News From Nigeria
The Ernest Sissei Ikoli Foundation on Sunday announced the passing of Elsie Ajayi Ikoli.
Elsie Ajayi Ikoli departed this earth on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, in the quiet of her Lagos home — not with fanfare, but with fulfillment. She was 93.
A statement issued in Lagos by the Ernest Sissei Ikoli Foundation described the death of Elsie Ajayi Ikoli as a big loss to the people of Bayelsa and Lagos in particular and Nigeria in general.
“Mama Ayo, as friends, family members and neighbors called her, was a good mother, a church servant and a quiet revolutionary. She turned duty into destiny, grief into gospel, and labour into love. She also turned scarcity into a sanctuary for her children with hands calloused by labor and a heart softened by grace”
The statement by the Executive Vice Chairman of the Ernest Sissei Ikoli Foundation, Chief Anthony George- Ikoli, said the death of Elsie Ajayi Ikoli has robbed Nigeria of a seasoned business icon.
“Elsie Ajayi Ikoli was a woman of the altar, industry and unyielding grace”
The statement highlighted Elsie Ajayi Ikoli’s intellect, resilience, wisdom and sobriety.
“Mama Ayo’s mind was a boundless library. She devoured books not for ornament, but for illumination — a habit that would later become the quiet engine of her wisdom”
The statement highlighted professionalism, apprenticeship in nation-building and her role as Executive Assistant to the First Editor of Daily Times, Publisher of African Messenger, President of the Nigerian Youth Movement, one of the founders of Action Group (AG) and representative of Lagos in the Legislative Council, Ernest Ikoli.
“Mama Ayo moved with quiet precision behind the scenes of history. While Ernest drafted editorials that stirred the conscience of a colony awakening to freedom, Mama Ayo kept the rhythm of his days — managing correspondence, organizing schedules, shielding his genius from distraction”
A tireless and cheerful woman who could be counted on, the statement said Elsie avoided the spotlight that focused on Ernest Sissei Ikoli through his long political career.
“In her presence, chaos yielded to order. In her silence, purpose found its voice. She did not seek the spotlight, but stood steadfast in its penumbra — a dutiful woman, an unseen architect of legacy, ensuring that the man who helped forge Nigeria’s voice never lost his own”
The statement recalled the period when the mantle of the sole provider fell upon her shoulders.
“Mama wore it not as a burden, but as a covenant. She became a staff member and major distributor for Abbott Pharmaceuticals during its pioneering years in Nigeria — a time when Similac and Isomil were not just products, but promises whispered into the cribs of a hopeful, growing nation. With grit and grace, she out-distributed her peers, not through force, but through faithfulness – waking before dawn, returning long after dusk, her arms laden not just with formula tins, but with the nourishment of futures. In her, Abbott did not merely find a distributor — they found a disciple of diligence, a woman who treated every delivery as a divine assignment”
A study in humility, matriarch, cook and counselor, the statement recollected how life exacted its cruel toll on Elsie Ajayi Ikoli.
“The loss of two of her children carved a canyon in her soul — a grief so profound it could have extinguished her. But Mama Ayo did not retreat. She ascended. In the hallowed halls of the Salvation Army, Marina Corps, she entered into a sacred covenant with God — a vow of everlasting service. There, as Welfare Keeper of the Home League Unit, she washed altar linens until they gleamed like morning snow, believing that holiness resided not only in prayer, but in purity of preparation. She folded hope into every crease, ironed devotion into every hem. Her hands, which once balanced ledgers and stacked crates, now cradled communion cloths with the reverence of a priestess”.
The statement emphasized her role in the women’s ministries.
“She was a pillar in the Women’s and Mother’s Ministries, where her counsel was sought not for its volume, but for its virtue. And beyond the church walls, she poured her spirit into the Nembe Women Society (Lagos Branch) — gathering daughters of the Niger Delta in diaspora, weaving community from memory, stitching solidarity with stories. She did not merely lead — she mothered. She did not merely organize — she sanctified”.
Blessed with a rich and agile mind, the statement said Mama Ayo’s worldview was sculpted by sweat and scripture.
“She believed work was worship, excellence an echo of the divine, and failure not a full stop — but a comma in God’s longer sentence. Like the ant she so admired, she saw the cathedral in the crumb, the empire in the errand. She got up early, humming hymns to the rhythm of responsibility. She taught by presence: “Do it yourself, Do it well and Do it now.” Not as a command, but as a creed”.
The statement lavished praise on her for the quiet revolution.
“Her altar remains spotless. Her hands still shape us. Her name — Elsie — “God’s Promise” — echoes in every life she lifted. Rest now, Mama. The Rock you carried has become the monument. The vision you served has become a victory. Well done, good and faithful servant”
The Ernest Ikoli Foundation highlights the values of the late First Republic politician, nationalist and pioneering journalist, Ernest Sissei Ikoli, to inspire present and future generations.
It also promotes the ideals of integrity, unity and service that the late leader championed.
The Ernest Sissei Ikoli Foundation on Sunday announced the passing of Madam Elsie Ajayi Ikoli.
“Elsie Ajayi Ikoli departed this earth on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, in the quiet of her Lagos home — not with fanfare, but with fulfillment. She was 93.
A statement in Lagos described Elsie Ajayi Ikoli as a good mother, a church servant and a quiet revolution.
“Mama Ayo, as friends, family members and neighbors called her turned duty into destiny, grief into gospel, and labour into love’’
The statement from the Ernest Sissei Ikoli Foundation called Madam Elsie Ajayi Ikoli a woman of the altar, industry and unyielding grace.
“Madam Elsie Ajayi Ikoli was born beneath the golden skies of Kaduna on June 24, 1932”
The statement highlighted Mama Ayo’s intellect, resilience, wisdom and sobriety.
“Mama Ayo’s mind was a boundless library. She devoured books not for ornament, but for illumination — a habit that would later become the quiet engine of her wisdom”
The statement issued in Lagos by the Executive Vice Chairman of the Ernest Ikoli Foundation, Chief Anthony George- Ikoli (SAN), highlighted professionalism, apprenticeship in nation-building and her role as Executive Assistant to the First Editor of Daily Times, Publisher of African Messenger, President of the Nigerian Youth Movement, one of the founders of Action Group (AG) and representative of Lagos in the Legislative Council, Ernest Ikoli.
“Mama Ayo moved with quiet precision behind the scenes of history. While Ernest drafted editorials that stirred the conscience of a colony awakening to freedom, Mama Ayo kept the rhythm of his days — managing correspondence, organizing schedules, shielding one of the activists of Nigeria’s political history from distraction”
Well known as a tireless and cheerful woman who could be counted on, the statement said Elsie avoided the spotlight that focused on Ernest Sissei Ikoli through his long political career.
“In her presence, chaos yielded to order. In her silence, purpose found its voice. She did not seek the spotlight, but stood steadfast in its penumbra — a dutiful woman, an unseen architect of legacy, ensuring that the man who helped forge Nigeria’s voice never lost his own”
The statement recalled the period when the mantle of the sole provider fell upon her shoulders.
“Mama wore it not as a burden, but as a covenant. She became a staff member and major distributor for Abbott Pharmaceuticals during its pioneering years in Nigeria — a time when Similac and Isomil were not just products, but promises whispered into the cribs of a hopeful, growing nation. With grit and grace, she out-distributed her peers, not through force, but through faithfulness – waking before dawn, returning long after dusk, her arms laden not just with formula tins, but with the nourishment of futures. In her, Abbott did not merely find a distributor — they found a disciple of diligence, a woman who treated every delivery as a divine assignment”
A mother of all and a study in humility, the statement recollected how life exacted its cruel toll on Elsie Ajayi Ikoli.
“The loss of two of her children carved a canyon in her soul — a grief so profound it could have extinguished her. But Mama Ayo did not retreat. She ascended. In the hallowed halls of the Salvation Army, Marina Corps, she entered into a sacred covenant with God — a vow of everlasting service. There, as Welfare Keeper of the Home League Unit, she washed altar linens until they gleamed like morning snow, believing that holiness resided not only in prayer, but in purity of preparation. She folded hope into every crease, ironed devotion into every hem. Her hands, which once balanced ledgers and stacked crates, now cradled communion cloths with the reverence of a priestess”.
The statement emphasized her role in the women’s ministries.
“Madam Elsie Ajayi Ikoli was a pillar in the Women’s and Mother’s Ministries, where her counsel was sought not for its volume, but for its virtue. And beyond the church walls, she poured her spirit into the Nembe Women Society (Lagos Branch) — gathering daughters of the Niger Delta in diaspora, weaving community from memory, stitching solidarity with stories. She did not merely lead — she mothered. She did not merely organize — she sanctified”.
Blessed with a rich and agile mind, the statement said Mama Ayo’s worldview was sculpted by sweat and scripture.
“Madam Elsie Ajayi Ikoli believed work was worship, excellence an echo of the divine, and failure not a full stop — but a comma in God’s longer sentence. Like the ant she so admired, she saw the cathedral in the crumb, the empire in the errand. She got up early, humming hymns to the rhythm of responsibility. She taught by presence: “Do it yourself, Do it well and Do it now.” Not as a command, but as a creed”.
The statement lavished praise on her for the quiet revolution.
“Her altar remains spotless. Her hands, though stilled, still shape us. Her name — Elsie — “God’s Promise” — echoes in every life she lifted. Rest now, Mama. The Rock you carried has become the monument. The vision you served has become a victory. Well done, good and faithful servant”
Ernest Ikoli fought alongside great nationalist leaders like Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello in the struggle for the political independence of Nigeria.
The Ernest Ikoli Foundation highlights the values of the late First Republic politician, nationalist and pioneering journalist, Ernest Sissei Ikoli, to inspire present and future generations.
It also promotes the ideals of integrity, unity and service that the late leader championed.
It takes time to form a country. It takes patience and dedication to change attitudes. When people from disparate places and cultures are brought together to form a Nation, it is never easy. In the long run, the tears and toil are worth it because the interactions lead to expansion of consciousness which drives human progress.
The journey of nationhood is not for timid souls. It was never easy for countries like India, China and the USA to rise. It is not an easy journey. These countries have more divisions and more ethnic and religious cleavages and groupings than we can ever imagine.
America conducted an election in the midst of war. Nigeria conducted elections by declaring curfews and turning cities to militarized zones. These democracies we try to emulate did not give power to their military to intimidate their citizens.
Since the advent of our democracy, we have used the military as a law enforcement agency. This is wrong and unconstitutional. The military was never set up as a prosecuting agency. Using the military to intimidate and arrest people is illegal. The other countries have clear lines of process between the military and civilian populations. This has worked for them and their citizens don’t look at their armies as a government in waiting. This prevents any upstart military officers the chance to upend their civilian administration and throw their country into a fratricidal war.
We must say never again to military rule in Nigeria. They can go to the Sahel and brandish their weapons. Not here. In times of distress, there are people in Nigeria who still look to the military for solutions. This is shameful.
The military caused our problems. How did we arrive at this place where a lot of Nigerians still think the military have solutions to our problem? Are these people victims of Military Induced Mental Retardation (MIMR)? These people still think this way despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The Nigerian military destroyed our uniform code of justice. Under their rule, law and justice became subjective and citizens were subjected to the brutality of the rule of men and they robbed Peter to pay Paul. Their lack of discipline and egocentricity threw Nigeria into a civil war whose wounds are not healing. This is the reason why the various legislative bodies have not seen it fit to abrogate the decrees of the parasitic military that ruled Nigeria on behalf of a certain group of people. This mentality is dangerous to our body politics. This is why a lot of politicians pay courtesy visits to these soldiers of fortune that turned Nigeria to Pariah nation.
MIMR is the reason the Nigerian lawyers don’t know their role in a democratic society. For Nigeria to move forward, all the decrees still in the statute books must be expunged. Those are laws meant for dictators, not a democratic country. Those decrees gave unbridled power to the dictators and disempowered the citizens
Military induced mental retardation is the reason why we don’t have legal reforms. It is the reason why citizens don’t know how to seek redress from the government they elected. Most Nigerians don’t even know how they are governed and they don’t make effort to seek knowledge in this regard.
In a constitution that guarantees freedom of movement, the Nigerian is harassed daily on the highways by checkpoints which have become legal armed robbery by government agents. Are we still at war? Why is our freedom restricted? No lawyer has taken the government to court for this constitutional violation. This is pathetic.
We need serious legal reforms. The method of appointing judges is very antiquated. We need to know the character of those who will be judges. Knowledge of jurisprudence should not be the only criteria.
During the military years, the Nigerian lawyer played the role of stenographer for military decrees and the judges took their decisions from the soldiers. Now they are playing almost the same role as politicians who have no idea why they were elected. They have abandoned the practice of law to become jesters at the feet of reckless politicians and conveyor of injustice at our courts. Our courts harbor judges who suffocate justice under their robes and consider military decrees of bygone era as guide posts for our state of jurisprudence.
All over the country, you see governors and other politicians seizing and damaging people’s properties without compensation and there is no lawyer in sight to argue on behalf of the afflicted. A known company truck will damage and incinerate people on the highways and no case is brought on behalf of the victims. The army goes into a village for security duties and wipes out the village, no justice for the victims. The governor pays a courtesy visit to the commander in chief; no lawyer files a lawsuit on behalf of the victim. The officer who issued the command to murder sleeping villagers is left to repeat the same scenario in another jurisdiction. We will protest if this happens in Palestine.
It is happening in the Democratic Republic of Nigeria where the rights of the citizens are undermined daily by those they elected. These politicians did not gain power by a coup. If you listen to them with your eyes closed, you will think they are military officers who have just gained power through a military coup. They don’t seek consensus. They give directives. Some of them defy court rulings with fanfare. The Military infantilized everyone in Nigeria, but they pushed the lawyer back into the womb. This is atrocious.
As a nation, we must consider the fifty five years of military rule in Nigeria as the years of locust. The journey of great nations is always evolutionary. The military years were the years when hatred of each other became ossified and personalized as the military played us against each other to prolong their power.
The revolution is always a lie. In history, most periods of revolutionary zeal turn to mirage. We will have good leaders and we will have bad leaders. Each period is an opportunity to learn what to do and what not to do. The rush to think that some army generals will appear and use a magical wand to achieve all we wish for is infantile and dangerous. No soldier can develop any nation. Nigeria is a testament to that foolery. It is the willingness of the people to understand the necessity to build bridges and lasting institutions of harmony that moves a nation forward.
The rule of law is the cornerstone in this exercise. If we have the rule of law, the Nigerian will feel protected in any place he calls home. Ethnic crisis and tensions will dampen because he knows no matter what happens, the law will protect him from ethnic or religious vigilantism that is the breeding ground for timid souls that are still married to the past. These people must be made to see the supremacy of the law as the sign of our progress.
The journey is arduous and our dream should be about building frameworks that lasts beyond our existence, because the nation that we dream of should always be a continuous journey of those who believe in tomorrow, and understand that the yearning and aspiration of our people shall never die.
This is all we can ask for as we toil in our little corner to build tomorrow for the next generation. We must strive to make tomorrow a brighter proposition for those coming after us. It is when we arrive at that place; we can say our work is done. This singularity is love that binds us beyond ethnic and religious proclivities, which robs us of our basic humanity. We can start this journey today and also understand that others who share the same aspirations with us may start their journey tomorrow. The wisdom we seek should give us the patience to know the difference and endure the pain and loneliness of waiting for those who are not ready today but will join us tomorrow.
For those who seek truth, justice and fair play, tomorrow is a distant horizon we must gaze at with hope, endurance and fortitude. Tomorrow is not a destination. It is a state of our being. The futuristic tomorrow may never come but our state of being will be fulfilled and rewarded as our collective struggles will build monuments that last beyond our time. That is the tomorrow we seek. A place where our dreams will never die .The rule of law must be established as supreme in Nigeria. It must be transparent and treat the pauper and the king alike. This should be the sine qua non of our development. A nation without justice will always remain in a state of anarchy.
DR AUSTIN ORETTE WRITES FROM, TEXAS
The family of prominent political leader, thinker and great journalist, Ernest Sissei Ikoli, on Wednesday described Elsie Ajayi Ikoli as a priceless Jewell that would be hard to replace.
“Elsie Ajayi Ikoli was an embodiment of the virtues of doggedness and resilience”.
She passed on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at the enviable age of 93 years.
Fondly called “Mama Ayo” by friends and associates, Elsie Ajayi Ikoli, according to the family, was a good mother, matriarch, cook and counselor.
A statement on Wednesday by the Ernest Sissei Ikoli Foundation said Elsie Ajayi Ikoli’s burial activities would begin on Thursday, November 27 in Lagos.
The statement by the Executive Vice Chairman of Ernest Sissei Ikoli Foundation, Chief Anthony George- Ikoli said a service of songs and nights of tributes would hold on Thursday, November 27 at the Citadel, 274, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island by 5:00pm.
“Elsie Ajayi Ikoli’s funeral service will be held at The Salvation Army Church, 11 Odunlami Street, Lagos on Friday, November 28, 2025.”
The statement also said a private family interment for Elsie Ajayi Ikoli would take place immediately after the church service.
“The casket will be lowered into the ground at 1:30 pm”
“Reception will be by 2:00 pm at The Hall Event Centre, 16 Musa Yar’Adua Street, Victoria Island” the statement said.
“Thanksgiving Service will take place on Sunday, November 30, 2025 at The Salvation Army Church, Lagos Island” the statement added.
When people have been raised on a lie, anger becomes a weapon. This anger can be all consuming and blurs vision and can become self-destructive. This is what is happening today in the South-East geo-political zone of Nigeria.
The Federal Military Government failed to secure peace at the end of the Nigerian Civil War. They failed to prognosticate into the future and prevent the recurrence of the events that led to the civil war.
At the end of the war, Nigeria admitted the defeated Biafrans without asking them anything in return. The admission of Biafrans to Nigeria should have been done based on conditional loyalties. The leaders of the rebellion should have been punished and made to renounce their Biafran citizenship in public. None of these were done and their children who were raised on lies and propaganda are begging to emulate the traitors.
They were not made to swear loyalty to Nigeria and renounce Biafra for Nigerian citizenship. It is this failure that has resulted in proponents of Biafra reinventing history to justify their aggression towards the Nigerian State. At the time of surrender, the Biafrans propaganda agencies were not destroyed. The generation that started Biafra used these agencies to pass lies to their children.
While Nigerians were donating lands and sundry to Igbo people to restart their lives, the Biafrans were still nurturing hate and telling their children that Nigeria took all their monies from them and gave them twenty pounds in return. This was a gross lie. They painted every scenario that could make Nigeria the villain. The stories became carefully curated and embellished. No Nigerian pushed back because we wanted to maintain the peace.
History was abolished from school and the Biafran narratives gained currency. Igbo people started beating their chest and started saying more outlandish things. As our parents were making sacrifices to reintegrate the Igbo people into Nigeria mainstream, a lot of the Igbo people started thinking those actions were appeasement. We just wanted peace.
All over Nigeria, you have Igbo markets. This is because many communities donated lands to the Igbo people to start these markets. Today, the Biafrans will say they got those places due to their hard work and Igbo ingenuity. Those markets became a congregation point for Igbo people outside Igbo land. They became successful and the true character of the Biafran came to life.
They will brag that they brought development and that the indigenes are just simply lazy and jealous. Alaba Market was donated to the Igbo people by Governor Lateef Jakande In 1979. This land was given to them as free leasehold in perpetuity. It became the Alaba Market. Since 1979 to this day, that market does not have any non-Igbo with a stall there. It is the same all over the country. The Igbo people will always carry out ethnic cleansing wherever they are trading.
Empirical observations will show that you may not find a non-Igbo having a stall in Onitsha market or Aba market. How do they do it? They form cartels and fix prices. No one except members of these Igbo cartels can compete in these environments. Sooner or later, the Non-Igbo are forced to close or sell his place to another Igbo trader. This is how the Igbo market in Warri became Igbo market. These various actions lead to insularity and paranoia and they reinforce each other’s negative opinion about their host. Any minor disagreement becomes an attack on the entire Igbo people.
Governor Soludo recently demolished illegal structures in Onitsha. No one accused him of destroying properties belonging to the Igbo people. Illegal structures are demolished in Lagos and that becomes a war against Igbo people. Due to their insularity, the Igbo people reinforce and transmit these stories without any context. The Biafrans pick this up and there are more cries for Biafra.
At the end, everyone forgets what led to the demolition and the story becomes the wanton destruction of properties belonging to the Igbo people. Anger is stoked and proponents of Biafra flames the fire that will eventually incinerate every one. The initial action is forgotten and the Igbo people are now the victim.
This is similar to what led to our loss of the First Republic. This is what the present proponents of Biafra are conveniently forgetting. They seem to think the fire next time will be kind to them and they have become more bellicose. For every action, there is an equal opposite reaction. The killing of the leaders of any people always leads to chaos and uprising. The killing of the ArchDuke of Sarajevo led to the First World War. The killing of Habyarimana of Rwanda led to the Rwanda genocide. These actions happened because the leader is the collective consciousness of the people.
When Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa and other Northern leaders were killed, there was no spontaneous uprising in the North in spite of the taunting and provocations from the Biafrans. The last straw was when Aguyi Ironsi abolished the regions and there was a spontaneous uprising in the North.
One of the least talked about in these uprisings is the reciprocal uprising in the East where Northerners were slaughtered. In Elele, the Hausa quarters were raised by Igbo youth gangs called Bakassi boys, who slaughtered all the Hausa people including people from Benue who spoke Hausa. Some of the Northerners who were given passage to go to the North by train were all murdered. The train was stopped and all the Northerners on that train, including women and children, going back to the North were killed and their bodies thrown into the imo river. A woman named Halima who survived the attack wrote a book in Hausa about her ordeal.
When the Biafrans tell the story, they assume that they were not participants in this sordid ordeal. The Hausa Fulani have moved on as they understand that those were the losses of war. The Hausa/ Fulani are still skeptical as to why the Igbo people cannot come to the table of reconciliation. It is this attitude of the Biafrans that has made them come to the understanding that the Igbo people are not mature for leadership and will abuse power if they are given the opportunity. Anyone who has sympathy for Biafra should not be seen near the corridors of power in Nigeria. They are preoccupied with vengeance.
Have any Igbo acknowledged the ethnic cleansing that was perpetrated against the Hausa people in Okigwe , Port Harcourt , Owerri and the Igbo enclaves at the beginning of hostilities? What did those of us in the Midwest do to the Igbo people that they subjected our region to murder and mayhem? It was the season of alienation. The fact that the biafrans think their hands are clean is very disturbing. If Nigeria hates the Igbo people the way they claim, how come they make so much money and taunt us with their advancement? Who is really oppressing who? Under Sani Abacha, Ojukwu directed all federal government contracts to the Igbo people. More than 75 % of Jonathan’s cabinet was Igbo people. Obasanjo did more for the Igbo people than any other president mentioned here. The Igbo claim they have about 80 % of the houses in Abuja. Are these due to discrimination or favoritism? Obasanjo did more for the Igbo people than any other president in our history.
Those of us in the Midwest who were violated by the invading Biafra army have decided to bury the hatchet for the love of country. We were never compensated. The Hausa Fulani have been magnanimous to move on but the Igbo people who started the whole fracas cannot seem to find a way to develop a new sense of brotherhood.
Those who are pleading for Nnamdi Kanu are not Nigerians. I am afraid that with this new aggression and bellicosity of Biafrans, Nigerians will be forced to push the Igbo out of the federation. It is becoming very glaring that the Igbo people have mobbed so much lies and have developed a pathological hatred for Nigeria. This is the only way I can explain their perpetual anger towards other Nigerians. Nigeria is Igbo’s Problem and Igbo people are Nigerians’ problem. Their loyalty is to Biafra. This is the only reason why they exhume lies to justify their aggression towards Nigerians.
DR AUSTIN ORETTE WRITES FROM HOUSTON TEXAS