Category: Business Day

The Rivers State House of Assembly has issued a warrant of arrest for the vice chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences and ordered the recovery of approximately N24 billion in scholarship funds disbursed to the university.

This followed the failure of the vice chancellor to appear before the Assembly’s ad hoc committee investigating the use of state funds disbursed to the institution since its establishment in 2017.

The resolution was reached on Friday during the Assembly’s 53rd legislative sitting and followed consideration of the ad hoc committee’s report presented by Dumle Maol, committee chairman.

The committee report cited the failure of PAMO University’s vice chancellor to appear before it despite several invitations to explain how money given to the university under the scholarship scheme was expended.

It also chronicled how the university received over N29 billion from the state government with no corresponding student enrolment, giving credence to the reason behind the vice chancellor’s refusal to honour the invitations.

Martin Chike Amaewhule, Speaker of the Assembly, said that though the intentions of the government in entering into the scholarship scheme agreement were good, the implementation was a cog in the plan.

He frowned at the situation where documents presented by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and the Office of the Accountant-General were at variance, adding that, by simple deduction, out of the over N29 billion released by the state government to PAMO University, it utilised only N5 billion.

Amaewhule harped on the determination of the assembly under his leadership to do the right thing irrespective of whose ox is gored, stressing that no individual can be bigger than the House as an institution empowered by the Constitution.

The House, among other recommendations, also urged the state government to set up a committee to recover all unaccounted funds in possession of PAMO University and deposit them in the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account.

Some brands are remembered by their logos. Others by their products. A few become attached to moments in people’s lives.

For many Nigerians, Coca-Cola belongs in the last category.

That is what makes the Coca-Cola 75th Anniversary Anthem, featuring Johnny Drille and a 75-person choir, an interesting piece of anniversary storytelling. Rather than simply reminding consumers that Coca-Cola has been in Nigeria for 75 years, the song attempts to answer a more difficult question: what does 75 years of being present in people’s everyday lives actually sound like?

The answer is warm, nostalgic and deliberately communal.

Coca-Cola arrived in Nigeria in 1951, and over the decades its presence has extended beyond the beverage itself. It has appeared at birthdays, weddings, family gatherings, office meetings, roadside shops and countless informal moments of celebration and connection. The anthem leans heavily into that collective memory.

Johnny Drille is an appropriate voice for the exercise. His music is often built around warmth, emotion and nostalgia, qualities that allow the song to sound more like a reflection than a conventional advertisement. His background in church music and experience working with choirs also make the decision to build the anthem around a 75-person choir feel less like a marketing gimmick and more like a natural extension of his musical identity.

The choir is perhaps the most effective idea in the entire project.

One singer for every year Coca-Cola has spent in Nigeria turns a numerical milestone into a musical device. The 75 voices do not merely accompany Drille; they represent the generations through which the brand has travelled. When they come together, the message is clear: the story being celebrated is not only Coca-Cola’s story, but also the memories Nigerians have built around it.

That distinction matters. A 75th anniversary campaign could easily have become a corporate exercise in celebrating longevity. Instead, the anthem tries to shift the attention from the company to the consumer. It is effectively saying: we have been here for 75 years, but the reason that history matters is because you have been here with us.

The song’s Nigerian identity is another important part of its appeal. It does not attempt to sound like a generic global corporate anthem. Drille’s delivery, the rhythm, the choir and the references to everyday Nigerian experiences give it a distinctly local character.

There is, however, room for the cultural representation to go further. The inclusion of Hausa in one section acknowledges Nigeria’s linguistic diversity, but a song celebrating 75 years in a country as culturally diverse as Nigeria could arguably have explored more of that richness. The absence of stronger Igbo and Yoruba elements leaves some of the country’s cultural palette unexplored.

Adanna Madueke is a digital creator whose natural hair tutorials and cultural commentary have amassed over 1.5 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, earning coverage on major international outlets like CBC News, CityNews, and ELLE Canada. But behind the digital numbers lies a deliberate, multi-layered business strategy.

For Madueke, social media was never the end goal; it was the proof of concept. Over the past decade, she has systematically converted digital trust into a diversified cultural and economic ecosystem. Her brand, OurHairitage, now spans product lines and wellness platforms across North America, the UK, and Africa. Through Stop the Cut, she leads a growing movement advocating against institutional pressures on African women to alter their hair, while her original entertainment format, Date My Hair, brings unscripted African beauty narratives directly to mainstream television.

Now, Madueke is anchoring her global reach back home in Lagos. With the upcoming launch of the OurHairitage Academy in Lekki, she is establishing physical infrastructure to train young women in natural hair care, certifying their skills, and equipping them to treat beauty as a formal, high-value trade rather than informal labor.

In this exclusive interview with Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha, Madueke speaks about transitioning from creator to founder, navigating the operational realities of building physical assets in Lagos, advocating for hair policy reforms, and why the future of diaspora enterprise relies on turning online influence into long-term local ownership.

You built a digital footprint reaching over 1.5 million people across platforms. At what exact moment did you realize that this community wasn’t just an audience, but a proof of concept for a broader cultural and economic ecosystem?

Honestly, this whole journey has felt spiritual. It just happened. I’ve loved hair since I was six, but I’m a Nigerian first-born child, so you already know how that story was supposed to go. The plan was medicine, full stop. My father was already proud of ‘Dr. Adanna’ before I’d even finished secondary school, and ‘hairstylist’ was not an option anybody was entertaining in that house. Then I moved to Canada, where I didn’t look like anyone around me. I struggled with my confidence and my identity, even with how to style my own hair.

So I went back to the interest my family had tried to shut down and started doing my hair myself. Classmates began asking how I did it, and soon they wanted me to do theirs too. Once university got busy, especially during exams, I couldn’t keep up. So I started recording myself doing my hair on YouTube so my friends could follow along. Those videos took off out of nowhere. People asked how I parted the back and which products I used. They asked how to make their natural hair look flawless, and whether there was a salon near them that understood their hair. Then the messages started. People told me I’d changed how they felt about hair they had grown up hiding, hair they’d been made to feel was inferior or ‘local.’

That’s when it clicked for me. People weren’t just watching. They trusted me enough to ask where to spend their money, and they deserved businesses built for them, not just videos. So in a way I did end up treating people. Just not in a hospital, and my father has made his peace with it.

Many diaspora creators build audiences globally, but you are specifically channeling that reach back home through the Lekki-based OurHairitage Academy. What are the unique operational and strategic challenges of converting diaspora influence into physical infrastructure in Nigeria?

Online, I can reach a million people in a day. On the ground in Lagos, everything takes longer, and anyone who has tried to get anything done in Lagos traffic knows exactly what I mean. You have to find the right space, build the right team, set standards and earn people’s trust in person. The hardest part is consistency. People know the quality they see online, and they expect the same thing when they walk into a classroom. What’s made the difference is working with people who really know the market. Our Lekki flagship has a founding operator who understands Lagos deeply, and we bring the brand, the curriculum and the audience. My reach can open the door, but it’s the team on the ground that keeps it open.

As a creator who transitioned into an entrepreneur, how do you balance the authenticity required for community building with the discipline required to build sustainable, revenue-generating businesses like OurHairitage?

I’ve never seen them as opposites. My community has been with me for years, and trust me, Nigerians will tell you when something isn’t real. So I only put my name on things I’d use myself, whether that’s the Hair Growth Journal or our training programmes.

The discipline is in the structure behind it: pricing, margins, operations, and having the right people in the right roles. If the business can’t sustain itself, I can’t keep showing up for the community. For me, building something profitable is part of being authentic to them.

With Date My Hair, you are taking African hair and identity into mainstream unscripted entertainment. What inspired the format, and how do you leverage media IP to alter mainstream beauty narratives on a global scale?

I kept noticing that people have strong opinions about hair that they rarely say out loud, and those opinions show up everywhere: in dating, at work, and at family gatherings where an aunty will ask when you’re ‘going to do something’ with your hair. Date My Hair puts all of that on screen in a way that’s fun to watch. You laugh, you react, and then you catch yourself questioning what you believed. Owning the format matters to me. When the IP is ours, we decide how our hair and identity are shown, instead of waiting for someone else to tell our story. People will sit through entertainment when they’d never sit through a lecture, and that’s how minds start to change. The show premieres this December.

Your project Our African Hairitage explored hair traditions across Nigeria, Senegal, and Kenya. How did filming across these distinct regions change your perspective on how hair functions as living history, survival tools, and identity?

Going across Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya showed me that hair on this continent has never been only about beauty. It told people your age, your status and where you came from, and at times it was even a tool for survival.

Seeing those traditions in different places made me realize that the pressure to cut or relax our hair isn’t a small cosmetic choice. We’re losing a piece of living history. That experience shaped everything I built after it, especially Stop The Cut and the way the Academy teaches hair as heritage, not just a skill.

Having been featured on outlets like CBC News, CityNews, and ELLE Canada, do you feel Western mainstream media understands the distinction between ‘natural hair as a trend’ versus ‘natural hair as economic and cultural infrastructure’?

It’s getting better, but it still mostly gets covered as a trend. What people miss is the economy underneath it: the products, the training, the salons, the jobs, and the billions women spend every year on hair care that wasn’t designed for them. I’m grateful for the coverage I’ve had from CBC, CityNews and ELLE Canada, and each time it gives me a chance to push that conversation a bit further. I’d love to see natural hair talked about in the

business pages, not only the beauty pages.

The Stop the Cut movement directly challenges the institutional pressure placed on African women to relax, alter, or hide their natural hair. How do you move this conversation beyond personal beauty choices into addressing corporate policy, school dress codes, and professional grooming standards across Africa and the diaspora?

It starts with the individual, but the pressure comes from institutions: school rules, workplace expectations and grooming standards nobody writes down but everyone feels. Many of us remember being told at school to cut our hair low or relax it to look ‘neat.’ So that’s where we’re taking the conversation.

In August, we brought leaders together for a Stop The Cut roundtable at Capital Club Lagos. This month, we started our school tour, which takes the conversation straight to students and teachers, with a petition that gives young people a voice. What we want is simple: schools and workplaces where natural hair is accepted as professional, full stop.

You’ve often spoken about how certain salons and beauty standards perpetuate the myth that 4C or natural hair is ‘hard to manage’. How is OurHairitage actively rewiring that narrative through education and product access?

4C hair isn’t the problem. The problem is that so many stylists were never trained to work with it.We’ve all sat in that salon chair while someone combs your hair like they’re settling a personal grudge, then tells you it’s ‘too strong’ and suggests a relaxer.

So we work on both ends. Through the Academy, we train stylists and young women to care for natural hair properly, and our Hair Growth Club gives our community access to a trichologist. On the product side, tools like the Hair Growth Journal help people understand what their hair actually needs. Once people have the knowledge and the right products, ‘hard to manage’ stops being true.

The OurHairitage Academy in Lekki focuses on equipping young women with practical, income-generating skills. What does the curriculum look like, and how are you positioning hair care and styling as a high-value trade rather than informal labor?

We have three levels: Foundation (6 weeks), Certification (10 weeks) and The House (8 weeks). Each one builds on the last. We keep class sizes small at our Lekki flagship so every student gets proper hands-on time. Hair is one of the biggest consumer markets in Africa, yet the people doing the work are often treated as informal labour. We want to change that. We train to a professional standard, certify students’ skills and teach them the business side too, so they can charge what their work is worth.

Our top graduates from The House are positioned for investment to start businesses of their own. The Lekki flagship opens on November 1.

What is your message to other young Africans in the diaspora who want to build global brands while anchoring their investments, operations, and long-term impact back on the continent?

Don’t let your reach stay online. Build something you own, and bring at least part of it home, where it can create real jobs and opportunities. Start with the people who already follow you. If you listen, they’ll tell you what they need. And partner with people on the ground who know the market better than you do.

And to my fellow first-borns: it’s okay if the path doesn’t look like what your parents planned. Build it well enough, and they’ll come around. Mine did.

The Plateau State Government has assured motorists and other road users of safe passage along the Jos-Barkin Ladi highway following an attack in Kassa community, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, which left three vigilantes dead.

The government also condemned the attack and appealed for calm, urging residents to avoid blocking the highway as security agencies intensify efforts to identify and apprehend those responsible.

The assurance followed protests by women and youths in Kassa, who reportedly blocked the major highway after gunmen attacked the community at about 1am on Friday, killing three vigilantes, including the community’s youth leader.

The road blockage reportedly caused traffic congestion and left some travellers stranded for hours, as protesters expressed anger over repeated attacks in the area and demanded improved security.

In a statement signed by Joyce Ramnap, the Plateau state Commissioner for Information and Communication, made available to Journalists on Friday in Jos described the attack as ‘deeply regrettable and unacceptable.’

The government commiserated with the families of the victims and assured residents that security agencies were taking steps to apprehend the perpetrators and prevent further attacks.

It also appealed to affected families and communities to maintain peace, warning that blocking the highway could expose travellers to further danger.

‘Government wishes to assure travellers that the road is clear and open to motorists and other road users. Citizens are therefore urged to go about their lawful activities without fear, while remaining vigilant and cooperating with security agencies,’ the statement said.

Confirming the inincident, Rwang Tengwong, the spokesman for the Berom Youth Moulders-Association (BYM), described the killings as sad and disturbing.

Tengwong said the victims were killed while protecting their community, adding that their deaths had heightened fear among residents and dealt a setback to local security efforts.

He urged security agencies to intensify efforts to track down the attackers and bring them to justice, while calling for urgent measures to protect communities in Barkin Ladi and other vulnerable areas of the state.

BusinessDay reports that Security personnel were subsequently deployed to the area to maintain peace and prevent further escalation.

Tom Otuaga, the Chief Executive Officer of KTS Oil and Gas, has been conferred with the Fellowship of the CIPM in recognition of his contributions to professional leadership, human capital development and organisational excellence.

Otuaga received the prestigious fellowship at the institute’s 58th International Conference and Exhibition (ICE) held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja on Thursday, September 24, 2026.

He received the Fellowship award alongside notable and high-profile human capital administrators, including the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, Ajibola Basiru, and the Director of Administration and Human Resources at the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), Mrs. Olufunke Alaba Longe, amongst others.

The CIPM concluded its 58th annual conference themed: ‘Repositioning for Value and Impact,’ with a gala night, where it recognised distinguished professionals for their contributions to the development of the human resources and management profession.

The Fellowship places Otuaga among professionals who have demonstrated consistency in practice, leadership, and commitment to human capital development.

Speaking on the recognition, Otuaga expressed appreciation to the CIPM for the honour, describing it as both a recognition of past efforts and a call to greater responsibility.

He said the award would further strengthen his commitment to promoting effective leadership, professionalism and people-centred management within the workplace.

‘The CIPM is the only accredited body charged with the responsibility of regulating HR practice in Nigeria; it is the dream of every HR practitioner to become a Fellow of the Institute someday,’ Otuaga said.

‘It takes years of hardwork, dedication and unflinching commitment to the profession,’ he added.

He noted that becoming a Fellow of the CIPM is a well-deserved recognition for ‘breathing, eating and living people management.’

‘It is mark of credibility for me as an HR practitioner that I have done the very right things for the practice over the years,’ he said.

With KTS’ core service being the deployment and management of technical manpower for the operation and maintenance of oil and gas installations, Dr. Otuaga said receiving this recognition was a certification for the leadership of the company.

‘It tells the world that KTS is led by someone who understands and upholds the principles of good people mananagement,’ he noted.

The CIPM Fellowship is the Institute’s highest professional recognition and is conferred on individuals who meet its prescribed professional and leadership requirements.

Otuaga’s recognition is expected to further underscore his standing in the Nigerian business landscape, especially in the oil and gas sector and professional community.

Tom Otuaga is the Chief Executive Officer of KTS Oil and Gas Services Limited, an indigenous Nigerian oilfield servicing firm that provides customised operations support services specifically tailored for upstream onshore and offshore oil and gas operators.

A people leader with experience across FMCG and the oil and gas sectors, he is a former Chief Human Resources Officer at Century Group and former Managing Director, CCM Vessels Management.

He has led manpower operations for multiple FPSOs/oil and gas assets owing to his strong leadership, people engagement and consultancy skils. A Harvard University and London Business School trained, he has PhD in Organizational Behaviour from the University of Lagos and a member of the American Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).

Otuaga’s company, KTS, specializes in the provision and management of competent manpower that guarantee the productive operation and maintenance of oil and gas installations such as FPSO, MOPU, FSO, Rig, Flow Stations, or FDPSO. The company caters to these operations by providing a wide range of services such as manpower supply and management, industrial relations intervention, crew logistics support, provision of technical mooring support, and community relation management.

With over half a decade’s track record of excellent service delivery in the upstream sector, KTS remains committed to its mission of prioritizing excellent customer service, quality standards and sustainable compliance.

Nigeria is rapidly becoming a mobile-first economy as smartphone penetration rises to 75 per cent from 64 per cent in 2023, accelerating consumers’ shift from feature phones to internet-enabled devices and app-driven digital services.

Smartphone ownership in Nigeria continues to grow significantly as consumers increasingly rely on mobile devices for communication, financial transactions, entertainment, learning and productivity, creating new opportunities for businesses operating in the country’s expanding digital economy.

This was revealed in the Nigeria Smartphone Study: A Nationwide Analysis of Smartphone Ownership and Digital Application Usage, conducted by KPMG in partnership with Orange Group Nigeria.

Lawrence Amadi, partner and head, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, KPMG Africa, said the analysis was designed to provide businesses and investors with insight into consumer behaviour and preferences, and also help investors, companies, and stakeholders coming to Nigeria to invest make informed decisions and contribute to the continued development of the ecosystem.

‘The analysis intends to capture consumer behaviour and preferences, especially among consumers using smartphones and from a look forward standpoint, this kind of study will help investors, companies, stakeholders coming to Nigeria to invest, make informed decisions and contribute to the continued development of the ecosystem’, he said.

Amadi cited Temu’s entry into Nigeria as an example of how companies can use consumer data to shape their market strategies.

‘There was a reason why Temu targeted a lot of sponsored ads in Nigeria, because they already knew we had Jumia and Konga, but of course, they studied the complaints customers had using reviews and comments on social media. That’s why they worked on the available data and strategised based on that’, he said

The study found that Android dominates Nigeria’s smartphone market, accounting for 96 per cent of devices, while Tecno leads individual smartphone brands with a 30 per cent share.

Social media and messaging platforms also recorded significant penetration. WhatsApp was installed on 95 per cent of smartphones surveyed, followed by Facebook at 8 per cent and TikTok at per cent.

Fintech applications are similarly becoming embedded in consumers’ digital activities, with OPay recording 69 per cent penetration among smartphone users, followed by PalmPay at 29 per cent.t

The study also highlighted the growing use of smartphones beyond communication and payments.

Xender emerged as the most dominant platform with a 77 per cent smartphone presence, reflecting its widespread use for file sharing, while Google Drive recorded 31 per cent penetration.

The growing awareness and use of artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT and Google Assistant, further indicate that smartphones are evolving beyond communication devices into platforms for work, learning, and digital productivity.

Ernest Ezenna, Business Development Director, Orange Group Nigeria, stated that Nigeria’s digital transformation is being driven by its young population, improving internet connectivity and increasing smartphone affordability.

Adetola Adesanoye, Research Lead, Orange Group Nigeria, said the first edition of the study was launched in 2019 to provide insights into smartphone ownership and usage, with plans to conduct it biennially across multiple cities.

She said the survey process was designed to verify the accuracy of respondents’ answers.

‘We verified that the respondents actually had this apps on their phones, and it was not just a mere response, so every detail was confirmed’, Adesanoye said

Looking ahead, the findings suggest that as smartphone adoption expands, businesses will need to align their digital services with changing consumer preferences, affordability and application usage patterns to participate in Nigeria’s growing mobile economy.

The next time you settle into your seat before take-off, take a moment to look around the cabin. That shade of blue surrounding you is not an accident. Aircraft interiors go through a process that considers the passenger at every stage, and the colour of the seats plays a bigger part than most people realise.

Boeing builds hundreds of aircraft a year for airlines around the world and has more than 14,000 planes in service globally. When each aircraft is fitted out, the company looks closely at every element inside and out, and it has previously shared the thinking behind its choice of interior colours.

Blue turns up again and again on aircraft seats, though shades differ from carrier to carrier, and this comes down to colour psychology. Boeing has explained that blue and green carry associations with peace, while blue and purple can suggest nobility.

Rishi Kapoor, chief executive of Nanak Flights, said blue works as a calming choice for nervous flyers.

‘Even though travelling by plane is statistically the safest way to travel, many passengers are still prone to stress while travelling on an airplane,’ he told Reader’s Digest.

He added: ‘It might seem like an insignificant detail, but it’s one that helps make flying the best way to travel.’

Aviation designer Nigel Goode told The Telegraph that the exact shade an airline chooses often reflects its position in the market.

‘While some of the more budget airlines might use brasher, bolder shades, most others go with muted tones,’ he said.

He explained the reasoning behind this approach: ‘The overarching aim is to create a home-like relaxing feel, so airlines tend to use muted colours that feel domestic, natural and earthy for that reason.’

Goode also traced the origins of blue as the standard choice for cabin seating, linking it to trust rather than fashion.

‘Blue became the colour of choice because it’s a conservative, non-contentious, corporate shade that symbolises being trustworthy and safe, so you see it used in all of the older airlines like British Airways,’ he said.

Beyond the choice of colour itself, the shade used can change how a cabin feels to sit in. Lighter shades tend to make a space feel taller and wider, while darker shades can make the same space feel smaller and narrower. This is one reason cabin designers weigh up not just which colour to use, but how light or dark that colour should be.

Colour can shape more than mood and space, according to Teague designer Virginia Tripp, who spoke to Boeing about the wider effects of interior design choices.

‘Colours also can influence a person’s perception of humidity, temperature and aroma,’ she said.

Blue can give a cabin a fresh, clean quality, and combined with green it can make passengers feel cooler than the actual temperature. Orange, by contrast, can create a sense of warmth, while pink has been linked to a perception of sweetness in the air.

None of this happens by chance. From the shade of blue on a headrest to the tone of the carpet underfoot, every choice is made with the traveller’s comfort in mind. For passengers who feel anxious before a flight, that quiet, familiar blue may be doing more work than they ever imagined.

Former Manchester City midfielder Rodri is confident the club will clear its name after reports that it was found guilty of 114 Premier League financial charges.

The ruling has not yet been published, and no sanctions have been determined, but the reported findings have raised questions over the potential consequences for Man City, including a points deduction or the stripping of previous titles.

Rodri, who now plays for Barcelona, said he remained confident in City’s legal position, citing the club’s successful appeal against a previous UEFA financial fair play case.

‘We went through an identical process in 2020,’ Rodri said at a press conference ahead of Spain’s Nations League clash with England.

‘The club always reassured us that we would be cleared of wrongdoing, that we would face no penalties, because nothing improper had been done. We trusted the club, and ultimately, the club was acquitted.’

City have been accused of failing to provide accurate financial information and details of payments to players and coaches, alongside alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial sustainability rules.

The club has consistently denied the allegations.

Rodri said he expected City to receive a favourable outcome again.

‘I have faith that the club, which I know very well, will be cleared, given the reassurance they gave us back then that they had done everything by the book,’ he said.

City were found guilty by UEFA in 2020 of breaching financial fair play rules and initially received a two-year ban from European competitions. The Court of Arbitration for Sport later overturned the ban on appeal and reduced the accompanying fine.

The agitation by education workers for the removal of Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, intensifies over the handling of the King’s College, Lagos, concession, and other issues within the ministry, as experts argue over realities and criticisms.

As the controversy deepens, questions are being raised over the basis of the grievances, the realities on the ground and whether the competing claims accurately reflect the state of the education sector.

Isa Pantami, a professor of Cybersecurity, and former minister of communications and digital economy, argued that removing the minister, who he described as a reform-minded person, will not help Nigeria’s education sector.

‘The evidence of his stewardship is verifiable. Through the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), the minister has restored focus and transparency to the sector. His most defining reform is the bold shift from certificate to skills.

‘By repositioning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), as central to national productivity, he has enrolled over 150,000 trainees in more than 1,600 centres, introduced biometric verification to ensure transparency in funding, and expanded training into Artificial Intelligence, robotics, renewable energy and cybersecurity,’ Pantami said.

Other notable achievements of Alausa include the unveiling of the digital academy, and championing digital reforms that tackle age-long problems.

These reforms include the automation of result collection and transcript processes to curb fraud and delays, the launch of the School Safety Portal with the NSCDC for real-time monitoring of schools, the raising of textbook quality standards, the restoration of History as a core subject, and the facilitation of transnational education partnerships.

Besides, the minister placed teachers at the centre of reform through the National Teacher Summit, the Edurevamp professional development platform, the extension of retirement age to 65, and the commitment to pay TRCN licensing fees for public school teachers.

Isaiah Ogundele, an administrator, described the agitation as bigotry, tribalism or animosity.

‘The issue is not farfetched, the people agitating are the antiprogress people that a feeding fat on the calamity befallen educational system every day.

‘There should be a committee that the government might have put in place to sample the opinion of the people where they are for or against the ideas,’ he said.

Some stakeholders, however, argue that since the appointment of Alausa as minister of education in October 2024, the federal government has announced a series of measures aimed at restructuring Nigeria’s education system, improving access to tertiary institutions, expanding technical education and addressing infrastructure deficits.

However, they fear that several of the policies have generated strong opposition from workers, parents, teachers, academics, school proprietors and education rights advocates.

Beyond the King’s College controversy, Alausa’s tenure has been marked by reforms and policies in basic education, tertiary admissions, technical education, examinations, teacher development, digital learning and education financing that sparked controversies.

The increase in secondary school examination fees generated is another policy that stirred major controversy.

In some quarters, the minister is being accused of neglecting workers welfare, promotions and funding.

The federal government had raised the registration fees for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the National Examinations Council Senior School Certificate Examination to N50,000. The proposed charge represented an 82 percent increase over the previous N27,500 fee.

Other arguments against the minister include the decision to cancel the 2022 National Language Policy, which generated debate. The previous policy prescribed the use of the mother tongue or language of the immediate community as the medium of instruction at the foundational level.

But his administration reversed the policy and retained English as the principal medium of instruction. This, the minister defended by pointing to implementation difficulties and poor examination outcomes.

Moreover, the minister sparked controversy when he said the government was working with universities to phase out courses considered poorly aligned with labour market needs.

This decision attracted attention because he warned students against investing in programmes he considered unlikely to lead to meaningful employment.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities warned the government against scrapping university courses it considered ‘irrelevant’.

ASUU’s Bauchi Zone described the proposal as ‘bizarre’ and argued that academic disciplines cannot simply be judged by their immediate employment prospects.

For Christopher Nmeribe, a teacher, the most useful way to look at the agitation is to separate the criticisms from his achievements.

According to the educationist, the King’s College concession is a legitimate basis for serious criticism, but that, by itself, does not establish that the minister should be removed despite the broader record of his administration.

‘The controversy is real and substantial. The Federal Government says King’s College has not been sold, that government retains legal ownership and oversight, while the proposed 35-year concession would give the Old Boys’ Association responsibility for financing, rehabilitation, operation and maintenance. The arrangement has nevertheless triggered strong opposition from workers, parents and other stakeholders, including calls for Alausa’s removal.

‘Interestingly, the government and unions have now agreed to a two-week suspension of implementation and a committee to review/negotiate the agreement. That creates an opportunity to examine the substance rather than allow the controversy to become a simple personality battle,’ he noted.

Nmeribe recommended some yardsticks determine either the minister stays or removed; policy outcomes, not policy announcements. How much have reforms actually improved learning, access, skills acquisition, infrastructure and educational quality?

‘His ministry points to initiatives such as TVET expansion, STEMM investment, NELFUND, teacher development, digitalisation and measures addressing out-of-school children. These should be assessed against measurable results rather than merely counting programmes.

‘The King’s College question is important here. Was the concession transparently negotiated? Were stakeholders adequately consulted? Is value for money demonstrable? Are staff protected? Are there enforceable performance indicators and termination/step-in provisions?’ he queried.

Above all, he said the strongest test is not how many policies have been launched but whether the Nigerian child is learning better, staying in school, acquiring useful skills and graduating into meaningful opportunities.

Historically, visual narratives of African cities were often shaped by external media and interests.

Through projects like Eyes of a Lagos Boy and now Lagos Then and Now, Bolaji Alonge, visual historian and documentary photographer, uses rephotography to build a local archive centered on the perspectives of the people who know the city best.

Rephotography, the practice of taking a modern picture of a site from the exact location used in an archival photograph is rapidly transforming how we record urban history.

His Lagos Then and Now collection brings these past and present perspectives together allowing people experience the city’s ongoing transformation firsthand.

For a rapidly evolving metropolise like Lagos, Alonge, uses rephotography to offer an essential framework to document history as it happens, creating a locally grounded visual record of urban growth.

Rather than simply taking pictures of a city as it stands today, this approach turns everyday photography into a tool for tracking physical and social transformation over time.

The Art of ‘Then and Now’

Creating these before-and-after visual records requires considerable patience and historical research such as sourcing old archival photographs, locating the precise spot where the original photographer stood, matching the exact camera angle, and capturing the contemporary view.

He uses this technique to directly track how the city’s streets and neighborhoods have evolved across generations.

Placing historical and modern photos side-by-side reveals the rapid pace of urban development. Old landmarks disappear to make way for modern high-rises, and quiet streets turn into busy thoroughfares. In some areas, concrete has completely replaced green spaces, while in others, trees have surprisingly grown where there used to be none.

Generating nostalgia and public debate

Reactions to these comparative photos show how deeply residents care about their city’s past.

However, nostalgia often shapes how these changes are perceived.

When an old photo shows a quiet, leafy street that has since become a crowded business area, people usually complain about what was lost.

On the other hand, when modern improvements make a location cleaner or more functional, few people notice.

This highlights how collective memory often leans on romanticized impressions of the past rather than objective physical shifts.

According to Alonge, ‘These visual pairings regularly spark lively debates online. Viewers share personal memories, discuss city planning policies, and debate government decisions, using the images to evaluate where Lagos came from, who directed its changes, and what its future development should prioritize’.

Preserving visual history from within

Applying this method locally, and in global cities like London, New York, Marseille, and Barcelona, it highlights a broader truth, which is that sustained urban photography is fundamentally a way of capturing time.

For instance, a simple photo of a normal street corner today might seem ordinary now, but in twenty or thirty years, it could serve as the only surviving evidence of a neighborhood that no longer exists.

While these visual comparisons have gained widespread engagement online, the project is set to expand beyond digital space.