FR. DZUNGWE @DECADE: Tribute on faithful vocation and visionary action in priesthood by Iornumbe Stanislaus - Commentary@ITREALMS

The Catholic Church in Nigeria, and indeed the global Christian community, is united in joyful celebration as Rev. Fr. Simon Peter Msughter Dzungwe, S.C., marks the 10th anniversary of his priestly ordination.

A dedicated member of the Congregation of the Servants of Charity (the Guanellians), this milestone is more than a chronological marker; it is a profound testament to a decade of unwavering dedication, spiritual fruitfulness, and visionary service in the Lord's vineyard.

Soludo @66: Architect of Anambra's quiet digital revolution by Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata - Commentary@ITREALMS

The 66th floor:
Birthdays are a moment for celebration, reflection, and gratitude. But for transformational leaders, the true measure of their journey is found less in the years lived, and more in the institutions they build, the systems they strengthen, and the future they inspire.

As Governor Chukwuma Soludo marks his 66th birthday, it presents a compelling opportunity to reflect on a remarkable story unfolding quietly across the state: the story of how technology is becoming a fundamental pillar of governance. 

NLNG honors Prof. Bart Nnaji @70, lauds 22-year legacy in elevating Nigeria Prize for Science - ITREALMS

Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has paid a rich tribute to former Minister of Power and renowned scholar, Professor Bart Nnaji, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, celebrating his over two decades of selfless service and strategic leadership toward the governance, credibility, and global stature of The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation.

The energy giant honored Professor Nnaji at a high-profile colloquium organized to mark his milestone birthday. NLNG reflected on his deep-rooted history with the Prize, which spans 22 years from its formative stages in 2004 to its current standing as Africa’s most prestigious scientific award.

Inside Nigeria’s Telecom Quality Struggle by Elvis Eromosele - Commentary@ITREALMS

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Every day, across Nigeria, the frustrations of Nigeria’s digital age often arrive without warning. It happens in the small things. And the big ones. Take the case of a business owner who attempts to complete a critical bank transfer, only for the network to freeze. Consider a student who joins an online lecture and suddenly disappears from the session because the connection collapses. Or perhaps, a trader waits endlessly for a Point-of-Sale transaction approval while impatient customers walk away.

For many, it has become an exhausting routine.

The irony is difficult to ignore. Nigeria’s telecom sector is undergoing one of its biggest modernisation drives in history, yet consumer dissatisfaction remains widespread. While operators continue to expand 4G and 5G networks and spend heavily on upgrades, users still complain that service quality often falls painfully short of expectations.

Dasuki: Sokoto can afford ₦150,000 minimum wage - A rejoinder by Usman Sani | Commentary@ITREALMS

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“Don’t use time and words carelessly, neither can be retrieved.” - LeCrae

Governor Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto has shown remarkable restraint. Otherwise, former Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and his Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki, would be explaining their stewardship to the EFCC and ICPC rather than granting newspaper interviews to rewrite history and turn the people against the incumbent administration. There is overwhelming evidence against them.

Governor Aliyu inherited enormous financial liabilities and administrative challenges from the previous administration — a reality reinforced by the findings of the Justice Abdulkadir Muazu Commission of Inquiry, which investigated the stewardship of the Tambuwal administration. 

Academic Rot: Why we must sanitize Nigerian universities by Joe Bankole - Commentary@ITREALMS

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a detailed, firsthand response to our recent editorial on academic standards. The author, a distinguished veteran journalist and former Managing Editor at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), argues that the practice of forcing doctoral students to write exams, combined with systemic bribery, is undermining the integrity of Nigerian academic laurels.

To The Editor,
I must express my complete agreement with your recent editorial: there is indeed something profoundly wrong with the way academic laurels, even merited ones, are conferred in Nigeria.

Lagos Island 2027: Why Ajagbe Adeyemi Teslim represents 'Fresh Voice' for Constituency II by Pastor Jibola Olarinoye - Commentary@ITREALMS

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“If you have two friends in your lifetime, you're lucky; if you have one good friend, you're more than lucky.” This wisdom from S.E. Hinton perfectly encapsulates my lifelong bond with Ajagbe Adeyemi Teslim, popularly known as Omoatitebi. 

As the political interrogation for the 2027 general elections begins, it is a mechanical necessity for the people of Lagos Island Constituency II to scrutinize the character and track record of those seeking their mandate.

Shadow of the throne: Survival as a silent surrender by Chidi Abajue - Commentary@ITREALMS

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Ulasi Ogbagbu Interrogates the “New Normal”

“When a people survive madness by calling it normal… who then will recognize sanity when it returns?” — Ulasi Ogbagbu

He sits not in anger, but in a dangerous kind of clarity. He looks at the chaos of 2026 and begins to dissect the Nigerian psyche.

1. The Negotiation with Chaos
Ulasi nods slowly at your diagnosis of adaptation. "A man whose roof leaks learns to sleep between the drops," he observes. "But tell me—is he dry, or just skilled at avoiding water?"

Nigeria’s innovation flywheel: Turning early AI uptake into economic acceleration by Deen Yusuf - Commentary@ITREALMS

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Nigeria has never struggled with ingenuity. It is a place where innovation grows from necessity, and where developers, entrepreneurs, and problem solvers consistently push past limitations to build what does not yet exist.

But in the era of artificial intelligence, ingenuity alone is no longer enough. The nations that will lead are those that not only innovate, but also ensure AI reaches workers at every level of the economy, because innovation without diffusion is simply potential left on the shelf.

Chido Onumah @60: A man so good, yet so true by Uche Ugboajah - Commentary@ITREALMS

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There are some people who come into your life and you wish you had never met them. Yet there are others whom you meet and begin to wonder where they have been all your life. Dr. Chido Onumah belongs firmly to the latter category; those rare individuals you encounter, connect with instantly, and wish you had known much earlier.

Although I had followed him for years through his weekly column in The Punch, I first met Chido in person in 2015 in Abuja. I had been co-opted into a team on a national anti-corruption assignment of which he was a key member.

Merit as currency: Ulasi Ogbagbu interrogates Alex Otti's new governance grammar by Chidi Abajue - Commentary@ITREALMS

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Uturu has spoken—but Nigeria must decide whether it heard.
In the quiet academic hills of Abia State University, a political statement louder than campaign rallies was made—not with slogans, but with structure. Governor Alex Otti did not merely reward graduates; he attempted something far more disruptive: he redefined what governance can prioritize.

Ulasi Ogbagbu, seated in his ancestral stillness, would not clap first. He would ask.

Audit is trustworthy: Interrogating corrosive demands for auditing perfection by Christian Ekeigwe — Commentary@ITREALMS

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Punishing the gaps:

Every time a major company collapses, society reaches reflexively for a familiar, standardized accusation: “Where were the auditors?” The question is asked with an air of certainty, as though auditors should have been omniscient, omnipresent, and infallible gatekeepers of capital. But this expectation is not only unrealistic; it is civically corrosive. It punishes the profession for the very architectural gaps that define an errable world.

Delivery of Trust vs. Perfect Certainty:
Audit was never designed to deliver total certainty, a point that requires a profound leadership event to clarify. It was designed to deliver standardized, non-negotiable trustworthiness: disciplined judgment, principled independence, and courage in the face of uncertainty. Yet we continue to demand perfection from a system that cannot, by design, eliminate all operational error. No human system can. And no society that understands complexity, strips away transactional filters, and brings instant sunlight to its operational reality should pretend otherwise.

Tinubu, El-Rufai, and shadow of 2027: Is Nigeria’s democracy truly captive? Asks Ayodele Olukoya - Commentary@ITREALMS

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With Nigeria’s next presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027, the political atmosphere is already thick with a sense of "déjà vu." While the polls are still ten months away, many Nigerians feel they already know the outcome; not through clairvoyance, but through a sober look at the precedents set in 2023.

The 2023 cycle left behind a trail of mutilated result sheets and contested figures, particularly in strategic hubs like Lagos and Rivers. Despite these controversies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), led by Professor Mahmood Yakubu, ratified the results, a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court. 

Hygiene hypothesis in screen-filled world by Fortune Ekene Dibiah - Commentary@ITREALMS

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Modern health paradox
Over the past few decades, urbanized societies have witnessed a paradoxical trend: as our environments become cleaner and our technology more advanced, our bodies have become more reactive. The rise in allergic diseases, autoimmune conditions, and inflammatory disorders has led scientists to the “Hygiene Hypothesis.” 

First proposed by David P. Strachan in 1989, this theory suggests that reduced exposure to microorganisms in early life impairs immune development. In today’s screen-dominated world, where digital interaction often replaces physical exploration, this hypothesis takes on a critical new urgency.

Crescent, crown, and context: New geography of authority by Chidi Abajue - Commentary@ITREALMS

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The recent move by Yoruba Muslim leadership to assert autonomy in sighting the Ramadan moon is more than a clerical dispute. It is a psychological pivot point. Placed against the reality of a President of Western extraction, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the "timing" of this religious decentralization is a signal: the era of symbolic centralization is shifting.

1. The Pre-Sokoto Reality
History is the ultimate arbiter. Islam arrived in Yorubaland via trans-Saharan trade routes centuries before the 1804 Jihad of Usman dan Fodio. 

Shadow of Throne: Nigeria’s dual crisis of authority by Chidi Abajue - Commentary@ITREALMS

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As of March 2026, Nigeria finds itself at a crossroads where diplomatic friction abroad meets a quiet "federalist" revolution in religious authority at home. At the center of both is the Tinubu Administration, a government navigating the "continuity risk" of its final two years.

Diplomatic "No": The Agreement Crisis
The recent stall in confirming 65 envoy nominees including high-profile political figures like Reno Omokri (Mexico) and Femi Fani-Kayode (Germany) reveals a shift in global vetting.

Healthcare under attack: Why cybersecurity is now critical care by Kerissa Varma, - Commentary@ITREALMS

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Africa’s healthcare sector is facing a silent emergency. Many healthcare operators, facilities and doctors across Africa already grapple with the challenges of under-resourced environments, an uneven distribution of resources and massive demand for services.

Now healthcare administrators must turn their attention to a relatively new and extremely urgent concern. While doctors fight to save lives, cybercriminals are infiltrating hospitals, laboratories, and clinics, turning life-saving environments into digital battlegrounds.

Abubakar Malami: Chief law officer as law breaker by Chido Onumah - Commentary@ITREALMS

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Abubakar Malami, SAN, was the Honourable Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria for eight years under late President Muhammadu Buhari. As Minister of Justice, and one of the youngest minsters in the Buhari cabinet, when he was appointed on November 8, 2015, he prided himself on being the chief law officer of the country. I shall return to this. As the chief law officer, his responsibilities included providing legal advice to the government and ensuring compliance with the law.

In a June 28, 2020, essay “Malami: Portrait of a ‘Barrier-in-Chief’” published on the whistleblowing platform, Corruption Anonymous (CORA), my colleague, Godwin Onyeacholem, wrote, “Malami is one in the privileged club of distinguished lawyers who tag their names with that smug title of SAN (Senior Advocate of Nigeria), a legal title keenly coveted by the typical Nigerian lawyer. But he also comes across as one who is essentially unfaithful to the law. As in a number of other appointments, Buhari’s choice of Malami for the pivotal office had, from the outset, been viewed by the more discerning segment of the populace as a dreadful miscue.”

Rebutting historical misinformation on Igbo origins by Ogbuefi Remmy Nweke | Commentary@ITREALMS

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Recent claims circulated by Mr. Adedamola Adetayo regarding the origins of the Igbo people require careful correction. Public discourse on history carries a responsibility to rely on verifiable scholarship rather than conjecture, speculation, or ethnically charged narratives.

While debate is healthy in a democratic society, historical claims must be grounded in credible research, archaeology, linguistics, and peer-reviewed historiography.

For Comrade Biodun Jeyifo (BJ); For Nigeria by Chido Onumah - Commentary@ITREALMS

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Comrade Biodun Jeyifo (BJ), who will be interred on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Ibadan, Oyo State, was a man of many distinguished parts: First class student, Professor Emeritus of English at Cornell University and Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at Harvard University, journalist, author, literary critic, President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), labour activist, revolutionary, and Chair of the Board of Trustees/Advisers of the groundbreaking Socialist Library of Nigeria (SOLAR) in Calabar, Cross River State.

Almost two months ago to this day, on January 5, 2026, Comrades, scholars, activists, friends, students, and admirers, gathered at the Agip Recital Hall of the Music Society of Nigeria (MUSON) Centre, Onikan, Lagos, to mark Comrade BJ’s 80th birthday with a lecture by one of his students, Priyamvada Gopal, Prof. of Post-Colonial Studies at the University of Cambridge, titled “Who Is Afraid of Decolonisation? Pedagogy, Curriculum and Decolonisation: Then and Now,” a reflection of Comrade BJ’s lifelong interests and struggle.