Author: damazah@gmail.com

Femi Odugbemi I met Prof. Albert Alos in 2003 when I served as President of the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN). What began as a random friendship became one I deeply valued. Born in Barcelona, Spain, Prof. Alos came to Nigeria in 1967 and spent almost six decades contributing to the country’s intellectual and institutional development. An accomplished electrical engineer and professor, he taught at some of Nigeria’s leading universities before helping to build the Lagos Business School, where he became its pioneer Dean, and later serving as the first Vice-Chancellor of Pan-Atlantic University. But I remember him…

When shopping for an electric vehicle, affordability is becoming a more common trait. But affordable and energy efficient is truly a rare breed. Often you have to sacrifice one for the other. Want something affordable? Great, here’s a range loser. Want something that goes the distance? Be ready to pay the price.Surprisingly, here comes Audi to split the difference. The German automaker’s new A2 E-tron compact crossover is inexpensive, starting at just £32,200 (about $45,000). And it absolutely impresses with an ultra low drag coefficient and a range of battery and drivetrain options that, when configured correctly, can produce a…

Some veterans will be mobilised as part of a major exercise next year testing the UK’s resilience for war.The government exercise will challenge the Ministry of Defence (MoD) “on a scale that we haven’t seen for a very long time” on its reaction in the event of a conflict, armed forces minister Louise Sandher-Jones said.The drill will involve an as-yet unspecified number of the British military’s strategic reserve, which has an estimated 95,000 retired regular and reserve officers.It forms part of a plan by the MoD for a “real step change” to use the strategic reserve more, following warnings of…

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (NAU) Chapter, have declared an indefinite strike at the university. NAU, a federal university in Anambra State, is popularly known as UNIZIK. The ASUU-UNIZIK Chapter announced the indefinite strike in a statement on Monday jointly signed by its Chairman, Innocent Nnubia, and the Secretary, Osita Nnajiofor. The lecturers said they had resolved to withdraw their services in compliance with the standing “Resolution of ASUU National Executive Council” on non-payment of salaries. The union then urged UNIZIK authorities and Visitor, President Bola Tinubu, to urgently address the situation…

If Ashe can help 23-year-old Shelton earn his first career win over Alcaraz, there is guaranteed to be an American player in the final.Home stars reaching the men’s semi-finals has not been uncommon this century, but only Taylor Fritz has reached the final – two years ago when he lost to Jannik Sinner – since Roddick was beaten by Roger Federer in the 2006 final.Tiafoe, who is seeded 11th, lost to Fritz in another all-American semi-final and was also eliminated by Alcaraz at the same stage in 2022.Now the 28-year-old is aiming for a third opportunity to reach his first…

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s your first footage from Casey Affleck‘s Venice Film Festival Competition drama, Company, starring Nick Nolte, Ben Mendelsohn, Adelaide Clemens, Scoot McNairy, Emily Alyn Lind, and Caylee Cowan. The film also introduces Affleck’s son Atticus for the first time on screen and marks the second feature for his other son Indiana. Described as “a meditation on grief, vengeance, forgiveness, and the quiet acts of compassion that can heal even the deepest wounds”, the gothic drama is set over a single night in 1975 when a wintry holiday gathering is interrupted by a mysterious woman who recounts a tale from…

By Niran Adedokun Amongst many others, two things sicken me about Nigerian politicians. The first is their capacity to approbate and reprobate. You know that inclination to blow hot and cold in the same breath. The second, which flows from the first, is their compulsion to assume that Nigerians are too dumb to read between the lines. I could cite endless examples of these annoying attempts to hoodwink Nigerians in virtually every aspect of our politics, but I’ll restrain myself and focus on last week’s live-television altercation over the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The facts of…

The Oyo State Police Command says it has uncovered an interstate child-stealing and trafficking network, rescuing 17 children and arresting seven suspects in an investigation that also revealed the alleged deaths of six other children while in the custody of the suspects. The Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing at the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, saying the investigation began with a petition but later exposed a wider criminal network allegedly involved in the stealing, movement, sale and concealment of children. Mr Olugbenga said the investigation also uncovered allegations that the remains of…

A state in South-Eastern Nigeria has already built such a mechanism… The initiative is called ÓKÓBÌ, the One Kindred One Business Initiative, launched in Imo State. Its premise is straightforward: rather than backing one entrepreneur at a time, back a group. An extended family, a village or a student society comes together, selects a business, registers it, and owns it collectively. To qualify, a venture must be formally registered, group-owned, profit-oriented, professionally managed, properly governed, and demonstrably job creating. Bangladesh’s development story has never been principally one about capital. It is a story about social organisation. Female literacy, immunisation coverage…

Dangote Refinery has completed the endorsement of the offer documents for its initial public offering, putting it on course to launch the $1.6 billion public equity sale, regarded as Africa’s largest ever, next week. Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and owner of the 700,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) plant, led the sign-off ceremony in Lagos on Monday, in the presence of advisers and other parties to the pan-African offering, which aims to raise about N2.2 trillion from investors. The minimum subscription of the offer is 10 ordinary shares, translating to N5,250, Mr Dangote told the event. The Dangote Group is opening the offer…