"The records show that hitherto illicit drug consumption used to be among the male youth population though expanding to now include teenage girls, young women and older married women. But to intentionally segregate the consideration to just single women even when the higher percentage of consumption is amongst men and boys shows a complete lack of appropriate gender mapping on this issue across the states in Nigeria."

"Today as the social call mounts on the development of Africa, sustainability is key and requires deliberate actions such as this passion, fairness and dexterity will be my guiding charge towards ensuring the gap for women’s role is brought to the fore and activate innovations and policies that mainstream women across all sectors."

"The Women and Gender Affairs Cluster committee is tasked with the responsiibility of leading, guiding, defending and coordinating the AU Ecosoc efforts on gender equality and development and promoting women’s empowerment by ensuring that African countries comply with the AU Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality."

"And as per my role as the SSA, it was not about the title or about the office; it was about the activation for service for those who my principal called to serve and my admiration for his wife, Ebere Ihedioha, who was very visible and also very passionate about the plight of women in Imo State."

"Getting into the field was a totally different experience and ball game. And I am like, ‘Ah ha, we have come here now, what do we do? How do we re-engage?’ Trust me, the more you look when you get into politics, the less you see, because the narratives you thought were shaping or were supposed to shape those who are in power was not the case scenario in real time."

"That experience was a breakthrough for me and, having conquered that I saw the possibility of having to use my voice for the first time and then I started voice coaching. I did internship with Channel 4, did internship with BBC Online, did a lot of auxiliary training and then I decided to just go freelancing."

"Biafran War Memories is a lifelong project for me. Most of the people who saw the war are in their mid 60’s and upwards. I’m trying to get the stories out of them while we still can, while they are still alive... We need to have a full story, which is why I’m not talking to just Igbo people."

"Poem has the ability to move the soul and wrap your mind around its mysterious magic."

"Especially in developing countries, it's so important to get on the ground into the communities because the stats at the federal level, it may not be a real portrait of what's happening on the ground."

"There is nothing wrong in using affirmative action to give a selected group of people the chance to succeed. What I propose is that chance to succeed should be given based on merit, not solely on the tribe, skin colour, gender, religion, or language. Unfortunately for Nigeria, meritocracy fell on the wayside shortly after gaining independence from the United Kingdom."

"No one in this life can escape hardship."

"Much of the bias against Igbo people are based on longstanding stereotypes."

"If you’re a correspondent or if you do any field reporting, you have to be ready to travel. The extensive traveling will definitely affect your personal life. When it comes to marriage, it’s not uncommon for journalists to be divorced or to get married at a time that many cultures and societies consider ‘late.’ My inspiration Christiane Amanpour got married when she was 40."

"What is Africa for me? Africa is home, Africa is a treasure that has not received its due credit, Africa is a misunderstood place, Africa is ancient, and Africa has many secrets to discover."

"I think the misunderstanding (about Africa) comes from the fact that the world is split between powers. Right now Africa is really not in power when it comes to global politics. We still have the voices of the former colonialists speaking for many African countries... We still don't have Africans telling the stories of what is happening. The people telling the stories are non-Africans who have not really grasped the historical context of Africa."

"When the legendary Nelson Mandela made his famous quote ‘there can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children' he most likely had the humanity-indicting apartheid system in mind. Were he alive now and a Nigerian, he would have replaced the last strand of the sentence with ‘the way in which it allows the tobacco industry, merchants of death, to toy with the lives and destinies’ of its children."

"Most people who violate the right of others are cowards. Once you draw attention to their crimes, once you stand up to them they withdraw and people are safe"

"The poor also have rights to the city and there are more humane and inclusive ways of running ‘a mega city’ than the brutal and sledgehammer approach that currently obtains here."

"... A country is deemed great that truly cares about its children aka pikins, and the most vulnerable."

"The girl child is just like an egg that can easily be damaged through teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse etc, hence, the need to protect them."

"Your dreams will come true."

"When you know your stand and stay consistently by it, eventually you will prevail."