IT was the late John F. Kennedy, the 35th American President who once said: “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation”.

IT was Professor Wole Soyinka who once suggested that Nigerian politicians seeking elective or appointive positions should first be subjected to psychiatric examination.

THE recent re-appointment of Mr Patrick Ugbe as Commissioner and his deployment to Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has further confirmed the sincerity of the administration of Senator Liyel Imoke, Governor of Cross River State in building up reforms in the sector.

IN the runner-up to Nigeria’s government announcement of the controversial removal of subsidy on petroleum products on the New Year day, the former French finance minister and head of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, Mrs Christine Largarde flew into Abuja.

IN African folklore, countless myths are surely evoked at the mention of an old witch. The wailing of this dark creature is, for instance, taken as portentous, a signpost to evil. So, at its shriek cry in the middle of the night, no true mother waits to be reminded to hold her suckling closer, lest the baby is found dead at dawn.

FREEDOM of expression is essential in every civilised society so long as it does not harm individuals’ character or malign institutional reputations through false and misleading information. It is a fact that violation of freedom of expression is violation of the right to freedom of association and assembly.

IT was a case of tears, sorrows and blood for the nation as the news filtered in that Christian community members at the Bayero University, Kano became casualty of the attacks by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect.

An atmosphere of war has been created in Ondo State. Bullets and missiles are flying everywhere. The aggressors, numbering 30, are firing voraciously but the bullets and missiles fail to hit the targets. The commander of the aggressors, domiciled outside the state, is furious. This time, he not only orders more ammunition into the state, he also decides that all instruments of war will be deployed. Propaganda, half truths and outright falsehood are quickly deployed.

LAST week’s decision of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to recall the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, has continued to generate mixed reactions.

As the last child in the Fayemi household, my arrival was heralded with song and dance. Although my birth elicited genuine excitement on the part of my siblings, it was for my mother a cautious welcome. My mother’s caution was understandable having lost a boy and two girls in quick succession before my arrival.

IF President Goodluck Jonathan obeyed Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs, he would do more to ensure that Nigerians have a sense of safety. The Hierarchy of Needs is a theory in psychology developed by Abraham Maslow in 1943. It is a theory of human developmental psychology focused on describing the stages of growth in people.

CHIEF Ojukwu, as the national leader of APGA, desired and worked for the reign of internal party democracy and quarrelled with Okorie just over this as an issue.