NCDMB Hosts Book Reading on Nwabuikwu’s ‘The Pain and the Promise’
By Onwe Wisdom, Pan Afric Reporters
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is set to host the fifth edition of its Corporate Communications Book Reading Programme, featuring writer, journalist and public policy analyst, Paul C. Nwabuikwu, and his latest book, The Pain and the Promise: Insights and Fragments on Nigeria and People, Public and Personal.
The General Manager, Corporate Communications Division, NCDMB, Obinna Ezeobi, disclosed this in a press release issued on Monday, September 7, 2026, announcing that the programme would hold on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
According to the statement, the book brings together Nwabuikwu’s writings spanning more than three decades, offering reflections on Nigeria, its people, politics, economics, public policy and the changing character of Nigerian society.
The Board said the reading programme forms part of its sustained efforts to promote literacy, critical thinking and knowledge exchange through structured engagements with Nigerian authors and thought leaders.
It added that the initiative demonstrates NCDMB’s commitment to human capital development beyond the oil and gas sector by creating platforms for intellectual discourse and the exchange of ideas.
Participants at the forthcoming session will engage directly with Nwabuikwu on issues raised in the book, including Nigeria’s past and present, leadership, governance, public policy and the human experiences behind major national developments.
According to NCDMB, the session is expected to connect national events and policy decisions with the everyday experiences of Nigerians, providing an avenue for meaningful conversations on the country’s development trajectory.
Nwabuikwu’s professional career, the Board noted, spans journalism, public policy, strategic communications, advertising, brand building and opinion research. He began his journalism career in 1988 and worked with leading Nigerian media organisations, including Newswatch, THISDAY and The Guardian.
He also served in government as Special Assistant on Communications to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during her two tenures as Minister of Finance and Head of the Economic Management Team, an experience that, according to the Board, gave him a broad perspective on the relationship between public policy, institutions, communication and citizens.
The Pain and the Promise has also received commendations from prominent Nigerian leaders and scholars. At its public presentation in Abuja, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka and Vice Chancellor of Baze University, Prof. Abiodun Adeniyi, reportedly described the book as an important contribution to Nigeria’s intellectual and public policy discourse.
The NCDMB said its Corporate Communications Book Reading initiative would continue to support Nigerian authors and promote platforms that encourage learning, intellectual engagement and the exchange of ideas.
The Board said such engagements were important to building a knowledge-based society and strengthening citizens’ capacity to engage meaningfully with national and global issues.
The fifth edition is expected to attract professionals, students, industry stakeholders and members of the public, building on previous sessions featuring notable Nigerian authors and their works.
The two most recent editions featured HRM King Bubaraye Dakolo, who discussed his book Pirates of the Gulf, and former NIMASA Director-General and former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who discussed his book Leading in a Storm.
NCDMB said the forthcoming engagement with Nwabuikwu would add another perspective to the intellectual conversations being promoted through the Board’s Corporate Communications Book Reading Programme.
