News
“I wrote King and Horseman in 60hrs-Prof Soyinka
Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka on Saturday disclosed he wrote the book, the King and his horseman in two and half days.
He however said he had been nursing the idea for many years before deciding to put it into writing in a record time.
He spoke at the unveiling of CreaTent and Books of Aphorisms by one of his mentees, Mohammed Bello.
Soyinka, who cited the King and his Horseman as one of his best ever, said it is his creativity that made the book unique.
He explained that other people have written about the myth about the King and the horseman.
According to him: “Finally, I couldn’t help it anymore. So instead of committing, I found pleasure. Which is trying to restore a symbol that is standing right now, which has proved to me one of the most successful plays I’ve ever written.
“But the important thing, and that’s what I want to address, the important thing is that writing that play did not begin when I sat down. Right? No. Obviously, it had been there.
“You see yourself in the subconscious, and finally, it is ready. Many people would not believe that I wrote that play in two and a half days. Literally, a month and a half.
“That was the nature of it. The power to respond to it. Not necessarily immediately.”
He encouraged writers not to be discouraged when they are stuck.
He said: “And don’t worry if you wanted to write a play and it just didn’t come out and you had to do it. Go and do other things. Go and play soccer if you like.
“Go and listen to music. Go and see your friends. Have a party. Join a construction gang who occupy themselves with the community. Anything whatsoever.
“Inspiration is not mysterious. It’s a question of just opening your mind to take up what others are not. So I recommend this pamphlet.
“Teachers, students, would be creative people. And always remember that there’s a link between people who tend to separate the literary arts, the painting, the talking. The thing is different from technological savvy.”
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, February 20, 2025, endorsed to two bills establishing the Federal University of Agriculture and Development Studies, Iragbiji in Osun State, and the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, Iyin Ekiti, Ekiti State.
He said these specialised institutions will address the educational needs of the populace while driving research and innovation and contributing to the country’s overall economic growth and development.
He said the institutions will serve as training grounds for developing agriculture, science and technology professionals and enhancing Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global economy.
According to the National Universities Commission (NUC), Nigeria currently has 63 approved federal universities, 63 State universities, and 149 private universities.
On February 3, 2025, the president approved the establishment of the Federal University of Environment and Technology (FUET) in Ogoni town of Tai, Rivers State.
Tinubu also consented to the federal government’s takeover of a forfeited private university in Southern Kaduna and its transformation into a federal university.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France was entering a “new era” and that he planned to tell US President Donald Trump he could not “be weak” with Vladimir Putin.
Macron spoke to the French ahead of a planned visit to the White House to meet Trump next week, as Europe scrambles to respond to his Ukraine war shift.
“I’m going to tell him: ‘You can’t be weak with President Putin. That’s not who you are, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest’”, Macron said as he answered questions from the French public on social media.
Trump will meet in Washington with Macron on Monday and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday next week, the White House said.
Trump has sent shock waves around Europe by saying he is ready to resume diplomacy with Putin to end Russia’s three-year war against Ukraine, over the heads of European countries and Kyiv.
In recent days French officials have said the French public needed to understand the magnitude of the threat coming from the Kremlin.
Macron told reporters earlier this week: “Russia poses an existential threat to Europeans.”
On Thursday, the French president said that France needed to beef up security amid the shock policy shift in US-Russia relations.
I am convinced that we are entering a new era. It will impose choices on us,” Macron said. “We Europeans must increase our war effort.”
Macron stressed he did not plan to send troops to Ukraine “tomorrow” but indicated that France was considering providing security guarantees to Ukraine following a ceasefire deal with Russia.
“I have not decided to send troops to Ukraine tomorrow, no,” he said.
“What we are considering instead is sending forces to guarantee peace once it has been negotiated,” he said.
Speaking to AFP earlier Thursday, a French source familiar with the discussions said France was working with European countries to ensure security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire agreement.
Macron also said he planned to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later Thursday.
AFP
…as bandits demand N100m ransom
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
An ex- presidential candidate, Eniola Ojajuni, has been reportedly shot and abducted by bandits in Abuja.
Mr Ojajuni was abducted from his vehicle on Monday, family sources revealed.
Mr Ojajuni was the presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance for Democracy, in 2019.
The politician was on his way to a meeting when he was attacked.
“The kidnappers have reached out to his (Mr Ojajuni) wife, demanding a ransom of N100 million,” said a source on Thursday.
The source also revealed that Mr Ojajuni, the national president of the Afenifere Youths Council, was shot in the buttocks during the attack.
“The Afenifere National Youths Council is deeply saddened to announce the kidnapping of its national president, Prince Eniola Joseph Ojajuni, in Abuja, Nigeria.
“During the kidnapping, Prince Ojajuni sustained a bullet wound on his buttock. We are deeply concerned about his safety and well-being, and we urge the kidnappers to release him unharmed,” the youth group said in a statement.
The FCT police command spokeswoman, Josephine Adeh, could not be immediately reached for a comment.
President Tinubu endorses bills establishing varsities in Osun, Ekiti
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