Editorial
THE UNFLAPPABLE WINGS OF ALLEN ONYEMA: THE AIR-KING OF AFRICA.
By Tobouke JEMINE
What lessons are there to learn from the success story of the King of Air Peace, Barrister Allen Onyema?The success story of this great Nigerian is based on certain principles of success he put into use, knowingly or unknowingly. And those rules, values and virtues that gave birth to the greatness of this man are not buried in the mouth of the needle. In his story, we shall find them.
He was born in March 1964 in the historic city of Benin, Nigeria. He came as the first of nine children born to Michael and Helen Onyema. He came from a humble background in Mbosi town in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State. He studied Law at the University of Ibadan. He excelled in business, made his first millions at 25 and got married at 26 to Alice, an Igala woman from Kogi State. A father of proud children and a philanthropist to the core.
In the course of a conversation with Dr Ubong King on Dr King’s”Break the Rules” program, the Air Peace King said, “Don’t look down on anybody; God could use anybody to uplift you”. The practice of these words put the Air Peace King on the path of unimagined and unlimited success. Yes, the godly attitude of not looking down on the person next to you could go a long way in transforming your story overnight.
While he was nursing hope for a better future in Oshodi, Lagos State, he had some ‘garage boys’ who were his friends. One of them happened to belong to a family that had a large expanse of land that they wanted to sell. He helped this family to bring some buyers. And weeks later, the family called him and told him he should help them sell 400 plots of their land. He agreed.
A plot of the land was to be sold for #5,000. This was 1990. And the agreement was that whatever figure he added on top the said amount was his commission. He sold some plots, and used the money to pay for adverts in the then popular Concord Newspaper owned by MKO Abiola, and this marketing strategy boosted finances beyond his imagination.
In the process, he was wisely counselled to buy some of the property. And he wisely took the advice and bought 87 plots out of that family property. He stepped up his game by floating a real estate company called Allen Onyema & Company. In 1992, he resigned from his place of work in order to avoid conflict of interests and put in his best to his growing business empire.
Think big even while you are growing small. Allen floated a Law firm; established continental and intercontinental business links; got into business desls with Korean business entities; Imported electronics, and as he continued to provided solutions to the commercial needs of his environment, his financial pockets got deeper — just as he said, “If you become the first person to provide answer to a problem, you are on your way to becoming wealthy.”
But in 2003, his businesses suffered setbacks.He prayed to God and vowed to make a difference in the lives of people and community if God helped him to cross that rough sea. His petitions were answered. The sea returned to glassy calm. The fields became fruitful again, pointing us to the fact that, there is a divine factor in the success story of every man. This Truth stands even if that success does not recognize and appreciate it.
Why Air Peace? In 2007 , Allen looked and saw that his businesses were making billions for him, but felt lives were not being touched. Hence, he began to ponder on what to do to change empower lives. He saw that even those he empowered financially were coming off worse. He was counselled to go into aviation business, where he was told an airplane could employ, at least, one thousand people. Following that advice, he bought 3 airplanes, each from France, Germany and the US in 2013.
While celebrating this feat in London,he got to discover that the airplanes he bought could not fulfill his dream of employing three thousand people. They were executive jets for charter, and needed only a few “Beautiful girls” and some good pilots to run them. He was disappointed and angry. But when he was told that Boeing airplanes could do the dream, he flew to Texas,America to buy four Boeing airplanes.Then the unexpected happened. For almost almost two years, the Eagle of the Sky was denied license. But through persistence and dedication, he he flapped his wings and soared above the storms, and he has since being UNSTOPPABLE AND UNFLAPPABLE in the air.
Aside providing jobs for thousands of Nigerians, Africans and beyond the continent of Africa, the unshakable King of Air Peace has been very much involved in providing scholarships to the underprivileged, supporting communities with social amenities, promoting and advocating for a society free of conflicts and disharmony.
In 2019, Chief Allen evacuated hundreds of Nigerians who suffered Xenophobic attacks from black South Africans. For this cause, the House of Representatives invited him to address the House and recommended him for National Honours, which President Buhari did confered on him. And in the heat of COVID-19 lockdown, the Eagle of Air Peace also evacuated many Nigerians from Thailand , Malaysia, India and other parts of the world who were financially incapacitated to pay for tickets to return to their roots in Nigeria.
The Man is a legend in the making.
Your Excellency,
SUBJECT: Strategic Proposal to Leverage Dangote’s Bayelsa Visit and Unlock Delta’s Coastal Industrial Corridor
Warm greetings to Your Excellency and continued appreciation for your stewardship over the affairs of Delta State.
I write to you with a sense of strateg urgency and patriotic commitment, in light of Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s recent visit to Bayelsa State, which has reunited national attention toward private-sector-led industrial development in the Niger Delta. As commendable as that engagement is, Delta State holds even more viable, strategic, and economically advantageous alternatives that demand immediate prioritisation and promotion.⁸
Deltas Host to Tree of the Many Oil Terminals in Nigeria
Delta State is host to Escravos Oil Terminal, Forcados Oil Terminal, and the Agbami Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading offshore facility (FPSO). This and many more makes Delta the highest Oil Producing State in Nigeria today. It is our firm belief that the Delta State Government can approach the Dangote Group or any other local or international oil and gas consortium to build mega/Modular Oil Refineries incorporated with power plats near these export terminals, construct a railway and dual carrage highway, and power transmission networks from the incorporated power plants to Warri city. This way, constant oil supply to the Refineries is guaranteed, constant power supply is guaranteed, constant supply of Petroleum products is guaranteed, and the issue of motorable road infrastructure from the city centre to the creeks/coastal coastal communities of the Niger Delta creeks is resolved. More than that, road access makes it more efficient for securing the oil-rich swampy terrain of Delta State.
Delta Coast Corridor: A Hidden Goldmine
Communities such as Pepper-Ama/Oporoza in Gbaramatu Kingdom, and Youbebe/Ogulagha in Ogulagha Kingdom, and Forcados/Beniboye in Iduwini Kingdom, located along the Coastline of Warri-Southwest Local Government Area and Burutu Local Government Area respectively, offer a rare confluence of economic advantages that make them ideal for:
a. A modular or full scale Crude Oil Refinery or petrochemical plant
b. A deep water Offloading depot and marine Terminal
c. A seaport connected to international shipplanes
d. A motorable road and rail linking the creeks to Warri city, the East-West road, and beyond
Unlike some other locations in the region, these areas are resources-rich, geostrategically positioned, relatively peaceful, and welcoming to industrial development.
Why Delta State MustAct Now
You Excellency, Delta must not be a spectator in the race to attract transformative investments. With Dangote, Ibeto, etc, and/or other industrial giants exploring new Refinery locations, the time is ripe for Delta State to present a unified, attractive, and superior proposition.
Here’s why this corridor stands out:
1. Superior Geographic Advantage
Pepper-ama, Ogulagha, Youbebeb, Forcados, and Beniboye lies along navigable coastal waters with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean, making them ideal for a deep-sea port and marine logistics hub that can serve the South-South, South-East, North-Central, and North-East regions.
2. Proximity to Existing Oil and Gas Fields/Installations
These communities are surrounded by operational oil and gas assets, iwned by major IOCs and national companies. A Refinery or depot sited here would reduce reliance on Lagos ports, minimizes inland transportation cost and problems that often lead to massive traffic jam due to influx of big Petroleum tankers sharing Limited road facilities with other users, by decentralizing fuel distribution.
3. Untapped Blue Economy Potential
With maritime infrastructure, these coastal areas can become hubs for logistics, ship repairs, offshore support services, and even export-based industrial and agricultural processing zones.
4. Community Willingness and Land Availability
The people Gbaramatu Ogulagha and Iduwini Kingdoms have consistently demonstrated hospitality towards industry, making land and support available-if development is inclusive, environmentally sounds, and consutative.
Key infrastructure Priority: An All-Se Road Network
To fully unlock this region’s economic value, the construction of a durable, all-season motorable road from the creeks to Warri and onward to other urban centres is non-negotiable.
This road will ensure seamless distribution of Petroleum products from future reginry/Offloading depots.
It will integrate these coastal communities into the broader Delta economy and reduce travel times and transport costs.
With federal alignment, it could feed into the East-West road, facilitating cargo movement to the South-East, North-Central, and North-East geopolitical regions.
Recommendations for Strategic Actions
1. Host a Coastal Investment Summit in Warri
Invite key investors, including Aliko Dangote, BUA, NNPC Ltd., Waltersmith, Renaissance, Transcorp Group, etc., and other global operators.
Showcase Delta’s Coastal Corridor as a viable industrial zone ready for investment.
2. Commission a Joint Feasibility Study
Assess Pepper-ama, Youbebe, Ogulagha, Forcados, and Beniboye communities for a Refinery, Offloading depot, and seaport.
Include road infrastructure needs and environmental safeguards.
3. Establish a Delta Coastal Development Authority (DCDA) or use the Delta State Ministry of Riverine Communities Development
Tasked with coordinating infrastructure planning, PPP engagement, and land/community integration.
4. Lobby Federal Government, NNPC, and other critical stakeholders
Secure destination of the area as a strategic industrial development zone.
Explore subsidy, tax, and logistics waivers to incentive private-sector eng.
Conclusively, let Delta take the lead
Your Excellency, it is time for Delta to reclaim its historic leadership as the industrial and economic heartbeat of the Niger Delta. By proactively showcasing our superiors’ sites and unlocking our creek-to-hinterland logistics corridor, we can attract investment that will create jobs, build infrastructure, and catalyze long-term prosour people.
Let us not watch others harvest the fruit of opportunities planted better our own terrain.
We look forward to bold leadership and swift action.
Yours in service and development,
Peretengboro Bibaikefie
Thanks you
Editorial
A-Z on How AI Can Help You Design Your Future; Hear Ngozi’s Story from Technology to Transformation
From the Editor’s Desk – IduwiniVoice
In an age where artificial intelligence is reshaping industries and disrupting traditional careers, Award-winning entrepreneur Ngozi Elobuike is proving that living your dream life is more possible than ever before. And she’s not just talking about it-she’s living it.
Once sleeping on her sister’s couch, Elobuike has since transformed her lowest point into a global, AI-powered life of purpose and creativity. Now splitting her time between the U.S., Ireland, France, she’s built a life that reflects both ambition and intention. From founding Ireland’s first black-led wine club and launching two luxury beverage brands to publishing an AI-powered travel book and teaching over 500 creatives how to use AI to unlock their potential, Elobuike’s story is a living blueprint for the modern dreamers.
“Most people stay stuck in lives they don’t love because they think transformation takes years,” Elobuike said in her recent TEDx talk, which has generated over 200,000 views. “They believe dreams lives belongs to other people-the lucky ones.”
For Elobuike, AI is more than just a tool-it’s a catalyst for reinvention. She sold her social media agency in 2021 and used AI to build her next business, handing off repetitive tasks to technology so she could focus on the things that matter: writing for Forbes, competing in powerlifting and living as a digital nomad across 35 cities.
“Your dream life is closer than you think with AI as your partner,” she said.
At the heart of her philosophy is the belief that life is a laboratory.
“What does a scientist do? They think about life as an experiment,” Elobuike explains. “You have dependent variables and you have independent variables. You have things that you can control in your settings.”
To her, AI is the Independent variable that “has the ability to act as an enzyme. It lowers the activation energy needed to complete a task.”
Identify what drains you, and delegate repetitive tasks to AI. Tools like Claude for writing, Zapier for automation, and Perplexity for research can reclaim hours of your day and give you space to create.
One of her most innovative ideas? Creating an AI advisory board-a team of specialized AI personas to advise on business, creativity, and personal growth.
“Instead of asking your friend who may be a naysayer, ‘hey, I’m thinking about starting this new idea venture, ‘ consider asking AI,” she suggests. “Prompt ChatGPT and say I have an idea for X. Give me advise as if you were Oprah.”
Elobuike also urges people to test their ideas with small, smart experiments.
“You don’t need to quit your job tomorrow, Want to write? Use AI to pushing one article. Want to Launch a wine? Don’t start with the wine-start with a product mockup and gauge your audience’s reaction.”
While many remain sceptical-only 32% of adults believe AI will benefit them, with scepticism highest amongst women and older adults-Elobuike sees a window of opportunity.
“While others debate whether AI is good or bad, you can be building,” she advises. “That hesitation is head start.”
The real magic, she says, comes from a mindset of continuous improvement.
“Growth hacking is what startup entrepreneurs created as a term back in 2010. What is growth hacking? Imagine if you got 1% better every day, but 10% better every day.”
Her advice is clear: Stop playing with AI like a toy. Start using it as a system. Use it to build, scale, and magnify things that make you uniquely you.
In a word still catching up to the power of artificial intelligence, Ngozi Elobuike is already living in the future-and showed the rest of us how to get there. Let Elobuike’s story fire your marrows and power your dreams today.
Editorial
Taming the Swampy Creeks, Bridging the Future: Bayelsa’s Nembe-Brass Coastal Road Begins to Take Shape
IduwiniVoice
The long-anticipated Nembe-Brass Road project, a monumental infrastructure initiative in Bayelsa State, is making steady headway as construction advances into its second phase, with the second major bridge now rising from the creeks, Arogbo-IbeVoice Newspaper reported.
Launched in June 2022, the 21-kilometre Nembe-Brass Road is designed to link the historically isolated Brass Island to Nembe and ultimately to the mainland, opening a new corridor of access and opportunity for the people of Bayelsa East Senatorial District.
New images emerging from the site offer compelling evidence of the ongoing work. Concrete pillars for the second bridge now tower above the swamplands, while heavy machinery continues the arduous task of road expansion through the difficult terrain.
Describing the pace of the project, a site engineer who spoke under anonymity noted: “We are tackling one of the most technically challenging sections now, and the progress is remarkable given the terrain. The second bridge is a critical component, and once it’s complete, we can begin surfacing the next stretch of the road.”
The road, when completed, will not only facilitate easier movement between Brass and Nembe but also serve as a strategic link to the Atlantic coastline — vital for trade, tourism, and security. Locals have long expressed hopes that the project would transform the economic and social landscape of the region.
Speaking at a recent inspection tour, Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to delivering the project: “We are determined to see this road completed. It is not just a road; it is a lifeline for our people, an artery of development that has been long overdue.”
Many community leaders and stakeholders have praised the government’s persistence in driving the project despite fiscal and environmental constraints. Chief Ebikesei Ben-Wills, a traditional leader in Brass, remarked: “This is not just concrete and gravel — this is our future taking shape before our eyes.”
As the second bridge nears completion and more sections of the road take form, optimism grows that Bayelsa’s coastal communities may finally be lifted from decades of isolation.
The Nembe-Brass Road is more than infrastructure; it is a symbol of long-awaited inclusion, bridging the gap between forgotten communities and a modern, connected Bayelsa.