Mind, Body and Country by Njideka Maduka

Making Sense of the News | Commentary  When a National Conversation Caught My Attention I never thought I would pen any thoughts on the controversy generated by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu's comments encouraging women to venture into businesses such as frying akara or making kuli-kuli. I even said as much during our radio programme yesterday morning. Partly because I never really had an opinion on the matter. I'm not entirely sure why. Either the topic didn't interest me enough, or perhaps I came into the debate rather late, after the conversation had already been shaped by different shades of opinion in the public space. Had I watched the original video before social media took over with its interpretations, I might have arrived at my own conclusions much earlier. But here I am, putting my thoughts together. Interestingly, what finally pushed me to write was a video I stumbled upon on Facebook after our programme. It echoed, in part, what I had already expressed on air ...

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...