News From Nigeria
Charis Microfinance Bank has described the death of Elsie Ajayi Ikoli as an irreparable loss.
‘’On behalf of the Management and Staff of Charis Microfinance Bank Limited, we wish to express our deepest condolences to you and your family on the passing of your beloved mother, Madam Elsie Ajayi Ikoli, who slept in the Lord on the 2nd of September, 2025. We share in your grief during this difficult time and pray that God grants you and the entire family the strength and comfort to bear the irreparable loss’’ the bank said in a statement on Monday morning.
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The dynamic financial institution also extolled the qualities of Madam Elsie Ajayi Ikoli and relevance of Lagos lawyer, Anthony George-Ikoli, in the business community and political history of Nigeria.
‘’As our esteemed chairman, your leadership, wisdom and commitment have been instrumental in guiding the bank towards its vision of financial inclusion, sustainable growth and economic prosperity. The values of honesty, accountability and integrity that you embody are a true reflection of the strong foundation and nurturing influence of your late mother. Her legacy lives on through you and the many lives she touched’’.
The bank, according to the statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer, Obiora Unigwe and the Head, Products & Brand Management, Osasu Steve-Momoh, is deeply saddened by her death.
‘’At Charis Microfinance Bank, we consider ourselves a family, and in this moment of sorrow, we stand firmly with you in solidarity and prayer. While her physical presence will be greatly missed, we take solace in the knowledge that Madam Elsie Ajayi Ikoli lived a life of grace, faith and purpose, one that will continue to inspire all who knew her. Please accept our heartfelt sympathy, and may her gentle soul rest in perfect peace’’
The statement also highlighted the bank’s roles in creating opportunities, transforming lives and contributing to national economic development.
‘’Charis Microfinance Bank Limited is a dynamic financial institution committed to promoting financial inclusion, economic empowerment and sustainable growth among individuals, small businesses and communities. Through integrity, professionalism and excellence in service delivery, Charis Microfinance Bank Limited remains dedicated to creating opportunities, transforming lives and contributing to national economic development’’.
Elsie Ajayi Ikoli will be interred on Friday, November 28, 2025 in Lagos.
OUR ADHOC NATION AND SECURITY CHALLENGE PART 2 BY DR AUSTIN ORETTE
When the so-called leaders and other pretenders to the throne talk about the present security challenges in Nigeria, they magnify the situation by using memorized arcane language that makes them sound smart and alienate the citizens.
Security is not alien to our culture. It is the process of safeguarding the members and properties in our community.
I am an Isoko man. The first law of security in my village is: know thy neighbour. This simple law can be expanded to apply to any jurisdiction. The villagers know each other and they know their children and even may go further to know the colour of the goat in the yard and the owner of the goat. Some people in the village with keener interest may know the characteristics; know the bleat or baa of the goat. On that rare occasion when the owner is looking for the goat, some one can say the last place he saw the goat. Another individual might even say he heard the baa of the goat in another area.
With this kind of local knowledge and awareness, it is easy to prevent foul play as everyone knows there are many eyes on the goat. That goat has security.
The security is taken further by knowing any stranger who may have visited and timed to coincide with the disappearance of the goat. At Night, we have specialized Irumani assigned to patrol each street. Their job is to notice and record any irregular movements of those who are still awake while others are sleeping. They know everyone on that street, their body movements and inflections that make individuals identifiable. They can tell it is the hunchback running from the window of the woman shouting. They just go to his house and wait for him to return. The case is solved.
This is the nutshell of what security should be. As society grows and changes, this basic picture is expanded. In a nutshell, security is about public safety. You cannot make the public safe if you don’t care who the members of the public are.
If a restaurant serves food to the public, we make sure the food is not poisonous. This is food safety.
If there is an industry in the neighborhood that manufactures, we make sure it does not explode and kill everyone. This is industrial safety.
If there is a private or public vehicle that conveys people on our public roads, we make sure it is mechanically safe to operate and it is being operated by someone who has been tested and licensed without killing everyone one on the road. This is road safety.
If someone is taking care of children, we make sure the person is licensed, healthy and is not a child abuser or molester.
If he is a doctor in a hospital, we make sure he has been trained as a doctor. He is registered and licensed, and he has no criminal record.
As you can see, the simple ‘know thy neighbor ‘has been expanded to include all human endeavors and a strong need to protect the public from the criminal acts of a few. This simple process that could work and reduce crime in any jurisdiction has become adhoc in Nigeria.
This simple process that can be modernized has been bastardized in Nigeria. What obtains now is the posting of a policeman from Sokoto to my village to prevent crime. He does not speak Isoko and may not know the nuances of the criminals in the community. It is the criminals who will welcome home to the community, and he becomes their agent unknowingly. When he arrests a criminal, the case is transferred to Abuja for investigation. At the end of the day, the criminal is never prosecuted or punished.
Records pertaining to the crime are not kept and the identity of the criminal is lost. This is why criminals start flourishing and become powerful to the point of asking ransom money to be paid into a bank because they are now above the law. With enough money, he gets elected and they become the big boys that will continue to run Nigeria as a criminal enterprise. This is why we suffer.
We should think deeper before these folks make it illegal. We have a responsibility to identify and have records of everyone who lives in a community. When these records are maintained, security will improve because the chances of apprehending the criminal and making this record as part of the identity of the criminal will serve as a form of deterrent.
There are so many ways to subject this equation to different permutations. The present thinking is to be part of any modern society. It is cumbersome and adhoc. Those who set it up only think of crime as something you can only fight with AK 47. That is military induced mental retardation. We can do better.
DR AUSTIN ORETTE WRITES FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS
CONTRACTORS, GOVERNMENT AGENTS AND THE STABILITY OF NIGERIA BY DR AUSTIN ORETTE
Who makes these changes?
“I shoot an arrow right, it turns left“
I chase after a deer; I get chased by a lion.
I dig a hole for my enemies, and I fall into it……….
I should be careful about what I want” …. RUMI
Who makes these changes? Why can’t we understand that what goes around comes around? I have been doing some random musings lately. Why is it so easy for government agents not to pay contractors who have diligently completed an assignment on behalf of the government? The government being the largest employer is setting bad examples to rogue employers who are exploiting Nigerians daily.
How can the government compel private institutions to pay what they owe, when the government is the chief culprit in this regard? Those in government must ask the critical question. Is the non-payment for services part of the root cause of the various unrest in Nigeria? These actors may be those who have been damaged by government actions. This is a big issue that should worry any person or politician in any position of authority.
The stories concerning non-payment for duly executed contracts are very disturbing. The cavalier altitude of the elite in this regard is overwhelming and numbing. All tiers of governments in Nigeria treat their contractors and workers with arrogance and disdain like the military used to do. This attitude of not paying contractors and suppliers has become a culture that will cripple the country. A businessman takes a loan from a bank to execute contracts on behalf of government and there is no hope of him getting paid. The bank comes after him and he loses everything. This is cruel and unfair.
No government should consider owing contractors as a policy of development. Some of these folks die without collecting what is owed to them. There should be a law to stop the government from these abuses of citizens. The stories are so numerous and heartbreaking. There was the story of a contractor who procured vehicles for some state government. Many months have passed, and nothing has been paid. The contractor lost his collateral to bank seizures.
We cannot develop Nigeria with this primitive way of thinking and interaction with citizens who use their resources and ingenuity to provide services to the government that have no respect for the sanctity of contacts.
All the politicians in this country profess some faith. It is sacrilege not to pay the laborer his just wages. No economy can develop if those who participate and deliver service are not paid their just wages after completion of set contracts.
There should be a law to stop this abuse of citizens. If this situation is not remedied, it will soon have a multiplier effect that will drag the economy down and increase the suffering of hard-working Nigerians who dare to participate in business ventures with the government and its agencies.
A law should apply here, that sixty days after completion of a project, the government must pay if the work is satisfactory. If there is any dispute, the agencies involved must pay fifty percent and the other fifty percent should be paid with interest when the dispute is resolved.
Those who are in charge and derive joy from withholding citizens legitimate earning should know that what goes around comes around. Someone may not release their pension until after their death. If this attitude becomes the Nigerian culture, they have a responsibility to be a bull work against rogue government policies. No one should protest to be paid his just earnings. This sordid behavior in the corridors of power should be stopped as it is beginning to be a culture.
The nature of Nigerian society is that the dark is always calling to the dark. Before we know it, all government agencies will be like NEPA that charges exorbitant fees without supplying a single unit of electricity.
Pay the laborer his just wages. Government should not engage in theft of service. The National Assembly should conduct a study to see how prevalent this malady is in this country and advance legislation to preclude it.
If you don’t pay those who work, don’t be surprised when your system becomes clogged with flotsam and jetsam that will sink the ship of state. No one should work for a government that does not pay. Those who will do so are desperados who are there to deplete and convert government resources. Some of the unrest throughout the country may be due to people who feel they have been taken advantage of by the state or federal government. These include those who executed contracts and were not paid and became desperate.
Government must at all times try to reduce the ranks of desperado by not deliberately pushing people into poverty. This lack of regard of citizens leads to a culture of nonchalance that defines Nigeria today. We can do better by refusing to race to the bottom.
All governments must as a matter of urgency assume their responsibility to pay their workers and contractors their fair and just compensation. Any government that does not comply with this fundamental objective is a rogue government that has no place in civilized societies. Such governments can only produce discontent and anarchy.
DR AUSTIN ORETTE WRITES FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS
The First Senior Advocate from Bayelsa State, Chief Anthony George-Ikoli, on Sunday described Madam Elsie Ajayi Ikoli as a paragon of virtue, compassion, and elegance.
‘’We will congregate on Friday, November 28, 2025, in Lagos to bid a fond farewell to a luminary whose radiance illuminated our lives for 93 extraordinary years. My mother, a paragon of virtue, compassion, and elegance, leaves behind a legacy that transcends mortal bounds.
In an emotional tribute, the former Bayelsa State Attorney General called Elsie Ajayi Ikoli the epicenter of the family, the thread that stitched them together with love, laughter, and tears.
“Like a sunrise that banishes the shadows, her presence brightened our lives, casting a warm glow that will forever be etched in our hearts. Her love knew no limits, her kindness unbridled, and her generosity boundless. She was the epicenter of our family, the thread that stitched us together with love, laughter, and tears’’.
The foremost lawyer talked about strong emotional bonds.
“As a guiding light, she navigated us through life’s turbulent waters, her wisdom and intuition serving as our North Star. Her unwavering support and encouragement instilled in us the courage to pursue our dreams, to chase the horizon, and to never surrender to the whispers of doubt’’.
The grandson of the fiery journalist and nationalist, Ernest Sisei Ikoli, emphasized the late mother’s principles.
“Her passing leaves a chasm that cannot be filled, a silence that cannot be broken. Yet, even in death, she teaches us the value of living, of loving, and of leaving a lasting impact on the lives we touch’’.
He also emphasized love, kindness, and generosity.
“As we say our final goodbyes, we take comfort in the memories of a life well-lived, a life that continues to inspire us to be better, to do better, and to love without condition. May her legacy of love, kindness, and generosity continue to illuminate our path, guiding us toward a brighter tomorrow’’
He recalled her infectious laughter, warm smile, and her remarkable ability to make everyone feel seen, heard, and loved.
‘’We recall her tireless devotion to her family, her friends, and her community, and the countless lives she touched through her selflessness, her compassion, and her unwavering commitment to making the world a brighter, more loving place’’.
He also urged Nigerians to emulate her example.
“Though she may be gone from our sight, her memory will remain with us, a blessing to cherish, a legacy to uphold. May we strive to emulate her example, to spread love, kindness, and joy wherever we go, and to honor her memory by living lives that reflect the values she held dear.
Ending the tribute, Ikoli said “Rest now, dear Mother, in the knowledge that your love, your legacy, and your memory will continue to inspire and uplift us. May your soul find peace, and may your memory be a blessing to us all.”
Madam Elsie Ajayi Ikoli died at her Lagos home on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. She was 93 years old.
The Alema of Warri, Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, on Tuesday narrated how the third executive governor of Delta State, Dr Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan used his experience and game plan to bring greater respectability and development to Delta State.
‘’Today, many well-meaning Nigerians are celebrating your diligence, uprightness and humility in public office. They are united in their views about your success and landmark achievements, generosity, commitment to the growth of the family and ideals of integrity, unity and service’’.
The Warri High Chief applauded the former governor for leading by the force of example, persuading others to follow through superior logic and running a transparent administration’’.
In a statement entitled ‘An exemplary citizen of Nigeria’ the Alema of Warri commended the ex-governor for focusing on the principles of good governance, equity, and unity in Nigeria and demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the welfare of the people through people-oriented policies and programmes.
‘’You designed a comprehensive economic framework with investment strategies and approaches that brought other sectors of the economy on stream. You empowered the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) to create jobs, stem the growing army of unemployed youths and provide the much needed infrastructure in the host communities’’.
The prominent South-South leader eulogized the former governor for managing all the ethnic conflagrations that threatened to tear Delta State apart, addressing security challenges in the oil rich state through massive investments in infrastructure, education, rural development and information.
‘’As an instrument of moral rejuvenation, development, progress, peace and prosperity, you created a Delta State of God fearing leaders, partnered international development agencies and citizens of Delta State in the Diaspora for the overall development of the state. As a man with a great passion for community-based healthcare, you took healthcare services to the rural dwellers, renovated hospitals and procured equipment and drugs, established health schools to train middle level manpower, built the Delta State Teaching Hospital, Oghara and ensured it was fully accredited’’.
The statement emphasized how Uduaghan transformed Delta State capital, rehabilitated primary and secondary schools, established polytechnic in the senatorial zones, focused on internally generated revenue (IGR), completed an international airport in Asaba and expanded an existing airport at Osubi.
It also emphasized how he modernized agricultural production, promoted commercial and industrial entrepreneurship through the funding of micro-level entrepreneurs.
‘’The administration invested in transportation, sports and youth, empowered the women, developed the tourism sector, encouraged private investment in healthcare, improved the standards of education, provided potable drinking water, built good roads and bridges and ensured secured living for the good people of Delta State’’.
He recalled the ex-governor’s activities as Commissioner for Health and Secretary to the Delta State Government, saying he brought his vast experience to bear on the purpose driven administration of Chief James Onanefe Ibori
.
‘’We are proud of your sterling achievements and exemplary leadership’’.
Ending the statement, Uduaghan said: ‘’On behalf of My Wife, Children and the Good People of Abigborodo, I convey to you our profound felicitations on your 71st birthday. We wish you a long and healthy life as you pull others along, connect dreams and guide ideas to the ultimate goal net’’.
DR EMMANUEL EWETA UDUAGHAN
FORMER EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR
DELTA STATE
On behalf of My Wife, Children and the Good People of Abigborodo, I convey to you our profound felicitations on your 71st birthday.
Today, many well-meaning Nigerians are celebrating your diligence, uprightness and humility in public office.
They are united in their views about your success and landmark achievements, generosity, commitment to the growth of the family and ideals of integrity, unity and service.
As a governor, you led by the force of example, persuaded others to follow through superior logic and ran a transparent administration.
As a bridge builder, you focused on the principles of good governance, equity, and unity in Nigeria and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the welfare of the people through people oriented policies and programmes.
You designed a comprehensive economic framework with investment strategies and approaches that brought other sectors of the economy on stream.
As a go-getter, you empowered the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) to create jobs, stem the growing army of unemployed youths and provide the much needed infrastructure in the host communities.
As an embodiment of true patriotism, fervor and nobility, you managed well all the ethnic conflagrations that threatened to tear Delta State apart, addressed security challenges in the oil rich state through massive investments in infrastructure, education, rural development and information.
As an instrument of moral rejuvenation, development, progress, peace and prosperity, you created a Delta State of God fearing leaders, partnered international development agencies and citizens of Delta State in the Diaspora for the overall development of the state.
As a man with a great passion for community-based healthcare, you took healthcare services to the rural dwellers, renovated hospitals and procured equipment and drugs, established health schools to train middle level manpower, built the Delta State Teaching Hospital, Oghara and ensured it was fully accredited.
You transformed the state capital, rehabilitated primary and secondary schools, established polytechnic in the senatorial zones, focused on internally generated revenue (IGR), completed an international airport in Asaba and expanded an existing airport at Osubi.
You modernized agricultural production, promoted commercial and industrial entrepreneurship through the funding of micro-level entrepreneurs.
You invested in transportation, sports and youth, empowered the women, developed the tourism sector, encouraged private investment in healthcare, improved the standards of education, provided potable drinking water, built good roads and bridges and ensured secured living for the good people of Delta State.
As Commissioner for Health and Secretary to the Delta State Government, the vast experience that you brought to bear on the purpose driven administration of Chief James Onanefe Ibori will remain a reference point in the annals of policy of Delta State.
Indeed, you distributed amenities fairly, built a modern Delta State, ensured peace in the state and tackled the challenges of environmental pollution.
We are proud of your sterling achievements and exemplary leadership.
We wish you a long and healthy life as you pull others along, connect dreams and guide ideas to the ultimate goal net.
HIGH CHIEF EMMANUEL ORITSEJOLOMI AND SENATOR NATASHA AKPOTI-UDUAGHAN
The leaders and the good people of Abigborodo warmly congratulate a man of high repute, integrity and unimpeachable morality, His Excellency, Dr Eweta Uduaghan, as he celebrates his 71st birthday today.
HIS EXCELLENCY
DR EMMANUEL EWETA UDUAGHAN
FORMER EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR
DELTA STATE
His Excellency, the good people of Abigborodo and indeed Delta State are grateful for your invaluable contributions to humanity, unity, development of the country.
Your stewardship in Nigeria, particularly Delta State shall remain indelible in the minds of well-meaning people around the world.
May the Almighty God who has been the source of your strength continue to protect you in your quest to better the lot of humanity
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
HIS EXCELLENCY
HON MISAN UKUBEHINJE ESQ
CHAIRMAN ABIGBORODO COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
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