Dignitaries from different walks of life are expected to attend the Sixth Anniversary lecture of the Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited, which hold today, November 15, at Sheraton Hotel

The Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited holds its Sixth Anniversary Lecture today, Thursday, November 15, 2017, at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos. The lecture entitled: “Political Transitions and Africa’s Economic Development,” which will be delivered by Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, begins at 10 am prompt.

Yakubu, a guerrilla warfare expert and previously a professor of political history and international studies at the Nigerian Defence Academy, is going to share his perception on how the political transition will impact on the economic development.

The Lecture will be chaired by Haroun Adamu, a renowned journalist, publisher and a former chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF.

Immediately after the lecture, a panel of discussants will leverage on the topic to speak on Africa’s maturing democratic and economic culture. The panellists are Charles Okeke, a professor of Economics and dean, School of Education, Behavioural & Social & Professor of Economics, The College of Southern Nevada, Nevada System of Higher Education, Charleston Campus, Las Vegas, United States, US; Adebayo Olukoshi, a professor of Political Science and director, Africa and West Regional Programme and Liaison Office of the African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Simbi Wabote, an engineer and executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Bayelsa, Nigeria. Both the lecturer and all of the panellists have confirmed their attendance at the event.

According to Maureen Chigbo, publisher/editor, Realnews magazine, an online publication: “Our choice of topic for the 2018 lecture has been informed by contemporary political, economic, security, socio-cultural challenges facing Africa, albeit Nigeria regarded as the “Giant of Africa” as it prepares for the 2019 polls where Nigerians are expected to elect leaders they hope will move country to the next level.” She added that given Yakubu’s world class experience, academic antecedents and his current position as chairman of INEC, he is in a better position to do justice to the topic.

Apart from the lecture, Chigbo said that after the panel and interactive session, there will be an investiture into the prestigious Realnews Hall of Fame, exclusively reserved for only guest speakers, discussants, Realnews book reviewers and chairpersons at our Anniversary Lecture Series.

Former inductees into the Realnews Hall of Fame are Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of Education and former vice president, World Bank; Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the United Nations special representative to West Africa and Sahel; Alex Cummings, a former Liberian presidential candidate; Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps; Ibrahim Idris, Nigerian inspector general of Police; Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, founder and chief executive officer, Alpine Investments Ltd; Chukwuma Soludo, a former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria; Maurice Iwu, a former chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC; Roberts Orya, managing director/chief executive officer of the Nigerian Export Import Bank, NEXIM; Ngozi Anyaegbunam, president, Media World; Benjamin Dikki, a former director-general, Bureau of Public Enterprises and Joe. I. Ezigbo, managing director, Falcon Corporation Limited.

“They (inductees) all played key roles during our anniversary lectures and the induction into the Realnews Hall of Fame is just a token of our appreciation for the honour they did to Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited,” Chigbo said.

Realnews, a general interest magazine and an online publication which thrives on investigative journalism debuted November 19, 2012. It focuses on oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental challenges as well as issues relating to business and economy, politics, power, health, women and youth. Its aim is to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they are facing in their day-to-day activities. It does this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, its objective is to use its investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors it focuses on and produce an unbiased report which will actually influence the government and decision makers to take actions that will make the society better.

– Nov. 15, 2018 @ 00:15 GMT |