Kila delivers Mbaise Colloquium lecture Friday
Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development, Anthony Kila, will deliver this year’s Mbaise People’s Congress (MPC) annual colloquium lecture on Friday, August 14, 2026, focusing on education as a driver of development for the Mbaise people and Nigeria at large.
Kila, who is also Director-General of the Centre for International Advanced Professional Studies (CIAPS), Lagos, and Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (MCIU), will speak on the topic: “Education as the bedrock for the development of a people, a society and a nation: The case of the University of Mbaise.”
The event, themed “Mbaise Strategic Advancement,” holds at Eziala Hall, Eziala Road, Eke Nguru, Mbaise, at 11:00am.
Kila is the author of Crucial Cs Around D: The Disciplines of Decision-Making and Leadership. He is a jurist, political economist, strategist, policy analyst, and essayist, and serves as director at the Institute of the Commonwealth, as well as International Director of Studies at the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies.
He is a regular commentator on the BBC and a columnist for the TheNiche, Independent, Telegraph, Europa, and Panorama, with articles and essays published across various other outlets.
Kila was educated in Cambridge, London, Perugia, and Suffolk, earning a first-class degree in political economy before specialising in political anthropology, law, management, and public policy. He has taught at institutions in Cambridge, Ipswich, Lagos, Lecce, London, Perugia, and Siena.
MPC is an association of elite Mbaise professionals, intellectuals, and technocrats based primarily in Lagos and home in Imo State. Founded to promote development and public enlightenment, the non-governmental organisation is known for hosting an annual intellectual convergence — the Mbaise Colloquium — every August 14 to address regional and national development issues.
The National President, Ochiagha Carl Azudibia, said MPC has been holding the colloquium since 1995.
Chief Success Obioma Akagburuonye will chair the occasion, while Dr Patrick Korie will be a discussant.
Hon. Matthew Nwogu, member representing Ahiazu Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, is Special Guest of Honour, alongside Chief Patricia Ozioma Standioka, Managing Director of Mehe Chizzya Pat. Ltd, Abuja.
Royal Fathers of the Day are HRH Eze Mike Oriji, Chairman of Mbaise Council of Traditional Rulers, and HRM Dr Patrick Chinedu Acholonu, Igwe XII of Orlu. Surveyor Joe Anosike, President-General of Ezuruezu Mbaise, is Chief Host.
Organisers say the colloquium is part of MPC’s efforts at building a “Greater Mbaise” through dialogue, policy engagement, and community-driven development initiatives.
