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Masterful recreation of history brings in ancient and contemporary

Where the Waters Recede. Rotimi Olaniyan (2019). London: Apex
Publishing, UK. 310 pages
ISBN: 978-1-9160263-1-5. Available on Amazon.
Reviewed by Chido B. Nwakanma, School of Media and
Communication, Pan Atlantic University

Good literary works benefit from serendipity. Serendipity was at play in
the coincidence of the ending of Chinua Achebe’s fiction in A Man of The
People and the real-life first coup in Nigeria. It is an interesting
coincidence that the storyline of Where the Waters Recede, embedded
in history, coincides with the happenings across Nigeria and in the South
West featuring Fulani herdsmen and the indigenous people.
Rotimi Olaniyan’s first novel is a masterful historical fiction that takes in
several epochs in the history of South-West Nigeria. It deals with the
transatlantic slave trade, the invasion of Yorubaland by the Fulani,
banditry, the Yoruba Wars, as well as the incursion of the foreign
religions of Islam and Christianity. It shares the myths and details of the
strengths and weaknesses of the many gods of the land and the deities
the people worshipped.
The life and times of Omitirin, a young woman devoted to the goddess
Yemoja, is the vehicle for exploring many issues in history.
Upon attaining puberty, Omitirin’s parents’ hand her over to the service
of Yemoja. She goes into a convent for preparation for over three
months. As she gets ready with the traditional ritual bath at the river at
the end of her initial training, her first, slave raiders kidnap her. They
take her on a bewildering journey. One trader passes her over to
another, and thence to another. She escapes rape the first time at the
hands of drunken sailors by the assistance of a woman ostracised for
witchcraft on the false allegation of a trade debtor. The lady kills the
sailor as he fights to rape Omitirin but ascribes the murder to Omitirin.
Young Omitirin, age 14, is branded. Her protector hands her over to the
palace of Oba Osinlokun, son of Ologun Kutere of Lagos. The king

brings in Ifa priests who advise that they handle Omitirin with care and
show mercy. Oba Osinlokun would not but rather hands her over to an
Oyo warlord, Balogun Ijeru. She suffers through a failed effort to escape
the warlord’s harem because of his brutality.
The story takes a turn when fate brings Omitirin together with the
captured missionary Graham Thomas. Balogun Ijeru assigns her to the
task of nursing Graham back to health based on her knowledge of
herbs. Based on the counsel of the Ifa, Balogun Ijeru releases Omitirin
and Thomas the missionary. Twenty-five years later, they return to
Akindele, her village in the Egba heartland only to learn of the
destruction of the community by an infestation of smallpox.
The novel is set in the 18 th century but stretches to today. We meet the
Abolitionist Movement that fought to end the slave trade, William
Wilberforce, Samuel Adjayi Crowther and the early kings of Lagos as
well as the warriors of the Oyo Empire.
Where the Waters Recede teaches about the 400 Orishas of
Yorubaland. It dwells only on a few. They include Oya, “goddess of the
Tapa River and deity of the tempestuous harmattan wind” who was also
the wife of Sango, the god of thunder and Osun, “goddess of the Osun
River who protects her worshippers from epidemics, loves children and
gifts goodies to people”. Then there is Yemoja, the deity of the Ogun
River who blesses women with fertility and the land with abundance.
Also treated is Ori, “the Yoruba deity in charge of one’s destiny who
amongst the Yoruba was represented by one’s head”.
Details enrich this novel. Rotimi Olaniyan goes into great descriptive
details that provide picturesque views of things. The Yemoja figurine has
a face “etched with Ile-Ife tribal (identikit) marks, a torso with ample
bosom and cowrie beads on her neck” while it carried a boy and a girl in
her hands.
Where the Waters Recede benefits from prodigious research that
breathes in the rich details. The enquiry covers the history of the slave
trade and the abolitionist movement, the creation of Freetown as home
for freed slaves, and the church movement in England. There is much
study and interpretation of the Yoruba Wars, the infighting of the children
of Ologun Kutere of Lagos and the impact of the conquest of Ilorin.
The many wars also make this book a mini treatise on leadership. Each
ruler must watch his back, calculate his moves and loyalties. Leadership is fraught with many trials, including the vaulting ambitions of persons
such as Balogun Ijeru.
Where the Waters Recede runs through a prologue, four parts and an
afterword. It is a book of many stories. As Iya Agba, wife of the Balogun
Ijeru tells Omitirin, “Stories celebrate the moments of our lives. We might
be blessed to live through each in the present, but how quickly they are
spent, to become only memories that we spend the rest of our lives
protecting with all our might, from fading with time. So, let us create
memories worth fighting for” (p287).
Where the Waters Recede “creates memories” and lends itself to
explication deploying several theories. Theories deepen understanding
of phenomena as well as organise the existing knowledge in specific
areas. The obvious ones are the Narrative Paradigm theory of Walter
Fischer and Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory as well as Lev
Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory.
In his afterword, Dr Olaniyan states: “The themes that I have explored in
this novel are ones that have fascinated me and I hope that in some
way, the telling of this story helps them find a valuable place within your
thoughts and conversations. It is important that Africans come to terms
with the need to reconcile their culture with their history. It is even more
important that these powerful human stories from our past, locked within
the ethos of Africa’s various artefacts that were mostly lost or stolen
duing the colonial era, and now lay imprisoned in the various museums,
galleries and private collections in the West, be allowed to find their way
back home. Because it is only then tht Africans can truly finish telling the
stories of their past”.
Against its noble mission, Where the Waters Recede occasionally falls
into usages that put down Africa such as “in the dark African heartland”
on the blurb, “primitive art” and “Ile-Ife tribal marks” rather than Ile-Ife
identikit.
Rotimi Olaniyan schooled at the Universities of Ife and Lagos, as well as
Lagos Business School. He received his Doctorate in Business
Administration from the Nottingham Business School in 2015 and now
teaches there as a member of the Marketing faculty. He worked in brand
management at Cadbury Nigeria plc and Colgate Palmolive Limited and
owns an experiential marketing business in Lagos.

https://businessday.ng/life-arts/article/masterful-recreation-of-history-brings-in-ancient-and-contemporary/
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Agenda for funding and relevance of private universities

Private University Education in Nigeria: Case Studies in Relevance.
Peter A. Okebukola (2017). Lagos/Slough: Okebukola Science
Foundation/Sterling Publishers. 161 pages
ISBN: 978-978-947-660.
Reviewed by Chido B. Nwakanma, School of Media and
Communication, Pan Atlantic University

Private universities are the future of higher education in Nigeria. Twenty
years after the first three private universities took off, universities in the
private sector model now number more than those of the federal or state
governments. Their number will grow even more.
At the time of writing in October 2017, this book documents 59 private
universities in Nigeria. The federal government accounted for 40, while
state governments had 44 universities. These are the assertions of the
author of this book, an expert on the subject.
Why are universities run by private sector players doing well? What do
they contribute and what justifies their existence and continued growth?
How can society assist such a positive development?
Private University Education in Nigeria: Case Studies in Relevance is an
advocacy book that justifies the presence and growth of private
universities in Nigeria and the need to extend to them the financial
assistance of the Education Trust Fund that public universities alone
currently enjoy. The lead advocate has solid credentials for the case.
As a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities
Commission, Prof Peter Okebukola brings to bear in-depth knowledge
and experience of the Nigerian university system. As a regulator of the
system, he understands both the requirements and the challenges. He
has also served on the Council or Boards of no fewer than four private
universities. He thus makes an informed case.
Private University Education in Nigeria proclaims that those institutions
provide access to candidates who would have been shut out,
reintroduced quality in higher education and offer efficient student-

focused service delivery. They also infused healthy competition into the
system and are focused on delivering quality research outputs. Private
universities, he adds, operate a delivery system wrapped around small
class sizes and well-resourced classrooms that stimulate the production
of good quality graduates and run a predictable academic calendar.
It lists seven positive attributes. They are contributors to high-level
human resource development, train persons with better values and
represent a model of university governance in observance of due
process, accountability and discipline. They also mostly have a Board of
Trustees as an additional layer for accountability. The institutions model
financial autonomy as they sink or swim from the income from ventures
and other sources that supplement tuition. Discipline is the language in
private universities for both staff and students while they are
adventurous in exploring new courses that go beyond the NUC’s
Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS).
Nigeria had an initial false start with private universities when promoters
established 24 private institutions between 1980 and 1983. Criteria were
unclear. The Federal Government cancelled the process in 1984. The
nation then commenced a new operation with Decree 9 of 1993 that
allowed individuals, organisations, corporate bodies and local
governments to establish and run private universities once they meet the
guidelines. The book outlines the 14-step process that the National
Universities Commission applies for the licensing of private universities.
The first set of universities licensed and opened in 1999 are Igbinedion
University, Okada, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo and Madonna
University, Okija.
Despite their positives, subscription of candidates to private universities
has been very low, the book discloses. Babcock University in 2017
UTME received 2645 applications, Covenant University 2633 and Afe
Babalola University 1240. All others had less than 1000 applications
each.
This book covers its subject matter in eight chapters, a dedication,
foreword, preface and a list of the 16 vice-chancellors who responded
for their institutions.
The relevance of private universities is the central thesis of Private
University Education in Nigeria. The book explores this relevance in
nine areas. These are national and global economy, agriculture and food

security, education, and manufacturing. Others are power, youth
employment, peacebuilding, religious harmony and conflict resolution as
well as research, innovation and development of new products.
Sixteen universities reported on their contributions as the basis for the
case studies. A revised edition of the book should have actual case
studies and not the brief notes that some of the institutions passed on.
When you hear case studies, you expect diligent reporting “involving an
up-close, in-depth, and detailed examination of a subject of study, as
well as its related contextual conditions”. This section requires the
application of rigour.
Private University Education in Nigeria offers perspective with a look at
the trajectory of private universities in the USA, Britain and Europe. It
features Harvard University, MIT, Stanford and Yale. There is the
University of Buckingham, Ukrainian Free University, and the Catholic
University of Sacred Heart, Milan. It reports that Japan has 597 private
universities that constitute 78% of its universities. Indonesia has 1200 or
60% while the number for China has exploded from 20 in 1997 to 630 in

  1. Before 1995, only Ghana, Zimbabwe and Kenya had privately-
    owned universities in Anglophone Africa.
    The book could do with better editing and attention to detail in this area.
    This extract on Stanford University, for instance, states, “It has evolved
    from making global impact to devising a mutually beneficial means that
    ensured that by 2015 78% of its undergraduate (s) graduated debt-free,
    that is a rare feat in the nation’s tertiary education system” (p78). Which
    nation? There is no attribution either.
    The case for TETFUND support is persuasive. Okebukola argues that
    since the private sector is the goose that lays the golden egg of
    TETFUND, private universities should also benefit from the Tertiary
    Education Trust Fund. The pillars of the case are history, the relevance
    of the institutions and the need for equity.
    The author then suggests modalities for the inclusion of the private
    sector. These include deploying the same formula as used for the public
    institutions, basing it on defined performance criteria, or differentiated
    funding that gives a higher percentage to public schools. Others are
    finance based on survivors of a stress test or providing low-interest
    loans to the institutions.

Private University Education in Nigeria: Case Studies in Relevance
delivers on its assigned task of making a case for the existence and
contributions of higher institutions promoted by the private sector. The
reader would find abundant material in the history of higher education in
Nigeria, the growth of private funding and the projection that private
universities would eventually dominate.

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Primer on the inter-connectedness of life

A lifetime of friendships: And a career in television and Nollywood, Muritala Sule (2018), Lagos: MS Global Productions Limited. 242 pages.
ISBN: 978-978-55035-7-9
Reviewed by Chido Nwakanma
School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University


Several areas make this book significant and interesting. It is a free-flowing
narrative about the inter-connectedness of life and how events even in
childhood catch up with us and take deterministic shapes and turns. A
lifetime of friendships is a biography in the best traditions as it anchors on a
pivotal moment in the life of the author.
Muritala Sule is a communication professional with experience in public
information management, journalism, and film production. He produced and
presented the immensely popular Lagbo Video magazine feature
programme on NTA Channel 7 between 1995 and 1999. The programme
was a platform for the then evolving Nollywood. Lagbo Video is
understandably the peg for this narrative, but it then draws in many
characters and personalities and a rich trove of experiences and
interactions.
At the heart of the story is his life-long relationship with Godwin Igharo,
unfortunately now on the other side of life. They meet in the streets and
cinemas of Mushin as teens who would sneak in to watch films even at the
cost of severe punishment by the parents of Mr Sule. Soon Godwin moves
in as part of the family and together they form a strong personal bond that
they transmute in later life into a professional one. Muritala Sule, MS to
many of his friends and colleagues, weaves a writer’s web that draws in
many persons, places and programmes of their lives into this engrossing
narrative.
Several areas of interest stand out in A life of friendships and serve as
learning points.
The author shows great skill and presence of mind in recollecting and
documenting the various relationships that stood out in his life and career.
People are the clothes that MS wears proudly as his sartorial signature. It
makes up for his often-downbeat sartorial taste. MS inherited and acquired
his love for people from his mother. Alhaja Raliat Sumbola Kareem was a
bleeding heart. She went out of her way to convert her home to a

communal restaurant, a semi-orphanage and a home for the homeless and
hungry. Her son took after her in bringing home a friend that would be a
significant part of his life.
Relationships and relationship management count down the line. A lifetime
of friendships brings to life in a Nigerian setting all the lessons and more in
Dale Carnegie’s famous How to make friends and influence people.
Lessons in managing the egos and turf battles in the relationship between
producers of independent programmes and managers of the broadcast
platforms where they run them.
Life on the streets, the thrills and dangers. This portion makes for sober
reading.
Childhood discipline and the benefit of strong foundations. His father caned
MS ceaselessly for going to the cinemas and returning late at night. Much
later, he gloried in the success of Lagbo Video¸ borne on the inspiration of
such childhood obsession with moving images.
The journey of ideas from gestation to germination.
The often-unhelpful attitude of advertisers, like bankers, who support
ventures only when you have market-place proof of concept.
Gratitude and giving credit to others. The author pours generous
encomiums on various cadre of staff with whom he worked on the
programme at the Nigerian Television Authority. They range from the
General Manager then, Chief Bode Alalade, to engineers L.O. Olajide and
others.
Many people stand out in this narrative, none more so than Mahmoud Ali-
Balogun. He was the anchor for the realisation of the vision of Lagbo Video.
Then the many personalities who featured in the programme, from King
Sunny Ade to Tunde Kelani, Mrs Duro Ladipo, Kanayo O Kanayo, Bimbo
Akintola, Alhaji Lateef Olayinka (Latola Films) to Shina Peters and the
many players in Nollywood and the larger entertainment industry. Then his
many friends in journalism, including Lanre Idowu and Taiwo Obe, then of
Media Review and Steve Osuji of New Age newspaper.
The author quotes his then broadcasting lecturer at the University of
Nigeria, Dr Emmanuel Akpan, as saying that a good broadcast show
should “show me the banananess in the banana.” Recalling it was a spur
for his idea of a TV programme on films. He also thought broadcast was
more effective than print in capturing the whole essence of the then
emerging Nollywood and film.
Even as he gives deserved credit to Dr Akpan, the author casts a withering
glance at the Nigerian university system. He blasts the inhabitants of the
Nigerian ivory tower for being disconnected with the reality of the market

place to which they send students. “In nearly all universities where Theatre
Arts and Mass Communication are taught, many lecturers mock Nollywood
and talk disparagingly about it and the people who sustain it, making the
would-be graduates look down on them. Yet, this is an industry that is the
toast of Africa and respected around the world”.
Our academics, he asserts, are “All theory, no practise”. The chapter on
Emmanuel Akpan is deep, reflective and makes profound statements about
the direction of Nigerian education. Why are we not teaching and
formalising Pidgin, the language spoken by many citizens across West
Africa? What are we doing about our rich idioms and proverbs instead of
quoting Homer, Aristotle and all the Greeks and Romans? Why are we not
linking courses to real-life to help students?
A lifetime of friendships is so picturesque it shows the banananess in the
banana of this story.
An index and a section explaining the local terminologies in use evinces the
care in getting the message across as well as concern for the reader.
A lifetime of friendships is a useful book for persons interested in
broadcasting and film, Nigeria’s Nollywood, TV production and marketing,
as well as the history of Nigerian media. It would appeal to those in Literary
and Language Arts, communication and urban sociology.
It is most of all an intensely enjoyable first-person narrative of lives and the
intersections with other lives and how they play out many years down the
line.

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Challenges and thrills of the advertising business

Dotun Adekanmbi(2019), The Will To Win: The Story of Biodun Shobanjo. Lagos: Havillah Books/Strategic PR Wox. 542pp
By Chido Nwakanma

Advertising is the basis of the renown of Biodun Shobanjo, co-founder and
boss of Insight Communications/Troyka Group and a larger-than-life
personality in Nigeria’s marketing communications industry. How do you
chronicle the life of Shobanjo without it being majorly about advertising?
The above question is at the heart of Dotun Adekanmbi’s brave effort in
The Will To Win: The Story of Biodun Shobanjo. He set out not to write a
book on advertising but “a career biography, one that attempts to capture
his perspective to explain his dream and its realisation”.
Adekanmbi states: “I prefer to describe this book as an extended
personality interview conducted in the best traditions of my journalism
background. At all times, I recognised the imperative of subjecting claims
and counterclaims to strict standards of proof. This book does not
pontificate on the practice of advertising; neither does it touch on his
privacy, except where necessary to illustrate a point or the other. But it
does attempt to dispassionately examine critical issues in the industry as
they affect the man and his widely acclaimed extraordinary career.”
Because Biodun Shobanjo played significant roles in Nigerian advertising
and marketing communication, ninety per cent of The Will To Win dwells on
advertising. It covers Shobanjo’s sojourn and exit from Grant Advertising,
Insight Communication’s birth, Insight’s business trajectory from start-up
through early years to growth and dominance.

You will read about Shobanjo’s background and early life, his early career
in broadcasting that exposed him to one strand of the disciplines that would
count in his career in advertising and his qualification as a UK-certified
public relations professional through correspondence. That alone debunks
the myth of a man with no formal education who then rose to the zenith of
his business.
You share Shobanjo’s battles and his experiences with AAPN and AAAN;
the media debt challenge; the fights over affiliation.
The journey to the book took 15 years and many exciting turns. Biodun
Shobanjo challenged Dotun Adekanmbi to show proof ab initio of the
necessity for a biography. The author then carried out a survey wherein
respondents listed Shobanjo in the Top 5 of persons whose biographies
they would love to read. There were other tests in this collaborative
endeavour between the biographer and his focal person. Their mutual
understanding produced a book chockful of information, anecdotes, and
insights.
The time and place dimensions enriched this biography. It is
comprehensive and provides rich insights into various aspects of Nigerian
advertising. Journalism posits that a rounded story covers the five Ws and
the H. The Ws are Who, What, Where, When and Why. The H is How.
Dotun Adekanmbi tackles the five Ws of Shobanjo’s involvement and
exploits in advertising.
Significance is at the heart of biographies. It is the litmus test. Good
biographies seek answers to these questions: What is the significance of
this person’s life? How did he or she change the world? What would
happen if this person never existed? What is unique about what they did or
made?
What did Biodun Shobanjo contribute and change in Nigerian advertising?
The Will To Win does an excellent job of providing perspectives and
insights. Some of the contributions of Insight/Troyka Group that Shobanjo
led include

  1. Creativity and excitement.
  2. Mutual respect between an agency and its clients.
  3. Recognition of the limits of advertising. Shobanjo says, “Advertising
    helps a rolling ball roll faster, but it cannot get a ball to roll uphill”.
  4. Creativity in media buying.
  5. Explicit agreement on deliverables between agency and client.
  6. Flamboyance
  7. An orientation for high standards and quality: “Selling on Quality, Not
    on Price”.
  8. Demanding higher rewards for quality service or becoming a premium
    niche player.
  9. The art of presentation and the total business solutions concept, not
    merely creativity.
  10. Internationalisation in standards and affiliations that preceded
    globalisation.
  11. Compliance, from regulatory to professional and social.
  12. Diversification; growing into an IMC octopus with legs in public
    relations, outdoor, experiential and events, and media buying. Then
    the non-communication support services grew into solid companies
    and brands.
  13. Human capital as a critical factor in the knowledge business of
    advertising and marketing communication.
  14. Many more.
    The Will To Win is a primer on management and entrepreneurship. There
    are lessons in management style, structures, HR, partnerships,
    competition, business, and personal relationships. Partnerships are
    common in the service industry. Shobanjo shares guidance on
    partnerships: spell out all the terms of engagement in writing; avoid mixing
    friendship and business; understand the attitude of all partners to money;
    recognise the God factor.
    Dotun Adekanmbi has written a success manual that walks the reader
    through the labyrinths of the advertising business.
    As indicated, Adekanmbi does not treat the How of Insight’s advertising by
    design. However, the book gives enough pointers for another book on How
    To Create Advertising The Insight Way. It does this by mentioning across
    the book the many successful campaigns of the multiple award-winning
    firm.

Some of the campaigns include Sparkle Toothpaste, Exceedrin-When
you’ve tried Excedrin, you’ll know why it is more expensive; Vitalo; Nasco
Cornflakes; Gold Beer dancing bottle, Oh my Gold; and Dulux Paint-The
only way to paint a masterpiece. Others include Nicon Noga Hilton Hotel,
Chrislieb’s Trebor Luckies; Lever Brothers; Nigerian Breweries’ Gulder
Ultimate Search, Bagco Super Sack, Pepsi Big Blue, Indomie Noodles,
Mirinda Orange Men, Daewoo Espero and 7-Up Hi-Life Promo. They
deserve a nuts-and-bolts explication.
The Will To Win is an ambitious book. The author struggles in some areas
between writing a biography and a hagiography. It is a thin line that he
successfully skirts in the end. There are too many styles, from the New
Journalism of elaborate scene-setting to the narrative and analysis.
The Will To Win deserves a place on the shelf of professionals in marketing
communication, management and business studies. Following the
breakdown of mass communication into seven disciplines, including
advertising, books such as The Will To Win will provide case studies,
particularly for graduate students. It is serendipitous that another industry
veteran, Lolu Akinwunmi, also released a corporate history cum
autobiography (Lolu Akinwunmi (2020), Skin For Skin: The Prima
Garnet Story. Lagos: Heritek Support Services. The books enrich the
literature in the field.


Nwakanma is Nigerian president of the International Association of
Business Communicators and an Adjunct Faculty at the School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University.

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ThisWeek and its entertainment strength

By Chido Nwakanma

Thirty-three years later, copies of ThisWeek still look contemporary with the
right features. The journal strikes with its colourful design and presentation. The
appearance of the magazine was one of its selling attributes in those days. It was
bright, entertaining, brilliant and distinct.
The appearance was part of its design, mission and positioning. ThisWeek set
out to offer the reader in Nigeria a magazine of global standards in news
gathering and presentation. It was the first all-colour glossy news magazine in
the country. There had been a few attempts at producing magazines in colour,
but they were in the areas of soft news. Those earlier efforts included Ophelia,
Drum and such-like.
ThisWeek came on stream in the roaring 80s of the New Journalism in Nigeria.
The 1980s witnessed the triumph of private enterprise in the Nigerian print
media. Many newspapers entered the market to considerable acclaim and
success. The Punch came out in the 70s and showed in the fourth era of
Nigerian private newspapers that it was possible to do what the papers of the
second and third era such as The West African Pilot and Nigerian Tribune did.
State ownership was the norm in the 70s when The Punch broke the mould. The
new private newspapers thus built on the success of The Punch in that era as it
competed against well-funded and established players such as Daily Times and
Nigerian Tribune. They included National Concord, The Guardian, The
Republic, Vanguard, Daily Champion and many regional players such as
Satellite in Enugu.
Lagos was the epicentre, as it has been since Jamaican educationist and
businessman Robert Campbell began publishing the Anglo-African in 1868. The
first newspaper published in Lagos, Anglo-African had a short shelf-life of only
two years. Interestingly many of the papers of the 1980s also fell by the wayside
in short duration.
Enter ThisWeek a year after Newswatch. Newswatch defined a new terrain as the
first weekly news magazine in the tradition of American journals Time and
Newsweek.
Mission and Vision

The new magazine was fresh and determined to follow in the best traditions of
magazine journalism. Publisher Nduka Obaigbena saw the magazine as print
journalism’s answer to television mostly because it could offer the colour that
newspapers lacked then. He wrote in ThisWeek, preview edition, June 2, 1986:
The television has influenced the way we see the news, views,
events and places. Television has brought the world closer, news
alive; this is good, but television is transient. Like quicksilver,
the images come and go. Sooner or later, they blur in our vision.
Magazines fail when they try hard to look like newspapers,
report news as newspapers do; when they try very hard to be like
television, interpret events as television does, briefly, quickly,
too transient and momentary to make the difference. Magazines
must be magazines. They must bring colour and drama to news;
they must bring style and craftsmanship. Magazines must bring
home the nuances, the environment, the mood; they must bring
them in the way you can feel the news, see the news, interpret
the news and hold the news in your hands. Magazines must give
you the desire to get back to the news, the events, to see them
again and again without feeling lost in the quagmire of history.
That is THISWEEK and its mission. Thinking about Nigeria, of
national problems and a wind of change, coming quietly,
refreshingly and assuredly. One thinks of the magazine, not the
ones that try to look like newspapers or the ones that apes
television. One thinks of THISWEEK. 1
The vision was clear. ThisWeek would be as entertaining as television and offer
“colour and drama” as well as style and craftsmanship to news coverage and
presentation.
Its first issue out to the public commenced with a people-centric and colourful
cover. “Who leads Nigeria?”, it asked, with photos of ten leaders. It was
dramatic. Obaigbena continued to spell out the vision. He stated, “Nigeria
needed a newsmagazine that would uplift the national mood and articulate the
Nigerian viewpoint on world affairs. A magazine whose language and style are
lucid; presentation, lively; photographs, captivating.” 2
To fulfil the promise of its mission statement, ThisWeek offered full colour
initially and then many colour pages at the beginning of sections such as Top of
This Week (its cover story), Economy and Business, Photo of The Week and
Spectrum. Spectrum was particularly colourful. This Back of the Book section

brought human interest or slice-of-life content: fashion, literature and the arts,
sport, people, reviews. It was breezy.
ThisWeek followed hallowed traditions in journalism for magazines. It had a
one-week lead time that enabled it to pursue stories and offer more depth than
the newspapers had done. Even as a weekly, it sought to beat the dailies to
breaking news, but more so with analyses. It was outstanding in the early days
with coverage of Economy and Business with its star cast including Lawson
Omokhodion, Emeka Anunkor and the young Sheikh Abutiate and, later, Nkem
Ossai. It published stories that resonated with audiences across the country
including a profile of the Ransome-Kuti siblings active in the social space.
When the former Premier of the Western Region died, it devoted three issues of
the magazine to the life and times of the phenomenal leader. Its team was the
first to arrive Ikenne following announcement of the death of Chief Obafemi
Awolowo in 1987.
Its columnists clarified the issues of the day and took forthright positions, often
against the leaders of the day. They interrogated policies and pronouncements.
They included the editor, Sonala Olumhense, Tunji Lardner, Lanre Idowu, and
Pini Jason. Soon, its pages became what UNESCO describes as a “forum for
debate and discussion” with many external contributors ventilating their
opinions. They included Dr Chichi Ashwe, Jonathan Ishaku, Dr Imonitie
Imoisili, and Abba Dabo, among others.
ThisWeek had the courage to run stories that touched raw nerves. It exposed the
scandalous divorce of a then sitting governor and naval officer. It explored the
matter of the mystery of Glory Okon, the changing sexual mores and the pursuit
of imaginary Robin Hood armed robber Lawrence Anini. Its story on the riots in
Kaduna that forced then President Ibrahim Babaginda to return from a foreign
trip drew the ire of the Islamists. It was one of the first signs of a growing
Islamic fundamentalism that would manifest fully a few years down the line.
Bureaus in Benin, Port Harcourt and Kano ensured broad coverage of the
nation. Abdul Oroh manned Benin, Chido Nwakanma was in Port Harcourt
while Abdulrazaq Bello Barkindo covered Kano.
Style and presentation
In style and presentation, it had the characteristics of magazines. As itemised by
Baskette, Scissors and Brooks 3 , these include
 Use of a better grade of paper. The cover paper was heavier than the paper
for inside pages.

 Use of more colour, not only in illustrations but in type and decoration as
well.
 Dominant use of illustrations. ThisWeek had some of the best illustrators,
cartoonists and artists in the industry then including Obi Azuru, Paul Adams
and Tayo Fatunla
 Display that allowed the magazine to breathe. “Magazines use air or white
space to emphasize text and illustration much more often than newspapers”.
 Magazines vary typefaces to help depict the mood, tone or pace of the story.
They use initial capital letters to help readers turn to the message or to break
up columns of type. They wrap type around illustrations.
 Magazines may use reverse plates (white on black) or use display type over
the illustration for display headings or even text.
 Magazines may vary the placement as well as the design of the headline.

Stylistic writing and presentation were one of the journal’s strong suite. It
embellished this with good photography and colour. Here is part of a
sample report on the People pages in the issue of February 23, 1987.
“UNLESS of course it is where Chief Moshood Kasimawo Olawale (the M.K.O
himself) Abiola is being conferred with a chieftaincy title, a controversial one or
not, you can be sure that where two or more of the elites are gathered, it is a
polo ground. Or, more especially, one at which trophies and prizes are at stake.
“Of course, you can also be sure of the presence of all tribes of caps -red, black,
white, colourless, multicoloured, tall and short and well, bald pates.
“So, there they were: former governors -0military and civilian; former federal
and state administrators; former and current service chiefs; money bags; power
brokers and all. There they were, live and in full colour: either as spectators or
active participants. Forget that some of them were not conversant with the rules
of the game or its lingo. To be there or not to be there, that was the question. So,
the presence of babanriga, aso oke, guinea brocade, tall caps, short caps and all.
“It was the 1987 edition of Lagos Polo Tournament held between January 31
and February 8 at its usual venue: Lagos Polo Club, Ikoyi.”

A strength that became a weakness
Excellent production quality was a strength of ThisWeek. It produced every
week a glossy colour magazine that stood out on the newsstands. Readers
loved it and willingly paid the extra that ThisWeek charged in its cover
price. Readers considered it a worthwhile investment.

However, that production quality came at a high price in several ways.
Copy Chief Taiwo Obe added to his job the duty of travelling every week to
London to oversee printing of the magazine. It was strenuous and involved
many risks including the logistics challenge of flight schedules, arrivals and
delivery to vendors.
The ultimate risk that became the undoing of the paper was the fluctuating
exchange rate of the Naira. The introduction of the Second-Tier Foreign
Exchange Market and other measures to manage forex supply led to
exchange rate volatility that inhibited planning. There was also scarcity of
foreign exchange. Planning became difficult, and affected payments to
printers abroad. It became unsustainable. Shift to local printing did not
deliver the comparable quality. It was one of the reasons ThisWeek soon
kissed the canvass.

The Entertainment function
Entertainment is one of the prime functions scholars, as well as audiences,
ascribe to the mass media.
The media derives its importance both from its pervasive influence and the fact
of the roles that they play in modern societies. Media play important roles
generally categorised into information, education and entertainment. But there
is more to the function of the press than this shorthand.
McQuail and scholars such as Harold Lasswell, Charles Wright and Wilbur
Schramm have listed five essential functions. 4 The five primary functions of the
media involve information, correlation, continuity, entertainment and
motivation.

  1. Information. The media provides information about events and conditions
    in society and the world as its primary remit. While doing so, the
    placement of stories and the attention they get indicates relations of
    power. In its information role, the media also facilitates innovation,
    adaptation and progress.
  2. Correlation. The media serve a sociological purpose in its correlation
    role. The media explains, interprets and comments on the meaning of
    events and information. It helps with the socialisation of its audiences –
    providing support for established authority and norms, building
    consensus and setting orders of priority.
  3. Continuity. Maintenance of societal norms is one of the subtle yet
    essential roles of the media. Reports express the dominant culture while

recognising sub-cultures and new cultural developments. A focus on the
prevailing cultures ensures continuity of norms and practices

  1. Entertainment. Entertainment is a significant function of the media.
    Media content provides amusement, diversion and the means of
    relaxation. It helps to reduce social tension. Across the world in recent
    years, the entertainment function of the media has taken centre stage. It
    manifests in soft-sell journalism in print and various programmes focused
    on music, dance, drama, humour and such, at the apex of which arose the
    concept of reality television.
  2. Mobilisation. The mobilisation function of media is a source of serious
    disputation. While authority figures such as, in particular, African
    governments want the media to use their platforms to campaign for
    societal objectives in the sphere of politics, war, economic development
    and citizen mobilisation, they do so only as long as it is favourable to
    them. When the media engages in mobilisation based on its reading of the
    social need and such does not favour the government, it becomes
    contentious. Indeed, such governments accuse the media of serving the
    opposition or their interests.

ThisWeek as a medium fulfilled the functions of communication further
identified and adumbrated by the UNESCO team that studied social and
international communication challenges in the late 70s, releasing its report in

  1. The Sean MacBride Commission said communication serves these
    functions. They are information; socialisation; motivation; debate and
    discussion; education; cultural promotion; integration; and entertainment. 5
    The McBride Report stated of the entertainment function as “the diffusion,
    through signs, symbols, sounds and images, of drama, dance, art, literature,
    music, comedy, sports, games etc for personal and collective recreation and
    enjoyment.”
    Recent scholarship offers a more elastic definition of the entertainment
    function of the media. This reading draws on various theoretical
    foundations. The entertainment function of the media functions for the
    reader under the theory of Uses and Gratifications. Each reader derives
    specific gratifications from a magazine such as ThisWeek and uses it for his
    purposes. Some use it for research, others to keep abreast of events, and
    some in letters to the editor commended the magazine for the quality of
    production. They found the colour, photography and presentation appealing.
    The appeal of ThisWeek in its entertainment function supports the thesis of
    Harold Mendelsohn who propounded the Mass Entertainment Theory

(1966). 6 Even as it focused mainly on television, the mass entertainment
theory asserted that television and other mass media such as magazines
perform a vital social function of relaxing and entertaining average people.
Magazines such as ThisWeek offered entertainment merely as a fall out of
their focused reportage and analyses. The entertainment featured in cartoons
and illustrations, in satirical commentary and in nuanced reportage.
Production values of balance, white space, contrast and producing an
attractive publication added to the appeal.
In later years and in contemporary times, entertainment has become even
more central to media, with print trailing broadcast.
ThisWeek was a composite avant-garde publication. It made a strong mark and
retains a place of reckoning in the history of the Nigerian media. It is not a
surprise but a testament to the tenacity and vision of the publisher Prince Nduka
Obaigbena that he would return to the marketplace a few years later, 1995, with
a very strong newspaper brand, Thisday. ThisDay pushed the envelope in
entertainment by holding its branded events with local and international artistes
as well as awards events that recognise high achievers. It was confirmation of
the entertainment strength of its forebear and continuation of a trajectory.

1 Nduka Obaigbena, “The World According to Nigeria”, THISWEEK Preview, June 2, 1986
2 THISWEEK, “Who leads Nigeria?”, Vol 1, No 1, July 21, 1986.
3 Denis McQuail (2005), McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory, Fifth Edition. London: Sage
Publications.
iv. Sean McBride et al, Many Voices, One World, Ibadan/Paris: Ibadan University Press/The
UNESCO Press, 1990.
v. Floyd K. Baskette, Jack Z Scissors and Brian S. Brooks (1990), The Art of Editing, Sixth
Edition. Boston: Alyn and Bacon.

6 . Stankey J. Baran and Dennis K. Davis (2012), Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment and Future,
6 th Edition. London: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Chido Nwakanma profile
Chido Benedict Nwakanma is a communications strategist, journalist,
scholar and marketer with 34 years media and industry experience.
Nwakanma runs Blueflower Limited strategic communication. He was
Chief Executive of Taijo Wonukabe Limited; Export, Institutional Sales
as well as Media Relations Manager at Cadbury Nigeria plc. He was also General Editor of BUSINESS and regional correspondent (PH) for
ThisWeek magazine.
Nwakanma is President of the International Association of Business
Communicators, Nigeria and a past President of the Public Relations
Consultants Association of Nigeria, PRCAN, 2012-2014. He is also
adjunct faculty at the School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic
University, Lagos.

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Book Review – “A Story of our Times” by Sylvanus A. Ekwelie

A Story of Our Times: An Autobiography. Sylvanus A Ekwelie (2018),
Enugu: Rhyce Kerex Publishers. 428 pages
ISBN: 978-978-8506-09-6
Reviewed by Chido B. Nwakanma, School of Media and
Communication, Pan Atlantic University.


A constitutional through eight decades
Biographies are recommended reading for persons at every stage of life,
but more so for young ones because “biographies explore the events in
a person’s life and find meaning within them.” Meaning within a person’s
life is even more apparent in autobiographies.
Sylvanus Ekwelie brings to this story of his life and times the skill of the
journalist, the authenticity of the autobiographer and sociological
imagination. Renowned sociologist C. Wright Mills takes credit for
coining the term “sociological imagination” to refer to an awareness of
how the part fits into the whole or “the awareness of the relationship
between personal experience and the wider society”.
With a fitting title, A Story of Our Times: An Autobiography, takes the
reader on an exciting walk (a constitutional, as he taught our class)
through eight decades of development in South-East Nigeria, Nigeria
and Africa. Ekwelie tells the story of Nigeria in the 1930s up to the
2000s. It is one of struggle through the years of living almost in a state of
nature, battling and overcoming diseases and poverty, yet contented
with the leisurely pace of life in rural Nigeria and its many splendours
such as hunting for rodents. Then the journey through education; he ran
away initially, but soon became an exemplar of the values and benefits
of the new Western Education.
Sylvanus Ajana Ekwelie is an emeritus professor of mass
communication. He was a pioneer student of Journalism at the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, part of those in the successful experiment
of UNN founder Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe to add academic rigour to the
training of journalists in West Africa. After that, most of his life and fame
revolved around his alma mater. The very brilliant Ekwelie excelled in his
studies and earned a scholarship to America. Hard work, brilliance and
grace enabled him to get an additional grant to pursue a doctorate. He
thus became the first graduate of the department of mass
communication, UNN to earn a PhD.

This rich narrative tells of a life of many firsts, a true pioneer in several
areas. It chronicles his journey as a pupil, primary school teacher,
undergraduate, a post-graduate student in America and earning the
diadem of a PhD. Many themes resonate through A Story of Our Times:
An Autobiography. They include the role and influence of the
missionaries in education, the virtue and benefits of friendship and
integrity, hard work and grace. There are lessons on being African and
black in the United States, rebuilding of the department of mass
communication after the civil war, intrigues and games in the ivory tower,
the battle to maintain standards and more.
The felicity of the writing makes this book an engaging read. Ekwelie,
the style teacher, is evident in this his second book. His first work drew
on many years of teaching the subject as a foundation course in MC

  1. Sylvanus Ekwelie (2005), A Master Style Guide gets high praises
    for teaching the principles and critical issues in style, from names and
    titles, through diction and spelling, choice of words, abbreviations,
    capitalisation and punctuation and usage as it affects gender.
    A Story Of Our Times expectedly conveys Ekwelie’s thoughts on
    journalism and the transition to communication studies as well as
    various developments in integrated marketing communication such as
    the creation of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).
    The then Dr Charles Okigbo, a lecturer under Ekwelie’s supervision at
    UNN, was the first Registrar. Ekwelie served on the first Council.
    He offers a concise summary of the history and developments of media
    in pages 209-210. He distinguishes between journalism and mass
    communication, tracing the journey from print through advertising and
    public relations as well as broadcast journalism. He notes, “In the 20 th
    century, journalism became critical in daily life. Anything with such an
    appeal and reach is worth studying to determine what it does or does not
    do.”
    The appendix to this work is a must-read as it contains the Ekwelie
    manifesto or what he calls “My media philosophy”. The author comments
    on general issues in the public life of Nigeria in “The Author’s World”,
    chapter ten, pages 297-342. He laments the decline of values. A Story
    of Our Times is recommended reading.
    As his students noted while honouring him in 2010, “Every student of
    mass communication in the University of Nigeria from the years 1973 to

2006 has an Ekwelie story to tell. Students recount these stories to
celebrate the joy of learning and the thrill of discovery. The stories are
often humorous or witty, sarcastic or even comical, but each class tells
its story in appreciation of lessons learnt in the use of English, in writing
or the broad field of communication.
“Many students remember Ekwelie for the introductory journalism
classes in the use of English and Introduction to Mass Communication.
Pumped up and exultant at scoring very high grades in JAMB and
English and Literature in the West African Examinations Council School
Certificate examination, students come with a swagger. Ekwelie would
first deflate the balloon of self-importance and then redirect. After the
first few classes, you knew you do not know much, but you are
energised to learn proper usage, pronunciation and writing.”
Ekwelie earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University
of Wisconsin. He served as head of the department of journalism at
Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas, before returning to Nigeria.
He was the Head of Mass Communication from 1977 to 1985, and again
from 2001 to 2002, Director of African Studies Institute, UNN from 1988-
1989, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts 1998 -2000.
Upon retirement from the University of Nigeria, Prof Ekwelie spent seven
years imparting knowledge at the University of Port Harcourt on contract.
A Story Of Our Times reads well and digests quickly despite its
pagination. The criticism of the book is the fact of not having a central
focus around which the narrative revolves, as all the authorities advise
on writing biographies and autobiographies. The smooth flow of the
account here, however, precludes this seeming deficiency.
Ekwelie deploys vivid language to illustrate events. He sought and got
permission from most of the persons mentioned in the book for itself as
well as to confirm the accuracy of facts and circumstances long past. We
see places and people of significance in the life of this journalism
educator and can relate to his trials and triumphs.

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AMAZING! 27-yr-old student wins N15M Western Lotto jackpot!

Twenty seven- years old, Dorcas Nwagbara, from Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, has emerged the first Western Lotto jackpot winner and has become an instant millionaire.

The graduate of Microbiology, Imo State University (IMSU), won the Western Lotto jackpot money of N15million on Wednesday, September 13.

Dorcas was on Wednesday at the corporate head office of Western Lotto, Victoria Island, Lagos, at a colourful ceremony, presented the Cheque of N15million by the management of Western Lotto along side brand ambassadors, made up of comedian, nollywood actors and actress and musician.

In his address at the presentation ceremony of the jackpot cheque and to 20 other winners, Managing Director of Western Lotto Nigeria Limited, Mr. Yemi Ogunfowora, said Dorcas’ win confirmed it claim that customers can win every prize on offer across all games and would honour such wins.

He said Western Lotto have shown commitment to its customers, stating that highest amount paid since Lotto kicked off was to an undergraduate student of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Qadim Soyombo, was on August 28, presented a cheque of N500,000.

The MD recalled that on September 11, 414 winners of the mega upgrade promo were presented with cheques of N50, 000 adding our plans remains to reward 2,042 customers with prizes including two cars.

According to him, the Lotto games would bring fun and hope to Nigerian public stating ‘’we bring to the Nigerian consumer games that offer opportunities to change the narrative of their lives.’’

Said he: ‘’We continually stir hope by asking people to upgrade their lifestyle by playing our games. Our commitment to promoting good causes through our corporate social responsibility (CSR) is still intact, our scholarship programme and support for rape victim and abused women remain un shaken’’.

‘’As we celebrate Dorcas Nwagbara, we believe her jackpot prize of N15million will invite Nigerians to join us in a World of fun and hope for a better lifestyle, hope that tomorrow would be better and you can upgrade your life as our winner has just done toady’’.

An elated Dorcas, described September 15 as the best of her life because her name was trending and that when she received the news from an official of Western Lotto, she was shocked and speechless for about 30 seconds.

Her words:’’As you can imagine, I am super excited. Friday, September 15, was one of the most exciting days in my life so far. I woke up that morning, and I did not even know that my name was everywhere. My name was trending.

“I then got a call from Western Lotto. Apparently, they had been trying to reach me all of Thursday, September 14. I had won the jackpot on Wednesday, September 13.

“Initially thought it was a call from one of the utility service providers and I was like “not again”. I picked up the call, and the next thing I heard was, “Congratulations! You won the N15million Powerball Jackpot. I was like, ‘Can you say that again’? The caller confirmed.

“I do not know what to say but to thank God. I just want to thank God, and I also want to encourage whoever is playing Western Lotto games to keep playing. I played up to 11lines the day I won. So, just keep playing. It would come.”

Her words: ‘’I can’t believe what is happening to me today. It is real and I urge Nigerians to take the Western Lotto games serious. On the day I won, I played and even played today (Wednesday). When I visited Western Lotto office on September 15, the atmosphere was frenzy and I shield tears of joy.’’

Dorcas explained that she would invest part of the jackpot money in her business and do charity work and she revealed the lucky numbers that made her win the jackpot to include 17, 24, 35, 57, 63 and 19 (powerball).

Nollywood actors, Olu Jacob, Prince Jide Kosoko, Kemi Afolabi and Ramsey Noauh, urged Nigerians with Dorcas’ win to know that the Lotto games are real and that jackpot win can change their lifestyle.

Other brand ambassadors who graced the event include Innocent Idibia, Paul Obazele and Odunlade Adekola.

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Why You Shouldn’t Do Your Own PR

There are times when we think that the job of publicists are simple, but in reality they do a lot more complicated things compared to some other professions. Duties such as getting press releases done and arranging interviews are just basic duties and involve more than just a phone call to an editor or a segment director.

In most cases, the tasks aren’t that hard. There are a lot of business owners who prefer to do it themselves because they have mastered the art of making good PR’s and have built good relationships with their corresponding publication of choice. BUT, if you are new and don’t have any idea on where to start, its best that you get a professional to do all the hard work. It is possible to learn the methods yourself, but you are putting the reputation of your business in danger once you make a wrong move. When you get a professional, make sure that he or she is very good.

Here are some of the reasons why it’s best to get professional public relation services.

Good publicists have the capability of keeping your business and products on top of the game. This is one of the basic knowledge publicists should learn. You are technically not part of the local media list of people to consider. By having a professional who has all the connections and a good reputation among various directors and editors, you can gain momentum in your PR marketing strategy.

You do not completely value the importance of responding directly. As much as you want your business to evolve, you just don’t have that much passion to guard your phone and emails for concerns from the press and local media. All journalists and publications keep deadlines strictly and if you are not there when they call you for a few adjustments, they will immediately replace your PR. This problem can also occur with a bad PR firm, so beware of such and screen your potential publicist thoroughly.

You have no idea of what journalists do. Knowing how journalists think and act is one of the best things you need to make sure that your PR gets published. Even though you are given the opportunity to get featured, a few wrong moves and you’ll miss the chance forever. A good PR should catch the interest of the journalist as well as the people. If you can’t get through the journalist, you will surely fail in attracting attention from the public.

You don’t have the skills to make a good PR story. A lot of former journalists who chose to become publicists have the tendency to consider their experiences in making PR’s. They may ignore certain angles just because it didn’t work for them in the past. Try to find someone who is not affected by this. A good PR should be coherent no matter how different the story and the advertised product or business is.

You may not know how to create a PR that fits the targeted readers and the medium. There are distinctions between releases that qualify for certain mediums. A good publicist knows this and would be able to translate a certain PR into several variations suitable for the medium you want to use. Also, you will need the professional opinion on the stories you choose in order to make sure that the content of the release is good.

There are exclusives and courtesies in the media world you may not know about. There are certain rules and considerations you have to take note in order to make good relationships with the media people. You may have the best story around, but if you give it to the wrong publication, or chose the wrong medium, it would be the end. There are times when you can’t associate with a certain publication because you are already connected to another. There are also instances wherein you need to choose only one TV segment to be involved with. A good publicist will help you with a lot of decision making throughout the PR campaign so you won’t endanger your reputation and your business.

There are even more things a publicist can do for the good of your business. There are a lot of great PR classes around that can help you make your own efforts good enough for the local media. But there are things that it cannot provide you as well. Its not as simple as you think it is and if you want to get your story to the national level, you will need to hire an experienced publicist to help you all the way.

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UN empowers Women, names Lift Saxum founder, Nwanneka Okolo, Global Champion

Barrister Nwanneka Okolo, founder of the foremost capacity building and skills development NGO in the South East, Lift Saxum, has been nominated a UN Women Empower Women 2016-2017 Champion for Change.

Mrs. Okolo is one of 170 persons the UN Empower Women found worthy from over 4000 applicants from across the world. There are about 21 Nigerians on the list.

Lift Saxum is a non-profit organization established to transform the enterprise development landscape and the lives of youth and women in Nigeria, with a focus on the South East. Lift Saxum operates from New Haven, Enugu. Since incorporation in 2013, the organization has trained over 64 youth and women on their flagship programmes, Start Your Own Business (SYOB) and Enterprising Women (EW). It has trained 80 rural women on the Songhai Integrated Farming techniques, home craft, and life skills. It also sensitized and trained over 300 secondary school pupils on skills acquisition.

Okolo is a barrister, former Business Development Manager and Group Head Public Sector Business, Enugu/Ebonyi at First Bank. She is an alumnus of the Obafemi Awolowo University and the Lagos Business School. She is also an entrepreneur.

Nigerians featured prominently on the list of Global Champions, accounting for 12 percent of the awardees.

Other Nigerians on the list include Adekemi Adeduntan, Adenike Adedeji, Aderemi Bamgboye, and Ajibola Mujidat Oladejo. There are also Anuoluwapo Adelakun, Carol Ajie, Doreen Anene, Evelyn Ifeyinwa Ezeagu, Ezinne Ikejiani and Faith Ayegba. Other Nigerians named UN Women Empower Champions to include Immaculata Anudu, Kate Ekanem, Kelvin Chukwuemeka, Kemisola Ajide, and Lilian Ifemuludike. They also include Lydia Olanike Oladapo, Maryann Egwuonwu, Oladimeji Abiodun, and Oluwafunbi Alatise. Others are Tinuola Aina and Uzoma Katchy.

At least two Nigerians appear under the United States and Ireland nationality.

UN Women’s Empower Women said the nominees represent “a diverse group of dynamic and enthusiastic women and men from the private sector, civil society, academic and national and international organisations from both developing and developed countries.”

In a statement, the UN Empower Women said: “The nomination of the 170 Champions is the result of a month-long online rally with almost 4,000 applicants from all over the world. They campaigned and advocated for women’s economic empowerment by participating in several online activities on EmpowerWomen.org and social media.  As part of the rally, the selected champions have contributed extraordinary stories and resources, and substantive inputs to various online initiatives.

“Over the next four months, the Champions will work in three groups: (1) Advocacy and Social Media; (2) Business Development and (3) Skills Development. They will serve as Empower Women advocates for women’s economic empowerment both online and in their local communities. They will be involved in a series of innovative initiatives such as expanding the Organizational Hub, piloting   the Financial Literacy course, and participating in the #BreakTheGlass and #HERstory campaigns.”

The UN Empower Women was launched on 23 September 2013 during the High-Level session of the United Nations General Assembly by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under Secretary General of the UN and Executive Director of UN Women, and Lynne Yelich, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs and Consular, Government of Canada.

Since then, Empower Women has grown into a global movement with more than half a million viewers and over 12,000 passionate and ambitious women and men from the private sector, civil society, academia, governments and international organizations more than 190 countries. Empower Women has also cultivated a global network of 250+ dynamic, influential Champions for women’s economic empowerment from over 60 countries.