The lecture entitled: “African Leadership in a
Turbulent Era” which will be delivered by Dr. (Mrs) Oby
Ezekwesili, former Nigerian minister of education, will take place at the
Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, by 10 am prompt.
Ezekwesili, former vice president of the World Bank
and co-founder of Transparency International, was last week, appointed
democracy ambassador by the Swedish-based International Institute for Electoral
Assistance, International IDEA. She is the first female to give the
Realnews Anniversary Lecture series.
The Lecture will be chaired by Professor Akpan Hogan Ekpu,
director general of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic
Management, WAIFEM.
Immediately after the lecture, a panel of discussants will
leverage on the topic to speak on how leadership crisis is affecting different
sectors in Nigeria and the way forward. The panellists are Mr. Ahmed Kuru,
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Assets Management Corporation
of Nigeria, AMCON, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, executive director, Bank of Industry,
BOI, and Dr. Maikanti Baru, group managing director, Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. Both the lecturer and all of the panellists have
confirmed their attendance at the event.
Realnews choice of topic in 2017, according
Maureen Chigbo, publisher/Editor, is informed by emerging global trend,
especially the emergence of Mr. Donald Trump, as America’s 45th President,
with Russia and China increasingly wielding more influence on Africa. “There is
also the looming threat of nuclear war in the Korean peninsula. This is coming
at a time when African countries are struggling with ceaseless political and
socio-economic turbulence, high youth unemployment and hundreds if not
thousands of young people from the continent perishing in the Mediterranean Sea
on perilous journeys to Europe in search of so-called greener pastures.
“From South Sudan where warlords appear bent on
disintegrating the country, to the lingering Boko Haram insurgency in West and
Central Africa, coupled with a rash of uprising by separatist groups including
the Niger Delta militants and Independent People of Biafra in Nigeria and the
increasing wave of terrorism in other parts of Africa, the prognosis looks
bleak, to say the least,” she said.
Chigbo said that after the panel and interactive session,
there will be an investiture into the prestigious Realnews Hall of
Fame, exclusively reserved for only Guest Speakers, Discussants, Realnews
Book Reviewers and Chairpersons at our Anniversary Lecture
Series. Former inductees into the Realnews Hall of
Fame are Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, United Nations Special Representative
to West Africa and Sahel; Mr. Alex Cummings, Liberian Presidential Candidate;
Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps; Ibrahim Idris,
Nigerian Inspector General of Police; Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, founder and
chief executive officer, Alpine Investments Ltd, Professor Chukwuma Soludo,
former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Maurice Iwu, former
chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mr. Roberts Orya,
managing director/chief executive officer of the Nigerian Export Import Bank
(NEXIM), Dr. Ngozi Anyaegbunam, president, Media World, Mr. Benjamin Dikki,
Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises and Professor Joe. I. Ezigbo,
Managing Director, Falcon Corporation Limited.
“They (inductees) all played key roles during our
anniversary Lectures and the induction into the Realnews Hall of Fame is just a
token of our appreciation for the honour they did to Realnews Magazine and
Publications Limited,” said Chigbo, publisher/editor of Realnews.
Realnews, she said, is a general interest magazine and
an online publication thrives on investigative journalism debuted November 19,
2012. It focuses on oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental
challenges as well as issues relating to business and economy, politics, power,
health, women and youth. Its aim is to unearth exclusive stories about real
people and the challenges they are facing in their day-to-day activities. It
does this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence the lives of
people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, its
objective is to use its investigative skills to ferret out information in the
sectors it focuses on and produce an unbiased report which will actually
influence the government and decision makers to take actions that will make the
society better.
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