Celebrated author Chimamanda Adichie has reaffirmed her commitment to raising her sons with values that promote gender equality and respect for women.

In a recent interview with BBC’s Emma Barnett, Adichie emphasised the importance of shaping future generations and combating toxic masculinity.

“I’m determined to raise good men. I’m thinking about how to make them never feel entitled to women’s bodies,” Adichie stated.

Adichie stressed the need for boys to have positive role models, highlighting the disparity between the availability of strong female figures for young girls and the lack for boys.

She expressed her desire for good men to stand up and serve as role models.

“In general, little girls now have women in public life they can admire. But I don’t think boys have that in the same way. That space is instead occupied by noxious characters and ideas. I wish the good men would stand up,” she said.

The acclaimed author, known for her feminist advocacy through works like “We Should All Be Feminists,” believes that masculinity can evolve to align with equality.

“Culture doesn’t make us, we make culture. We can remake masculinity in a way that is compatible with equality. It can be done,” she asserted.

Adichie also reflected on the impact of motherhood on her life and creativity, admitting that becoming a mother influenced her writing process and led to a creative block.

“I don’t like to use the expression ‘writer’s block’ because I’m superstitious, but it happened when I became pregnant. Something changed, and I don’t think it was just physiological,” she said.

Her latest novel, “Dream Count,” marks her return to fiction after over a decade, tackling themes such as gender, race, and health with “radical honesty.”

[TheNation]

The Rivers State Judiciary has denied reports that the state Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, is set to embark on a year’s leave.

A media report claimed on Wednesday that Amadi announced the one-year leave amid the political crisis in the state.

The report claimed that the purported move is seen as a setback to the rumoured impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of River State.

However, in a statement on Thursday, the Chief Registrar of the State High Court, David Ihua-Maduenyi, described the allegation as misleading, false and baseless.

He said the chief judge neither does not have any plan to embark on leave, advising the public to ignore such reports.

Ihua-Maduenyi stated that the rumoured recess is alien to the judicial officer’s calendar of vacations.

The statement reads, “The Rivers State Judiciary categorically and unequivocally refute this malicious, misleading, false and baseless allegation against the person and the office of the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Hon. Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi (DSSRS).

“For the records, the chief judge did not at any time announce nor intend to announce embarking on any recess or extended recess leave by whatsoever name called, as such leave is alien to the judicial officers calendar of vacations.

“The vacation calendar of judicial officers is of public knowledge, namely: Christmas vacation, Easter vacation and annual vacation.

“The public is hereby advised to utterly disregard this misguided publication aimed at causing ill-will, disaffection, and confusion in the state.”

[Punch]

Nigerian socialite Cubana Chief Priest has replied to actress Tonto Dikeh for seemingly commenting on his ongoing paternity dispute with Hellen Mutimu, a Kenyan lady.

The drama began when Mutimu accused Cubana of fathering her child after a brief encounter in Lagos. She has been calling him out since January, demanding a paternity test.

Dikeh appeared to have waded into the controversy.  In a now-deleted post, the actress questioned “why men are now avoiding paternity tests”.

“I was under the impression that it was women who were supposed to be avoiding DNA tests, so why are men the ones running now? The irony is unreal,” she wrote.

Cubana responded with an Instastory post, accusing Dikeh of sponsoring Mutimu’s claims against him.

The socialite also alleged that Dikeh is motivated by spite, claiming that she is angry because he declined her request for a favor in the past.

“Remember this accusation came first from gistlover and she donated 1 million to her and asked Nigerians to donate too,” he wrote.

“Make it make sense with the gistlover allegations. I have always known it was sponsored, the same way they tried to rope me in that my show was Mohbad’s last show, and I’m a suspect.

“My only crime was you asking me for favors and I declined. You go chase me enter gutter. My marriage is built on a solid rock it can never be like yours blackmailer T, Ceo Gistlover Nigeria limited.”

The film star however fired back at the socialite for saying her earlier post was aimed at him. She added that she has no interest in his personal life.

“I have no interest in your family dynamics,whether they stand on solid ground or not. But let’s not forget that on that same “solid rock,” you fathered a child you’re now running from in Kenya,” the post reads in part.

[TheCable]

The live drama staged in the Oval Office on February 28 between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was such that Zelenskyy might never have rehearsed in all his former life as a comedian.

Except that it wasn’t funny. It was unprecedented. You would need to go back 64 years to find anything nearly as nasty as the Trump-Zelenskyy shouting match, with Trump’s deputy, JD Vance, enthusiastically fanning the flames.

The showdown between John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev before the Cuban Missile Crisis was hair-raising, but it wasn’t before a global audience or live TV. Everything else in between, from Richard Nixon’s spats during Watergate to Robert Mugabe’s faceoff with Magaret Thatcher over the Lancaster Agreement, has been child’s play compared with the Trump-Zelenskyy verbal brawl.

Dangerous enemy, fatal friend

There have been suggestions that Trump and Vance staged it to find an excuse to abandon Ukraine or to extract the best deal possible for the US over minerals rights in Ukraine. Whatever, it was Trump, yet again, being Trump. However, even if that were so, Zelenskyy should have been wiser than to turn a dangerous enemy into a fatal friend.

As he flits across Europe and signals a willingness for another meeting with Trump to patch things up, there are a few unfamiliar lessons he might use to save the day and spare his country from being the meatgrinder it has tragically become.

Africa’s path

Africa is an unlikely place to look because hardly any country suffered the Soviet Union-style breakup. However, the continent offers several examples of countries digging themselves out of or managing conflicts and potentially devasting wars to which their colonial histories predisposed them.

From Cameroon to Somalia and the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, several countries on the continent still struggle to find common peaceful existence against a legacy of arbitrary, self-serving partitions created by colonial rule. It’s no less a daunting existential struggle than the one currently confronting Ukraine, a smaller sovereign nation bordering a behemoth like Russia.

For example, for many years, Nigeria and Cameroon, with overlapping colonial boundaries, squabbled over the Bakassi peninsula separating them containing large oil and gas reserves. Nigerians, mainly farmers and fishermen, largely populated the area. The Cameroonian authorities claimed it was bequeathed to them by an Anglo-German treaty in the 20^th century.

Beyond David vs. Goliath

The point is not the relative military strength of the combatants – whether or not it was a David vs. Goliath matchup like one between Ukraine and Russia. It’s about preventing a dangerous conflict from escalating into a killing field potentially on the scale that we have seen in Ukraine in the last nearly four years.

After decades of dispute and violent clashes between Nigeria and Cameroon, often with casualties in the border towns separating both countries, tensions began to boil over, with sections of Nigeria calling for an outright war. A war between countries would have had dire consequences for the subregion, yet some interests motivated by ego pressed Nigeria to go to war.

Warring neighbours

Nigeria took the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). When President Olusegun Obasanjo received information that it would not go well, he braced himself and rallied the public through the media to prepare for the outcome. After the ICJ ruled against Nigeria, some circles favored ignoring the court and going to war for the sake of the Nigerians rooted in Bakassi, and yes, also for the rich mineral deposits there.

To his credit, Obasanjo resisted the pressure to go to war. With a heavy heart, Nigeria cut its losses and turned the chapter on Bakassi, a strip of land which, even if it had won in a battle, might still have been lost in years of endless conflict.

Sudan, one of Africa’s most resource-rich countries, offers a different but valuable example, which litters the continent, of how winning political freedom or winning the battle may not always result in winning peace and prosperity.

Like Putin like al-Bashir?

As dictators go, there’s probably little to separate Omar al-Bashir and Russian President Vladimir Putin. But unlike al-Bashir, who only yielded to a referendum for the secession of South Sudan at gunpoint, Putin has not asked Zelenskyy to return Ukraine to the former Soviet Union – the game that the Sudanese leaders have tried to play by frustrating South Sudan’s production in the oil-rich region of Abyei. Both countries have managed a complicated and fractious co-existence, bringing relative stability to the region.

Whether in Nigeria, Sudan, or the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Africa has had many devastating conflicts, with the situation in Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo still dire.

However, compared to its history in the late 1980s and 1990s, the continent has managed relative peace despite internal incompetence and foreign instigations that might have worsened the conflicts. That is what realism teaches.

Hindsight

The Russia-Ukraine war might have been prevented if, in line with the assurances from NATO in the 1990s during talks over German reunification, the Ukrainian president had assured Putin of Ukraine’s neutrality.

That was all Putin asked for: That the US and its allies keep their pledge not to expand eastward or encircle his country. Russia’s pre-emptive seizure of Crimea made it challenging to trust Putin, but Zelenskyy played into his hands by putting all his eggs in the dubious European basket.

Zelenskyy allowed Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and other NATO leaders in the West to deceive him into believing he would get a carte blanche in the war against Russia. Carte blanches only exist in movies.

African lessons and the Ukraine war bill

Africa’s experience teaches a different, nuanced lesson. From the betrayals of Haile Selassie during Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia to the murder of Patrice Lumumba of Congo, the continent learnt the hard way that only fools test the depth of a river with both feet. Unlike his predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, Zelenskyy was just the fool the West needed.

What has been the cost of the war with Russia? Estimates suggest that about 400,000 Ukrainians, both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in the war, including 12,605 verified civilian deaths reported by the UN.

Also, in contrast to about 450 square kilometres of area captured by Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region, Russia controls 19 percent (or 43,749 square miles) of Ukrainian territory, roughly the size of the US state of Virginia. Yet, the future is still dire.

Something must give

Putin’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine and his smash-and-grab are just as detestable as Trump’s pettiness and flippancy. But as petty and detestable as Trump is, he was on point that it would be foolhardy to expect the current war to end without Ukraine giving up anything. Zelenskyy and his backers in Europe must agree that something has to give, and the earlier, the better.

Unlike Africa, which was partitioned by foreign conquest, Europeans have often redrawn the European map by treaty, war, or conquest. Zelenskyy and his backers may kick the can down the road, but that redrawing is about to happen again. Hopefully, Crimea and Eastern Donbas will not be to Ukraine as Alsace and Lorraine were to Germany after World War I, with severe consequences for long-term peace and stability.  

The bitter truth, however, is that for this war to end, Zelenskyy must accept that Ukraine will never be the same again. This is the consequence of the comedian’s tragic act.

Ishiekwene, Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP, is the author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. 

The Supreme Court has ruled that Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, had already undermined the State House of Assembly before Speaker Martin Amaewhule and 26 other lawmakers defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The apex court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, held that the concurrent findings of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal proved that Governor Fubara engaged in illegal and unconstitutional activities to subvert the State Assembly, violate the Nigerian Constitution, and prevent an anticipated impeachment by opposition lawmakers.

The ruling was part of the Supreme Court’s judgment on Cross-Appeal No SC/CV/1175A/2024, filed by Governor Fubara to challenge the earlier rulings of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.

The cross-appeal was linked to the main appeal brought before the Supreme Court by the Rivers State House of Assembly and Speaker Martin Amaewhule.

The appeal lists the Government of Rivers State; Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission; Hon. Justice Adolphus Enebeli (Rtd) (Chairman, Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission); Central Bank of Nigeria; Zenith Bank Plc.; Access Bank Plc.; Accountant General of the Federation; the Government of Rivers State (Sir Siminalayi Fubara); the Accountant General of Rivers State; and Hon. Justice S. C. Amadi (Chief Judge of Rivers State) as the 1st to 10th respondents.

Fubara requested the Supreme Court to determine whether Sections 102 and 109(g) of the 1999 Constitution and the doctrine of necessity validate the proceedings of the Rivers State House of Assembly, which was constituted by less than one-third of its members, and the actions of the State government based on such proceedings.

Justice Agim stated, “The concurrent findings of facts in the Court of Appeal Judgment in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/133/20249 (exhibit RSHA 5) indicate that some months after the 8th respondent was elected and sworn in as Governor of Rivers State in 2023, he began to fear that, instigated by his political opponents, members of the Rivers State House of Assembly were planning or initiating proceedings to impeach and remove him from office as Governor of the State.

“That to pre-empt his said impeachment, 8th respondent took several steps such as attempting to get the National Assembly to take over the exercise of the legislative powers of Rivers State from the Rivers State House of Assembly, preventing the Rivers State House of Assembly from sitting with its complete members or constitutionally prescribed quorum of one-third of the 32 members and arranged for initially 4 members and subsequently 3 members to be sitting as Rivers State House of Assembly outside the Legislative building of the Rivers State House of Assembly, withholding Rivers State House of Assembly funds, removing the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly, using caterpillars, bulldozers and other earth moving vehicles and equipment to pull down, dismantle and destroy the legislative building of the Rivers State House of Assembly…”

The apex court also knocked Fubara for preventing the lawmakers and other staff of the Rivers State House of Assembly “from having access to the House of Assembly Complex to do official work and engaging in all these actions in disobedience of interim restraining orders of Courts that were obtained by the said 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly in suits to restrain these actions.”

It said, “These series of actions by the 8th respondent caused the Rivers State House of Assembly to commence Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023 against the National Assembly, the 8th respondent, the Accountant General of the Federation, the Inspector General of Police and others.

“The concurrent finding of fact by the Court of Appeal in its Judgment in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/133/2024 is that the 8th respondent admitted engaging in all these activities.

“What is clear from the above concurrent findings is that the 8th respondent started the prevention of the sittings of the Rivers State House of Assembly constituted by the number of members as prescribed by S.96 of the 1999 Constitution long before the issue of the remaining 27 members defecting to another political party arose.”

According to the judge, the said activities of Governor Fubara were adjudged by the concurrent holdings of the Court of Appeal in its judgment in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/133/2024 as illegal and unconstitutional long before the allegation of defection started.

The court said, “Against the background of these concurrent findings and holdings in the Court of Appeal Judgment in Appeal No.CA/ABJ/CV/133/2024, it is reasonable to conclude that the cross appellant’s reliance on Ss.102 and 109 of the Constitution and the doctrine of necessity is to continue his brazen subversion of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the 1999 Constitution and legitimate government in Rivers State.

“Having by his own admission engaged in a series of illegal activities just to prevent the other 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly from participating in the proceedings of the House to carry out their legitimate legislative duties which they were elected to do, his resort to Ss.102 and 109 of the 1999 Constitution and the doctrine of necessity on the basis of his allegation that they have defected is a red herring to perpetuate his subversion of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the 1999 Constitution and democratic government in Rivers State.

“The 8th respondent had collapsed the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“Therefore, no question about any member having lost his seat in that House due to defection can validly arise.

“There must be a House of Assembly for any constitutional processes such as declaration of a seat vacant for defection therein to take place.

“Only the House can declare a seat vacant for defection and not the Governor of a State. Not even the Courts can do so.”

The apex court ruled that the assertion that the 27 Assembly members are no longer part of the House due to alleged defection is a continuation of Governor Fubara’s efforts to prevent their participation in House proceedings.

The judge said, “It is not shown or suggested that their names are now in the register of members of another political party or that they have obtained membership card of that other party.

“Membership register and membership card constitute the only proof of membership of a political party.

“What is clear is that the 2nd cross respondent and the other 26 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are still valid members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and cannot be prevented from participating in the proceedings of that House by the 8th respondent in cahoots with the 4 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”

“A government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the Government of a State under the 1999 Constitution,” the court said.

“In this case, the Head of the Executive arm of the Government has chosen to collapse the Legislature to enable him govern without the Legislature as a despot. As it is there is no government in Rivers State.”

The court said Fubara’s “fear of impeachment by the House Assembly is no justification for his attacks on the House of Assembly, the Constitution, the Government of Rivers State and rule of law.

“What the 8th respondent has done is to destroy the government because of his fear of being impeached.”

[NaijaNews]

March 8 is the International Women’s Day. It is not only an occasion to congratulate ladies and give sincere compliments but also an opportunity to remind them of more serious things – for example, the fight for women’s rights, as well as their achievements, including in sports.

It is generally accepted that everything depends only on the abilities of sportsmen and sportswomen. However, female athletes still face many specific challenges – from stereotypes and discrimination to a lack of funding and a low level of infrastructure compared to men’s competitions.

In honor of the holiday, we would like to remember outstanding Nigerian sportswomen who have become symbols of perseverance and fortitude.

Nigerian women who inspire:

1. Tobi Amusan is a world champion and world record holder in the 100-meter hurdles. She also managed to get a Master of Arts and proved that it is possible to combine studies with a successful sports career.
2. Asisat Oshoala is a six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year who has won every trophy possible with Barcelona. The Nigerian is one of the best female football players and the first African nominee for the Ballon d’Or among women.
3. Ese Brume is a four-time African long jump champion and the first African to win two medals at the World Championships. She also achieved the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
4. Blessing Oborududu’s parents told her that wrestling was not a woman’s sport. Fortunately, Blessing managed to change their minds. She won the African Championship 13 times, and at the Tokyo Olympics, she became the first Nigerian medalist in this sport!
5. Funke Oshonaike – in 2021, she became the first woman in history to compete in seven Olympics. In 2016, the table tennis legend was Nigeria’s flag bearer at the Rio Games.

Supporting women’s sports: 1xBet’s contribution

The issue of gender equality in sports remains relevant, and companies like 1xBet help to change the situation. Here are some examples of how this is happening.

• The brand ambassador in Nigeria is Suo, the first PINJIN female commentator in the country’s history, who is also the chief of the Urubo people. Being responsible for over a million people is a difficult and necessary thing, but what’s more important is that Suo inspires all Nigerian women to take up sports.
• Miracle Chipito from Zambia became the first medalist in the IMMAF World Championship in the history of her country. According to Chipito, 1xBet’s help with tools and logistics allowed her to focus on the competition without being distracted by less important things.
• With the support of the reliable bookmaker, the Waziri Cup tournament was held in Kenya, featuring women’s teams. 1xBet has never considered football a purely male sport and actively invests in developing women’s national competitions, providing squads with jerseys and sports equipment.

Female athletes in Africa have proven that sport has no gender boundaries. Their stories inspire thousands of girls to take up sports, overcome obstacles, and reach the top.

Women in sports are not only about talent and achievements but also about strength of spirit and willingness to go against stereotypes and the opinions of others. The company 1xBet admires them and is proud of the opportunity to help them change the sports world, making it more beautiful and brighter.

[Leradership]

Senator representing Ekiti South and Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Publicity Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, has said that what Natasha did in the senate is content creation.

Adaramodu stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday.

He said the senate committee on ethics has started reviewing Natsaha’s petition against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Daily trust had reported that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had petitioned the senate on alleged sexual harassment and abuse of office against Akpabio.

However, during the interview, Adaramodu described Natasha’s action as theatrical.

He said the situation was, especially for the first arm of government, the legislature.

He said, “I saw my colleague sister entering with a kiss. It made me look back when we were acting in such a kind of entertainment stage drama, while in primary school. This is where we are very unthinkable and unspeakable.

“They came very close to the plenary for a kiss? For whatever reason like our colleague accused. When we say anything is wrong or not wrong, we talk about legality. It is not illegal, but it is socially and morally wrong. That does not mean all legal things are acceptable for adults to act on. I said initially that this is an episode of content creation. That is part of the skit created by our colleague and everybody is talking about it.”

Chelsea left-back, Marc Cucurella has stated that Enzo Maresca’s side need to be confident to have a chance of winning the UEFA Europa Conference League.

The Spain international believes Chelsea should go into every game with confidence and trust in their ability.

Speaking to the media ahead of their Round of 16 first leg clash with Copenhagen on Thursday, Cucurella said (via SI), “For sure. Chelsea are a top club. We have top players with skills and ability.

“We need to feel we can win the competition, believe we are ready and can do it. We go with all we have to win it.

“If we win everything it’s more easy. We have a good opportunity, we play tomorrow against a tough team. If we win this competition, we have the opportunity to bring a trophy.

“It would be the first time Chelsea have won this trophy. It could be special. It’s a big opportunity to show we are ready.”

[DailyPost]