General
Renonwed Poet J.P. Clark Dies at 86
By Adedapo Adesanya
One of Nigeria’s golden generation poets, Prof John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo, is dead. The renowned writer breathed his last on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, at the age of 86.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Mr C. C. Clark and Mr Ilaye Clark on behalf of the family today.
“The Clark-Fuludu Bekederemo family of Kiagbodo Town, Delta State, wishes to announce that Emeritus Professor of Literature and Renowned Writer, Prof. John Pepper Clark, has finally dropped his pen in the early hours of today, Tuesday, 13 October 2020.
“Prof. J. P. Clark has paddled on to the great beyond in comfort of his wife, children and siblings, around him.
“The family appreciates your prayers at this time,” the statement said.
He was born on December 6, 1933, in Kiagbodo to an Ijaw father and Urhobo mother in present-day Delta State.
Prof Clark received his early education at the Native Authority School, Okrika (Ofinibenya-Ama), in Burutu LGA (then Western Ijaw) and the prestigious Government College in Ughelli, and his BA degree in English at the University of Ibadan, where he edited various magazines, including the Beacon and The Horn.
Upon graduation from Ibadan in 1960, he worked as an information officer in the Ministry of Information, in the old Western Region of Nigeria, as features editor of the Daily Express, and as a research fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan.
He served for several years as a professor of English at the University of Lagos, a position from which he retired in 1980. While at the University of Lagos he was co-editor of the literary magazine Black Orpheus.
In 1982, along with his wife Ebun Odutola (a professor and former director of the Centre for Cultural Studies at the University of Lagos), he founded the PEC Repertory Theatre in Lagos.
A widely travelled man, Prof Clark held visiting professorial appointments at several institutions of higher learning, including Yale and Wesleyan University in the United States.
He was most noted for his poetry, including Poems (Mbari, 1961), a group of 40 lyrics that treat heterogeneous themes; A Reed in the Tide (Longmans, 1965), occasional poems that focus on Clark’s indigenous African background and his travel experience in America and other places; Casualties: Poems 1966–68 (USA: Africana Publishing Corporation, 1970), which illustrate the horrendous events of the Nigeria-Biafra war and A Decade of Tongues (Longmans, Drumbeat series, 1981), a collection of 74 poems, all of which apart from “Epilogue to Casualties” (dedicated to Michael Echeruo) were previously published in earlier volumes;
Others are State of the Union (1981), which highlights Clark’s apprehension concerning the socio-political events in Nigeria as a developing nation and Mandela and Other Poems (1988), which dealt with the perennial problem of ageing and death.
His dramatic work included Song of a Goat – premiered at the Mbari Club in 1961, a tragedy cast in the Greek classical mode in which the impotence of Zifa, the protagonist, causes his wife Ebiere and his brother Tonye to indulge in an illicit love relationship that resulted in suicide. This play was followed by a sequel, The Masquerade (1964), in which Dibiri’s rage culminates in the death of his suitor Tufa.
Other works include The Raft (1964), in which four men drifted helplessly down the Niger aboard a log raft; Ozidi (1966), a transcription of a performance of an epic drama of the Ijaw people and The Boat (1981), a prose drama that documents Ngbilebiri history.
Other details concerning his burial rites will be announced in due course.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The chief executive of Netnaija Media Enterprises, Mr Emmanuel Analike, has been arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).
The suspect appeared before Justice Suleiman Liman on Wednesday over allegations bordering on copyright infringement.
He was accused by the NCC of using his online platform to make movies and others not belonging to him available for users to download on the internet.
According to the agency, Mr Analike has infringed copies of audio-visual materials distributed online via his website for online users. Netnaija is an online movie and music download site.
The prosecution counsel, Ms Gladys Isaac-Ojo, who works with the NCC, told the court that the defendant committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 44 (1) (a) of the Copyright Act, 2022.
However, Mr Analike pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him, prompting his counsel, Nnemeka Ejiofor, seek his bail.
The lawyer informed the court that the application was filed on Monday and supported by 23 paragraphs of affidavits and a written address.
But the judge refused to give a bench ruling and adjourned the ruling of the bail application to Monday, March 9, 2026, ordering the remand of the Netnaija chief in Kuje Correctional Centre.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Entries for the 2026 edition of the world’s largest green business ideas competition, ClimateLaunchpad, have opened.
In 2025, the programme, organised by Climate KIC, received over 2,700 applications from 40 countries. The winning ventures gain prize money, investor connections, and access to a global cleantech network.
This year’s edition is expected to be bigger and better, with climate innovators, green venture builders, and entrepreneurs from around the world given the opportunity to apply.
Since its inception in 2014, the programme has supported nearly 5,000 ideas across 97 countries, and this year, it is expanding its presence in Asia with Singapore hosting both the regional final and global grand final for the first time.
Participants move through several stages, including an initial mini-course to refine the concept, an intensive multi-day Boot Camp led by expert trainers, targeted coaching to perfect value propositions and investor pitches, national and regional finals, and a place at the global grand final, with prizes and access to a global climate network.
“Strengthening ClimateLaunchpad’s presence in Asia marks a profound new chapter for this programme and for the climate innovation movement more broadly. Asia is where so much of the world’s climate and nature future will be shaped, through business leadership, public-private partnerships and long-term strategic thinking,” the chief executive of Climate KIC, Kirsten Dunlop, stated.
“We look forward to supporting this momentum with new business ideas and innovation ecosystem collaborations across more than a dozen countries.
“This expansion opens space for deeper cross-cultural connections and for first-time founders to turn sparks of imagination into solutions that serve both people and planet,” Dunlop added.
Also commenting, the chief executive of Better Earth Ventures, Ms Rebecca Sharpe, said, “We are proud to host ClimateLaunchpad’s regional and global grand final in Singapore and to convene an international group of climate entrepreneurs from more than 50 countries.
“Climate solutions are emerging from every corner of the world, and bringing them together creates the kind of cross-border exchange and collaboration this moment demands. Our focus is to ensure early-stage founders have the structure, ecosystem access and support needed to move from idea to credible impact.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has finally approved the use of an alphanumeric digital postcode system for the country, 17 years after it was first considered.
According to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, the system was okayed at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, chaired by President Bola Tinubu, in line with the ministry’s strategic blueprint.
He said working in collaboration with the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), the ministry will introduce a modern, geospatially intelligent addressing system that improves accuracy across the country and enables faster and more reliable mail and parcel processing.
“Beyond strengthening postal operations, the Digital Postcode System will also serve as an important national enabler supporting better national planning, improved emergency response, more efficient logistics and e-commerce, and the delivery of government services.
“As our digital economy continues to grow, foundational systems such as this play an essential role in building the infrastructure required to connect people, businesses, and services more efficiently across the country,” he said.
He noted that the approval represents another step forward in the Mr Tinubu-led administration’s commitment to building the enabling environment to support a modern, inclusive, and globally competitive digital economy.
On her part, Ms Tola Odeyemi, the Post Master General and chief executive officer of NIPOST, said the implementation is a foundational step toward building the digital infrastructure required for a modern economy.
“First conceptualised in 2009, this initiative is finally becoming a reality in 2026 under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“A digital postcode system is more than a postal reform. It is critical national infrastructure that enables e-commerce, logistics, emergency services, financial inclusion, security, urban planning, and effective public service delivery,” she added.
By introducing an alphanumeric addressing framework, Nigeria will now be able to identify locations with far greater precision across cities, towns, and rural communities.
“This will significantly improve how goods, services, and digital platforms reach Nigerians everywhere.
“This milestone reflects a shared commitment by the Federal Government to strengthen Nigeria’s digital backbone and unlock new opportunities for innovation, commerce, and national development,” she further stated.
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