
Prominent Africans and Nigerians have confirmed their participation
in the Realnews 12th Anniversary Lecture on Tuesday, November 19, at the Sheraton Hotel
starting at 10 am.
They include Ms. Beatrice Eyong, UN Women’s Country Representative;
Karim El Aynaoui, Executive President, Policy Center for the New South, Rabat, Morocco; Mrs.
Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Policy & Coordination and
Head, Central Delivery Coordination and Engr. Shehu Tijjani, Managing Director, Amal
Technologies Ltd.
Ms. Eyong, a Cameronian national, will chair the lecture that will be delivered by Ambassador
Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, former chief of staff of former President Muhammadu Buhari
and former Permanent Representative of Nigeria at the United Nations. She will also moderate
the discussion session featuring Bala Usman who doubles as a special guest and discussant along
with Tijanni. El Aynaoui will also keynote the Lecture.
In her acceptance message dated September 10, 2024, Eyong, who has has over 35 years
professional working experience in the international organisations in promoting gender equality
and women’s empowerment, said: “I intend to attend the lecture….” She holds a Master of
Science degree in Agricultural Extension from the University of Reading, United Kingdom; a
Diploma in Women, Extension workers and Agriculture from the Larenstein International
Agricultural College – Deventer, the Netherlands; and a Diploma in Integrated Rural
Development, from the Pan African Institute for Development West Africa, Buea – Cameroon.
Also, El Aynaoui from Morocco, emailed on May 10, 2024, stating: “Thank you very much for
your very kind invitation which I accept gladly. I am very honored”. He is also executive vice-
president of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Dean of its Humanities, Economics, and
Social Sciences Cluster, and an economist. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of
Morocco where he held the position of Director of Economics, Statistics, and International
Relations. At the Central Bank of Morocco, he was in charge of the Research Department and
equally a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Previously, he worked for eight years at the World
Bank as an Economist for its regional units in the Middle East and North Africa, and Africa.
Karim El Aynaoui has published books and journal articles on macroeconomic issues in
developing countries.
On her part, Bala Usman, who has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Master’s
degree in Development Studies from the University of Leeds , UK, sent a message on July 13,
2024, stating: “I will be there and I have sent to my team to schedule”. Bala Usman was the
former managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), an activist and a politician.
Similarly, Tijjani, described as a technologist, innovator, visionary leader and entrepreneur
dedicated to transforming Nigeria’s technological landscape, said in his message: “Thank you for
the honour. I shall be in attendance by the grace of God.” Tijjani is a First Class graduate in
Information Technology and Business Information Systems from Middlesex University with a
background in hardware and firmware engineering.
The Management of Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited, publishers of Realnews
Magazine Online, had announced the lecture would be on “Africa in World Shifting Geopolitics:
Matters Arising on Demography, Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Natural Resources”.
Maureen Chigbo, the publisher of Realnews, said there will be an induction of all the speakers
into The Realnews Hall of Fame immediately after the Lecture. Chigbo explained that the
Realnews Hall of Fame was established to honour only those who played key roles during the
anniversary lectures.
Realnews, a general interest magazine, is an online publication that thrives on investigative
journalism. We have expertise in reporting the oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental
challenges. We aim to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they face in
their day-to-day activities. We do this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence
the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, our objective is to
use our investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors we focus on and produce an
unbiased report that will actually influence the government and decision-makers to take actions
that will make society better.
Realnews is populated by seasoned journalists who believe strongly in the tenets and ethics of
the profession. The online publication believes that journalism as the fourth Estate of the Realm
can contribute its quota towards building a fair and just society where fundamental human rights
are respected and citizens have the freedom to pursue their interests anywhere in the world
without hindrance. Its editors have a combined experience of several decades in active
journalism practice and are highly dedicated to serving humanity. Hence its motto: “For God and
Humanity.”
Realnews Anniversary Lecture Series was established to commemorate the best minds in our
society and to tap from them to enrich the discourse in our national development.
Realnews Anniversary Lecture Series was established to commemorate the best minds in our
society and to tap from them to enrich the discourse in our national development.
The 11 th Anniversary Lecture in 2023 on The Threats of Illicit Funds Flow to the African
Economy was delivered by Dr. Edwin W. Harris Jr., Director-General, ECOWAS Inter-
Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA). The 10 th
Anniversary lecture in 2022 on “Drug Abuse among Youths in Africa: Implication for Nigerian
Economy and 2023 Elections” was delivered by Brig General Buba Marwa, Chairman, and Chief
Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA; 9 th Anniversary
Lecture of Realnews in 2021 was delivered by Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, Executive Secretary
of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on “Nigeria in the Unfolding
Integration of the African Market: The Oil and Gas Perspective”; 2020 Eighth Anniversary
Lecture of Realnews was delivered by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the
Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 on Managing COVID-19
Pandemic in Africa: The Nigeria Experience; Former President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana
gave the 2019 Lecture on Beyond Politics: An Economic Narrative for West Africa while Prof.
Mahmood Yakubu spoke on Political Transitions and Africa’s Economic Development:
Preparations for Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections at the 2018 Lecture. The 2017 Fifth
Anniversary Lecture on African Leadership in a Turbulent Era was delivered by Dr. Oby
Ezekwesili, former minister of Education and former World Bank Vice President. The 2016
Fourth Anniversary Lecture on Security and National Development in Plural Democratic Society
was delivered by Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, former United Nations Secretary General’s Special
Representative to West Africa and Sahel; the 2015 Realnews Third Anniversary Lecture was
delivered by Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) on November 19, 2015, under the theme: It’s The Nigerian Economy, Stupid?
The Second Realnews Anniversary Lecture on Nigerian Democracy: Getting it Right in 2014
was delivered by Professor Maurice Iwu, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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