Al-Mustapha Hamza; Major in the Nigerian army, an otherwise unknown soldier who played a pivotal role in determining the country’s direction and future. Born July 27, 1960 in Ngiru, Yobe State, Al-Mustapha was appointed Chief Security Officer to the Head of State with a Special Strike Force Unit during General Abacha‘s military regime (November 17,
Ebitimi Banigo; banker and financial consultant argued by some to be the real father of modern banking in Nigeria. Banigo became the managing director of International Merchant Bank at age 33 and many of the top names in the banking industry including Jim Ovia and Bismarck Rewane passed through him. As the MD, he created
Benedict Murray-Bruce; Entertainment entrepreneur, music promoter and director-general of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA under President Obasanjo. A man of tremendous style and charisma, Ben Murray-Bruce’s era witnessed a flurry of unprecedented activities. For example, the authority’s growth policies resulted in the birth of over 65 stations around the nation. The authority also introduced digital
KATSINA Hassan Usman; Nigerian Army General, born 1933 in Katsina. Hassan Usman Katsina belonged to the generation of generals who handled the affairs of the Nigerian republic in 1966 when the military made the maiden incursion into politics. A Sandhurst trained officer, Katsina was appointed the military governor of the old Northern Region at a relatively
Vandalism; is the damage to public properties. Bottled resentment due to Niger Delta crisis has been blamed for instances of vandalism of oil and gas pipelines[i]. A total of 2,258 cases of pipeline vandalism were recorded in 2005 while 911 cases were reported in 2004. This culminated in the loss of products amounting to about
Odumegwu Ojukwu; Army officer, listed in the Nigerian Army in 1957 and rising through the ranks to become the military governor of the Nigeria Eastern Region in 1966. Ojukwu was the chief secessionist of the defunct Republic of Biafra, which he declared shortly after failed effort to broker peace with Head of State, Yakwubu Gowon
Akintola Williams; the doyen of chartered accountants in Nigeria. Williams is Nigeria’s first chartered accountant. Impressed by the high standard of accounting practice in the United Kingdom, he saw a need to organise and professionalise it in Nigeria. To this end, he arrived home in 1952 to establish, at 32, Africa’s first indigenous chartered accounting
Mustapha Akanbi; Nigerian judge of the Federal High Court, later president of the Court of Appeal, renowned for good records and deep sense of history. Three years to the expiration of his tenure as the president of the court of appeal, Akanbi, to the consternation of many Nigerians, resigned in 1999. As the grey-haired judge
Theophilus Danjuma; Military general who played crucial roles in the shaping of post-independence Nigeria. Danjuma who made huge fortunes in Nigeria’s extractive industry announced his foundation with the sum of $100 million in 2009[i]. The one-time Chief of Army Staff, COAS, and Minister of Defence is generally regarded as a doyen of military professionalism[ii]. Born