Ike
Ike Mgbatogu is a columnist and editor for Onumba.com, an online news and analysis outlet published by Fawol Media Group (FMG) based in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.. He was a columnist for The Ohio Call & Post Newspaper, owned by the legendary boxing promoter’s Don King Media Enterprises, where he covered Columbus, Ohio and U.S. politics and reported news on the African-American and immigrant communities in central Ohio.
His stories, numbering in the thousands, appeared weekly in the Cleveland.com, the online home of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, as well as in The Michigan Citizen, Black press USA and others.
He also reported news for columbusunderground.com, a popular political and entertainment news blog and was a contributor for ThisWeek Newspaper, where he reported news covering Sunbury, Big Walnut and Berkshire communities in Delaware County.
Mr. Mgbatogu’s writings provoke interest and controversy, a testimony to his hard-hitting commentaries, the astuteness of his analysis and the audacity of his views.
The Nigerian-born, U.S. educated journalist and political scientist, has interviewed many politicians, business leaders and celebrities including former U.S. President Barack Obama, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman, White House Director of African-American and Minority Business Outreach Michael Blake, Black Enterprise publisher Earl G. Graves, Sr., Columbus School District Superintendent Gene Harris, former Ohio Treasurer and current Franklin County Commissioner Kevin L. Boyce, former Ohio House of Representatives Democratic Leader Armond Budish, entertainment executive Russell Simmons, former Ohio State, NFL star and actor Eddie George, Max Kennedy son of former U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, former Obama’s senior domestic policy adviser Cassandra Butts, former Senegalese Foreign Minister and Presidential Candidate in 2012 elections Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, former Liberia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Milton Nathaniel Barnes and former Ghanaian Ambassador to the U.S. Fritz Kwabena Poku.
Mr. Mgbatogu covered the visit of former Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed to Columbus in 2009 and the Haiti earthquake in 2010.
Recognized for his passion, dedication and work in the community, former Columbus Mayor Coleman in 2007 appointed Mr. Mgbatogu to serve on Columbus New Americans Community Advisory Board, where he assisted the mayor in shaping policies and programs benefitting the immigrant community in Columbus.
Mr. Mgbatogu received community awards for his commitment and activities in the Haiti Earthquake Relief Mission and for being a member of the 2010 Columbus Malcolm X Day planning committee, the first to honor the slain Black leader in the city. Fawol Media Group, formerly Onumba Communications, received the Ujima community award from TAWI Family Village for ‘collective work and responsibility.’
Mr. Mgbatogu’s work was profiled by the Columbus Dispatch, Alive Magazine, Ohio State University Lantern and Ohio Today. His commentaries are widely quoted in studies about race, immigration and public service, notably in a keynote speech by South African Minister for Public Service and Administration Geraldine Frazer-Moleketi, at an international conference on ways to implement effective public service in Africa.
Mr. Mgbatogu was a founding member of the defunct National Progressive Leadership Caucus (NPLC) and the director of policy research for the organization founded and chaired by honorable state Senator Ray Miller.
Mr. Mgbatogu holds a bachelor’s degree (BA) in political science (cum laude) and a master of public administration degree (MPA), both from The Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, U.S.A.
Contact:
Email: Onumbamedia@yahoo.com or editor@onumba.com
Phone: (614) 406-4460
