Mind, Body and Country by Njideka Maduka

A Name from the Pages of Aurora The first time I heard the name Njideka Akunyili was when I was in secondary school. I had a sibling who attended Queen's College, Yaba, Lagos. On one occasion, she would bring home a large school publication titled Aurora. It contained photographs of students, old and current, as well as principals, past principals, and other notable members of the school community. And that was one thing about Queen's College: how well it documented and projected its history and achievements. I even saw pictures of members of the school community as far back as the colonial days. As a young student looking through those pages, I was always fascinated by the photographs and stories. I particularly remember admiring a former head girl whose photograph stood out because of how captivating it was. She would later have a stint in Nollywood. Meanwhile, somewhere along the line, the name Njideka Akunyili also featured in those publications or in similar materials...

A picture they say is worth more than a thousand words. In a recent video I posted on my Facebook page, we see former Vice President Atiku Abubakar paying a visit to former Rivers State governor and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, one of his main contenders in the just concluded African Democratic Congress (ADC) primary. The move is commendable for any politician of his kind who needs all the support he can get to secure victory in any election. But to any observant person, Amaechi's mien does not really come off as that of somebody who is truly happy with the situation of things. It suggests a man who still harbours reservations over certain issues. It signals someone who may still not be entirely pleased with what transpired during the ADC primary. Recall that before the final result was announced, Amaechi had taken to his social media handle to criticize the primary. He described the figures coming from the exercise as “concocted.” He also reminded Nigerians w...

Following the SEDC Story From the Beginning IF  you have been following this page and even my work as a journalist, you will realize how closely we have followed matters pertaining to the South East Development Commission SEDC . It started right from when the SEDC bill was passed by the Senate in 2024 after similar passage at the Lower Chamber, to the inauguration of the commission the following year by President Bola Tinubu , upto its Vision 2050 Stakeholders Forum this year. The focus on this regional development commission lies majorly in seeing the South East prosper. The Infrastructure Question in the South East While the region has been highly eulogized as peopled with industrious citizens, the whispered and sometimes openly expressed thoughts, is that much of that industriousness are majorly birthed and flourish outside the region, sometimes to the detriment of region's economic growth. One of the culprits for that unintentional exodus has been the lack of adequate infras...

I wrote this piece on the day the Nigerian Senate recently reconvened for its emergency session on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026 . Incidentally, they passed the bill on the same day, few minutes after I had ended my piece. Suffice it to say that their position on e-transmission of election results validated my questions. I posted this piece on my Facebook pages the same day, and I'm posting it here again for posterity sake and of course as part of my collections in my 'Mind, Body and Country' blog. Emergency Session and the Controversy The Senate today reconvened for an emergency session on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026. The session was necessitated by the controversy generated at their last sitting, where it was reported that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio , spearheaded the rejection of the e-transmission of election results. Akpabio, refuting the report, said the Chamber approved e-transmission as contained in the Electoral Act. The Provision B...

The Supreme Court  O nce again, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has left us in utter confusion following yesterday’s ruling in the case brought before it by 11 People’s Democratic Party (PDP) state governors against the Federal Government. The confusion is of two folds. First is what was widely reported by major news outlets immediately after the judgment. Second is how legal luminaries such as Femi Falana have interpreted the same ruling. I had initially set out to interrogate the judgement based on the former, until I saw Falana’s statement. But before we get to that, let’s start from the beginning. Background to the Rivers State Emergency Rule Monday’s ruling stems from the state of emergency declared in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu in March following the political crisis that engulfed the state and the subsequent suspension of elected officials including Governor Siminalayi Fubara , his deputy, Ngozi Odu , and members of the State House of Assembly. According to widely ...

By Njideka Maduka Journalist On Tuesday, September 24th, Nigeria’s oil sector found itself in the eye of the storm, the consequences of which will be revealed in the days to come. Oil unions- the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), led by Festus Osifo and Williams Akporeha respectively, strongly rejected the Federal Government’s alleged plan to sell off 30–35% of its stakes in Joint Venture (JV) oil assets. (FG currently holds between 55% and 60% of such assets through NNPCL.) They argue this move would: - Weaken NNPCL financially   - Put Nigeria’s oil sector in foreign hands   - Undermine national budget contributions   - Strip the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of its stability   They’re also resisting proposed amendments to the PIA, warning that frequent changes will scare away investors and destabilize the sector. But here’s something I’ve...