Popular Nigerian singer Kingsley Okonkwo, also known as Kcee, has disclosed that he achieved financial success before his younger brother, Emeka Okonkwo, aka E-Money.

According to the singer, his billionaire businessman used to be his manager, but now has more money than him.

Kcee disclosed this during a recent appearance on the Tea With Tay podcast. He stated that he was  among those who sponsored E-Money’s wedding.

He reflected that if he had channeled the same level of dedication to business as he did to music, he would have been richer..

Kcee said, “E-Money used to be my manager. When I blew up as KC-Prech, he used to be our manager. I made money before him. I was among those who sponsored his wedding. Then he started making money, making more money.

“The number of years I have put into music, if I had put into a business, I would have been ten times richer than I am. E-Money has businesses that consistently bring in returns. But we as artists, we live flashy lives… Sometimes, a hit comes, sometimes, a hit doesn’t come.

“Having said that, my relationship with E-Money goes way back. My mum told me that when he was born, I held his hand and shed tears of joy. I stayed with baby E-Money at the hospital for three days… Growing up, it was always me and him.

“The relationship grew so big and strong that I started shouting ‘E-Money’ in my songs. I named him E-Money. I used to be K-Money, there was P-Money (which is Prech), then there’s E-Money. Then, he was our manager, he wasn’t wealthy. We called the money into existence. And when the money came, he continued to be known as E-Money. On my songs, I was shouting ‘E-Money’; most people thought I was the E-Money until he started gaining visibility.”

The singer said some people have approached him, asking him to stop promoting his brother E-Money in his songs, fearing that E-Money may become more popular than him. However, he refused to be jealous.

[NaijaNews]

The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has approved a new, comprehensive reform on land administration in the nation’s capital.

The new policy, which Wike said, was targeted at more revenue for the FCT Administration, is expected to become effective from April 21.

Chijioke Nwankwoeze, the director, FCT Land Administration Department and Lere Olayinka, the FCT Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication & Social Media, announced the minister’s approval of the new policy.

What you should know about the new policy

Under the new reform, the period within which to erect and complete developments on any land granted in the FCT is now two years from the date of the commencement of the Right of Occupancy (RofO).

This means that any land not developed within two years of receiving the R-of-O will be revoked.

The new reform also stipulates that land allottees now have 21 days from the date of offer, to make full payment of all bills, fees, rents and charges prescribed on offers of Statutory Rights of Occupancy and submit a duly completed letter of acceptance alongside evidence of payments, or lose the offer.

 With this, any R-of-O bills and any other payments made outside the stipulated 21 days shall be considered invalid while any land granted should be developed within two years.  

 On lands previously allocated by area councils, the law stipulates that all lands in the FCT are urban land and it becomes necessary that all land documents issued by the area councils are considered for regularisation to statutory titles in line with relevant statutes.

The minister recalled that in 2006, the Zonal Land, Planning and Survey offices of the six area councils were directed to submit all area council allocation lists, layouts, files and registers to Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS)/Lands Department, and this was done by the area councils.

He said, ‘’However, to date, out of the 261,914 area council land documents submitted for regularisation, only 8,287 have been vetted, out of which only 2,358 were cleared, validated and regularized to statutory titles. The 8,287 were vetted from 2006 to 2023 (17 years), and this represents just 3.2% of the total land documents submitted for vetting and regularisation. As at today, the FCT Administration is still left with 253,627 submissions in its database.

‘’Area Council land documents successfully vetted and confirmed would have statutory titles on such lands issued and the allottees will have 60 days to make full payments of all bills, fees, rents and charges prescribed, failure of which the offers shall become invalid.’’

 On Mass Housing, new reform recognizes the urgent need to issue titles to the beneficiaries of Mass Housing and Sectional Interests but such applications for titling are to be made by the subscribers/developers to the Department of Land Administration for processing.

The mass housing programme was initiated in 2000 to utilise the Public Private Partnership (PPP) strategy with the objective of providing affordable housing for residents of the FCT. 

 But the minister said from the inception of the mass housing programme in 2000 till date, out of the 445 mass housing allocations granted, only two developers have successfully met the terms and conditions.

He said processing of titles for mass housing and sectional interests will commence on April 21, 2025, in line with the new operational framework. 

What you must do to protect your properties

According to a housing expert, Ikeoluwa Imam, any title owner with the FCT R-of-O, should first check the status of the grant rent charges on it with the Abuja Information Geographic System (AGIS) and make payment accordingly.

He said after such payment, no one has the right to revoke such lands, except for the utmost public interest, which in that case, the owners will be adequately compensated and provided with alternative.

“If you are holding an area council title, first go and check with the AGIS if the title has been regularised. If it has been, then proceed to find out the accumulated charges on it and make payment accordingly.

According to him, in the event that the land is not regularised, the owner will have to wait for the fresh regularisation window just announced by the FCT Administration.

Imam, who is a town planner, also advised those having properties with estate developers to approach the FCT lands department to apply for their R-of-Os on their behalf.

The town planner also warned the minister against unnecessary seizure of people’s property in the name of reforms or revenue generation, reminding him of the current economic crisis.

“The minister should not hide under new reform or revenue generation to target people’s properties. One thing he should remember is that nothing lasts forever and his actions will be subjected for review by another minister,’’ he said.

[DailyTrust]

The Gambling Commission in the United Kingdom, on Monday, charged Craig Williams, who was previously the Conservative MP for Montgomeryshire and 14 other people with betting offences related to last year’s general election in the country.

Also charged were Anthony Lee, the former director of Conservative Party campaigning and Russell George, the Welsh Conservative Senedd member for Montgomeryshire.

Former chief data officer for the Conservative Party, Nick Mason, and Laura Saunders, Lee’s wife, were also on the list of 15 names.

An investigation had considered whether people placed bets on a 4 July election as a result of inside knowledge in the days leading up to the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak’s shock announcement of an early poll on 22 May.

The full list of the 15 people charged by the Gambling Commission includes:

Paul Place of Hammersmith, London.

Laura Saunders of Bristol.

James Ward of London.

Craig Williams of Llanfair Caereinion, Welshpool.

Jacob Willmer of Richmond, London.

Simon Chatfield of Lower Bourne, Farnham.

Russell George of Newtown, Wales.

Amy Hind of Loughton, Essex.

Anthony Hind of Loughton, Essex.

Jeremy Hunt of Horne, Horley.

Thomas James of Brecon, Wales.

Charlotte Lang of Brixton, London.

Anthony Lee of Bristol.

Iain Makepeace of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Nick Mason of Milton on Stour, Gillingham.

Meanwhile, the 15 people are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court at 10am on Friday 13 June 2025.

[DailyPost]

For her dedication to achieving the sector-wide goal of 6,000 megawatts in power generation, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Engr. Jennifer Adighije, has been honoured as the Young Achiever of the Year at the 2025 Energy Times Awards.

The award was presented over the weekend at a dinner held in Lagos, according to a press statement released to The Nation yesterday.

Organisers of the award noted that Adighije was selected for her “unwavering commitment to the sector-wide goal of 6,000 megawatts power generation to ensure widespread access to quality electricity.”

Following her appointment in August 2024, Adighije led the restoration of two turbine units that had been offline due to bearing defects, contributing an additional 230MW to the national power grid.

Speaking at the award dinner, Adighije described the honour as a humbling experience, especially for a management team that has been in office for less than a year.

“It’s a very humbling experience for us at NDPHC. As you are aware, we’re a new management. We’ve been in office less than a year. This is a call to work harder,” she said.

Adighije stressed that the new management under her leadership has a clear mandate to scale power generation.

According to her, the NDPHC is the only agency with the express mandate to carry out interventions across the value chain, stressing that her team is not losing focus on the mandate.

“The mandate is very clear to us, which is to scale generation, transmission, and distribution capacity across the power sector. We are the only agency or institution or entity in the power sector with the express mandate to carry out interventions across the entire gas-to-electricity ecosystem. And we’re not losing sight of this,” she stated.

Other awardees at the event are the Governor of Ekiti, Abayomi Oyebanji, as the Energy Governor of the Year; the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, as the Power Sector Personality of the Year; former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, as the Man of the Year; the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, as the Transformational Leader of the Year; and the CEO of Ikeja Electric, Folake Soetan, who emerged as the Amazon of Nigeria Power Sector.

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited bagged the Major Oil Company of the Year; Seplat Energy is the Fastest Growing Indigenous Oil Company of the Year; Egbin Power got the Sustainable Development Company of the Year; Heirs Energies is the Outstanding Oil Company of the Year; NNPC spokesman, Olufemi Soneye as honoured with an Award of Excellence, among other recipients.

Trailing 4-0 going into Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final return home leg against Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said his side can draw inspiration from Liverpool’s 2018-19 comeback against the same opponents.

In that season, eventual winners Liverpool scored four at Anfield in the return leg to reach the Champions League final, after a 3-0 loss in Catalonia.

Kovac said Barcelona were a better team now than six years ago, but told reporters “miracles happen all the time”.

“We can remember the (Liverpool) game — I can remember it. But that was then and now we’re in 2024-25. We know the situation — we didn’t play well in the first leg,” Kovac said.

“We want to show a different face tomorrow and we want to win. By how much, nobody can say now.

“Miracles happen all the time, but Barcelona have not lost a game in 2025, which makes the challenge much more difficult. It won’t be easy.”

Barcelona’s last loss came on Christmas Eve. Since then, Hansi Flick’s side have won 20 and drawn four matches in all competitions.

Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha said his team-mates “believed” in the comeback.

“With our fans behind us, anything is possible. We have to believe in it and we do believe in it,” the 24-year-old German international explained.

Dortmund captain Emre Can did not train on Monday due to “muscular problems” and Kovac said: “We don’t know if he’ll be able to play — it’s quite possible that he will not.”

Kovac, Dortmund’s third coach this season after taking over in January, praised Barcelona’s glittering forward line including Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, but singled out striker Robert Lewandowski.

Lewandowski won two Bundesliga titles and played in the 2013 Champions League final with Dortmund, before spending eight years at Bayern, where he was coached by Kovac.

He won the Champions League in 2020 under Kovac’s successor Flick, now the Barcelona coach.

“He’s a great professional,” the Croatian said. “I’ve seen many good ones. But this guy? He lives, eats, drinks like a pro and does everything possible to stay fit.”

Kovac, known for his focus on training and discipline, said anyone who hugs Lewandowski remarks “wow, what an Adonis”.

Although the rest of Africa seems to have forgotten about the crisis and wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), some scholars, intellectuals and thinkers from the continent are continually engrossed in finding the pathways to resolving the perennial problems in the continent’s largest country. Last weekend, they came together to examine the underlying causes of the conflicts and proffer solutions. It was at a webinar organised by The Pan-African Dialogue Institute (TPADI) on the theme ‘’Invasion of DR Congo: Global interests and implications for pan-Africanism’’ TPADI is an international think tank of African academics, professionals, students, civil society and grassroots leaders in different fields of life within Africa and the Diaspora, coming together for the study, practice, and propagation of Pan-Africanism.

The keynote speaker at the webinar, Prof G. Macharia Munene, is a professor of history and international relations at the United States International University Africa (USIU-A). He has taught in several universities in Europe, America and Africa, and published many articles and books. His academic excellence and advocacy have earned him an award as a UN-recognised expert on decolonisation. Prof. Munene gave a historical account of the Congo crisis, tracing it to the Berlin Conference of 1884, and argued that the country is “the source of both Pan-African agony and Pan-African consciousness”, because of being subjected to military, mercenary, commercial, mineral resource looting, and spiritual invasions.

Congo is geographically a big country and there actually seem to be two countries in one, Eastern and Western Congo. Those in Eastern Congo appear to be closer to East African countries than to Western Congo. To them, the zone around Kinshasa in Western Congo is like a foreign country and Eastern Congo is similarly a foreign country to those in Kinshasa. Congo is rich in strategic minerals and other forms of wealth like rubber and timber. He noted that DRC is similarly a source of African contradictions of extreme wealth in the midst of extreme poverty – a place of attraction for colonisers to extract wealth accompanied by the pain of poverty for African victims of colonialism. It attracts extra-continental adventurers and wealth looters.

Participants at the Berlin Conference, Munene reasoned, achieved two things. First, they partitioned the Congo zone so that the French, the British, the Portuguese, and the Germans each got a piece of the Congo zone. The biggest beneficiary of the partitioning was King Leopold of Belgium who acquired the entire DR Congo as his personal property, to be called ‘Leopold’s Congo’. The second achievement was to agree on how to claim other African territories without fighting. But Congo was set on a path of destruction.

The post-independence killing of Lumumba plunged Congo into Cold War chaos and acted as a warning to other African leaders of what could happen. Leaders of the soon-to-be-independent Kenya took note of those happenings and assured the West that all would be well because thugs would not run the government. Nairobi tried to reconcile the Congolese factions in the 1960s but external forces made sure that the reconciliation would not go far. Mobutu was the main man to be protected by the Western powers in the 1970s even as he looted his country dry. He became so rich and ran his country bankrupt, so much so that he could lend money to his country. He tried derailing the events in Angola, sponsoring Holden Roberto. In his private visits to the US, he still received honoured treatment from US President Jimmy Carter.

Mobutu’s ouster was due to both internal weaknesses as well as external pressure. Internally, he had alienated the Congolese so much that he did not have an army to rely on. He instead relied on mercenaries and mercenaries rarely fight when they should. They simply take the money and move elsewhere. Mobutu’s mercenaries abandoned him to his fate. The external factors involved a coalition of Congolese in exile under Laurent Desire Kabila, a purported follower of Lumumba and who was supported by neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Zambia. Paul Kagame, initially operating from Uganda, came from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda as a saviour. About two million genocide suspects, who escaped to Eastern Congo, endorsed Kabila. And so did Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and other countries which joined the Kabila bandwagon which swept Mobutu out of office into exile in 1997.

With Kabila finally in Kinshasa as president, he changed the country’s name from Mobutu’s Zaire to Democratic Republic of Congo, DR Congo. He also chased his Ugandan and Rwandan supporters from Kinshasa. His bodyguards assassinated him in January 2001. He was succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila. In addition, the anti-Mobutu allies started quarrelling as each country leader looked after his country’s national interests.

Some of those interests turned out to be exporting gold and other minerals from Eastern Congo. Some like Rwanda and Uganda, exchanged fire in Eastern Congo or, like Uganda and Zimbabwe, exchanging insults as to who was a lackey of the United States. Kabila transferred power to Felix Tshesekedi in 2019 after an election. Several countries have different excuses for having troops in Eastern Congo ranging from security to supporting Felix Tshesikedi’s government against such rebels as M23.

Congo also attracts extra-continental players who propel conflicts in return for access to different types of minerals. They supply the guns to keep the violence going and offer ‘humanitarian’ assistance for the victims. Among the extra-continental players in DR Congo are the EU, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, France, and Russia. Tshesekedi, probably observing Ukrainian indecision on giving minerals to Trump’s America, offered to give Trump access to Congolese minerals in return for security. The meeting with Masaad Boulos, advisor to Trump on Africa and the Middle East, who is also an in-law to Trump, reportedly yielded positive results. It might imply a return to the Mobutu days.

Prof Munene concluded that the violence in DR Congo is likely to continue partly because it is not in the perceived interests of the forces that control Congo’s resources such as the mining of the minerals. Those forces subject Congo to various types of invasions ranging from military invasion to commercial as well as beliefs that are designed to dehumanise and enslave people into submission. This is not a new challenge but a long-lasting one that has ravaged Congo for more than 140 years.

Another speaker, Prof. Mutombo Nkulu-N’Sengha, a citizen of DRC and a professor of Religion at California State University, Northridge, USA, is the Vice President of TPADI. In his presentation titled, Geopolitical and Pan-African Approach to the DR Congo Tragedy, he noted that foreign powers have vested interests in the Congo due to its vast mineral deposits. Western powers consider Congo, and indeed Africa, as their properties that can be used however they want, and keeping Africa in perpetual conflicts is part of their strategies for continued exploration and exploitation. Prof Mutombo said although many scholars are suggesting that DRC may be divided into two countries – Western Congo and Eastern Congo – just as the North and South Koreas, he is against demarcation of his native country. For him, the division does not necessarily bring a solution and gave the example of Sudan. Eastern Congo has been in the eye of the storm, he argued, because the largest deposits of minerals are found there. He concluded by calling on all Africans, particularly the Congolese, to rise up, and come together to engage the common enemy, the West.

The third speaker, Dr Peter Wafula Wekesa, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of History, Archeology and Political Studies at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya, is a specialist in border community relations, border resources, identity politics, international relations as his main research focus. He is an accomplished academic with many publications to his credit. On DRC, Dr Wekesa believes that border and ethnicity issues may not be unconnected to the instability witnessed in the Congo region. Western Powers, he argues, capitalise on ethnic divisions amongst the Congolese to perpetrate their evil agenda, which is to keep the people under subjugation while they exploit their minerals. He therefore called on Congolese and indeed Africans to talk less about the things that divide them and dialogue more on those things that unite them.

Dr. Francis Khayundi looked at the DRC problems through a legal framework. An Assistant Professor of International Law at the United States International University, Africa, he is also an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. At USIU-Africa, he teaches and researches International Law, International Organisations, Refugee Protection, Human Rights, Governance, Data Protection, and International Relations. According to him, the Berlin Conference and its outcome were related to international law as the Western Powers needed to legitimise their actions in Africa through that conference.

The director of the TPADI Commission on African Politics, Governance and International Relations, Dr. Kakai considered the leadership question and its roles in the DRC crisis. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of History, Archaeology and Political Studies at Kenyatta University, Nairobi. Dr Kakai questions the quality of leadership in DRC and wonders if the invasion was as a result of the abundant mineral resources in the country or a result of the collusion between the government and foreign forces. He however insisted that no matter the level of conflict, the country should not be divided; but remain united and find a lasting solution to their problems.

The International President of The Pan African Dialogue Institute (TPADI), and organisers of the webinar, Dr Effiong Udo, thanked the panellists for giving the best of their scholarship in enlightening participants on the invasion of the Congo. He noted that what happens in the Congo was of paramount interest to the institute and should be of concern to everyone in Africa. ‘’As Pan-Africanists, we believe that an Injustice to one African is a tragedy to all Africans”, he said.

He regretted that the natural resources in Congo have become a curse that has sent millions of Congolese children, women and men to their early graves with no end in sight, stating that every blood spilt in Congo by the M23 militants is either feeding the greed of its leaders or enriching the Western contractors. He encouraged all to embrace dialogue, a peaceful and non-violent approach to this conflict against picking arms. According to him, violence has never solved a conflict. He called on the African Union to assist the leaders and citizens of Congo to resolve this prolonged conflict through dialogue and deep thinking or our people will continue to die like fools.

The Rivers government has asked the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to refund the N300 million allegedly paid for the hosting rights of the legal body’s 2025 annual conference.

The state government, under the leadership of the sole administrator, said if the NBA is truly anchored on principles, it should demonstrate it by returning the sum.

BACKGROUND

Last Friday, the NBA moved its 2025 Annual General Conference (AGC) from Port Harcourt in Rivers to Enugu.

The association premised its decision on “constitutional violations” in Rivers following the emergency rule in the oil-rich state.

“Currently, Rivers State is being governed by a retired military officer, appointed as a Sole Administrator, who operates with a command-style approach that disregards constitutional provisions, court decisions, and pending litigation,” the NBA had said.

The decision came weeks after President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers, citing a protracted political crisis.

The president suspended Siminalayi Fubara, governor of the state; Ngozi Odu, his deputy; and all house of assembly members for six months.

Tinubu also appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired vice-admiral, as the sole administrator for Rivers.

‘NBA SHOULD DEMONSTRATE INTEGRITY’

In a statement on Monday, the government said the NBA’s position “overlooks the constitutional basis for the current administration in Rivers state”.

The statement signed by Hector Igbikiowubo, senior special assistant on media to the Rivers state government, said the declaration of the emergency rule in the state was a “necessary response to a breakdown of public order and democratic processes”.

“Contrary to the NBA’s assertions, the sole administrator has consistently reaffirmed his commitment to restoring democratic institutions as soon as practicable,” the statement reads.

“Upholding the constitutional rights of all residents, including freedom of movement, speech, and association. Respecting judicial pronouncements, including those of the Supreme Court, which have guided the administration’s actions.

“The NBA, as a body of legal minds, should know better than to reduce a complex constitutional matter to political sensationalism.

“While we respect the NBA’s right to choose its conference venues, we find it curious that the association — despite its ‘principled position’— didn’t address the refund of the N300 million already paid by the Rivers State Government for the hosting rights of the 2025 conference.

“If the NBA truly stands on principle, it should demonstrate the same integrity by promptly returning these funds rather than benefiting from a state it now publicly discredits.”

In August 2024, Afam Osigwe, NBA president, announced that the 2025 AGC would hold in Rivers state.

[TheCable]

Media personality Toke Makinwa has revealed she’s been inundated with marriage proposals after publicly expressing her willingness to remarry—regardless of whether it’s as a second, third, or even fifth wife.

The buzz began after an episode of her podcast Toke Moments where Makinwa spoke candidly about how her perspective on marriage has shifted over the years. In the viral clip, she said, “In all honesty, at this point in my life, if I have the opportunity to be the second, third, fourth, or fifth wife, I will take it.”

She further explained that being a high-achieving woman can feel exhausting at times, saying, “I am the boss everywhere and that could be tiring. You feel like you need someone to lean on—someone that could decide what’s for dinner. Must it be me?”

Following the episode’s release, Makinwa took to social media to share a screenshot of her inbox, showing multiple messages from men expressing their desire to marry her.

One email stood out with the subject line: “GOAL: Can we get married?” The sender introduced himself as a senior data analyst based in Ibadan.

Her openness has sparked widespread reactions online, ranging from amusement to admiration. While some were surprised by the speed of the proposals, others applauded her honesty about the complexities of independence and relationships in today’s world.

[Opinion Nigeria]

In the bustling heart of Nollywood, where stories mirror the pulse of the nation, filmmaker Omoni Oboli’s Love in Every Word emerges not merely as a romantic drama but as a profound allegory for Nigeria’s enduring love affair with itself.

The film, which follows Chioma—a Lagos career woman torn between her past and an unexpected romance—unfolds like a parable for the Nigerian condition: a nation grappling with inherited flaws, societal storms, and a love so fierce it borders on obsession. This is not just a tale of two lovers; it is a reflection of Nigeria’s journey to reconcile its contradictions, heal its wounds, and embrace a future where “all will be well,” no matter the tempests.

Chioma’s story begins with resistance. A modern Nigerian woman shaped by ambition and trauma, she cuts ties with a lover who fails her expectations and recoils from a father whose flaws once shattered her family. Her resolve to avoid men who mirror her father’s shortcomings mirrors the disillusionment many Nigerians feel toward their nation. Like Chioma, citizens often wrestle with a love-hate relationship with Nigeria—a country whose potential feels perpetually undermined by systemic failures, corruption, and the ghosts of past betrayals.

The film’s opening scenes—where Chioma demands back the gifts she gave her ex—echo the frustration of a populace weary of investing hope in leaders and systems that yield little return. Her toxic workplace, ruled by a tyrannical boss, mirrors the daily grind of Nigerians navigating a society where merit is stifled, opportunities are hoarded, and survival often depends on gritting one’s teeth through indignities. Yet, like Chioma, Nigerians persist. They show up, they work, they dream—even when the dream feels like a mirage.

Enter Obiora, the Igbo entrepreneur whose confidence and persistence disrupt Chioma’s guarded world. Played with magnetic charm by Uzor Arukwe, Obiora is no flawless knight; he carries the cultural baggage Chioma despises—accent, traditions, and a boldness that unnerves her. Yet, he embodies something greater: an unshakable belief in his worth and his right to love her. Here lies the metaphor for Nigeria’s untapped promise.

Obiora’s grand gesture—buying an entire office building to win Chioma’s attention—is audacious, almost reckless. But isn’t this the essence of Nigeria? A nation that, against all odds, continues to bet on itself? From the bustling markets of Onitsha to the tech hubs of Yaba, Nigerians daily perform miracles of resilience. They build empires from nothing, create art in chaos, and innovate where infrastructure falters. Like Obiora, Nigeria may not fit the mold of what the world—or even its people—expects, but it refuses to shrink. It demands to be seen, not for its scars, but for its spirit.

Chioma’s workplace serves as a microcosm of Nigeria’s systemic struggles. Her boss, a symbol of oppressive authority, hoards power and undermines her efforts—a reality familiar to many in a nation where leaders often prioritize self-interest over service. Yet, Chioma’s journey teaches a vital lesson: storms refine us. Her resignation from the job, prompted by a crisis of conscience, mirrors moments in Nigerian history when citizens rise—#EndSARS, voter mobilization, civic activism—to reclaim agency.

The film’s tension lies in Chioma’s internal battle: Will she let past pain dictate her future, or will she rewrite her story? Similarly, Nigeria stands at a crossroads. Generations inherited the traumas of colonialism, civil war, and military rule, but the choice remains: Do we chain ourselves to history, or do we, like Chioma, step into the unknown for a chance at redemption?

In Chioma’s friends, Ify and Ivie, we find the Achalugo—the voices of reason and community that anchor her. They represent Nigeria’s vibrant civil society, its artists, its grassroots movements, and its diaspora, all urging the nation toward self-love. “You’re pushing away a good man because of an accent?” Ify chides, echoing the irony of Nigerians who shun local solutions while romanticizing foreign saviors.

Obiora, the Odogwu Paranran (great warrior), embodies the fearless love required to transform Nigeria. His persistence is the relentless hope of farmers tilling arid land, teachers in crumbling classrooms, and nurses battling epidemics with scant resources. He does not beg for acceptance; he earns it through action. This is the lesson for Nigeria: To win the world’s respect, we must first believe in our worth.

The film’s crescendo is Chioma’s leap of faith—choosing Obiora despite her fears. It is a quiet revolution, akin to Nigeria’s moments of collective courage: the 2015 peaceful transfer of power, the creativity of Burna Boy and Chimamanda claiming global stages, and the resilience of IDPs rebuilding lives. Chioma’s choice whispers, “Love is not the absence of storms, but the courage to dance in the rain.”

Nigeria, too, must choose. Will we cling to cynicism, or embrace the audacity of hope? The “love” here is not naive—it is revolutionary. It is the love of Fela’s music raging against oppression, the love of Wole Soyinka’s pen defying tyranny, the love of market women pooling resources to send a child to school. It is a love that stares down dysfunction and says, “You cannot have my soul.”

Love in Every Word closes not with a fairy-tale ending, but with the promise of growth. Chioma and Obiora’s journey is just beginning—as is Nigeria’s. Our nation, like the film’s protagonists, is a work in progress. But progress demands faith.

To love Nigeria irrevocably is to be a realist and a dreamer. It is to acknowledge the oil spills in the Niger Delta and the ingenuity of startups turning waste into wealth. It is to decry banditry in the North while celebrating the peacemakers bridging divides. It is to groan under the weight of poor governance yet campaign tirelessly for accountability.

This love is not blind; it is visionary—seeing beyond the present chaos to the potential gleaming beneath.

Achalugo, the voices crying out for justice, and Odogwu Paranran, the warriors building a better Nigeria, are not mythical figures. They are the students coding through power cuts, the mothers rallying communities against insecurity, and the artists redefining our global narrative. They are you and I.

Nigeria, like Chioma, is learning to love itself—flaws, accents, and all. Our storms—insecurity, inflation, corruption—are fierce, but so is our resolve. The world whispers, “Break,” but Nigeria bends and rises, again and again, because our love is not a fleeting infatuation. It is an obsession, a covenant, a prayer etched into the soil of our ancestors.

In the words of Chinua Achebe, “Nigeria is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be.” Yet, the inverse is also true: Nigeria will be what it should be when its people—guided by the spirit of Achalugo and Odogwu Paranran—refuse to let go of love. We are Chioma, wrestling with our past. We are Obiora, daring to demand more. And in our collective story, the final act is not written by the storms we face, but by the love that outlasts them, and for me this is a testament to the unyielding faith in the fatherland.

All will be well. E go better. Because to love Nigeria is to believe in miracles–May Nigeria Win!