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Quickmart cuts Kenyans shares in IPO, global funds splash Sh7.1bn

Quickmart has cut the allocation of shares to local investors in its initial public offering (IPO) to less than half after high-net-worth investors from the US and Britain splashed Sh7.1 billion on the retailer’s shares.

The retailer has amended the share allocation in a review that has made local investors the biggest losers.

Local investors, both retail and institutional, will receive a maximum of 44 percent of the two billion shares on offer, or half of the supermarket chain being sold via the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), down from the initial 67 percent.

The retailer had offered 13 percent of the shares worth Sh1.95 billion to wealthy investors, known as cornerstone investors, who are firms or funds that agree in advance to buy a specific stake in an IPO, signalling confidence in an offer to other buyers.

It has now increased their allocation to Sh7.2 billion or 48 percent of the two billion shares, in a deal that will offer the high-net-worth investors a 24 percent stake in the retailer upon its listing on the NSE on November 11.

This follows the increase in cornerstone investors to four after a US-based investment firm, 337 Frontier, and UK fund manager, RWC LLP, bought shares worth Sh1.94 billion and Sh1.3 billion, respectively.

They joined an arm of the UK government, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), which will buy shares worth Sh1.94 billion each or a 6.5 percent stake in Quickmart.

The scramble for shares by the cornerstone investors has also seen the allocation reserved for foreign investors cut to eight percent from 20 percent, giving them a four percent stake.

Quickmart owners are selling half of the retailer through the IPO, which opened on October 5 and closes in October, with the supermarket chain’s owners sharing the Sh15 billion.

“The indicative allocations are not binding and may be adjusted by the issuer and selling shareholder in consultation with the lead transaction advisors depending on the level and composition of demand received during the offer period and subject to applicable regulatory requirements,” Quickmart says in its supplementary information memorandum.

“Quickmart Plc and the selling shareholder, in consultation with the lead transaction advisors, have accepted applications from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office acting through its MOBILIST Programme; RWC Asset Management LLP; 337 Frontier Capital LP and have admitted each of them as cornerstone investors alongside the International Finance Corporation (IFC),” Quickmart said in the amended memo dated October 23.

The cornerstone investors are betting on dividends and outsized returns from Quickmart upon their exit, on the back of the retailer’s expansion plans and steady shareholder payouts.

The British FCDO announced it will buy a 6.5 percent stake in the retailer via MOBILIST, a UK government programme that uses taxpayers’ cash to buy stakes in private companies.

This will mark MOBILIST’s third mega deal in a firm linked to the NSE as it eyes a new listing to attract other high-net-worth investors to the offer.

For the IFC, this is not the first equity investment in a Kenyan retailer, having participated in a consortium that bought and sold a 31.5 percent stake in Naivas between 2020 and 2022 for a tidy profit.

Quickmart is now the second largest retail chain in Kenya behind Naivas by store count and turnover, with an estimated 15 percent share of the market. The company has a current store count of 72, in 16 counties.

In the year ended December 2025, Quickmart reported a 33 percent growth in net profit to Sh1.51 billion. Sales rose by 9.3 percent to Sh50.43 billion in the year.

The retailer paid its shareholders a dividend of Sh1.65 billion, representing a payout ratio of 109 percent, and is aiming to distribute at least 80 percent of its earnings to shareholders in the coming years.

Quickmart says it intends to more than double revenue and add at least 50 stores over the next four years.

Quickmart Plc is aiming for annual revenue of $1 billion (Sh130 billion) from about Sh60 billion this financial year. The retailer plans to increase the tally of stores to 125.

Quickmart owners, through Sokoni Retail Kenya Limited (SRKL), are selling two billion shares at Sh7.50 each, providing a multi-billion-shilling partial exit route for private equity firm Adenia and the founders of the retail chain.

In SRKL, Adenia holds a 50.79 percent stake; the family of Quickmart founder, the late John Kinuthia (31.83 percent), Tumaini Supermarket founders (12.02 percent), and the CEO of the retail chain, Peter Kang’iri, has a 5.36 percent stake.

They will all cede half their ownership in a transaction that reveals the outsized growth in value of the chain under Adenia, which first bought Tumaini Supermarket in 2018 and the following year acquired Quickmart– which were merged in 2020.

This will add billions of shillings to the worth of the founders of Tumaini Supermarket and Quickmart, which were smaller retailers in a market then dominated by Tuskys and Naivas.

Adenia will bank Sh7.62 billion from the sale of 1.06 billion shares that represent half of its 2.03 billion units in Quickmart.

The fund acquired a 55 percent majority equity stake in Tumaini in 2018 and a 51 percent stake in Quickmart in 2019, before merging the two units under the Quickmart brand in January 2020.

Quickmart CEO, who joined the company in 2019, is set to earn Sh803.3 million in the sale of half of his 214.2 million shares in the retailer.

The Kinuthia family is in line for a total windfall of Sh4.77 billion as they cede half of their 1.27 billion shares in Sokoni Retail.

Tumaini founders Moses Nditika, Joram Ngeruro Njoga and Elijah Omullo Okello will collectively bank Sh1.8 billion from the sale, courtesy of their holding of 12.02 percent in Sokoni Retail.

Nigeria does not lack people working, it lacks enterprises that are registered, well-capitalised – Abia Commissioner

Uche Eme Uche, Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Abia State, has observed that Nigeria does not lack people working for themselves; rather, it lacks enterprises that are registered, well-capitalised and standards-compliant businesses that employ others.

Uche made the submission, Friday, October 23, 2026, while delivering a paper titled ‘From Degree to Destiny: Creating Value, Generating Opportunity and Transforming Society’, at a

Pre-Convocation lecture of the 9th – 13th Convocation ceremonies of Rhema University Nigeria, Aba, Abia State.

She noted that self-employment was often a means of survival and may require no degree, while enterprise, by contrast, is a development strategy that education should equip graduates to pursue.

She also said that the World Economic Forum, after surveying more than 1,000 employers across 55 economies, projected that technology and demographic change will create about 170

million jobs and displace 92 million by 2030, a net gain of 78 million.

‘Yet one in five jobs will be significantly disrupted, and nearly four in ten workplace skills will change. Put simply, the world is not running out of work; it is running short of people equipped for the work that is emerging.

‘Africa’s demographics make the issue urgent. Africans now account for about one in five people worldwide and are projected to represent nearly one in four by 2050.

‘The evidence I have set before you today points to a single conclusion: that in an economy where 93 of every 100 jobs are informal, where unemployment is higher among the educated than among the population at large, and where nearly four out of every ten workplace skills will change within five years, a certificate is a necessary condition of graduate prosperity and nowhere near a sufficient one.’

She noted that what closes that gap is not another qualification but the disposition to create value, where none existed, to generate opportunity for people who did not earn it, and to repair the portion of the wall that stands within reach. Nigeria will not be secured by certificates.

‘It will be secured by graduates, who strengthen the institutions they inherit rather than exhaust them, and who serve without needing to be observed doing so.

‘Graduating class, in a few days you will receive a degree; from that moment, the world will ask what you can do with it. Do not wait for opportunity, create it. Do not merely enter society; improve it. Let excellence be your habit, courage your compass, service your purpose, and integrity your unbreakable covenant. Rise above excuses. Outlook limitations, turn knowledge into solutions, privilege into responsibility, and ambition into impact.

‘Wherever you go, leave people stronger, institutions better, and your nation more hopeful; create value and generate opportunities to transform society,’ she said.

Nigeria’s recapitalised banks and missing link between profit and prosperity

Nigeria’s banking industry has spent years rebuilding capital, restructuring institutions and celebrating stronger financial performance. Amidst all these developments, one fundamental question remains unanswered. The concern is how much of this financial strength is translating into productive investment, affordable credit, business expansion and employment.

The worry has grown more urgent after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation exercise, which brought in N4.65 trillion in equity. By the end of March 2026, 33 of the country’s 37 banks had met the updated capital requirements. The exercise aimed to strengthen the system, improve resilience, and boost banks’ ability to finance economic growth.

But raising capital is not the same as expanding productive credit. A stronger balance sheet is not automatically a stronger economy.

One thing that is certain is that Nigeria’s banking industry is not short of institutions, financial expertise or regulatory reforms. As reality stares at Nigerians, the more difficult question is whether its growing financial capacity is being converted into financing for businesses that produce goods, create jobs, process local raw materials and expand the country’s export base.

Experiences from Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank, Kenya’s Equity Group Holdings and Togo-headquartered Ecobank Transnational Incorporated offer useful benchmarks. Their institutional development, customer reach and regional operations provide different perspectives on the possibilities of modern African banking. They are not perfect models, and their operating environments differ from Nigeria’s. Nevertheless, their experiences offer a basis for asking whether Nigerian banking reform is delivering enough economic value beyond financial-sector growth.

The real test of recapitalisation is not simply how much capital banks have raised. It is what that capital ultimately enables them to do.

The first question is straightforward: what does a stronger capital base mean or the benefit of strengthening banks’ capital if productive businesses still struggle to obtain credit?

Capital is essential to and the backbone of banking. Amidst its many functions, it helps banks absorb losses, meet regulatory requirements, handle larger transactions and maintain customers’ confidence in their ability to keep their money safe. Nigeria’s recapitalisation exercise was therefore important. But its economic benefits depend partly on how banks deploy their expanded capacity.

The IMF’s May 2026 assessment, with clarity reviewed developments through the first quarter of 2026, found that private-sector credit remained relatively low, at approximately 12 per cent of GDP in 2025. It also observed that, despite growth in lending, which was obviously a huge contradiction, Nigeria’s financial markets were not adequately intermediating domestic savings into productive investment.

This is a more revealing measure of the challenge than the amount of capital raised alone. From the playout of activities, it is obvious that the banking industry can expand its balance sheets without financing a sufficiently broad range of businesses. Established and bigger corporations may obtain credit while smaller manufacturers, agricultural processors and emerging enterprises struggle with high interest rates, collateral requirements and short repayment periods.

The question is not whether Nigerian banks lend. They do. The question is whether the scale, cost and distribution of that lending adequately serve an economy seeking to diversify beyond oil, expand manufacturing and create sustainable employment.

Kenya’s Equity Group Holdings provides a useful point of comparison as this is discussed further. In a real sense, its success in attracting customers, using digital channels and supporting small businesses shows how banks can serve more people while keeping lending risks under control.

The lesson is not that Nigerian banks should simply copy Kenya. No doubt, Nigeria has different economic conditions, regulatory requirements and credit risks that may not apply to Kenya. Rather, the point is that recapitalisation should create opportunities to deepen lending, develop better products and improve the effectiveness of financial intermediation. It should not become a regulatory milestone celebrated independently of its economic consequences.

The second question is perhaps the most consequential: are Nigerian banks financing enough small businesses to make a measurable difference to the real economy? Here, the evidence deserves particular attention.

Findings showed that Equity Bank Kenya’s third-quarter 2025 investor booklet reported that the bank disbursed KSh90.7 billion ($701,255,970) in MSME loans between January and July 2025. Meanwhile, the amount represented 45 per cent of the KSh201 billion ($1,554,044,999) in MSME loan disbursements reported across the Kenyan banks included in its comparison. The booklet attributed the industry comparison to the Kenya Bankers Association.

This is a significant indicator of Equity Bank’s participation in Kenya’s MSME financing market. It suggests that a bank can make small-business lending a prominent part of its commercial activities while operating in a competitive banking system. Whilst Nigeria’s figures raise a different concern.

A research note published in October 2026 by the Development Bank of Nigeria, citing the CBN statistical data, noted that credit classified to small-scale enterprises amounted to a meager and paltry N177.44 billion in 2025, when compared with enormous total private-sector credit of N47.10 trillion. The small-scale-enterprise category consequently represented approximately 0.38 per cent of private-sector credit. The same research note showed that the category’s share had declined substantially from its historical levels.

The figures deserve serious scrutiny. They suggest that Nigeria’s banking system has expanded enormously without a corresponding increase in the relative weight of credit recorded for small-scale enterprises.

However, the comparison requires an important qualification. Equity’s KSh90.7 billion ($701,255,970) represents loan disbursements over seven months, whereas Nigeria’s N177.44 billion ($132,417,910.45) represents an outstanding-credit measure for a narrower statistical category. The figures are not directly comparable, and they cannot establish that Equity’s lending performance is superior to that of every Nigerian bank. Nor should Nigeria’s small-scale-enterprise category automatically be treated as equivalent to the entire MSME sector.

That limitation does not invalidate the question. It makes the case for better Nigerian data even more compelling.

Why should a country with a large banking market lack sufficiently clear, consistently reported evidence of how much commercial-bank credit reaches smaller productive enterprises? Why should the industry’s recapitalisation achievements get more attention than giving credit to businesses that keep people working and create jobs?

Small businesses really struggle to get financing. They often don’t have things like collateral, checked financial records, long credit histories or steady income. Banks need to think about these risks. Lending without checking can lead to loans not being paid back, hurting the bank’s money and putting depositors in danger.

But risk management should not become a permanent justification for leaving viable businesses outside formal credit.

The fact is that Nigerian banks could use cash-flow-based lending, supply-chain finance, invoice discounting, purchase-order finance, movable-asset collateral and credit guarantees. Nigerian banks would benefit from using verified transaction data to spot businesses that’re truly strong instead of borrowers whose repayment ability is very weak.

The objective is not to compel banks to lend recklessly. It is to make responsible lending to smaller businesses more commercially viable.

The CBN must also ask for reports on SME lending, such as how many borrowers are active, how many new loans are given, how much money is still owed, what the typical loan size is, what interest rates are used, when loans are due and how well payments are made. Without this data, the country cannot properly determine whether recapitalisation is truly helping people get credit. The CBN needs data to see if the plan is working.

The third question follows naturally: if Nigerian banks are profitable, why is their success not more visible in the productive economy?

Bank profitability is essential. Shareholders put in money to get returns. Depositors want their money to stay safe. Regulators want institutions that can handle economic times. There is nothing bad about banks investing in government securities or other easy-to-sell assets.

The real worry is how the financial system’s rewards and rules shape where capital goes. It’s about whether money flows toward government borrowing or toward private businesses. That balance matters. How the system rewards choices can tilt capital one way or the other. That can affect economic growth and opportunity.

The CBN’s official Money and Credit Statistics provide a useful snapshot. In July 2026, private-sector credit stood at approximately N83.43 trillion, compared with N83.26 trillion in June. Net credit to government declined from approximately N40.03 trillion in June to N33.92 trillion in July. These are the latest monthly observations displayed in the official CBN series retrieved for this article, rather than figures extrapolated from media reports.

The figures do not establish that banks deliberately abandoned businesses or that every reduction in government credit necessarily results in additional private lending. They show that the composition of domestic credit changes over time and should be examined using consistent data.

The IMF’s 2026 assessment identified banks’ holdings of government securities, high cash reserve requirements and structural constraints as factors limiting private credit. When looking at the data, it is clear that government securities made up 22 percent of banks’ total assets. Government securities can give banks liquidity, steady income and a risk-return profile that is fairly attractive. Lending to businesses can bring credit risk, expensive monitoring and uncertainty about repayment. Where government borrowing offers attractive returns, banks have commercial reasons to allocate resources towards sovereign instruments.

The policy concern is not that banks should abandon government securities. It is whether the overall balance of incentives enables enough financing to reach viable private businesses.

Monetary policy also matters. High reserve requirements can constrain the funds available for other uses, although reducing them would not guarantee that the released funds would become productive loans. Credit risk, inflation, the cost of funds and the condition of individual businesses would continue to influence lending decisions.

This is why the CBN and the fiscal authorities must examine the combined effect of monetary policy, government borrowing and prudential requirements on credit allocation.

Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank is another reference point. Its published 2025 consolidated figures show assets of approximately MAD795.5 billion ($80,580,000,000) and customer loans of MAD447.9 billion ($45,370,000,000). The group operates across markets and has built a large customer base over time.

Those figures do not prove that Morocco has eliminated its financing challenges. They provide a basis for studying how a bank grows a lending franchise, builds customer relationships and expands its operations across markets.

For Nigeria, the concern is whether banking-sector growth is matched by a corresponding expansion in lending rather than being judged mainly by profits, assets and capital raised.

The fourth question concerns regional influence: why should Nigeria’s banking scale not translate into greater financial leadership across Africa?

Nigeria has a large domestic market, internationally connected businesses and banks with experience in corporate finance, digital banking and cross-border transactions. Some Nigerian institutions have established substantial international operations. Suggesting that the industry has no regional achievements would be inaccurate. Building a domestic banking franchise and creating a durable pan-African institution are separate challenges.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated is another example because its history is strongly connected to regional banking integration. Founded in 1985, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated started as an effort and became a bank that supports many African markets.

With this, in 2025, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated also reported a profit before tax of $801 million up 21 percent year-on-year and net revenue of $2.45 billion, which went up by 17 percent. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated also reported a capital adequacy ratio of 16.7 percent and a cost-to-income ratio of 48.3 percent.

Meanwhile, it should be known that these results show the scale of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s operating model, but they do not prove that the bank’s operations are free from challenges. Nor should its dollar-denominated figures be compared directly with the naira results of an individual Nigerian bank without accounting for exchange rates, business mix and reporting differences.

Ecobank’s relevance lies in the development of capabilities that support banking across national boundaries. As African countries pursue deeper economic integration, efficient cross-border payments, trade finance and regional supply-chain financing will become increasingly important.

Nigeria’s banks should be evaluated on how effectively they support these activities. The reality is that a stronger Nigerian banking industry should not only finance large domestic transactions, but it should also help Nigerian businesses compete across Africa.

The fifth question brings the argument back to the regulator: what should the CBN demand from banks after recapitalisation?

The first requirement is to recognise that stronger capital does not automatically eliminate financial vulnerabilities.

The IMF said Nigeria’s capital adequacy ratio fell to 11.7 percent in the quarter of 2025. It also indicated that Nigeria’s non-performing loans rose to 8 percent, which’s above the prudential ceiling. These figures are from Q3 2025, not from the position in October 2026. The IMF blamed this decline on factors, including the effect of naira depreciation on risk-weighted assets, higher provisioning and the migration of restructured exposures, after the end of COVID-era regulatory forbearance.

The figures illustrate why capital raising must be accompanied by sustained attention to asset quality. They should not be used to suggest that the industry’s current capital adequacy ratio or non-performing-loan ratio stays at those levels without evidence.

The CBN must continue to focus on sound underwriting, proper provisioning, effective governance and clear reporting. Financial stability cannot be ignored to push for fast credit growth.

At the same time, prudential supervision should go hand in hand with better information about the real economic impact of growth in the banking sector. The CBN could share consistent data across the industry on lending to small and medium enterprises, manufacturing, agriculture and other productive areas. It should also show how loans are spread across borrower sizes along with details on loan maturities and interest rates. It would also help to include data on the link between banks’ holdings of government securities and their lending to the sector.

Such information would allow policymakers and the public to judge whether recapitalisation is strengthening financial intermediation as well as balance sheets.

The government must also take responsibility for the conditions under which banks operate. Unreliable electricity, poor transport infrastructure, uncertain policies, weak contract enforcement and high operating costs make it harder for businesses to get financing. When companies that could otherwise succeed cannot produce cash flows, banks will naturally become more cautious.

The government needs to improve the investment environment. It must manage its borrowing needs carefully. It should not create incentives that consistently favour government borrowing over private investment. The CBN must strike a balance. It must control inflation. Ensure financial stability while still making sure the credit channel works effectively. Neither institution can solve the problem independently.

The experiences of Attijariwafa Bank, Equity Group and Ecobank do not provide a ready-made blueprint for Nigeria. They offer different examples of institutional development, customer reach, small-business financing and regional expansion.

Their value lies in helping Nigeria ask better questions about what a strong banking industry should deliver.

Nigeria’s banks have contributed to financial sophistication, payments infrastructure, capital formation and corporate financing. Their achievements deserve recognition. But financial success must also be distinguished from the wider economic benefits that a strong banking system is expected to support.

The next phase of banking reform should be measured against three tests. First, do banks have sufficient capital and sound assets to withstand shocks? Second, is credit reaching viable businesses at sustainable terms? Third, is financial intermediation contributing to productive investment, employment and regional trade?

These tests would not require banks to abandon commercial discipline. They would require the industry, its regulator and the government to demonstrate that financial strength is translating into broader economic capacity.

The SME evidence makes this challenge particularly urgent. Nigeria needs better, comparable data on small-business lending, but the available figures already justify a serious investigation into why credit classified to small-scale enterprises represents such a small proportion of total private-sector credit.

Recapitalisation was necessary to strengthen Nigeria’s banks. It should not become the final measure of banking reform. Nigeria has strengthened its banks. The next challenge is to make that strength count more visibly for businesses, jobs and the productive economy.

At Obscure Table, the Filipino salo-salo gets a creative makeover

Two chefs turn years of corporate experience and a shared passion for cooking into an unconventional dining experience in Silang, Cavite.

There is something distinctly Filipino about gathering around a table laden with food. Meals are meant to be shared, conversations flow as dishes are passed around, and the pleasure of eating lies as much in the company as in what is served.

At Obscure Table in Silang, Cavite, chefs GB Barlao and Dennis Hipolito take this familiar tradition and give it a contemporary twist. Their concept revolves around the Filipino salo-salo, but instead of keeping diners in one place for the entire meal, they invite them to experience dinner in three acts, moving through three distinct spaces on the property.

For the two chefs, Obscure Table is the culmination of a friendship built over years in the food industry and a shared desire to return to their first love: cooking.

Both studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, although they met only after graduation. Their professional paths eventually crossed, leading to a friendship and working relationship that would span nearly two decades.

Hipolito spent years in Singapore working with Yum! Brands in the Asia-Pacific region, developing products for brands including KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. Barlao, meanwhile, built experience in culinary education, ingredient sourcing, and product development.

Understanding food beyond the kitchen

THEIR corporate careers gave them an understanding of food beyond the kitchen, encompassing innovation, marketing, and operations. But the desire to cook and create something of their own remained.

‘We wanted to pursue the passion of cooking,’ Hipolito recalled, describing conversations that began before the pandemic about leaving corporate work and exploring their culinary ambitions.

Initially, they envisioned a café that would transform into a supper club in the evening. The opportunity that eventually presented itself, however, was different.

A relative of Hipolito offered them a property in Silang. Expecting a simple farm space, the chefs discovered an old family dining hall, a patio, and several distinct areas that could accommodate different dining experiences.

Rather than force their original concept onto the property, they allowed the space to shape their plans. The result was Obscure Table, a destination built around the idea of making the meal itself a journey.

Three acts, one communal experience

OBSCURE Table describes itself as an elevated salo-salo told in three acts. Operating by reservation, it accommodates 15 to 20 guests for one seating each night from Friday to Sunday.

The evening begins in an indoor-outdoor garden, where guests enjoy breads, spreads, and appetizers. The experience then moves into another space for the main courses before concluding in a separate area for desserts and conversation.

Each setting has its own atmosphere, with distinctive lighting, furnishings, and tablescapes contributing to the progression.

The chefs drew inspiration from their dining experiences in the Philippines and abroad.

They wanted to preserve the communal character of Filipino eating while offering something different from conventional tasting menus, where diners typically remain seated and receive individual portions throughout the meal.

At Obscure Table, dishes are served in sharing portions, allowing guests to choose what they want and return for second servings. Those booking individual places may also find themselves sharing a long table with people they have never met.

The chefs initially wondered whether diners would embrace communal seating, so they tested the concept through dinners with guests. The feedback encouraged them to continue, with conversations sometimes leading to new friendships and professional connections.

For Barlao and Hipolito, bringing people together is as important as the food itself.

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Familiar flavors, a different perspective

‘WE don’t claim authenticity. We claim sincerity,’ Barlao explained, describing their approach to cooking.

The chefs take familiar dishes and apply culinary techniques, layers of flavor, and contrasting textures to present them differently without losing their recognizable character.

The September menu served during the media preview illustrated this philosophy. The meal began with a grazing board of balut , eggplant tapenade, ensaymada coffee butter, maple walnut cream cheese, and scallion spread, accompanied by curated breads.

One of the more enjoyable parts of the meal was the pulutan platter, which showcased the kitchen’s playful approach to Filipino favorites. A ‘Tokwa’t Baboy’ terrine with prune chutney and crispy tokwa reimagined a familiar pairing, while mini embutido corndogs gave the well-loved meatloaf a different presentation. The ‘Sinuglaw’ Agua Chile de Camaron with Thai BBQ pork brought together seafood and pork in an inventive combination.

The main courses continued the reinterpretation of familiar flavors. Bulalo Dashi with Chili-Manis Patis offered a different dimension to the comforting flavors associated with bulalo, while the spiced lamb shank and slow-cooked oxtail and tripe kare-kare stew provided a more substantial take on the beloved peanut-based dish.

Equally welcome were the vegetable courses, which balanced the richer meat offerings. Carrot cake pavé, charred cabbage with fish sauce caramel, and ginataang calabasa casserole brought contrasting textures and flavors to the table. Rather than treating vegetables as mere accompaniments, the menu gave them a distinct place in the overall spread.

Dessert continued the progression with the Obscure Table Pianono, dacquoise, and caramel crémeux, combining familiar pastry references with contemporary techniques.

For the chefs, the goal is not simply to make dishes look different. Their experience in product development and culinary operations gives them the technical grounding to work with flavor, texture, and execution while keeping the pleasure of eating at the center of the experience.

The dish that started it all

AT the heart of Obscure Table is Chicharonillo, the chefs’ original creation combining cochinillo with a specially developed chicharon skin.

Developed through repeated trials, the dish brings together crisp pork skin and tender meat, accompanied by several accoutrements. It is presented whole and carved tableside, turning its arrival into a shared moment for diners.

The name is trademarked, and the creation has become a defining feature of the concept. It is included in the Grand Menu, while guests choosing the Salo-Salo Menu may order it separately. A limited holiday-season release will also make it available outside the private dining experience for the first time.

Hospitality at Obscure Table extends beyond the guests. The chefs also prepare meals for accompanying drivers, mindful that finding food for them can be difficult while their passengers dine. Their kitchen team likewise gets to enjoy meals prepared by the chefs themselves.

After years of working behind the scenes, Barlao and Hipolito are now exploring the Philippine dining scene through a concept that brings together their corporate experience and culinary ambitions.

Obscure Table may be an unconventional destination, but its underlying idea is familiar. Filipino dining has always been about salo-salo-sharing food, making room for others, and finding pleasure in the company around the table.

Here, that tradition becomes a three-act experience, shaped by two chefs who believe that food can be creative and thoughtfully prepared without losing its most important quality: the ability to bring people together.

Customs seize smuggled goods worth N79.86m in Adamawa, Taraba

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, has seized smuggled goods with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N79.86 million in a series of anti-smuggling operations conducted across the two states over five weeks.

The seized items include 16,825 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, 501 cartons of foreign bar soap, 266 bags of foreign parboiled rice, second-hand clothing and a Mitsubishi Canter truck used to transport some of the contraband.

Comptroller MA Tako, the Customs Area Controller, Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, disclosed this during a press briefing at the command’s headquarters in Yola on Friday, October 23, 2026.

Tako said the seizures followed intelligence-led operations and surveillance along border communities and suspected smuggling routes, particularly around Ribadu, Sahuda, Wuro Alhaji-Maiha, Belel-Goshidan and Maiha-Mubi.

According to him, the operations were part of the service’s efforts to curb smuggling, protect the Nigerian economy and prevent the unlawful movement of prohibited goods across the country’s borders.

Giving details of the interceptions, Tako said officers raided the River Benue bank along the Ribadu axis on August 16, where they discovered 451 cartons of foreign bar soap allegedly stockpiled for smuggling. He said the suspects abandoned the goods and fled into the bush when the officers arrived.

He added that 374 jerrycans of petrol, each with a capacity of 25 litres, were intercepted along a bush path in Sahuda, near the Nigeria-Cameroon border, on August 20.

The command also intercepted a Mitsubishi Canter truck with registration number XB 566 GML along the Wuro Alhaji-Maiha axis on September 14.

The vehicle was carrying 116 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50kg, and 50 cartons of foreign soap.

In another operation on September 21, officers discovered 299 jerrycans of petrol, each containing 25 litres, along an unapproved route on the Belel-Goshidan axis. The fuel was allegedly intended to be smuggled out of the country.

Tako further disclosed that officers seized 150 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 20 bags of local maize weighing 100kg each, 11 bales of second-hand clothing and five jumbo sacks of used clothing along a bush path on the Maiha-Mubi axis on October 2.

He said the seizures were made in accordance with the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, and relevant provisions of the Common External Tariff, including the import prohibition list.

The controller commended the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the service’s management for providing the resources and logistical support needed to strengthen anti-smuggling operations.

He also praised the officers involved in the interceptions for their vigilance and commitment, urging members of the public to provide credible information about suspicious activities in their communities.

Tako called on the media to sustain public awareness campaigns on the economic and security consequences of smuggling, stressing that cooperation between security agencies and communities was essential to protecting the country’s borders and promoting economic growth.

In Netanyahu stronghold, signs of fraying loyalty emerge on eve of election

KIRYAT SHMONA, Israel-Kiryat Shmona has long been a bastion of support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. But that loyalty is no longer ironclad.

Once a bustling commercial center, Israel’s northernmost city was temporarily evacuated three years ago after being battered by rockets from nearby Lebanon, and it still feels half-empty even though the attacks have mostly subsided. Although the town remains staunchly conservative, there are rumblings of displeasure with Netanyahu’s handling of the latest war against the militant group Hezbollah, and that could bode poorly for him in Israel’s election Tuesday.

Vowing to stop Hezbollah’s attacks, Netanyahu led a bombing campaign in Lebanon and invaded the country twice since 2023. More than 4,000 Lebanese have been killed, and Israeli troops have occupied a swath of southern Lebanon, leveling multiple towns and displacing an estimated 1 million people.

Still, Hezbollah remains active. Some in Kiryat Shmona say Israel should have been even tougher; others say they no longer trust that Netanyahu cares about them.

Eti Ben Shabat, 64, says in previous elections she had always followed her family in voting for Likud, almost without thinking. But in recent years, she said, something snapped. She pointed in part to Netanyahu’s broken promises to bring security to the north and dismantle Hezbollah.

‘I don’t want the lies to continue,’ she said.

In previous elections, support went heavy for Netanyahu

Netanyahu is unlikely to lose Kiryat Shmona entirely. But even a small dip in its support-and that of other traditional strongholds-could spell trouble for him.

It could tip a very tight election to the man aiming to replace him, Gadi Eisenkot. Or it could strengthen far-right parties, which would likely back Netanyahu to remain prime minister but would then have even greater power in a ruling coalition.

Kiryat Shmona has always supported right-wing parties, particularly Likud. In the last elections held in 2021 and 2022, around 50% of voters there chose Likud, compared to a quarter of voters nationwide, according to the Central Elections Committee.

‘Kiryat Shmona, the way the city is socioeconomically and religion-wise, it is made for the right and specifically Likud,’ said Sami Malul, 72, a retired Likud city councilor who served as the town’s acting mayor in 2008.

But the town is reeling from the war. The government evacuated Kiryat Shmona and dozens of other towns and villages along the Lebanese border for more than a year – from the time Hezbollah began firing on Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel until a ceasefire with Hezbollah was reached in late 2024.

Netanyahu claimed to have subdued Hezbollah. So trust in him shattered among some in Kiryat Shmona when Hezbollah missiles again started hitting in March after Israel and the US launched their war on Iran.

Israel’s subsequent occupation of southern Lebanon has reduced but not stopped Hezbollah fire. Efforts by the Lebanese army to remove Hezbollah from southern Lebanon have made little progress.

Kiryat Shmona claims that nearly 80% of its 22,000 residents have returned, but locals say the real figure is closer to 50%. Streets feel empty and abandoned. On the main commercial drags, several shops remain shuttered. Others are open but devoid of customers.

Malul insists the government handled the war and the evacuation well, prioritizing residents’ safety. He argued Kiryat Shmona has faced attacks since its founding and Netanyahu isn’t to blame for the current situation.

Many others feel the same.

‘We really love Bibi, and we can’t choose anyone else, but he should see the needs of his people,’ said Maimon Amsalem, using Netanyahu’s nickname. ‘Keeping our security is the most important thing, we don’t want anything else.’

For some, three years of war triggers a dramatic shift

Nissan Zeevi, a third-generation resident of northern Israel who lives in a town adjacent to Kiryat Shmona, has voted for Likud as long as he can remember. But this year he is running for a seat in parliament with the Beyachad opposition party, furious over what he calls Netanyahu’s ‘abandonment of the north.’

billboards do the job socmed

During the most recent war with Hezbollah, Zeevi founded Lobby 1701, an activist group advocating for better security in the north. He wants the Israeli military to increase its attacks against Hezbollah and maintain its buffer zone in southern Lebanon until the Lebanese government identifies Hezbollah as a terror organization.

‘Residents in the north have been in a war for three years that hasn’t ended,’ said Zeevi. ‘You can see the people’s great frustration and great disappointment in Netanyahu.’

‘Netanyahu still has his base here, who will go with him through fire and water. But people have much more political awareness now,’ said Zeevi. ‘After 20 years, he needs to make way for new leadership.’

In a small town, voting along family lines

Around town, there’s little evidence that elections are just days away, and little outward excitement for Likud or Netanyahu. A few scattered campaign posters for the smaller right-wing parties flutter at intersections or are glued onto mobile bomb shelters. Few residents wanted to speak about politics, citing a general feeling of hopelessness and frustration.

No candidates have offered a concrete plan for the conflict with Hezbollah, beyond offering vague promises of ‘strong defense.’

In northern Israel as a whole, support for Netanyahu dropped from around 29% just before the last election in 2022 to around 17% in a poll conducted earlier this month for Agam Labs at Hebrew University.

Nimrod Nir, the director of Agam Labs, said most Likud voters frustrated with Netanyahu will likely support hardline parties like Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) and the Religious Zionist Party, which advocate tough military action against Israel’s enemies.

Waiting outside a downtown hairdresser in Kiryat Shmona, Ben Shabat talked about her decision to support Eisenkot, a former military chief who ordered disproportionate force in response to Hezbollah attacks when he was a general during a 2006 war.

Ben Shabat said she trusts Eisenkot as a more honest leader than Netanyahu, who she feels made little effort to connect with residents in the north and sent soldiers to fight while his own son was in a luxury apartment in Miami. She also pointed to his ongoing corruption trial.

Netanyahu made a brief campaign stop in the town on Tuesday. He visited a high school and university, events that were closed to the public, but did not walk around downtown to mingle with residents, as other candidates have done.

Her decision to vote for Eisenkot wasn’t easy in a place where Likud support is a matter of identity more than ideology. The town is overwhelmingly made up of Mizrahi Jews, who arrived from Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa in the 1950s.

Mizrahi Jews often identify with the right and especially Likud, having faced discrimination by the European-descended elites that traditionally dominate Israeli government, military and business institutions.

‘Kiryat Shmona is like a small family, we’re always helping each other, it’s one of the things I love about it,’ Ben Shabat said. But that close-knit support also comes with social pressure to vote a certain way.

At a recent meetup for Eisenkot supporters, the room was packed, but people did not want photos taken of the audience, worrying what their family or neighbors would think, Ben Shabat said.

‘It’s a small place, so people aren’t speaking about it openly,’ she said. ‘But inside, people really want a change.’

Agriculture dept to review holy basil registration bid

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit has ordered an investigation into a company’s application for plant variety protection covering four holy basil varieties, amid concerns the move could affect farmers’ rights and traditional cultivation practices.

Mr Suriya said on Saturday the Department of Agriculture had been given seven days to review the application by CPRAM Co Ltd and determine whether the registration process complied with the law.

He said the ministry recognised public concerns, particularly as holy basil is widely used in Thai cooking and closely linked to the country’s food culture and way of life.

The ministry must ensure that intellectual property protection granted to companies does not undermine farmers’ rights or restrict access to indigenous plant varieties, he said.

Mr Suriya said officials had been instructed to compare the four varieties with existing indigenous holy basil varieties and government research records to determine whether they shared similar characteristics.

The review would also assess whether granting protection could affect farmers’ ability to cultivate and sell traditional varieties.

Agriculture permanent secretary Rapibhat Chandarasrivongs said the department would conduct a detailed examination of the applications, including the conditions and scope of protection sought by the company.

He said the ministry supported research and the development of new plant varieties to strengthen agricultural competitiveness, but such efforts must comply with the law and respect the rights of farmers and independent plant breeders.

“Every step must be carried out correctly and transparently under the law,” he said, stressing that innovation must not come at the expense of farmers’ legitimate rights.

Mr Rapibhat sought to reassure farmers that they remained free to grow, propagate and sell indigenous holy basil varieties, including more than 300 traditional holy basil varieties commonly cultivated in Thailand, without restrictions arising from the applications.

He said vendors, food operators and consumers could also continue buying, selling and using holy basil leaves in food preparation without violating plant variety protection rights.

The department is preparing to clarify the registration details and explain the findings to the public.

A TASTE OF MARRAKECH | Bacha Coffee has arrived in Manila

It was only last March, while aboard the Disney Adventure cruise’s maiden voyage, when I was introduced to the captivating brews of Bacha Coffee.

Amid the cruise’s high-seas luxury, I first encountered two variants of the legendary Moroccan coffee made from 100 percent Arabica beans: the berry-noted I Love Paris and the hazelnut-flavored Happy Gianduja. Sachet-wrapped drip coffee bags of both brews were available in our room and served in all of Disney Adventure’s restaurants.

That unforgettable four-day cruise where I had my repeated fills of Bacha Coffee was more than enough to get me hooked. Since then, I went on to ask an overseas-based friend to send me Bacha Coffee’s Navigator sampler, which allowed me to enjoy its numerous other variants, including the fruity 1910 and the Marrakech Morning Coffee with its mixed flavor notes.

For the uninitiated, which until recently included myself, Bacha Coffee is the legendary Moroccan coffee house founded in 1910 within the historic Dar el Bacha in, yes, Marrakech. Following its global revival in recent years, V3 Gourmet, the same group behind the equally exquisite TWG Tea, opened its first international store in Singapore in 2019.

Now, I’m very happy to learn that Bacha Coffee is now available here in the Philippines with not just one but two locations in Metro Manila: SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City and Greenbelt 3 in Makati City.

These flagship stores bring both the art of traditional coffee preparation and coffee gastronomy directly to Filipino coffee lovers.

‘Bacha Coffee is the product of a rich legacy, a brand that has ripened over storied brews since 1910. Our latest destinations will ignite the imagination of our guests in the same way that coffee transports us to faraway destinations. We have combined old and new into one experience, paying homage to the past and inventing the future, with 100 percent Arabica specialty coffee playing center stage in this theatre of life,’ noted Taha Bouqdib, President and CEO of V3 Gourmet.

Reflecting the heritage of its birthplace in Dar el Bacha, both spaces feature the brand’s signature visual spectacle: rich, warm ochre tones, intricate geometric zellige tilework, hand-carved cedar wood ceilings, polished brass detailing, and striking black-and-white inlaid marble floors.

With a whopping library of over 200 varieties of 100 percent Arabica specialty coffees, meticulously sourced from 35 premier coffee-producing regions worldwide, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all to consider Bacha Coffee as the ultimate coffee experience. Divided across Single Origin, Fine Blended, Fine Flavoured-including the beloved I Love Paris-and Naturally CO2 Decaffeinated categories, guests can explore the awe-inspiring stores through its three distinct concepts: an intimate Coffee Bar, a retail Coffee Boutique, and a full-service Takeaway experience.

For those seeking an immersive sit-down experience, the Bacha Coffee Bar offers an exclusive setting-seating up to 15 guests at SM Mall of Asia and 8 guests at Greenbelt 3. True to Moroccan tradition, no espresso-based beverages are served here. Every brew is meticulously prepared and poured from signature golden pots. The coffee is accompanied by gourmet and freshly baked treats, including the Philippines-exclusive Soy-Marinated Chicken and Potato Croissant. There are also signature desserts like the decadent Bacha Coffee Tiramisu, served in an amber glass jar layered with coffee jelly and Arabica-soaked biscuits.

The Coffee Boutique features floor-to-ceiling columns of ochre canisters. Coffee enthusiasts can purchase loose beans by weight or have them freshly ground by in-house Coffee Masters to match their exact brewing setup. The retail collection also offers exquisite gift choices, such as the Signature Nomad Collection-featuring rare origins like Yemen’s Grand Moka Matari Coffee-along with single-serve Coffee Bag Gift Boxes, bone china from the Heritage Collection, and curated gift hampers.

And yes, the Navigator sampler, a box of 25 individually wrapped, single-serve drip coffee bags, is also available here and the one I’ll most likely come back for the most.

Bacha Coffee also elevates the takeaway experience. Each takeaway order, whether served hot or iced, is presented on a silver-toned designer tray complete with vanilla bean-flecked Chantilly cream, a raw sugar stick, a wooden spoon, and a reusable glass straw.

As someone who has fully embraced Bacha Coffee’s timeless tradition after first experiencing it in, of all places, the open seas, being able to enjoy its rich brews at home and, yes, in their new Metro Manila stores is nothing short of a wonderful treat.

As I kept telling Maranda Barnes, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of V3 Gourmet, Bacha Coffee’s Marrakech roots reminded me of ‘Marrakesh Express,’ the classic folk song by Crosby, Stills and Nash. With its upbeat tone and inviting lyrics, I found myself on board this particular train thanks in large part to Bacha Coffee.

Looking forward to seeing more Bacha Coffee stores open here in the Philippines in the near future.

Destination Guide:

Bacha Coffee SM Mall of Asia: Ground Floor, Main Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City. Open daily from 10 am to 10 pm.

Bacha Coffee Greenbelt 3: Ground Floor, Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati City. Open Sunday to Thursday from 11 am to 9 pm, and Friday to Saturday from 11 am to 10 pm.

President Ilham Aliyev sends congratulatory letter to President of Kazakhstan

President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich,

On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I sincerely congratulate you and, through you, the people of your brotherly country on the national holiday of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic Day, and convey my best wishes.

Today, as a result of the deliberate policy pursued under your leadership, the Republic of Kazakhstan has achieved comprehensive development, made progress in all spheres, strengthened its economic potential, and gained considerable prestige on the international stage. As a brotherly country, we sincerely rejoice in Kazakhstan’s year-after-year progress and its continued achievements.

Our regular mutual visits, meetings, and active dialogue at the highest level play an important role in accelerating the development of our bilateral relations, strengthening our strategic partnership and alliance, and enriching them with new content. I highly appreciate your recent visit to Azerbaijan to participate in the 7th CICA Summit.

I am confident that Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan intergovernmental relations, drawing strength from our rich moral values and the brotherhood of our peoples, will continue to develop steadily and grow stronger through our joint efforts.

On this festive day, I wish you robust health, happiness, and success in your responsible state activities, and the brotherly people of Kazakhstan lasting peace, well-being, and prosperity.

’Ohanaeze at 50′: Onuma on hazards of unipolarism (1)

‘The Igbo have no king, as the saying goes, and that absence of a central authority figure has allowed us to flourish in some ways while limiting us in others. Ohanaeze was meant to fill that void, to be the voice that speaks when the people cannot speak as one. But a voice that is silent when it should speak, that is absent when it should be present, that allows impostors to hijack its message without consequence, is a voice that is slowly strangling itself’ (Agbeze Ireke Kalu Onuma’s ‘Ohanaeze at 50,’ p. 236).

Introduction

A new Colonial Master looms large on the economic horizon of 21st Century Igboland. He is the militant Arab expansionist, hand in glove with the Islamist Nigeria, that captured the Ohaji/Egbema gas fields through the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, NMGP, also known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, AAGP. His resource terrorism against Ndigbo has been going on since 2016. Once completed, the pipeline will place the economy of Ndigbo in the hands of Morocco for as long as gas powers human civilisation. What has Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the apex socio-cultural group representing some 80 million Igbos, done to halt the construction of this illegal pipeline?

It is also instructive that in September 2026, days before Ndigbo gathered in Lagos to receive Agbeze Ireke Kalu Onuma’s major work, ‘Ohanaeze at 50: The Burden of Memory. The Politics of Relevance,’ overwhelmed Igbo traders in Lagos protested against the new Chinese economic conquistadors. Ohanaeze should have known a day would come when Asian retailers would enter Nigeria. The same traders demonstrating against the Chinese allowed Lebanese syndicates to operate gambling machines in Igbo markets targeting our apprentices (see my ‘The Igbo Apprentice Addicted to Gambling and Other Matters: Open Letter to Leaders of Igbo Traders’ Associations’).

In ‘Capitalist Nigger,’ Chika Onyeani warned us the economy was everything because an economically self-reliant black community could never be easily dominated politically. He forewarned Ohanaeze about how the Chinese Spider-Web Economic Doctrine operates: China would enter Nigeria, sell everything to Nigerians and buy nothing from Nigerians. In the past two decades, the powerful Lagos chapter of Ohanaeze did not address the possibility of Asians dislodging Igbo traders. Instead, it consumed itself with infighting. Asian retailers are here, and our response is carrying placards. That is weakness.

Ohanaeze appears not to understand the Igbo problem because it is still trapped in the post-bellum mindset of the 1970s. It lost the plot refusing to look at the global scene. Any discourse on Ohanaeze must avert intellectual foreclosure by looking at the big picture to understand the place of Ndigbo in the economic timetable of the 21st Century. Limiting ourselves to the actions and inactions of the association will ensnare one into the treadmill Ohanaeze found itself. Onuma escapes this trap by admitting the Igbo Diaspora in his argument. He also gives the Igbo economy the attention it deserves (Onuma: 387).

Understanding the Onuma Argument

Onuma examines the deployment of mechanics of power by the Ohanaeze leadership (human factor) and how the monolithic body became the elephant in the room (institutional failure). He believes the association suffers a crisis of legitimacy due to poor performance. Legitimacy is not a permanent certificate. It is renewable with every milestone covered. The moment Ohanaeze stops performing, it loses legitimacy before Ndigbo. It suffers a crisis of legitimacy because its elite leadership suffers from a survivalist complex; just as Ndigbo, especially young Igbos, it serves have their own resistance complex.

The founding fathers formed the association in 1976 as ‘a response to deep trauma. The founders were reacting to the anti-Igbo pogroms, the horror of the civil war, the dislocation and suffering that followed…. They preferred negotiation to confrontation, because survival required it’ (Onuma: 245). Their survivalist complex meant they ‘see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil’ in a hostile Nigeria if they must remain alive and serve Ndigbo. Their collective self-abnegation was typical of any marginalised group.

In ‘Souls of the Black Folk,’ W. E. B. Du Bois identified a survivalist complex in the emancipated Negro living in the racist southern part of the United States. He called this survivalist complex ‘patent defence,’ first noticed in the Medieval Jews living in anti-Semitic Europe. The marginalised Southern Negro resorted to flattery and deception to survive white racism. Onuma agrees with Du Bois on how a violent environment emasculates the individual. Such a victim is alienated as a mental exile. He is in an environment yet does not feel he belongs, as many young Igbos feel about Nigeria (Onuma: 203). The victim’s response is either acquiescence or resistance. For Igbos who experienced the war, their response is acquiescence conditioned by their survivalist Complex. But for the latter generations, their resistance complex aims to factionalise Ohanaeze or secede from Nigeria.

‘Deep trauma,’ ‘Igbo Psyche,’ ‘horror,’ ‘war,’ ‘dislocation’, and Suffering’ constitute a unique register indicating abnormal conditions. ‘Ohanaeze at 50’ engages Psychology of Oppression, defined as the abnormal behaviour oppression produces in the victim, consistent in Frantz Fanon’s ‘Black Skin, White Masks;’ Steve Biko’s ‘I Write What I Like’ and Onyeani’s ‘Capitalist Nigger.’ Fanon diagnosed the colonized did not aspire for self-liberation but to be assimilated into the white dominant culture. Biko saw the same syndrome in those blacks he called ‘non-whites,’ who aspired to be whites instead of being proud of their black identity. He reminded them that by trying to be whites, they were insulting the intelligence of God who created them blacks. Onyeani ridiculed those blacks prepared to pay any price to live among whites instead of fixing their degraded black neighbourhoods. Onuma sees the ambivalence in Ohanaeze appeasing the rabidly anti-Igbo establishment instead of confronting it.

Unlike Fanon and Biko, however, Onuma stops short of lampooning those Igbos who aspire to be Binis while repudiating their Igboness as a burden. Instead, he turns his attention to the fragmentation of the association and the resistance complex that produced such schism: ‘When nothing changes, when the suffering continues, when the roads are still bad, when the schools are still neglected, when the appointments still bypass the Southeast, people lose faith’ (Onuma: 245). Alienation forces impatient young Igbos to take their destiny into their own hands. Welcome to the factional Ohanaeze and separatist Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

Onuma concedes that the two self-defeating mindsets/complexes put the association and Ndigbo under serious stress. It is like the proverbial falcon no longer hearing the falconer. He wonders if Ohanaeze is actually a socio-cultural entity, a political lobby group or what? This is because an amorphous Ohanaeze creates identity and audience problems for itself and Ndigbo:

Is Ohanaeze a cultural association that is inward-looking or a pressure group that is outward-looking? In the former, success is in the number of children who can speak Igbo, and in the latter, the number of policies positively influenced. If political broker success is in the number of appointments and contracts secured. Each role requires different structure, incentive, form and accountability. You can’t be all three without creating institutional contradiction and atrophy. Ohanaeze has tried to be all, only to end up being none’ (Onuma: 431).

Fear on the part of Ohanaeze leadership and anger on the part of its followership lead us to a deadlock: If Ohanaeze moves fast in ameliorating the Igbo condition as demanded by young Igbos, the suspicious Nigeria could proscribe it. But if it goes slowly about it not to alarm the establishment, Igbo youths could opt for factionalism, if not outright secession. Things are not helped, as Ohanaeze must not only remain a single entity but also keep Ndigbo in Nigeria. Failure could dent the Igbo man’s leadership credentials, a prospect the association can ill afford. Onuma’s solution, inter alia, is democratising the Igbo traditional philosophy of ‘ako-na-uche,’ or wisdom and intelligence, to make the association more responsive.

My point of divergence with Onuma is his aversion to factionalism. The author is against a parallel Ohanaeze even when elections are rigged and the constitution is violated. He favours an in-house arbitration mechanism like the Committee of Igbo Archbishops and Bishops on Peace and Conflict Resolution. The problem is that none take this committee seriously. Did former President-Generals Dr Joe Irukwu and Professor George Obiozor/successors respect episcopal arbitration in 2006 and 2023?

I conscientiously believe in the necessity of some form of counter-force to Ohanaeze if Ndigbo must see the light of the next fifty years. Socio-Cultural includes the economy, oil, gas, banking, Maritime, etc., which Ohanaeze is not addressing. The association was created to serve Ndigbo and not the other way round. The day it abdicates this crucial duty, or dallies when Igbo lives and properties are at risk, then Ndigbo must fashion out an alternative best suited for the challenge at hand.

My modest enquiry is to examine Onuma’s treatment of power within the context of Social Contract. He believes his reforms could set Ohanaeze on the true path of becoming the proactive entity envisaged by our founding fathers, namely, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Eze CC Nwuche (Ekpeye), Chief CD Orike (Ogba), Okogbule Wonodi (Ikwerre), Emmanuel Agwuma (Ikwerre), Obidike Nwonodi (Ikwerre), Francis Ellah (Ogba), Akanu Ibiam, Michael Okpara, Dr Obi Wali (Ikwerre), etc. Citations from the primary text are lifted from the soft copy version.

Mutable Reality Vs Immutable Ohanaeze

Ohanaeze could have been a solution in 1976 when it was established. But the same entity can be the new problem in 2026. This is because no condition is permanent. Professor Donald Nwoga reminded us that every reality changes not only within itself but from one form of reality to another. He simply meant that within five decades, the problem of Ndigbo in Nigeria not only changed in content but also in form. Onuma’s claim that the association suffers identity and audience problem must be understood within the ambit of a changing reality.

An ossified Ohanaeze, trapped in the 1970s political inclusion mindset, when the challenge today is economic terrorism, in my view, is a stumbling block. In this age of Information Revolution that heralds the social media, Ohanaeze has proven itself the elusive ‘Pater remotus,’ or remote father. It is nowhere seen; and when seen is silent. There is nothing like Ohanaeze for Ohanaeze’s sake. Any pragmatic measure within or without the association capable of serving the Igbo interests, I truly believe, must be considered.

I agree with the author’s presentation of the factors that coalesced to reduce Ohanaeze to an albatross. But when you apply deductive calculations to his solutions, you tend to see the same old Ohanaeze emerge at the end of his reforms- an inverted Ohanaeze populated by squabbling elites, patronage network specialists who benefit from the rot, the contractors, the fixers, the gatekeepers who have learned to profit from a weak and distant Ohanaeze (Onuma: 371).