Author: damazah@gmail.com

I have also had the privilege of seeing him through both triumph and adversity. His political journey has had its share of difficult seasons, some of them difficult enough to discourage almost anyone. But Chairman has an extraordinary capacity to return. He reflects, recalibrates and rises again. Not because the fall did not hurt, but because he has always believed that a difficult chapter does not have to be the end of the story. There is a particular privilege in knowing someone before the world decided who they were going to be; before the titles, the cameras, the offices and…

Real Madrid’s Moroccan forward #21 Brahim Diaz kicks the ball during the UEFA Champions League first round day 1 football match between Real Madrid and Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on September 8, 2026. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP) Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid secured a narrow 2-1 victory over his former side Inter Milan in a high-octane Champions League opener on Tuesday. The record 15-time European champions took a two-goal lead through Kylian Mbappe and Fede Valverde thanks to two Inter errors in the first half. Carlos Augusto smashed home for Cristian Chivu’s team in…

Netflix is heading to Texas, circa the 19th century, for its latest literary adaptation. The streamer has given a straight-to-series order for a new adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. The drama comes from Teton Ridge Entertainment — which owns the rights to McMurtry’s book and its follow-up novels — and co-showrunners Zoe Kazan and Jeb Stuart. Kazan and Stuart recently wrapped Netflix’s East of Eden limited series, based on John Steinbeck’s novel. “After our singular experience on East of Eden, we are thrilled to be teaming with Netflix again, along with Teton Ridge Entertainment, to bring Larry McMurtry’s western classic…

1Slur sees liberal undone after having got elected (8) 1 down. Slur sees liberal undone after having got elected. 8 letters.2See 25 2 down. See 25.3Daredevil bats taking cover (6) 3 down. Daredevil bats taking cover. 6 letters.4Dumber pants, a forerunner of shorts? (7) 4 down. Dumber pants, a forerunner of shorts? 7 letters.5In respect of failing to start a Latin exam (4) 5 down. In respect of failing to start a Latin exam. 4 letters.6‘Green’s getting stony!’ – a familiar complaint (6,4) 6 down. ‘Green’s getting stony!’ – a familiar complaint. 6 letters and 4 letters.7Wine component almost turning…

By Reno Omokri As an individual named the most influential investor on the African continent by Business Insider, one of the world’s preeminent business and investing journals, I encourage every Nigerian, and those wishing to make their money work best for them, to invest in the Dangote Refinery IPO. Not only will you circulate your money in Nigeria, but you will also enrich yourself and add value to the Naira, increasing your purchasing power. I have been at the Dangote Refinery. Nothing on Earth is quite like it, making it out of this. World: By putting your money into this…

Femi falana The Mohammmadu Buhari administration enacted the National Social Investment Programme Agency Act 2022 which  transformed the  NSIPA into a statutory agency. The Act provides National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) “with powers and legal framework to design programmes, manage beneficiaries database, strengthen payment and accountability systems, and collaborate with states and development partners to ensure coherent national implementation.” The Act mandates the NSIPA to carry out the following programmes: N-Power, National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, National Cash Transfer, National Social Safety-Net, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and Grant Vulnerable Group. However, the agency has been turned into a…

With recent conclusion of recapitalisation exercise in the insurance industry, NAICOM ‘s appointment of  receivers and liquidators for the failed insurance  firms has generated court actions against possible liquidation, writes Ebere Nwoji. The present leadership at the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), will for ever be remembered for its determination to conduct a  fair and conclusive recapitalisation exercise in  the Nigerian insurance industry after two decades of several inconclusive  recapitalisation attempts. Indeed, before the present commissioner for insurance, Mr Olusegun Ayo Omosehin’s regime  in NAICOM,  his predecessors namely Mohammed Kari and Sunday Thomas had experimented on several models of recapitalisation but…

The Founders Lab Cohort 1 programme under the iDICE Startup Bridge, an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme and implemented by the Bank of Industry (BOI), has reached its final stage, with 50 selected high-performing idea-stage founders receiving approximately N330,000,000 in non-dilutive funding for continued venture development. Founders Lab was created to provide idea-stage founders with the support, funding opportunities, and ecosystem connections needed to move from concept to execution. Through a hybrid learning model, participants are guided through the process of validating problems, refining solutions, testing business models, and developing…

Onuminya Innocent The ward at the Infectious Disease Centre in Damba is quiet in a way that feels wrong. Fluorescent lights hum above rows of iron beds. Mothers sit on plastic chairs, cloths pressed to fevered foreheads. Nurses move fast between patients, but their voices are low.   Last week, the Zamfara State Ministry of Health confirmed what many families here already feared: an outbreak of diphtheria has claimed 39 lives. The ministry also recorded another 261 suspected cases across 10 local government areas.   Most of the faces in these beds are small. Health workers say many of the children are…

The Police Command in Delta State has intensified its manhunt for two armed robbery suspects in the state. Bright Edafe, the police spokesperson in Delta, said in a statement on Tuesday in Warri that the suspects were among those terrorising Ekpan Community in Uvwie Local Government Area of the state. He said the duo attacked a 48-year-old man in his residence with a locally-made gun on Friday at about 5:30 p.m. Mr Edafe, a superintendent of police, said the incident was reported the same day at the Ekpan Division of the Nigeria Police. The police spokesperson said the masked suspects…