Easily one of the most engaging and engrossing journalists and public intellectuals in Nigeria over the last two and a half decades, Louis Odion’s trade mark essays in his inimitable columns combine uncommon literary flair, deep-seated historical context, with intellectual muscularity. If sufficiently provoked, the Edo State-born wordsmith can also engage in devastating polemical exchanges no less bruising than the art of boxing, of which he is an aficionado and amateur practitioner. President Tinubu has just tapped Odion’s immense cerebral resources by nominating him for confirmation by the Senate as Executive Director, Operations, of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The FCCPC has witnessed a remarkable resurgence under its Chief Executive Officer/Executive Vice Chairman, Mr Tunji Bello – an outstanding journalist, editor, lawyer, environmentalist and public administrator – over the last two years, and Louis will certainly have considerable value. A former Editor and Managing Director of prestigious national newspapers, he was a former Commissioner for Information in Edo State and Special Technical Adviser to former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. This is wishing the industrious, meticulous and focused ‘Capacity’ all the best in his new assignment.
