*SOME NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER HEADLINES+, 31/07/2025*

Patients groan as nurses’ strike grounds hospitals nationwide

FG eyes N796bn annually from 5% petrol surcharge

P’Harcourt refinery not for sale – NNPC

NLC gives FG 2 weeks to refund ‘illegally deducted 40% ECS funds’

320 cholera patients recover as Niger, UNICEF contain outbreak

FGC Kaduna students to receive 1,000 laptops from alumni

Trump punishes Brazil with tariffs, sanctions over trial of ally Bolsonaro

UAE begins construction of 7km water pipeline to ease Gaza’s crisis

W’Africa’s first skyscraper, Cocoa House, marks 60 years

AfDB commits $1.2m grant to support national grid stability

Stranded Nigerian miners in CAR arrive Embassy

Manitoba’s Isabella Emike Olatunji makes history as First Nigerian Mrs Canada Globe

Nigerian Egusi seeds makes historic journey to space aboard NASA mission


------------------------
*DID YOU KNOW?*

* The brain is actually not capable of multitasking. While we may think we’re doing two things at the same time, we’re actually just quickly switching back and forth between different tasks.

* The border between the United States and Canada is the longest international border in the world, stretching for 8,891 kilometres.
------------------------

Tinubu appoints Governing Council, principal officers for Ogoni Federal University

Tinubu Names Adeyemi Fire Service CG

Tinubu meets Jibrin, Kwankwaso ally, amid defection rumours

Shortage of practical skills accounts for 55% youth unemployment — Speaker

Reps probe Nigerian miners’ abuse claim in CAR

Alleged $1.04m fraud: Court refuses Ajudua fresh bail application

UTME fraud: JAMB prosecutes 110 in five years

Guard, cook sentenced to death for poisoning ex-Katsina commissioner

NAFDAC nets N2.5bn from illicit drug raids in Lagos, Onitsha, Aba

Presidency dismisses ex-ADC chairman’s claim of ministerial offer

Govt targets 80m non-literate youths, adults for basic education

Accessibility of UBEC funds under review, says education minister

NDLEA, Education Ministry to introduce drug testing in tertiary institutions

TETFund reroutes foreign training funds to varsity projects – Masari

Nigeria was heading to N12tr subsidy debt — PCNGi

FG attracts $440m CNG investments in two months – Report

Economic reforms slashed North’s debt by 42% – FG

FCCPC warns traders against price inflation, substandard goods

NAPTIP rescues 170 trafficked persons in Borno

NNPCL drills four oil wells in Kolmani, Bauchi

NAICOM unveils operational guidelines for Insurtech firms

NIMC migrates TELCOS to NINAUTH platform

Customs to adopt Pidgin as official B’Odogwu language

Climate change: FG reaffirms commitment to low carbon emissions

Onanuga: Some Politicians After Tinubu Because He’s From The South

FCTA plans mandatory hepatitis screening for food vendors

Akwa Poly rector denies imposing kinsman as successor

I’ll sustain demand for university autonomy — ASUU President

3,000 benefit from POWA nationwide empowerments — IG’s wife

Political loyalty fueling social media insults – Report

IDPs protest in Benue, block Makurdi–Lafia road

Kings must respect ancestral burial rites or quit throne — Wande Abimbola

Bodo-Bonny road nears 80% completion – Julius Berger

UAC acquires Chivita|Hollandia from Coca-Cola

Sterling HoldCo posts 157% profit, plans ₦53bn public offer

Oando unveils plans for 1.2GW solar plant

Nigerians to own shares in $20bn refinery — Dangote

Seplat revives 29 dormant wells, pumps 26,000bpd crude

Obi defends N540m donation amid S’East bias claims

Governors’ Spending: US Has Confirmed Nigeria’s Leadership Crisis – Peter Obi

Tinubu’s performance impressive in key areas, say North’s leaders

PDP Has Become An Empty Shell Nationwide – Abiodun

Gov Alia sacks chief of staff, commissioners, dissolves state executive council

Oyo Assembly approves appointment of civil, judicial service commissions members

Egbin land dispute: Lagos Assembly adopts committee’s recommendations

Delta plans 500-unit housing plan to cut rent costs

Sokoto targets food security with N5.3bn fertiliser intervention

Oyo refutes plan to build shops on market car park

Ondo okays N3.5b counterpart funding for World Bank rural road projects

Erosion: Cross River residents seek swift govt action

Lagos unveils youth storytelling challenge

Former speaker of old Anambra Assembly Ekwealor dies at 89

Ekiti arrests 90 for environmental sanitation offences

Road users groan over dilapidated Benin-Warri road

LASG clears drain, arrests woman for illegal waste disposal

Ooni announces new Ife chief

Manhunt begins for killers of Anambra bizman despite paying ransom

Woman arrested for killing, selling pregnant Anambra nurse’s body parts

------------------------

*TODAY IN HISTORY*

* On this day in 1992, Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashed while approaching Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. All 113 people onboard were killed in the crash.

------------------------

The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions. – Claude Levi-Strauss

Good morning


*Compiled by Hon. Osuji George osujis@yahoo.com +234-8122200446*

Historically, the Obi of Onitsha is bigger than the Ooni of Ife.

The Oba of Benin is bigger than the Ooni of Ife.

Attah of Igala is bigger than Sultan of sokoto (religious leader)

It is madness thinking of making only the Ooni and Sultan permanent co-chairmen of the Nigeria Traditional Rulers.

While at Enugu, I interviewed my good friend Kabiyesi Oba Abdul Azeez Adebayo Olateju (Olorunmoba 1, Chukwumareze 1), of Edem land in Ibagwa Nike, Enugu State, the oba of the Yoruba community in Enugu State.
He has been in Enugu for over 40 years and speaks perfect Igbo and Yoruba.

Some people are surprised by this post because these types of news are underreported. I am a traveler; I know good things exist across the country, and I do my best to report such.

#onitsha

~~ @polyglotodulesi

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Condemns Bill Elevating Ooni of Ife, Sultan of Sokoto

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, an apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, has strongly condemned a bill before the Nigerian Senate seeking to permanently elevate the Ooni of Ife and Sultan of Sokoto as co-chairmen of the Traditional Rulers Council.

The group considers the bill a slap in the face, as it excludes apex traditional rulers from Igbo land and other ethnic nationalities. Ohanaeze Ndigbo views the move as asymmetric, discriminatory, and ethnocentric, lacking fairness, equity, justice, and federal character.

Dr. Ezechi Chukwu, the group's national publicity secretary, called for the bill's urgent withdrawal and review, considering ethnic differences, cultural sensitivity, geopolitical balance, inclusive governance, and equitable representation.

Chukwu emphasized that the bill's passage would undermine national unity, peaceful coexistence, and social stability.

Meanwhile, social media influencer and politician Nwobo Chika Nwoba stated that only three kingdoms exist in the Southeast Igbo region: Onitsha, Arochukwu, and Nri. He argued that no kingdoms exist in Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States, and that autonomous communities cannot be considered kingdoms.

Affordable Land in Awka For Sale – Alexander Estate, Enugu Expressway | N9M PROMO PRICE!

Looking for prime land for sale in Awka, Anambra State? Look no further!
Alexander Estate is your chance to own affordable land with high return on investment (ROI) along the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway – one of the fastest-growing areas in South-East Nigeria.

Property Details – Alexander Estate, Awka
Location: Along Onitsha-Enugu Expressway, Awka, Anambra State
Plot Size: 464sqm
Promo Price: ₦9 Million (Actual Price: ₦12 Million)
Title: Deed of Assignment & Registered Survey

Strategic Landmarks Nearby
Just 5 mins to Anambra State University, Igbariam
4 mins to Awka Town
2 mins to Zone 13 Police Station
10 mins to Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

Why Invest in Alexander Estate?
Buy & Hold for Capital Appreciation
Build Residential or Commercial Property
Fast-Developing Neighborhood
Government-Approved Titles
Easy Payment Plans Available

Book an Inspection Today!
Call: 0806 280 1423
WhatsApp: 0802 317 2357
Email: sainttheophilus@yahoo.com
Website: https://el-doradohomes.com
YouTube Channel: @eldoradohomesnig

Don’t Miss Out!
Like, Share & Subscribe to stay updated on the best real estate investment opportunities in Nigeria.

#LandForSaleAwka #AffordableLandNigeria #AlexanderEstateAwka #AnambraRealEstate #OnitshaEnuguExpressway #InvestInAwka #ElDoradoHomes #RealEstateNigeria #PropertyForSaleNigeria #LandInvestment #BuyLandAwka #AwkaProperties #RealEstateInvestment #NigerianLandDeals #AnambraInvestmentOpportunities

UKPABI ASIKA THE GREAT!

By Emeka Obasi

No individual did more for the Igbo after the genocidal Civil War than Ajie Ukpabi Asika, a First Class Economist produced by the University of Ibadan, who was appointed Administrator of East Central State in 1967. Strangely, those who should praise him only remember that he did not support Biafra.

Asika and his wife, Chinyere, returned from the United States with chains of University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) degrees and settled down to work at the University of Ibadan. By 1966, they had moved to Tanzania and later Zambia.

It took another Economist, Dr. Adebayo Adedeji, to recommend Ajie to Gowon through Col. Olu Obasanjo. He was the only civilian among the twelve new governors. Had Gowon appointed a Federal officer to administer the East, perhaps everything Biafra would have been completely destroyed.

Asika behaved like a statesman. He welcomed and rehabilitated all those that were on the Biafran side and put their ingenuity to good use. Those who fuelled inventions through Research And Production (RAP) got a new agency, Project Development Agency (PRODA) headed by one of the brains behind Ogbunigwe, Gordian Ezekwe.

The ECS cabinet had an array of achievers, carefully selected. There was Ukwu I. Ukwu, with PhD, Cantab. Samuel Ikoku, Economist, politician and University lecturer, Charles Abangwu, former Deputy Speaker, Eastern Region House of Assembly, Magnus Adiele, another University teacher and Dan Ibekwe, lawyer, former Federal minister, also made it.

Flora Nwapa, novelist and University administrator, joined Philip Nnaemeka Agu, a lawyer, Martin Elechi a former District Officer (DO), Dan Njemanze, another lawyer, Osita Okeke, Zackhaeus  Dibiaezue, and Anthony Ofo - Mogboh, to move the new state to greater heights. They were supported by Chu Okongwu, Vincent Aniago and Innocent Nwoga, among others.

What many did not know was that before the war ended, Asika moved swiftly to secure Igbo investments across the nation. He was successful in the West, in Kano, in Ilorin but Port Harcourt gave him so much headache. Rivers State governor, Alfred Papapreye Diette - Spiff, hardened his heart and supported what became known as Abandoned Property.

It was sad that Spiff who attended St. Joseph's College, Sasse Buea, Western Cameroon, did not consider men like Prof.Theodore Okeahialam and his brother, Heron, who also passed out from the same school, before him.

Heron was the Engineer behind Radio Biafra, who made the world believe that the studio was in Enugu all through the war. Fact is, he moved the station round. At a time, signals came from a palm tree in Otulu, Ahiara, Mbaise. Prof. Okeahialam did not only head the Biafran Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre in Libreviile, Gabon, he pioneered inventions.

Biafran doctors produced Kwashiorkor Mixture for malnourished children, a formula later adopted by the World Health Organisation. F. Udekwu and David Nwafor used fresh coconut as intravenous fluids to treat wounded soldiers. Nelly Obiayo separated Siamese twins. Humphrey Anyanwu did well with surgery.

In 1974, Anyanwu and Nwafor had jobs at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu. They performed two major heart surgeries with Egyptian turned Briton, Bagdi Yacoub.

Asika did not like the unforgiving spirit of Spiff. The Amanyanabo of Bonny, William Dappa Pepple, was exiled, for following Gen. Emeka Ojukwu to one of the Peace Meetings in Addis Ababa, in 1968. The king lived in Enugu. Ojukwu was worried but relief came when Asika found a place for Pepple in Aba, nearer home. He died there in 1972. Today his son, Asimini Dappa People III, sits on the throne as Perekule XI, Amanyanabo of Bonny.

Asika had the most efficient Civil Service in the country, that applied IBM computers through the Eastern Data Processing Centre, manned by Dr. Ofia Nwali and supervised by Ukwu I. Ukwu. Scholarships to Europe, America and other parts of Nigeria were awarded and handled perfectly. 

In Sports, Asika was excellent. Enugu Rangers remain the first Nigerian team to become double champions. This was achieved in 1974. That foundation also makes the Flying Antelopes the only club to have won the Challenge Cup three times consecutively.

East Central State Academicals lifted the Manuwa/ Adebajo Cup in 1971. East Central State Spartans grabbed soccer gold at the First National Sports Festival, Lagos 1973 and retained it in 1975. Rangers had won the first league, the Amachree Cup, although informally, in 1971.

All the players and managers of these teams were Biafran combatants. Coach Dan Anyiam, was Brigade Major of the 60 Brigade that fought gallantly in Oguta. Skipper Godwin Achebe was at the School of Infantry. Godwin Ogbueze was a teenage commando, just like Dominic Nwobodo. Patrick Ekeji moved from the Air Force to Army Signals. Emma Okala and Christian Chukwu, fought as well. Nwabueze Nwankwo was tough in the Mid - West.

Today's leaders would have distanced themselves from Biafrans who painted Asika in bad light. Ajie welcomed them with open arms and was the one who coined the phrase, No Victor , No Vanquished. He visited fellow governors, to be sure that harm did not befall returnee Ndigbo.

I got chatting recently with multi talented Obi Asika, Ajie's son who has continued from where his father stopped. The Junior Asika is into music, soccer, administration, name it. He said : "No Victor, No Vanquished was actually a book written by Ajie. He also negotiated General Amnesty for Biafran soldiers and kept almost everyone out of prison. There is a road named after him in Kano, and another in Ilorin, for his work of rehabilitating the Igbo, securing their property and giving them a way back. I celebrate him every day."

Some of the Biafran officers who were in detention beyond Asika's tenure, were set free in August 1975 by Murtala Mohammed. They included 1966 coup plotters, Humphrey Chukwuma, who remained in Biafran detention through out the war and Ganiyu Adeleke, who commanded the Biafran School of Infantry after he was injured in battle. Peter Adomokai, Aide de Camp to David Ejoor was an Instructor at the School of Infantry. There was also the soldier, Peter Odili. Both men were not in detention.
Benneth Ochei was also set free alongside, Ojukwu's aide, Kanayo Esinulo, who was whisked away from the Lagos Airport, on his way to Frankfurt, by security operatives, on August 23, 1973.

Prof. Ken Post who once lectured at the University of Ibadan told Esinulo that Asika "was one of the most brilliant students I ever taught in all my teaching career." Ajie founded the ECS Writers Workshop and loved Arts and Entertainment. At the First National Festival of Ars and Culture, his state emerged tops. Nkpokiti dancers were also spectacular, globally.

Born in Barkin Ladi and moulded at St. Patrick's College, Calabar and Edo College, Benin, the Umuezearoli, Onitsha man explored the world and brought his experience home. Asika married Chinyere, whose dad was the super public servant, Nathan Ejiogu of Egbu, Owerri. Her sister, Kema Chikwe, became a Federal minister. South - East governors need to be schooled about what Ajie Anthony Ukpabi Asika( Dona Meche ) did for the Geo Political Zone.

PLEASE SHARE TO OTHER PLATFORMS: For our SE Leaders attention and information. May history and posterity honor for the sake of our children.
REV UKANWA ULU

30 Rooms Self-contained Apartment with a shop available for outright sale @Book foundation axis Ifite-Awka Anambra state.

PRICE: ₦135m

*FEATURES*

Standard spacious Rooms with pop.

Fully occupied with tenants.

Suitable for students and working class.

3 mins drive from Enugu-Onitsha Express.

Strategically sited with different access routes.

Can be converted to service apartment,Guest House,etc.

Documents are verified and available.

"NO VICTOR, NO VANQUISHED”? NO, SIR. JUST THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT
A Truthful Dissection of Gen. Gowon’s Crocodile Tears

✍Ugochimereze Chinedu Asuzu

"I always remember the Civil War. It was the most difficult period of my life. It was not my choice…” So says General Yakubu Gowon: decades after the fact, as if the burden of memory alone could exonerate a man from the burden of responsibility.

But memory, stripped of remorse, becomes theatre. And this latest performance by the old General, wrapped in prayerful tones and wistful platitudes, is exactly that a theatre of moral evasion. What was presented as reflection was in fact deflection. A man who presided over the darkest chapter in Nigeria’s history now seeks to launder his conscience with the sponge of spirituality, mouthing prayers as if that were enough to bury three million truths beneath the soil of forgetfulness.

No, sir. You did not pray. You played. You played politics with people’s lives. You played Russian roulette with the destiny of a region. You played central command while entire communities burned. You stood at the gates of peace and walked away. The blood did not flow because you had no choice, it flowed because you made a choice. And the choice was war.

You stood beside Odumegwu Ojukwu at Aburi in Ghana. There, both of you spoke, agreed, shook hands and made a pact. You returned to Lagos to a hero’s welcome, but before the ink of trust could dry, you tore it apart. You listened to federal hawks, buried Aburi under the rubble of Decree No. 8, and turned your face from peace. You betrayed a solemn covenant for the sake of power. That betrayal, not the first shot fired, is where the war truly began.

The records are stubborn. They do not bend to nostalgia. They remind us that before a single Biafran soldier took up arms, thousands of Igbos had been hacked down in the North. Pregnant women butchered. Children beheaded. Men dismembered in full daylight. Railway stations were turned into morgues. Churches, into chambers of death. Kaduna. Kano. Jos. The North descended into madness, and the East was served grief on a plate of silence.

You, sir, presided over that silence. You were Commander-in-Chief, not a curious passerby. You issued words but withheld justice. You gave speeches, but not shelter. You watched a people bleed and called it unfortunate. And now, years later, you whisper: "It was never out of hatred." But hatred needs no introduction when its fruit is genocide.

And then came your famous phrase, carved into Nigeria’s post-war psyche: “No victor, no vanquished.” It sounded noble. It rang loud. But it rang false. Because the war ended, yes, but justice never began. Biafrans were not vanquished by force alone, they were buried beneath the rubble of reconstruction. Their economy was stripped. Their currency devalued. Their children starved. Their land mined and their dignity mocked. What you called reintegration, we lived as retribution. What you labeled reconciliation, we endured as marginalisation. The victor danced in national attire. The vanquished crawled through national amnesia.

Sir, you had the chance to become a Mandela long before South Africa birthed one. You had the moment. The world watched. The African continent stood still. But you chose empire over empathy. You chose command over compassion. You chose to keep Nigeria one by breaking a people in half. And now, the same mouth that sanctioned the guns says, "I prayed to God." Perhaps you did. But God is not mocked by crocodile tears. Not when the skulls of infants still haunt the red soil of Nsukka, Aba, Umuahia, and Onitsha.

Prayer is not repentance. Repentance begins with truth. And the truth is that you, along with others, enabled a war that was avoidable. You squandered the peace we almost had at Aburi. You enabled pogroms with your silence. You denied justice its wings and handed the world a bullet instead. And when it was all done, you wrapped the pain in poetry and hoped the music would make us forget.

But we remember. Not because we hate. But because we bleed.

This is not a call to bitterness. It is a call to honesty. To name what happened. To look the children of Biafra in the eye and say: Yes, you were wronged. Yes, we failed you. Yes, the war was avoidable. And no, it should never have happened.

Until then, sir, do not cloak yourself in prayer while justice lies unclothed. Do not speak of love when you could not uphold truth. Do not say “it was not my choice” when history has proven otherwise. And above all, do not try to rewrite what we lived.

You may now carry the Bible in one hand. But the other hand still drips with memories. Your legacy may wear the robe of elder statesmanship. But it remains stained by silence, by betrayal, and by the bones of those who trusted your word at Aburi.

So here, General Gowon, is what history truly says:
You may cry now, but the tears do not wash the blood away.
You may kneel today, but that does not undo the horror of yesterday.
You may pray, but the ghosts still answer with questions.
And until Nigeria confronts its past with courage, it will never know peace that lasts.

We forgive. But we do not forget. We move on. But we do not move blind.

Because truth, bitter as it may be - is still better than convenient lies.

✍Ugochimereze Chinedu Asuzu
Social Cum Political Analysis|Tuesday, June 10, 2025

INSPIRING ONITSHA TRUE STORY

“My mother sold pap beside the market gutter.”
“Now I export to five countries — and I named the brand after her.”
They called it “dirty woman’s food.”
Now it’s on shelves in London and New York.

Her Mother Sold Akamu by the Roadside — What Her Daughter Did 20 Years Later Left the Whole Market in Tears
Written by Rosyworld CRN

Onitsha, Nigeria — 2003.

Every morning by 5:00 a.m., Mama Uju would tie her wrapper tight, light the firewood, and begin stirring the large pot of pap.

Yellow, thick, creamy — and hot.

She sold it at the corner of Nkpor Market.
Right beside the open gutter.
No kiosk. No umbrella. Just smoke, sweat, and survival.

Her daughter Uju sat beside her.
Sometimes sleeping.
Sometimes helping.
Always dreaming.

But other market women mocked them.

“See your mummy selling food by gutter!”
“Who will marry you when your clothes always smell like smoke?”

Uju stayed quiet.
She watched.
Learned.
And whispered to her mother one day:

"One day, this pap will travel beyond Nigeria."

Mama Uju laughed. “Pap wey I dey sell for ₦50?”

“Yes, mama,” she replied. “Your sweat has a flavour the world hasn’t tasted yet.”

Uju studied hard.
Went to UNN.
Studied Food Science & Tech.
Wrote her final project on “Preservation and Commercialization of Traditional Fermented Foods.”

Graduated with distinction.
Got a loan from a youth empowerment fund.
Started small — two bags of corn, a borrowed grinder, and an Instagram page.

Business Name: Mama Uju’s Original Pap.

It wasn’t just a product.
It was a legacy.

People laughed at first.
Then they tasted it.
Then they ordered.

By 2021, she was supplying supermarkets in Lagos and Abuja.
By 2023, she exported to the UK through a Nigerian food distributor.

In 2025, she returned to Nkpor Market — where it all began.
She wore a custom-made ankara dress printed with the words: “From Gutter to Global.”

She came with camera crews, a truckload of her packaged pap, and a special announcement.

She stood beside the same corner where her mother once bent over firewood and said:

“This is where royalty once sat on a plastic chair.
This is where I saw dignity in burnt fingers.
This is where I first tasted strength.”

She donated ₦10 million to upgrade the market stalls for other women vendors.
Gave them branded kiosks and cooking equipment.
Named the space: “Mama Uju’s Women’s Corner.”

Then she gave her mother a key to a brand-new bungalow, built on land she bought secretly five years ago.

Mama Uju fainted.
Then cried.
Then danced.

Because the pap she stirred for survival…
Became the pap her daughter used for global success.

And the child once laughed at for smelling of smoke…
Now breathes boardroom air — but still bows before the woman who stirred her future.

INSPIRING ONITSHA TRUE STORY

“My mother sold pap beside the market gutter.”
“Now I export to five countries — and I named the brand after her.”
They called it “dirty woman’s food.”
Now it’s on shelves in London and New York.

Her Mother Sold Akamu by the Roadside — What Her Daughter Did 20 Years Later Left the Whole Market in Tears
Written by Rosyworld CRN

Onitsha, Nigeria — 2003.

Every morning by 5:00 a.m., Mama Uju would tie her wrapper tight, light the firewood, and begin stirring the large pot of pap.

Yellow, thick, creamy — and hot.

She sold it at the corner of Nkpor Market.
Right beside the open gutter.
No kiosk. No umbrella. Just smoke, sweat, and survival.

Her daughter Uju sat beside her.
Sometimes sleeping.
Sometimes helping.
Always dreaming.

But other market women mocked them.

“See your mummy selling food by gutter!”
“Who will marry you when your clothes always smell like smoke?”

Uju stayed quiet.
She watched.
Learned.
And whispered to her mother one day:

"One day, this pap will travel beyond Nigeria."

Mama Uju laughed. “Pap wey I dey sell for ₦50?”

“Yes, mama,” she replied. “Your sweat has a flavour the world hasn’t tasted yet.”

Uju studied hard.
Went to UNN.
Studied Food Science & Tech.
Wrote her final project on “Preservation and Commercialization of Traditional Fermented Foods.”

Graduated with distinction.
Got a loan from a youth empowerment fund.
Started small — two bags of corn, a borrowed grinder, and an Instagram page.

Business Name: Mama Uju’s Original Pap.

It wasn’t just a product.
It was a legacy.

People laughed at first.
Then they tasted it.
Then they ordered.

By 2021, she was supplying supermarkets in Lagos and Abuja.
By 2023, she exported to the UK through a Nigerian food distributor.

In 2025, she returned to Nkpor Market — where it all began.
She wore a custom-made ankara dress printed with the words: “From Gutter to Global.”

She came with camera crews, a truckload of her packaged pap, and a special announcement.

She stood beside the same corner where her mother once bent over firewood and said:

“This is where royalty once sat on a plastic chair.
This is where I saw dignity in burnt fingers.
This is where I first tasted strength.”

She donated ₦10 million to upgrade the market stalls for other women vendors.
Gave them branded kiosks and cooking equipment.
Named the space: “Mama Uju’s Women’s Corner.”

Then she gave her mother a key to a brand-new bungalow, built on land she bought secretly five years ago.

Mama Uju fainted.
Then cried.
Then danced.

Because the pap she stirred for survival…
Became the pap her daughter used for global success.

And the child once laughed at for smelling of smoke…
Now breathes boardroom air — but still bows before the woman who stirred her future.