Category: Featured

All Hail Our Information Commissioner By Ismail Omipidan

Emporium Reporters

When people encounter you, treat them in such a way that they would want a repeat of the experience. This was the treatment I got when I first met her in 1997, at The Punch, in Lagos. I was an Intern from Kaduna Polytechnic. I call her Aunty Funke, others call her Mrs. Egbemode. By 2008, she became my boss, as Editor, Sunday Sun. But she never treated me like a subordinate. She refused to behave like your typical woman leader in charge of men affairs. She courteously sends one…

IMPROVING NIGERIA’S ECONOMY – CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES …THE OYO STATE JOURNEY BY GOVERNOR SEYI MAKINDE

Emporium Reporters

I feel privileged to be here today to speak with you on the opportunities that are opening up in Oyo State, and how you can overcome some of the challenges that will present themselves as you access these opportunities. Let me mention that I am here alongside the Oyo State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Temilolu Seun Ashamu; the Executive Adviser on Agribusiness in Oyo State, Dr Debo Akande; the Director General Oyo State Investment Agency, Hon Segun Ogunwuyi, the Director General, Oyo State Solid Minerals Development Agency, Biodun…

DIASPORA: ROADS WITHOUT BORDERS By: Deborah Tochukwu Anaelechi

Emporium Reporters

One will agree that the major challenge when faced with change is adaptability. Likewise, the transition of going abroad for a first-time Nigerian traveller comes with mixed reactions. Thoughts on new neighbourhood, cuisine, culture shock, host people, time frame, language, so on, will be of concern as he begins to start the familiar, yet, foreign phase all over again to be acquainted with the new environment. One of such phases, which can be daunting, is driving a vehicle when outside Nigeria. No matter how apt your driving skills are back…

OGBOMOSO: A budding ecosystem of innovation By Okekunle Abayomi

Emporium Reporters

This is Joshua Obi, a JSS 2 student of Anglican Grammar School Ogbomoso. He reached out to us yesterday to inform us about a remote controlled car he made from empty cartons. We scheduled an appointment with him and met today. During the conversation with him, he shared with us his natural inclination to replicate things he sees around using the resources most accessible to him. Curious about where he got his technical knowledge from, we found that he had been talking to Oladayo Israel Adedeji, one of the winners…

Agbako @ 95:

Emporium Reporters

In the pantheon of Yoruba Cinema’s urban villainy, there are numerous blackguards. First, there is Ajigijaga a.k.a Broken Bottles, whose strength lies not essentially in brawn but in empty braggadocio. What the late Ajigi (Mufutau Sanni) lacked in actual terrorist’s instinct, he made up for in his coarse voice, artificial gap tooth and weather-beaten face. . There is the bearded Saudi Kosomona, the one who relies essentially on his cute yet scary ex-convict persona. There is Radical, whose untreated dreadlocks effortlessly advertises blood, terror, death and all things in-between. Radical…

FRIDAY SERMON: The Importance Of Keeping Secret In Islam By Imam Murtadha Gusau

Emporium Reporters

In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Bestower of Mercy All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all creation. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Messenger, his family, his Companions and those who follow him till the Hour is established. My dear brothers and sisters, know that secrets are a kind of trust (Amanah), and thus they are a kind of contract or covenant which must be kept. It is necessary to be harsh with those who disclose them, because they are betraying a trust…

Gov Oyetola congratulates El-Rufai @ 60

Emporium Reporters

The State of Osun, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has congratulated Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai on the occasion of his 60th birthday anniversary. In a congratulatory message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ismail Omipidan, Governor Oyetola lauded El-Rufai’s outstanding accomplishments as governor of Kaduna State, describing him as a true progressive who has redefined governance in the state. “On behalf of the government and the good people of the State of Osun, I felicitate with our brother, the governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, on the occasion…

TRIBUTE: 5 THINGS FOR WHICH I’ll NEVER FORGET LATE SENATOR LONGJAN By Mark Longyen

Emporium Reporters

First, was in 1994. Armed with a 1992 BSc (Hons) in International Relations from OAU IFE and fresh from the NYSC in Calabar where I served in the Press Unit of the Government House (1992/1993) I stormed Lagos and arrived in Baba Longjan’s office, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marina, Lagos Island. I told him I wanted him to help me secure my dream job in the Nigerian Foreign Service. Baba had just returned from posting by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Belgium. He gladly received my…

COLOUR ME BLUE! By Ismail Omipidan

Emporium Reporters

Colour Blue is a primary colour, which according to Wikipedia often symbolises “serenity, stability, inspiration, or wisdom.” Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola of The State of Osun possesses all of these qualities and more. He has continued to ensure that peaceful atmosphere prevails in Osun. He has stabilised payment of salaries and pensions at and when due. He inspires hope as he has continued to demonstrate that Osun’s tomorrow will be better than its today. In the last one year, he has built roads and continues to build more. He is building…

KAYODE FAYEMI @ 55, A LIFE WROUGHT IN THE FURNACE OF SERVICE By Sunday A. Aniyi

Emporium Reporters

When he was born on February 9, 1965 to the illustrious family of Falade Fayemi, the information officer extraordinaire, the family did not think twice to decide his name. He was christened Olukayode Folorunso. The two names signify the mood of the family. He was the one who has brought a redemptive joy, especially to a boy-seeking mother after a row of beautiful girls before him. He grew up in wisdom, and more sagely than his peers. Right from his adolescence, he had the comportment of an elder and the…