On Monday evening, tragedy struck in Ochanja market Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of Anambra state, when three segments of nearly completed market buildings collapsed. The tragedy was remarkable such that no fewer than six people were confirmed dead from the incident. Up till Tuesday afternoon when the governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo visited the scene of the tragedy, an unspecified number of people were said to still be trapped in the rubble....

“No matter how good and generous the dead may be, there are those very close who are eager to erase their memories.” —Ebuka Onyekwelu In a deep and sober conversation some time ago with my uncle, Benchuks Nwosu, after we had talked for over an hour, he paused. Then, after some two minutes, he said, “onwu wu mmeli,” in Nnewi dialect. This comment can be generally translated in English to mean that death is the...

“Ubah has largely lived up to his promise to stamp out insecurity from Nnewi and Anambra South zone, eventually.” —Ebuka Onyekwelu Election bids feel different for the incumbent and the opposition. Therefore, an early election bid feels different for a serving governor and a contender for the same office. This is because, although the same position is in the contest, what is at stake for both parties is different. More importantly, the path to the...

“Many people still complain that since his election, Soludo has reverted to his old self in which many allege that he claims to know everything” —Ebuka Onyekwelu Sworn in exactly one year and ten months ago, after his successful election on the strength of his predecessor’s political mobilization and his own pedigree as a public intellectual and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo emerged easily as one with the...

“It is now left to see how the government intends to manage the situation given the flared nerves, ruffled feathers, and bruised egos.” —Ebuka Onyekwelu After weeks of unabated controversy over the suspension of Igwe Neni, the government of Anambra State has yet again responded, leading to another round of debate. The press release on what actually transpired between the government and the monarchs during their meeting on January 22nd has left many confused or...

“At Goodwill Junction, businesswomen, their wares, tables, chairs, and umbrellas, were all destroyed and in most instances set ablaze” —Ebuka Onyekwelu Following the exceedingly outrageous videos and pictures of the demolition of petty street businesses by the Anambra State Government on Tuesday, it became overwhelmingly necessary to ascertain if what was shown in the video happened in Awka, Anambra State. Many days later, some people are still questioning if the destruction happened in Awka. On...

“The basic training of public officers often mostly emphasizes monetary approvals and expenditure processes” —Ebuka Onyekwelu On January 8th, Dr. Betta Edu, former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs was asked by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to step aside, following allegations of impropriety with the disbursement of public money. By that, Nigerians saw a scarce decision by the country’s president, to the effect that it would be the first time a serving minister in Nigeria is being...

“A major aspect of the budget performance is the availability of funds” —Ebuka Onyekwelu Three weeks after Governor Chukwuma Soludo presented a budget size of N410 billion Naira to Anambra State House of Assembly for consideration, the House is now drawing the curtains on budget defense, which is an integral aspect of the budgeting process. The budget currently at committee stage, has all government Ministries Departments and Agencies – MDAs, coming to explain why their...

“Last weekend, many gathered in Uli, a community in Ihiala LGA where Dr. Mbadinuju came from, to pay him the last respect” —Ebuka Onyekwelu The Late Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, was governor of Anambra State between 1999 and 2003. In 2003, he did everything within his power to return for a second term but could not secure the ticket of his former party, the PDP. He then ended up running on the platform of the AD...