By Wole Olujobi

His vision was clear. The mission, unmistakable. His spirit was effervescent with unwavering commitment and undiluted chemistry. And the willpower packed a mental energy to attain lofty dreams!

That was Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji in 2021 when he declared to contest for the governorship seat of Ekiti State. Ekiti people had faith in him after demonstrating justice, love and generosity of the heart among the people. On election day, Ekiti people reciprocated him with their votes.

In his inauguration speech tagged “Let Us Keep Ekiti Working” on October 16, 2022, Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji had said: “My mission for Ekiti State is to be a land of prosperity, opportunity, peace and progress. A land in which transformed people and communities can reap the fruits of their labour in dignity, good health and safety. A land of honour where integrity matters. For this vision to be actualised, we need to focus on a roadmap to get there.”

With a fervent devotion, this roadmap is what he espoused in his six-point agenda, which he leveraged to transform Ekiti State in the last four years.

Drawing on the principle of a French West Indian political philosopher, Frantz Fanon, in his thesis that “each generation must discover its mission, fulfil or betray it,” Oyebanji in his inauguration ceremony speech latched on to Fanon’s philosophical ambience of the former, explaining in details that he understood his vision and assuring that he would fulfil it. His words: “The import of the mandate you have given to me and the responsibility I now bear is clear.”

In the last four years, the governor proved himself right and Ekiti people bore him witness.

Yet, besides grace speaking for him, Oyebanji brought to bear the intrinsic, personal leadership qualities that assisted him in power.

Just like the way he was brought up, he held discipline as a guiding compass, and embraced his Christian faith as an armour for the leadership arduous responsibilities in a homogeneous state with diverse political cleavages often couched in combustible, fierce partisanship that, in the past, accompanied bloody electoral contests.

But drawing on the corpus of philosophical studies of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period, to achieve his goal, Oyebanji, an urbane man of peace, espouses communal ethos, personal and governmental morality, discipline, harmonious social relationships, righteousness, kindness, sincerity and responsibility to lead by virtue.

He also held fast to the veneration of the elders and pious defences by the Holy Cross of his faith, which the governor regularly expresses in his favourite Yoruba hymnal theme rendition: “Igbagbo mi duro l’ori, Eje at’ododo Jesu; Nko je gbekele ohun kan, Lehin oruko nla Jesu; Mo duro le Krist’Apata, Ile miran, iyanrin ni….” (My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”)

Deploying his moral appeal to build unity and amity among Ekiti people, Oyebanji also believes in Ekiti traditional values and considers himself a transmitter for these values of earlier periods, some of which have been abandoned in his time.
His creed, just like that of Confucius, is: “Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself.”

What he wanted done to himself as would be done to others was encapsulated in a Six-Pillar Strategic Development Roadmap
to drive Ekiti development; including Human Capital Development, which focuses on qualitative and free basic education up to Senior Secondary School 3 (SS3) and healthcare improvement;
Agriculture and Rural Development that aims at food security, empowering local farmers, and boosting rural economy; and Infrastructure and Industrialisation, which incorporates upgrading of roads, power supply, and public utilities;
Arts, Culture, and Tourism, which leverages cultural heritage sites at Ikogosi Warm Spring, Arinta Waterfalls, Fajuyi Memorial Park and Abanijorin Mountain and Cave, among others, for economic growth.

As we write, reports indicate that Ekiti State has earned a major international recognition, as the Developing-8 (D-8) Organisation for Economic Cooperation comprising Nigeria, Türkiye, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran and Azerbaijan is set to hold its Fifth Ministerial Meeting and Sixth Senior Officials’ Meeting at the Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort from October 28 to 30, 2026.

The international meet will further showcase Ekiti State’s economic potential to the international business community for the much-needed business and economic cooperation for international investments.

Others include Good Governance that emphasises and promotes inclusive participation through community-based budget preparations, and accountability; and, lastly, Industrialization and Job Creation, which focuses on creating economic opportunities and supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Four years after, Oyebanji, besides political exigencies, brought his personality to bear in government and recorded remarkable achievements to boot in all these sectors.

In Infrastructure and Power, for instance, Oyebanji, besides bringing Ekiti International Cargo Airport into its present functional state, also completed over 350 kilometers of roads across all 16 local government areas, including building two solar-lit ring roads that link Ikere-Ekiti to Ado-Ekiti and Ijan-Ekiti to the state capital that cut travel time, in addition to a 1.2 kilometres flyover named the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Flyover to reduce heavy traffic in the city centre, improve road safety, and support local business activities in the state capital’s busy commercial hub.

In power supply, for the first time in Ekiti history, the state’s power supply increased from 25 megawatts to 130 megawatts through private partnerships. Many communities that were in darkness for years were reconnected to the national grid to boost the state’s economy and social life, including strengthening the state’s security architecture that was recently revved up by the provision of over 100 operation vehicles to the security agencies to protect lives and properties.

In the healthcare sector is a premier Ulerawa Health Insurance to provide free care for pregnant women, children, sickle cell patients, and other vulnerable groups.
Neonatal deaths were cut by 57 percent and under-five mortality by 54 percent.
Upgrades of medical facilities and construction of new ones were commonplace, including upgrade of Ikole Specialist Hospital to a Federal Medical Centre and a partnership with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) to host the Southwest Zonal Health Laboratory, among other health schemes upgrades. Others are provisions of medical facilities across the state to take care of the health needs of Ekiti people.

The milestone in agricultural production is heartwarming, so much so that recent report entitled “2025 Wet Season Agricultural Performance in Nigeria,” produced by the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) and certified by the National Technical Committee on Agricultural Statistics under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security placed Ekiti State in the top rank in agriculture.

Specifically, the report says Ekiti State recorded increases in the production of rice, maize, cowpea, tomato and okra, among others, and the state is among the states with largest cultivated areas for major crops; the development that has reflected in the crashing of food prices in the markets.

In Education and Human Capital was AGILE Project, which drew investment of over ₦14 billion via the World Bank-supported Adolescent Girls’ Initiative for Learning and Empowerment to improve digital access and infrastructure in all 203 public secondary schools. Scholarship scheme was expanded to accommodate more brilliant and indigent students.

Over 2000 youth artisans benefited from Supa Artisan Programme in partnership with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) in addition to the Vocational Training and Apprenticeships for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) that targeted training in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), tailoring/fashion design, hairdressing, shoemaking, catering, and business management. This is in addition to BAO Digital Academy / Digital Skill Academy in partnership with global tech heavyweights, such as Meta and Tech4Dev, that equips hundreds of youths per cycle with specialized training in cybersecurity, UI/UX design, web development, data science, and digital marketing.
Other components of the scheme include Agribusiness Skills Programmes that provide specialized training to 1,000 youths annually, while over 500 youth entrepreneurs were engaged in broiler production.
In governance ranking, Ekiti State was propelled to a top position in the Governance Performance Index and fiscal responsibility rankings through prudent management and transparency. Oyebanji also approved the recruitment of young people into the civil service, local governments, teaching service and Hospital Management Board, including primary health centres to take young and qualified people from the labour market while also prioritising local contractors for the first time in Ekiti State in government businesses.

The trophies that have headlined Oyebanji’s uniquely inclusive and people-centric administration that drew widespread institutional recognitions included: Leadership Newspaper’s Governor of the Year (2025); Vanguard Newspaper’s Personality of the Year for Good Governance (2024/2025) Leadership Newspaper’s Outstanding Governor of the Year for Inclusive Leadership; Marketing Edge Magazine’s Grassroots Development (2024); Silverbird’s Man of the Year (2024); Energy Times Magazine’s Energy Governor of the Year for power infrastructure upgrades, reconnecting communities to the national grid, and deploying independent power plants; Daily Independent’s Governor of the Year (2023) for laying a stable administrative and fiscal foundation; and New Telegraph’s Governor of the Year for Infrastructure (2025).

By far the most remarkable landmark is the unification of the diverse political class by his rare gift for the pursuit of peace in the hitherto fierce and toxic political landscape. This generous spirit for communal peace, which led to a united front among the hitherto combustible political class, set the pace for other Oyebanji’s landmark accomplishments in the last four years. All these coalesced to produce the historic and historical first back-to-back election victory by the ruling party, actively supported by the opposition parties, to succeed itself, as Oyebanji, a lover of justice and peace, for the first time in Ekiti history, rewrote Ekiti political history in his own image.

It was for these reasons that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hailed Oyebanji’s transformative leadership, including his sterling performance, pledging stronger federal backing for Ekiti’s development.

So far, Ekiti State has seen that Federal presence, which Oyebanji acknowledges and praises everywhere, pledging to ensure massive votes for Tinubu in his second term election, even as Ekiti State has become a beacon of hope and a model for good governance in Nigeria owing largely to Oyebanji’s transformative and impactful leadership backed by the President’s support.

In the last four years, Oyebanji has proven that achieving success despite challenges requires a resilient mindset, adaptable strategies, and a focus on continuous learning rather than the obstacles themselves.

The next four years is an opportunity to improve on the current momentum to achieve the vision espoused by Oyebanji in his development mission in Ekiti State.

Indeed, Oyebanji not only stood on his Ekiti mandate for support to achieve success; he also relied on the protection and guidance of God as a primary source of commitment in his initiatives to grow Ekiti State, to thrive in shared prosperity among Ekiti people.

Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has proven himself as a lighthouse and inspiration for progress in the dialectic of Ekiti history. The first term is the celebration of legacy leadership and promises fulfilled. The next dispensation that begins in the next few hours is for the consolidation of the energy that lights the path for more prosperity for Ekiti people.

*Olujobi, a journalist, served as Deputy Director in the Media and Communications Directorate of BAO Campaign Organisation

By Habib Aruna

Pa Anthony Enahoro, the late great nationalist who symbolically moved the motion for the country’s independence in 1956 agreed to be interviewed by this writer shortly after he came back from exile. By that time, maximum military dictator, General Sani Abacha had died, in a manner that is still controversial, and General Abdulsalami Abubakar had successfully organized a transition programme that led to the emergence of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the first President of the current democratic dispensation.

So, Enahoro and other activists who were in exile, like Professor Wole Soyinka, Dan Suleiman, Dr. Kayode Fayemi were implored to come back home by the military regime. Enahoro, in the course of our interview, told me about an incident that happened in Ondo in the then Western Region. He said when the nationalists were going round the country to argue for a case for independence they had a stop at a town in Ondo and he was approached by an elderly man, who asked him if the country was indeed ready for independence.

Enahoro said he was shocked and surprised by the question coming from the old man and wanted to find out what prompted the skepticism. He said the man answered that from the look of things he was not too sure that Nigeria was ready to be freed from British rule and that we should give the colonialists more years in the country so that Nigerians will be fully ready to take over. Pa Enahoro said many years after independence, the old man’s concerns and doubts about the readiness of the country for self-rule always agitates his mind whenever he looks at the state of things in the country. From political instability to an economy that is still largely dependent on a single commodity export for the elusive foreign exchange.

There is no doubt that situation in the country has gotten worse and degenerated than that cool evening at Enahoro GRA, Ikeja residence, just few months after the birth of this dispensation, when the great nationalist and Esan High Chief was lamenting to this writer about the worsening state of the nation. Of course, he should be concerned because this was not the country he and other founding fathers dreamed of when they forced the British to lower the Union Jack at the Independence Square, now known as Tafawa Balewa Square.

Even though not all First Republic politicians wanted independence in 1960 for obvious reasons, North and South were divided, it was nonetheless granted by the British, but after the country was structured in a way that favoured them, both politically and economically. The parliamentary system we practiced was inherited from Westminster, while the economy was meant to produce raw materials for their industries in the United Kingdom. And even though politicians in the First Republic were more nationalistic, patriotic and less corrupt, it was cut short in 1966 by a military coup.

The military ruled for more than 13 years and within that period, more states were created from the four regions, the period witnessed oil boom that was wasted because of lack of pragmatism and foresight by our leaders, who were more concerned about what to do with the petro-dollars than building lasting infrastructure and diversifying the economy so that we will be less dependent on oil. The military were forced to go back to the barracks in 1979 when the Second Republic was born. The Parliamentary system was however replaced with the more costly Presidential system. And even though some of the politicians like Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his United Party of Nigeria (UPN) governors were more prudent, progressive and visionary, politicians in the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) were careless and living like there will be no tomorrow and spending irresponsibly.

At that time, it was evident that the country was going down the slope. The economy that still relies on one major commodity was now increasingly becoming monolithic and vulnerable to vagaries in the world market; corruption was at the highest level without accountability; hospitals became mere dispensaries, we had decaying infrastructure and general lack of effective leadership. It was therefore not a surprise that Khaki boys again took over in 1983. Then in August 1985, power exchanged hands between General Muhammadu Buhari and General Ibrahim Babangida.

Even so, the Babangida regime took the country for a ride with its endless transition programme. It was during this transition that the June 12 presidential election was held. An election widely regarded as the freest and fairest in the unenviable political history of the country. After the election and Chief Moshood Abiola, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was heading to victory, the military suddenly annulled the result. The annulment threw the country into an endless crisis, leading to the death of hundreds of Nigerians, imprisonment of dozens of others, while many went into forced exile. In the process, Abacha died and Abiola, the winner of June 12 elections also died in detention.

The Obasanjo administration that came in the aftermath failed to cure the ills that he met on ground and still failed, before he left office, to put the country on a sound footing for growth and development. It will be recalled that the military and their civilian counterparts did not hide their disposition to install Obasanjo as the new helmsman. The late Admiral Mike Akhigbe, who was the vice to Abdulsalami, was indeed sent to Lagos to meet senior journalists a few weeks after they took over. Akhigbe told the media executives that the military was interested in the transition. He said their desire was to see ‘Obasanjo as Nigeria’s own Mandela’.

The assumption was that with his vast experience, exposure, influence, and history, Obasanjo has the capacity to change the country for the better. Every nation at a critical juncture of its history needs a strong, visionary and selfless leader who will make sure that enduring institutions and templates are planted to secure the future of the country.

It is doubtful if that was done. Instead, what we see are ruling elites who are more parasitic, capricious and insensitive to the plight of Nigerians. Hence, at 66 Nigerians cannot, with the benefit of hindsight, be pumping champagne. It has absolutely been a case of arrested development. We are not where we should be as a nation!

By Ehi Braimah

Conversations during economic summits on Africa clearly indicate that governments alone cannot transform Africa’s economic fortunes. While African countries bet on foreign investment, or depend on borrowing and aid, a thinking still rooted in our colonial history, something more fundamental is taking place across the continent: the capacity of young Africans to create businesses, jobs and solutions to problems around them.

This significant shift by young Africans, demonstrating their capacity to innovate and launch businesses of their own, leads us to Africapitalism, the economic philosophy associated with Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Elumelu. The philosophy is simple: Africans must play a central role in creating Africa’s economic prosperity. At its heart is the belief that Africa’s private sector can drive economic and social development by creating long-term economic value and social wealth on the continent.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has translated this philosophy into an ambitious entrepreneurship programme that identifies, trains, mentors and provides seed capital to young African entrepreneurs. The idea is simple but potentially transformational: give young Africans the tools and capital to build sustainable businesses, rather than waiting for them to find employment in economies that cannot create enough jobs.

In terms of scale and impact, the numbers behind TEF’s entrepreneurship intervention are substantial. The story of Ms. Theresa Oluwagbemi which I am about to tell is not an isolated case, but part of an entrepreneurship ecosystem. Since the launch of its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, TEF has empowered more than 27,000 entrepreneurs across 54 African countries, while more than 2.5 million Africans have accessed business-management training through TEFConnect. In addition, more than US$100 million in seed capital has been disbursed so far to selected entrepreneurs.

According to TEF’s latest figures, businesses supported through the programme have collectively generated more than US$4.2 billion in revenue and created more than 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs. TEF also reports that it has lifted 2.1 million Africans above the poverty line and positively affected more than four million African households.

The programme’s reach is also demonstrated by the extraordinary demand for it. In 2026 alone, TEF received more than 265,000 applications from young Africans across the continent before selecting a cohort of 3,200 beneficiaries – up from 1,000 beneficiaries when the programme was launched 11 years ago – with 51 percent being women.

Supported by his wife, Awele, Tony Elumelu took TEF to a new level, building partnership with major development institutions, governments and global foundations to scale the programme. These partners include the European Union, UNDP, ADB, International Committee of the Red Cross, United States African Development Foundation, Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States; German Development Finance Institution (DEG), German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Google, UNICEF Generation Unlimited, IKEA Foundation, the UAE Office of Development Affairs, and Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, among others.

I have had the privilege of experiencing the Africapitalism philosophy from the other side of the table as a mentor in the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme. Last year, I was assigned to mentor Theresa Ouwagbemi, a young Nigerian entrepreneur whose journey provides a compelling illustration of how relatively modest catalytic capital can unlock economic activity.

Theresa studied Mass Communication at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, graduating with a second-class upper division, but her entrepreneurial journey began before graduation. She started producing and selling liquid soap on a very small scale, primarily to students and lecturers in her university. Like many young entrepreneurs, she had an idea and the determination to pursue it, but lacked the resources to take the business to the next level.

Then came TEF.

Theresa heard about the programme through a mentor who encouraged her to apply. She knew the selection process was competitive; nevertheless, she submitted her application, including her business pitch and proposal. When the email announcing her selection arrived, it became, in her words, “one of the best days of my life.”

That moment was more than an emotional milestone – it marked the beginning of a significant transition in her entrepreneurial journey. She received the $5,000 seed grant in January, 2026, alongside access to the programme’s masterclass and mentorship. The combination is important. Capital without knowledge can be wasted, just as knowledge without capital can remain theoretical.

Her business, “Boom Liquid Wash”, began to acquire the capacity to serve a wider market. Before the grant, Theresa’s business was constrained by the limited equipment available to her. She had to turn down some contracts because she lacked the production capacity required to fulfil them.

The grant changed that equation. With the money, she acquired basic equipment needed for production. Her customer base expanded beyond students and lecturers to include restaurants, office owners, other businesses and individual consumers. This is where the broader significance of Africapitalism becomes evident.

The US$5,000 did not simply become money in Theresa’s bank account; it became productive capital. It was converted into equipment, production capacity, customers and business relationships. It enabled 23-year-old Theresa to accept opportunities that were previously beyond her reach. That is the multiplier effect that entrepreneurship can produce.

Theresa’s story also demonstrates why entrepreneurship development cannot be reduced to simply handing young people money. The TEF model helps entrepreneurs to develop the knowledge, resilience and connections required to survive in a difficult business environment, and Nigeria’s business environment can be difficult.

Theresa recalls an occasion when the price of chemicals used in her production increased by more than 60 per cent. For a small business, such a sudden increase in input costs can threaten profitability and customer relationships. How do you explain to customers that your costs have suddenly risen? How do you protect your margins without losing your market? How do you keep going when the economics of your business appear to be changing overnight?

These are not theoretical questions for young African entrepreneurs; they are everyday realities.
We discussed these challenges and Theresa learned to adapt. Her entrepreneurial experience has also exposed her to opportunities and people she might not otherwise have encountered. While she was still a student, for example, she produced souvenirs for the Dean of her department.

More importantly, entrepreneurship has sharpened her ability to identify problems and develop tailored solutions. That is another important dimension of Africapitalism: the entrepreneur is not merely a beneficiary of economic development, but becomes an agent of economic development.

Theresa’s customers are beneficiaries because they have access to locally produced products. Her suppliers also benefit from demand, and the businesses that buy her products benefit from reliable supply. As “Boom Liquid Wash” grows, its economic footprint can grow with it. Multiply Theresa’s experience by thousands of entrepreneurs across Africa and the significance becomes much larger.

This is why the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme is important beyond the individual entrepreneurs who receive the grants. The real ambition is to create an ecosystem in which African entrepreneurs thrive, solve African problems, build African businesses and create economic value within African economies.

Africa has no shortage of entrepreneurial energy. What it often lacks is the capital, infrastructure, market access, knowledge and institutional support required to turn entrepreneurial ideas into sustainable businesses. The intervention of catalytic capital can therefore be significant, but money alone does not guarantee success.

Theresa has learned some hard lessons. One is particularly memorable: never sell on credit. Her experience reflects one of the perennial challenges facing small businesses: cash flow. A small business may have customers and make sales on paper but still struggle if customers do not pay promptly.

Her second lesson is perhaps even more important: entrepreneurship is not a smooth journey.
There will be setbacks, unexpected costs, disappointments and moments of discouragement. My advice to Theresa and other young entrepreneurs is to look back at what they have achieved and remember what motivated them to start in the first place.

That resilience is essential to building businesses that can survive beyond the initial intervention.
Theresa is currently undertaking her National Youth Service Corps programme in Enugu, in Eastern Nigeria. She describes her experience in Enugu as beautiful, saying she has met amazing people and visited beautiful places.

But NYSC is only another chapter in her journey; her ambition is much bigger. She wants to grow “Boom Liquid Wash” into a business that meets global standards. She plans to gain additional exposure by interning with companies that represent the blueprint she wants for her own business. She also plans to pursue an MBA because, in her words, building a global business requires “a global mindset, experience and exposure.”

This is precisely the kind of ambition that programmes such as TEF seek to nurture. There is an important lesson here for Africa: development should not only be measured by the amount of money injected into an economy; it should also be measured by the productive capacity that such capital creates.

The money should create a business, acquire customers, and enable increase in production. In addition, the entrepreneur should acquire new skills; the enterprise should become capable of accepting larger contracts, while creating opportunities for others, contributing to the economic value within the community and, ultimately, within the African economy.

This is the type of value chain that makes the Africapitalism conversation particularly relevant. Tony Elumelu’s intervention is premised on the idea that the African private sector can be an engine of development. Rather than viewing philanthropy simply as the distribution of resources, Africapitalism seeks to connect enterprise, investment, economic empowerment and social impact.

Theresa’s story illustrates this connection at the micro level. Her production capacity grew and her customer based expanded with bigger ambitions. The next challenge for her is sustainability.

The ultimate test of any entrepreneurship programme is what happens after the grant. Can businesses survive? Can they scale and create jobs? Can they attract additional capital? Can they become suppliers to larger companies? Can they expand across borders? Theresa appears determined to pursue that journey. Her aspiration to build a global-standard business is significant because Africa needs businesses that can grow, compete, innovate, export and create wealth.

The continent’s enormous youth population makes this even more urgent. Millions of young Africans will enter the labour market in the coming years, but no government can employ everyone. Sustainable private enterprises must therefore become an increasingly important part of the solution. This is where Africapitalism intersects with Africa’s development challenge. The goal is not capitalism for its own sake; it is the deployment of private enterprise and capital to generate both economic and social value.

Theresa’s journey from a small student-based liquid soap business to a growing enterprise with customers beyond her immediate environment may appear modest against the scale of Africa’s economic challenges, but transformation often begins at this level – one young African entrepreneur who moves from dependency to enterprise. That is how impact multiplies.

The real promise of Africapitalism lies not simply in the success of one Tony Elumelu entrepreneur, but in the possibility that thousands of entrepreneurs can become creators of value, employers of labour, innovators and contributors to Africa’s economic transformation.

Theresa’s story is therefore bigger than “Boom Liquid Wash” – it is a story about what happens when capital meets an idea, when mentorship meets ambition, and when opportunity meets determination. Perhaps that is one of the most powerful ways to understand Tony Elumelu’s vision for Africa: don’t just give young Africans a chance to find jobs; give them a chance to build businesses that create jobs, wealth and solutions for Africa.

That is Africapitalism in action.

Braimah is a PR specialist, marketing strategist, and publisher/editor-in-chief of Naija Times (www.ntm.ng) and Lagos Post (www.lagospost.ng). He is a strong advocate for African prosperity and can be reached through: [email protected]