacated its seat. Emotions took over. I was broken. Other attendees came to my aid. But not so fast.

Some of them equally broke down and joined me in letting out pent-up emotions. Sen Kassim Oyofo, Lina Okakpu, Mina Horsfall, Barr Ter, Vera Ovhighie, and others who were consoling me joined. They themselves wept like babies. Oh death, where is thy sting? You shameless death that wears a hideous monstrous visage, why are you so cruel, so unfeeling? I wiped my tears. I left for my nearby home in distress. Like a rain-beaten chicken. I left the Gazebo Mystique.

Then, this write-up was finally triggered when a friend and kinsman based in Atlanta, USA, Alily Akhigbe, sent me Ezomo’s outing and speech during the DAAR Communications 4th Award night in December 2021. Just one and a half years ago! I listened to it. Carefully. He was speaking as if he were still alive. Powerful. Boisterous. Effervescent. Brutally frank, as ever. Luminous. Bubbling with the “sap of life like a yam tendril in the rainy season,” as Chinua Achebe once called it in “Things Fall Apart”.

He narrated how I rained blows on him physically at a meeting with a consortium of banks at Marina in Lagos when he had broken down and cried. The government had engineered the banks to take over DAAR over its debts, many of which were not even due for payment. He had wept. He narrated how I descended on him publicly, there and then, raining blows on him, telling him he had committed no crime by borrowing money to run DAAR Communications. He looked at me like a child unto his mother, wiped his eyes and steadied himself for the remaining portion of the meeting. We won at the end of the day.

Successive governments never relented in trying to kill his entrepreneurial and political spirit. They all failed. Woefully. I won virtually all his and DAAR’s cases up to the Supreme Court. Kanu Agabi, SAN, also led me to defeat the government in the criminal charges of alleged embezzlement of security funds against him. We won at the Federal High Court (Tsoho CJ) and the Court of Appeal. He was completely discharged and acquitted. So, Dokpesi died without any blemish. He was given a clean judicial and moral bill of health by all courts in Nigeria.

Dokpesi’s humility which he wore like a second skin was infectious, as he bowed for me, every and anyone at the award night, where I was given the “Legal Icon” award. So, watching this video, I again broke down. Even now, I am still crying. Ha, Ezomo, why? But, why? Adieu. Farewell, Iyokpamhe.

Compatriots, let us not mourn, but celebrate this African Octopoidal septuagenarian; this legend; this colossus. It was Calpurnia, wife of Julius Caesar, in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, who, while begging her husband not to venture out on the Ides of March (the day he was later assassinated), made the following memorable speech: “When beggars die, there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of Princes”. High Chief Anthony Aleogho Dokpesi, OFR, easily fits into this narrative.

Surely, in Dokpesi’s transition, comets were seen. Because he was a prince of peace, even the heavens blazed forth his death.

He also fits into Julius Caesar’s own reply: “Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once”.

I will end this tribute by quoting Mark Anthony in the same Williams Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar when he said of Brutus: “His life was gentle and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to the world, “this was a man”.

In the words of 1 Corinthians 15:55. “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” Haruk Murakami (a contemporary Japanese writer) was right when he said: “Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it”. He was probably right, for Aleogho merely transmitted from mortality to immortality.

Let me tell you how the host of heaven now sees Dokpesi. They are in the words of Max Lucado (a Christian preacher and author): “We see a hearse; we think sorrow. We see a grave; we think despair. We hear of a death; we think of a loss. Not so in heaven when heaven sees a breathless body, it sees the vacated cocoon and the liberated butterfly”. Thus, Dokpesi vacated his worldly cocoon of mortality and got liberated like a butterfly into God’s bosom of immortality. Know ye today that what we owe Dokpesi is not to mourn him, but to keep his memory alive. For, as George Eliot, a famous English author most aptly put it: “Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them”.

Ezomo Dokpesi, we will never forget you. You will forever live in our hearts. Be happy with the Lord till we meet on resurrection day to part no more.

For his very large Ezomo Dokpesi clan that he left behind; his teeming friends, admirers, associates and loved ones across the world, may the good Lord give you the heart and fortitude to bear this irreparable demise of our dear father, brother, friend and compatriot.

Adieu Iyokpamhe. Farewell Ikuekhiamhe. Goodbye humanist. Okiakhue, Agene 1.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) of Nigeria has announced a subscription offer for the Federal Government of Nigeria Savings Bond.

This initiative, authorized under the Debt Management Office (Establishment) Act 2003 and the Local Loans (Registered Stock and Securities) Act, aims to provide investors with an opportunity to earn competitive interest rates while supporting the country’s economic development.

The subscription offer includes two options: a 2-Year FGN Savings Bond due on July 12, 2025, with an annual interest rate of 9.070%, and a 3-Year FGN Savings Bond due on July 12, 2026, offering an annual interest rate of 10.070%.

These rates offer a negative real return as they are well below the national inflation rate of 22.4% for the month of May 2023.

Other details: The subscription period for the FGN Savings Bond opened on July 3, 2023, and will close on July 7, 2023.

• Interested investors are encouraged to apply during this timeframe to secure their participation. The settlement date for the bonds is set for July 12, 2023.
• Once subscribed, bondholders will receive coupon payments at regular intervals. The coupon payment dates are scheduled for October 12, January 12, April 12, and July 12. These consistent payments provide investors with a reliable source of income over the bond’s duration.

The Federal Government of Nigeria Savings Bond program is designed to attract domestic savings while simultaneously financing critical infrastructure projects and government initiatives.

• By investing in these bonds, individuals and organizations can contribute to the country’s development efforts and earn favorable returns on their investments.
• Interested investors are advised to contact their financial advisors or visit the Debt Management Office’s official website for further details and application procedures.

[Nairametrics]

Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State has appointed Mr Ladi Akeredolu-Ale, of Channels Television as Managing Director of Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS).

Akeredolu-Ale was before his appointment, the Controller, Current Affairs at Channels television headquarters in Lagos State.

His appointment was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia on Tuesday in Enugu.

Onyia said the veteran journalist is expected to bring to bear his over 30 years of experience in journalism in the state broadcasting service.

This, he said, would drive a media revolution, inspire drastic reforms in media innovation, creativity and turn the state-owned media service into one of the best revenue-generating organisations in the state.

“He is a multiple award winner, being the Nigeria Media Merit Award winner of Television Presenter and Reporter of the Year in 2001, Diamond Award for Media Excellence as Reporter of the Year in 2004, as well as Nigeria Media Merit Award Programme Presenter of the Year 2019.

“He is also a veteran of almost 30 years standing in television broadcasting, he was also Director-General and Chief Executive of Ondo State Radio and Television Corporation between March, 2009 and February, 2017,” Onyia said.

He added that Akeredolu-Ale holds both bachelors and masters degrees in Sociology from the Universities of Ilorin and Lagos in 1992 and 1998 respectively.

Akeredolu-Ale was an alumnus of the Lagos Business School Chief Executive’s Programme of 2011.

(NAN)

When Nigerian lawyer Obioma Adesewa Okonkwo was booked to speak at the RightsCon conference in Costa Rica, she submitted her visa application several months in advance.

As the date approached with no sign of her travel documents being granted, she felt she had no choice but to cancel her trip and contact organizers at the advocacy group Access Now to arrange to join online instead.

Over 300 participants could not attend the digital rights conference in person due to visa issues, Access Now said in a statement.

Kenyan Nanjala Nyabola, a board member at Access Now, said many Black and brown participants had been picked out and detained by Costa Rican border agents for periods of up to three hours. Some were later deported, she wrote on Twitter.

Anger over their treatment has reignited debate about unequal visa and border regimes that limit Global South nationals’ participation in international conferences tackling issues from climate change to economic systems and conflicts.

“If you have a summit that is global, then you have to consider that there are people coming from countries who are regularly denied visas,” said Okonkwo, a legal officer at Media Rights Agenda, which defends freedom of expression in Nigeria.

“I really wanted to learn from digital rights advocates from other continents ... I was shut out from participating in those kinds of discussions.”

She said her visa application was eventually rejected.

Access Now, a global organization headquartered in New York, said authorities in Costa Rica had agreed to offer visas on arrival in the country for conference attendees, but border authorities did not uphold the arrangement.

Costa Rica’s embassy in the U.S. referred in a statement to comments made by Foreign Minister Arnoldo Andre Tinoco about the conference.

“It has not been the government of Costa Rica that has prevented these 300 people from entering, but rather they have failed to comply with the minimum requirements to enter the country,” he said in a video statement last month.

Conference organizers apologized to all those impacted and pledged to learn and make changes as a result.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that participants are seen and that their voices matter in these spaces,” said Nikki Gladstone, RightsCon director, in emailed comments to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“It’s our responsibility to anticipate and help mitigate the barriers participants will face.”

She said the event is held in different countries each year in an effort to be more accessible, and they chose Costa Rica because they had never had the summit in Central America before.

‘Visa justice’ fights

Critics say visa rules that are stricter for citizens of poorer nations are a significant factor limiting the participation of people from developing countries in major conferences.

Ugandan climate activist Hamira Kobusingye said she often needs letters of recommendation to apply for visas to attend summits – a step not required of most Global North travelers.

Despite her efforts, she said she was denied visas to attend the Bonn Climate Change Conference in Germany in June and the U.N. 2023 Water Conference in New York.

“My colleagues all over the continent were denied visas,” she said, adding that they were being distracted from their campaigning work by “visa justice” battles.

Kobusingye said she was told her applications did not meet the criteria for a visa.

A U.S. state department spokesperson said it “takes seriously its obligations as a host country of the U.N.”

“Whenever an individual applies for a U.S. visa, a consular officer reviews the facts of the case and determines whether the applicant is eligible for that visa based on U.S. law,” the spokesperson said in emailed comments.

Neither the German foreign office nor its embassy in Uganda responded to requests for comment.

Kobusingye said restricting access to grassroots campaigners meant major decisions could be made without much input from the people who are most affected.

Africa has been hit disproportionately hard by the fallout from climate change, while international efforts to secure funds for adaptation and recovery for heavily affected developing nations have fallen short.

“It seems like the Global North is trying to find solutions for the climate crisis without the people who are most affected,” said Kobusingye.

“They can push through what they want because they have very little resistance.”

In 2021, after Black Lives Matter protests in many countries prompted widespread discussions over inclusion, the COP26 U.N. climate summit was criticized for lack of diversity, with the hashtag #cop26sowhite trending on Twitter.

The U.N. climate change body UNFCCC, which organizes the Bonn and COP summits, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he struggled to enter Germany for a world health summit last year because of mistreatment by border staff who suspected he wanted to stay on illegally.

“My attendance of the @WorldHealthSmt is now in doubt. I’m happier & safer back home in Africa. They invite you, then mistreat you,” he wrote on Twitter.

Ouma was ultimately granted entry, and the German health minister later tweeted that officials were looking into what had gone wrong at the airport.

Not in the room

Campaigners and policy analysts said summit organizers should be mindful of visa policies when selecting host countries.

Okonkwo said organizers should have conferences in visa-friendly countries that are not discriminatory towards people from poorer nations.

In an open letter with charities and civil society groups, Access Now urged governments to adopt “flexible and generous” visa approval policies for human rights defenders, activists and journalists.

Enabling Global South participants to be physically present at high-level talks was critical to ensure decisions are as representative as possible, said Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, director of the Politics and Governance program at ODI, a global think-tank based in Britain.

“It’s where the real political work takes place. It’s what happens in the corridors; it’s the informal mingling. That’s where powerful relationships get struck,” she said.

“So, if you’re not in the room, you’re not in the room.”

[dailysabah]

…decries poor participation of young candidates in politics

Apparently positioned to encourage younger Nigerians in vying for legislative seats across the country, a civil society group, under the auspices of Yiaga Africa has promised to dole out $20,000 to any lawmaker elected at the state and federal level who makes his or her mark in legislative duties.

Samson Itodo, Executive Director, Yiaga Africa made the pledge on Tuesday in Abuja, while speaking at a programme Convergence 5.0: Nigeria’s Largest Gathering of Young Legislators.

He said lawmakers that would qualify for the prize money must be under 35 years of age, either at the State or Federal legislature, and would be assessed based on the number of bills sponsored and level of contributions to legislative proceedings.

Itodo decried the level of participation of young candidates in the country, despite the not-too-young-to-run act in place.

He said he believes the prize money of $20,000 would spore young Nigerians to vie for elective offices to contribute their quota to nation-building.

Meanwhile, Director of Programmes, Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu corroborated Itodo when she said that Convergence 5.0 represents the largest gathering of young legislators in Nigeria as a platform created for young legislators to learn from experts in the field on how best to effectively deliver leadership.

According to Mbamalu, the platform is for young elected representatives to learn how to build power and how to best navigate the politics in the National and State Assemblies, hence the theme, leadership, power politics.

She lamented that despite the signing of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Act into law by the immediate past administration, prospects of having more young people in politics have not been too encouraging.

“In 2019, we celebrated about 13 young people in the House of Representatives, which was a far increase from where we were in 2015.

“We also had 20 young people who are under 30 years old, who won the elections in 2019 in the State Assemblies, two women under 35 years old won that election.

“In 2023 we hoped for better but yes, it did not go the way we were expecting but we still have things to celebrate. For the first time since our transition to democracy in 1999. We can proudly say that in the House of Representatives, we have two lawmakers who are between 25 and 29 years old, the youngest ever, that is progress but not enough.

“This is because, in the House of Reps, we just have 14 under 35 years old who won the elections. At the state level, there are 92 under-35-years-old who won the elections.

“For the women, it is still a sad story as we have four lawmakers who are under 35 years old that are women,” she stated at the Convergence 5.0 event.

[DailyIndependent]

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has announced the names of the leaders of the tenth Senate majority caucus.

The Ekiti Central lawmaker, Opeyemi Bamidele, was named the Senate Majority Leader.

The Senate President also announced Senator Dave Umahi ( Ebonyi South) as the Deputy Majority Leader; Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) as Chief Whip; and Senator Lola Ashiru (Kwara South) as the Deputy Whip.

Akpabio stated, “The All Progressives Congress caucus of the Senate after consultations, has emerged with their leadership which will be the fulcrum of commencing other businesses of the chamber.

“I’m happy to announce that by consensus, the Senate Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, will be the Majority Leader.

“Sen. Mohammed Ndume (APC-Borno) will be the Chief Whip of the 10th Senate; Sen. David Umahi (APC-Ebonyi), by your consent, will act as the Deputy Leader and Sen. Lola Ashiru (APC-Kwara) will be the Deputy Chief Whip.”

The Senate immediately dissolved into a closed session.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has said it stopped using the print-out currently being paraded by Anambra candidate, Mmesoma Ejikeme, since 2021.

This is as the examination body doubled down on its earlier position that the UTME result presented by Ejikeme is fake.

JAMB reiterated its position on the controvery in a statement on Tuesday morning, insisting that its system was not infiltrated and it had no ulterior motive.

In the statement by the Board’s spokesman, Fabian Benjamin, JAMB insisted that only Mmesoma paraded the“obsolete” notification slip out of all the candidates that sat the 2023 UTME.

The statement read: “Consequently, the Board would like to reassure Nigerians that its system was neither tampered with nor compromised as the candidate simply falsified a copy of a result slip of a candidate named “Asimiyu Mariam Omobolanle,” who sat the UTME in 2021 and scored 138.

“It is also instructive to note that the candidate, in her statement, has inadvertently revealed the rightful owner of the result she is parading when she pointed out that the QR code on the result slip showed the actual owner of the said result before she peddled a lie in an attempt to obfuscate the truth”

The board implored members of the public to do due diligence on their part in order to establish the truth and ascertain the original owner of the result slip before it was mutilated.

“To witness the unassailable position of the Board regarding this obvious falsehood, the general public is, therefore, urged to endeavour to scan the QR code on the result slip to see its actual owner before it was mutilated. It is to be noted that the QR code encapsulates the UTME result of each candidate, hence, what is on the result sheet is nothing other than the interpretation of the information on this QR code.

“Furthermore, the public is also to note that the Board stopped issuing Notification of Result slips after the 2021 UTME for the simple reason that candidates were falsifying them. Consequently, the Board has been issuing actual UTME RESULT Slips (not notification of results ) since 2022 complete with the photograph of each candidate.

“Similarly, the public is also invited to ponder on the fact that out of all the candidates that sat the 2023 UTME, only Ms. Ejikeme Mmesoma parades the obsolete ‘Notification of Result.

“In the meantime, the management of the Board, after considering the weighty infraction committed by Ms. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, and in line with its established procedures, has withdrawn her 2023 UTME result and also barred her from sitting the Board’s examination for the next three years.”

Malam Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser (NSA), has revealed the details of the meeting President Bola Tinubu had with service chiefs on Monday.

Recall that the president on Monday met the NSA, Acting Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the service chiefs he appointed shortly before he traveled to Europe.

Addressing State House correspondents on Monday, Ribadu said the meeting was very fruitful.

He said they thanked the president for appointing them and on his part, Tinubu told them his expectations.

He said the service chiefs are working assiduously to achieve the objectives of the government.

“We’re here to thank Mr President for the opportunity he gave us to serve our country and to serve his own government. We also pledged our loyalty to him, Nigeria and Nigerians. We believe the choice he made is the right one, the correct one, and we know what he wants for this country.”

“We’re going to work tirelessly to ensure that we accomplish that objective of securing our country, establishing peace, stability and let’s get our lives back. He gave us the assurance that he’s with us hundred percent. He told us that we must work as a team and that there’s work to be done, he’ll expect us to deliver and we’re grateful for the opportunity. That’s why we are here”

Twitter has announced that TweetDeck, a popular program that allows users to monitor several accounts at once, will be available only to “verified” users from next month.

The social media firm, bought by billionaire Elon Musk last year, has been thrashing around for ways to make a profit, cutting staff and ramping up its paid-for subscriptions.

Twitter’s verified users are mostly those who have paid to receive a blue check mark, though Musk has gifted the check mark to some users and others have it as a legacy from the previous regime.

TweetDeck, launched more than a decade ago, shows messages in columns and its search and posting functions operate differently from the website or the app.

The firm said in a support message on Monday that it was launching a new version of TweetDeck with various new functions.

“In 30 days, users must be Verified to access TweetDeck,” the message said.

A series of changes to the way Twitter is run left many TweetDeck users unable to see posts on the weekend.

Twitter bought London-based TweetDeck in 2011, with technology media putting the price tag at $40 million at the time.

AFP/PUNCH

A prominent business Igbo chieftain, Gaius Chibueze has offered to cater for Mmesoma Ejikeme‘s tertiary education following fraud allegations by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

It would be recalled that the examination body on Sunday accused Ejikeme of manipulating her 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result for monetary gain.

The board claimed she manually inflated her UTME result from 249 to 362 and used her manually inflated score to attract a N3m scholarship from Innoson Motors and was set to be awarded by the Anambra State Government before she was exposed.

Reacting to the development, the bitcoin billionaire businessman via his verified Twitter page condemned the examination body for the attack against the student’s personality.

He also offered to sponsor her education till masters level in either the United Kingdom, Canada or America

He wrote: “I and our company @VoiceOfTheEast are ready to offer Miss Joy Mmesoma a 100% scholarship to study in the UK, CANADA or the UNITED states of America.

“Our team will work with her to get admission From any university of her choice in any of the above 3 countries. We will take 100% charge of her Fees and upkeep until her masters level.

“@lota_nna, kindly get in touch with her and her family!We are calling on@JAMBHQto desist from such unprofessional behavior.This is not just an attack on her person but the entire Igbo race!”