As I push towards the 60th profile on the power list, the wise men and women who made the nominations come to focus
Like everything I do, this project will also hit the market in a roundabout way
So we have nominated 100 Nigerians who have been considered very powerful and influential this period
The list is a kaleidoscope of the good, the bad, and the ugly and is drawn from every known sector of the economy
The list is rich, deep, and all-encompassing.
Apart from one or two names, almost all focus groups have commended the list
Its a brilliant list that puts people like Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede, Fola Adeola, Olu of Warri on the same pedestal as Bobrisky, VDM and other such types
It’s a list that celebrates excellence and notoriety in one breath, making it the most colourful plummage around
But tarry, the celebration is also about the 50 individuals who contributed compelling essays on everything from Governance through Sports, Agric, gender issues, power, religion, innovation, name it
These 50 pulled in such intellectual giants as Magnus Onyibe, Tunde Fashola, Kayode Adeleke , who just built a firm that is innovating in materials using 3d drawings as an innovative inclusion in manufacturing and also in the extractive industry and has just received a valuation in excess of N800m, Dakuku Peterside, Lami Tumaka, Uche Orji, former MD of the Sovereign Wealth Fund and a host of others, including veteran power wordsmith *Eniola Bello and fmr First Lady of Cross River State *Onari Duke
These 50 people, to me, represent intellectual integrity, thought, depth and expertise, and this showed very clearly in the essays
There is nowhere in Nigeria that this plumage of brilliance has been brought together in one huge book that will also have 100 profiles of the nominees, complete with their caricatures
The plan is to fete these 50 in a black tie dinner, where the book will be unveiled, and some of those essays discussed while savouring the very best of Akwa Ibom cuisine
Ask for the list of these 50 people and see the brilliant assemblage of some of the most brilliant minds this country has produced in recent times.
To maintain its integrity, we are not taking adverts or sponsorship but have secured full funding from an anonymous donor who is passionate about Nigeria
The Maddtimes Power List Coffee Table is a 500-page compendium of power and influence edited by Joseph Edgar
Only 500 copies would be published.
Ask me how you can get a copy?
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: January 26, 2026
