By Bisi Bamishe
The Management of Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited, publishers of Realnews Magazine Online, has selected “Cybersecurity, Illicit Financial Flows and Achieving Agenda 2063 in Africa” as the topic for its 13th Anniversary Lecture Series coming up on November 19, 2025.
This year’s lecture series will be delivered by a seasoned anti-corruption expert with connections to international and regional bodies like the African Union High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial.
Also, a revered Honorable Chief Justice with links to public institutions will chair the occasion, an Ambassador of a very powerful country will keynote it, while experts and chief executives of a FinTech company, bank, and cybersecurity will serve as discussants. Their names will be announced soon.
The venue is the Radisson Blu Hotel, Isaac John, Ikeja, GRA, Lagos, by 10 am prompt.
We would appreciate it if you could block the date in your diary to be with us on that day.
Realnews, a general interest magazine, is an online publication that thrives on investigative journalism. We have expertise in reporting on the business and economy, the oil and gas sector, with its attendant environmental challenges. We aim to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they face in their day-to-day activities. We do this bearing in mind that the government can only act to influence the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, our objective is to use our investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors we focus on and produce an unbiased report that will influence the government and decision-makers to take actions that will make society better.
We are seasoned journalists who believe strongly in the tenets and ethics of the profession. We sincerely believe that journalism, as the fourth Estate of the Realm, can contribute its quota towards building a fair and just society where fundamental human rights are respected and citizens have the freedom to pursue their interests anywhere in the world without hindrance. Our editors have a combined experience of several decades in active journalism practice and are highly dedicated to serving humanity. Hence our motto: For God and Humanity.
The Realnews Anniversary Lecture Series was established to commemorate the best minds in our society and to tap from them to enrich the discourse in our national development.
The 12th Anniversary Lecture Series was delivered by Ambassador Professor Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari (2024), and the 11th Anniversary Lecture by Edwin Harris Jr., Director General of the ECOWAS Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering (GIABA) in 2023. Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Drug Abuse among Youths in Africa: Implication for Nigerian Economy and 2023 Election, gave the lecture in 2022; the 9th Anniversary Lecture of Realnews in 2021 was delivered by Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on Nigeria in the Unfolding Integration of the African Market: The Oil and Gas Perspective; 2020 8th Anniversary Lecture of Realnews was delivered by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 on Managing COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa: The Nigeria Experience; Former President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana gave the 2019 7th Lecture on Beyond Politics: An Economic Narrative for West Africa while Prof. Mahmood Yakubu spoke on Political Transitions and Africa’s Economic Development: Preparations for Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections at the 2018 6th Lecture. The 2017 5th Anniversary Lecture on African Leadership in a Turbulent Era was delivered by Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education and former World Bank Vice President. The 2016 4th Anniversary Lecture on Security and National Development in Plural Democratic Society was delivered by Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, former United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative to West Africa and Sahel; 2015 Realnews 3rd Anniversary Lecture was delivered by Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on November 19, 2015 under the theme: It’s The Nigerian Economy, Stupid? The 2nd Realnews Anniversary Lecture on Nigerian Democracy: Getting it Right in 2014 was delivered by Professor Maurice Iwu, former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
