DeHope Media

26/09/2025

DistroVid

26/09/2025

OLABODE MAKINWA for U

Uncovering Their Cover-ups: My Genuine Role as an Investigative Journalist in Nigeria - Olabode Makinwa

Since 2014, I, Olabode Makinwa, have dedicated my life to a mission that is as dangerous as it is necessary—uncovering their cover-ups. In a Nigeria where political power often thrives on secrecy, deception, and manipulation, my work as an investigative journalist is more than a career; it is a calling. I have seen firsthand how those entrusted with leadership twist the truth, and how institutions meant to protect the people sometimes become shields for the very corruption they are supposed to fight.

Over the years, I have watched with concern as our revered traditional rulers—once the moral compass and defenders of community values—have been drawn into the murky web of politics. These royal fathers, once respected as impartial custodians of justice, now quietly or openly lend their influence to political office holders, providing cover for lawlessness and aiding the abuse of public trust. I have investigated situations where palaces became safe havens for questionable deals, where endorsements were exchanged for favours and where silence was bought to keep the public in the dark. What was once a sacred stool of truth has, in too many cases, been turned into a mechanism for political manipulation.

My journey since 2014 has been defined by relentless digging—poring over leaked documents, questioning unexplained wealth, confronting political actors, and exposing the hidden alliances between politicians and traditional authorities. From uncovering local government mismanagement to highlighting state-level corruption, I have refused to bow to intimidation. The threats are real: legal harassment, smear campaigns, and moments of personal danger. But my resolve remains stronger than fear because I know that democracy cannot survive without truth.

I have seen how lies, when left unchallenged, become accepted as normal. I have also seen how one verified report can ignite public outrage, force resignations, and trigger long-overdue reforms. This is why I cannot—and will not—stop. My work is not about popularity or applause; it is about giving Nigerians the information they need to hold the powerful accountable, whether they wear the agbada of a politician or the crown of a traditional ruler.

My name is Olabode Makinwa. For over a decade, I have stood at the frontline of Nigeria’s battle for transparency. I will continue to shine light where others prefer darkness, to speak where others are silent, and to uncover their cover-ups, no matter how carefully hidden. The truth may be buried for a while, but as long as I breathe, it will never remain buried forever.

26/09/2025

MICROPHONE My PADDY of Life...

Deborah Ojo Omo Emi Olamide Oluwatosin Dennis O Oriola Denni O Oriola

26/09/2025

19/09/2025

On September 19, 2015, Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo, wife of Obafemi Awolowo, woke up at about 8 a.m. and got ready to host a meeting of the committee set up to plan her centenary birthday. She would be 100 years in just two months and six days ahead. The meeting was billed to hold at 10am in a living room of her residence at Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State.

In her usual style, according to Premium Times, she responded cheerfully to the greeting of Managing Director, African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, Publishers of the Tribune newspaper, Edward Dickson, and those of her children, grand children and great grand children that arrived for the meeting.

Shortly after the meeting started at the Efunyela Hall, HID Awolowo was brought in and as if on cue, everyone in the hall rose to welcome her with a rousing recitation of the popular Yoruba song: “Mama o, Mama o, Mama o, Olorun da mama si fun wa…” which means: Mother, mother, may God protect our mother for us.

Beaming with smiles, she responded to her children’s prayers with another prayer as it is customary among the Yorubas, saying “E kuipalemo o, eyin naa a dagba – thanks for the preparation, you will all live long.”

According to the report, after listening to the deliberations at the meeting for about five minutes, She said she needed to rest and asked to be excused. When she got to her room she demanded for her lunch of pounded cocoyam with egusi soup. After taken few morsels of the pounded cocoyam, she invited one of her personal assistants who was attending to her to eat with her, but the assistant declined out of respect adding that she would eat after the matriarch had eaten to her fill. Not one to miss a chance to indulge in the cheerful conversation, she commended the beauty of the pair of slippers the assistant had worn and asked her to get a similar pair for her later.

After lunch, she laid on her bed for a while. But she suddenly asked to be raised up from her bed. The young men who had gathered to raise her from her sleeping position realised that she was gasping for breath and sent for her two surviving children, Tola Oyediran and Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu, who were part of those attending the meeting.

Soon after her children rushed into her room, she stopped breathing.

Credit: Ethnic African Stories