In Journalism, sign language can, once a while, be more expressive than written communication. Here, I remember a famous cartoon some years back which figuratively requested the weather man to tell us point blank if it would rain the next day so that while going to work we could take our umbrellas with us.

We had been having that frustrating period of half-current electricity supply for a couple of weeks, and were trying to decide whether it wasn’t better for our sight and appliances to abandon PHCN and switch to a generator.

In March 1964 (not 1947), Mallam Bashari Umaru introduced a bill in the Northern House to “revoke forthwith all certificates of occupancy in the hands of the Ibos resident in the North” to which the Northern Minister for Lands and Survey, Mr. Ibrahim Musa Dagash responded:“I would like to assure members that having heard their demands about Ibos holding land in Northern Nigeria, my ministry will do all it can to see that the demands of members are met. How to do it, when to do it, all this should not be disclosed.”

The South-south governors, Friday, converged in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, to fine tune strategy on the process of economic cooperation and integration of the states in the zone.

The pronouncement by the Federal Government to make Nigeria self-sufficient in cement production by the first quarter of 2012, to most stakeholders, is a welcome development. The issue of increase in the price of cement has been lingering since the second quarter of this year.

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has taken the battle against fake and substandard goods to the telecom sector. It raided Computer Village Ikeja Lagos and sealed several companies dealing with substandard telephones. The director of enforcement, Mr, Louis Njoku, speaks on the activities of SON.

Itsekiri leader Chief Jos Ayomike last night escaped assassination attempt at his residence in Warri, Delta State. Four armed men who came to his Baptist Mission Road residence and could not gain admission to see him exchanged gun fire with the policemen on guard and fled.

Do we desire a new Nigeria? Should we seek a new Nigeria? How can we achieve a new Nigeria? Is one of the paths to a new Nigeria through a resolution of the Niger Delta crisis? What are the root causes of the Niger Delta crisis?

Very big thank you for touching on today’s youth and attitude to education. Some parents even arrange expo and bribe for invigilators to make their wards pass school certificate and JAMB. We are indeed doomed.

When October 1st came I nearly did not know. And it was supposed to be the anniversary of the independence of Nigeria. It was supposed to be the day when we dropped the shackles of whatever held us down.