Ogbuagu Anikwe

THE recent passage of Dr. Stanley N. Macebuh closes a chapter in Nigeria’s golden age of journalism, inspired by two New York imports. Macebuh was one, Dele Giwa the other. Macebuh and Giwa were both hired from New York to work in Daily Times. In his tribute to Giwa, who was assassinated in 1986, Macebuh […]

RICH and powerful Abuja businessmen are in love with the British Virgin. There are 60 such “virgins” but the affluent in Abuja are attracted to only four of them. These four do not bear British-sounding names: Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke. Of the original 60 virgins, 44 can still claim to be […]

Abuja is a city divided since penultimate Monday when the National Assembly made its famous resolution, urging Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to seize power, as acting president. There is palpable excitement in many offices and ominous disquiet in many others. You get into some offices and immediately feel the excitement in the air, a feeling […]

I like the simple and the ideal, and I love keeping to a gentleman agreement. And so, at the risk of going against the current tide of public propaganda, I would like to toe a different line, to remind us of where we are coming from, and what we ought to have done at this […]

Senate plans impeachment. Senate asks Nigerians to pray. Senate orders Yar’Adua to do this. Senate… I went to my bank the other day and met a lady teller complaining about “too much talk” over the President’s ill-health while “people who should know are not hitting the nail on the head.” I was intrigued by this […]

 I am going to attempt to shoot 18 holes with this week’s letter, so I will number them accordingly. 1. Tiger Woods is a lucky man – handsome, rich, with a wonderful wife and two beautiful children. And he is a phenomenal champion golfer, who has made more money than any golfer alive (he was […]

It is breathtaking to watch the politics of Anambra, the shining star of the East. The other day, IGP Onovo invited the army of governorship aspirants and made them sign an undertaking to be of good behaviour in the election that will take place this weekend, 6 February 2009. Of all Igbo states, Anambra has […]

This morning, I watched a little bit of the IGR (internally generated revenue) roundtable shown by AIT. Key speakers included Governors Fashola (Lagos), Oshiomhole (Edo) and Imoke (Cross River). As usual, Gov. Oshiomhole was on the mark, arguing why it is important to “annoy” the wealthy with tax: to enable the majority enjoy the dividends […]

MTN NG told me a while ago that they will call my mobile number in the next 24 hours to tell me how I won one million naira and a free ticket to South Africa 2010 football fiesta. Folks, here is how it happened:At exactly 04.09 this morning, I woke up when my phone buzzed, […]

My favorite preacher waxed eloquent today, with a story that had a sting in the tail. He was explaining the First Book of Kings (Ch.19 Vs.4-8) – the story of Prophet Elijah who gave up the struggle, and asked God to take his life. His thesis was that most people, when confronted with overwhelming problems, […]