Author: Ifetayo Adeniyi

Manny Ita – The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has declared that traditional rulers do not require constitutional provisions to exercise their roles as advisors to political leaders. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Wednesday, the monarch argued that traditional institutions are fundamental pillars of good governance and nation-building. Addressing the ongoing debate regarding the formal inclusion of traditional rulers in the Nigerian Constitution, Sanusi asserted that his authority to counsel the President or state governors is derived from his position as a leader of the people rather than a legal document. “Do I need…

Manny Ita  – The United States House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Africa is scheduled to hold a high-stakes hearing today, February 5, 2026, to investigate escalating reports of systematic violence and alleged genocide in Nigeria. The session follows a surge in petitions from international human rights organizations and Nigerian diaspora groups regarding targeted killings in the North-Central and North-West regions. Lawmakers are expected to review evidence of what some advocacy groups describe as a “silent genocide” targeting specific ethnic and religious communities. “The international community cannot remain a bystander while the scale of violence reaches a tipping point that threatens…

Manny Ita – Stakeholders in the creative and diplomatic sectors have called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to strategically deploy the nation’s rich cultural assets as a primary tool for enhancing its global reputation and soft power. Speaking at a national symposium on “Culture and Diplomacy” held in Abuja on February 4, 2026, industry leaders argued that while Nigeria’s economic and security challenges often dominate international headlines, its music, film, fashion, and arts offer an untapped pathway to reshaping the country’s narrative. The experts emphasized that a “culture-first” foreign policy would not only attract foreign direct investment but also…

Manny Ita  – The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has updated its travel advisory for Nigeria, warning its citizens against traveling to 26 states across the federation due to heightened risks of terrorism, kidnapping, and violent crime. In the advisory released on February 5, 2026, the Australian government categorized these regions under its “Do Not Travel” and “Reconsider Your Need to Travel” lists, citing an “extremely volatile” security situation. The warning specifically targets almost all states in the North-East, North-West, and several regions in the South-South and North-Central zones, noting that the capacity of the Australian High…

Manny Ita  – CardinalStone Asset Management Limited has finalized the Series 1 offer of the CardinalStone Infrastructure Debt Fund (CIDF), successfully raising ₦12.63 billion from institutional and high-net-worth investors. The successful close, announced on February 4, 2026, marks the first tranche of the firm’s broader ₦500 billion Umbrella Infrastructure Fund, a structure recently authorized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide flexible investment strategies in the Nigerian market. The debt sub-fund is specifically designed to provide long-term, “patient” capital through various instruments, including senior and subordinated debt, targeting critical sectors such as power, gas infrastructure, telecommunications, and social…

Manny Ita  – Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, representing the Cross River South Senatorial District, has provided financial empowerment to 1,032 students through a cash award of ₦110,000 each to assist with their academic expenses. The disbursement took place during an education support ceremony in Calabar on February 4, 2026, drawing a diverse group of undergraduate and postgraduate beneficiaries from federal and state universities, colleges of education, and various health and nursing institutions. While the program was originally structured to provide ₦100,000 per student, the lawmaker announced an additional ₦10,000 as “lunch support,” bringing the total individual grant to ₦110,000 and the…

Manny Ita – A new continent-wide academic study has raised fresh concerns about how South Africa’s public universities treat scholars from elsewhere in Africa, warning that institutional practices inside higher education mirror the same xenophobic pressures long associated with the country’s broader social climate. The research, conducted across all 26 public universities and led by Stellenbosch University lecturer Dr Precious Simba, examines the everyday working lives of African academics employed outside their countries of origin. Rather than overt hostility, the study identifies a pattern of administrative exclusion, unequal expectations and psychological strain that collectively amount to what Simba terms “academic…

Manny Ita  – Nigeria has been announced as the host for the 2026 RegTech Africa Conference & Expo (RACE 2026), a premier regulatory technology and policy reform platform scheduled to take place from May 20 to 22, 2026, at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja. Held under the patronage of the Office of the Vice President and in partnership with the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), the event aims to address the integration of technology and policy within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Cyril Okoroigwe, Chair of the Organizing Committee, stated that the conference…

Manny Ita  – ​A viral marketing campaign has surfaced claiming that a Nigerian student named Naomi Odhiambo has developed a revolutionary weight loss formula titled Lipocarnit following a purported standing ovation at a European medical forum. The promotional material, structured as a news report, alleges that Odhiambo rejected a $2.5 million offer for the formula, quoting her as saying, “I didn’t create it to make some stranger rich.” The narrative asserts that the product accelerates fat-burning through a rapid metabolic process, with investor Carsten Waltz claiming it “works wonders in reducing hunger” and acts as a “completely neutral product” with…

Manny Ita  – ​Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), formally filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja on February 4, 2026, seeking to quash his recent terrorism conviction and life imprisonment. The appeal, documented under case number CA/ABJ/CR/…/2026, challenges the November 20, 2025, judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court. Kanu’s legal team, led by Aloy Ejimakor, described the filing as “the mother of all appeals,” revealing that the 22 grounds were distilled from an initial review that identified over 1,000 alleged procedural and…