It was indeed a red carpet event, the carpet flowing several meters from the reception down to the beautifully decorated conference hall of Eko Hotel and Suites.

The older I get the more I appreciate the wisdom of calm detachment and the beauty of silence. In Christianity, there is a potent fear of little foxes, seemingly innocent faults and weaknesses that could send one to hell and cost one to lose the salvation we all treasure. Lately I have been working on curbing my impulsiveness. When I look at myself and check for little foxes, I easily identify my impulsive nature as fox number one.

The secretariat of the National Conference has asked delegates to the conference to arrive the venue of the conference by 10a.m. on Monday for accreditation.

Notwithstanding the exclusion of the Ijaw from Ondo, Edo and Akwa Ibom States from the National Conference slated to be inaugurated tomorrow, a former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Pastor P.Z. Aginighan, has asked Ijaw people representing other states at the conference to protect the interest of all Ijaw at the exercise.

The much awaited show featuring Nigeria’s Afro beat legend, Femi and German reggae artist, Gentleman, took place penultimate week at the Afrika Shrine Ikeja, Lagos.

Liverpool hold the whip hand over Manchester United for the first time in decades and could land a devastating blow on their rivals’ top-four challenge at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Two applicants slumped and died at the recruitment venue in Minna on Saturday where over 12,000 applicants from the state converged for recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

Chief Mathias Ewariakpo Ujuri Otobo is the Chairman of Michel International Group of Companies; a former accountant with Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and the first African Commercial Manager of German Bilfinger Oil and Gas Nigeria Plc. A philanthropist and an employer of labour across the Niger-Delta, he speaks on the Isoko Development Union election and other issues. Excerpts:

Hospital authorities at the Rivers government-owned Braithwaite Memorial Hospital in Port Harcourt have confirmed that four candidates died during a stampede at the Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has called for immediate investigation of the death of some Nigerians who died during stampede at the recruitment exercise at the National Stadium, Abuja on Saturday.

Saturday, January 25, 2014, was indeed a memorable day in the history of Katsina State. It was a day people from all walks of life trooped to the state to honour an illustrious son, Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema, who was turbaned as the Sarkin Fulani Katsina 1 by the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, is disturbed by the spate of killings in the country. He spat fire in his welcome speech after the green chamber resumed from a two-week recess.

These days, several important national issues are competing for attention in the polity, but at the centre of it all is the question about the unity of Nigeria which has been given a fresh spark by the centenary celebrations to mark the amalgamation of the country, as well as the upcoming National Conference. During the preparation for the centenary celebrations, the debate was whether it was important or not for us to mark with so much pageantry the 100th years of the formation of Nigeria at amalgamation. In 1914, the British colonial administration under Governor Lord Lugard merged two different entities, the Southern and Northern Protectorates, and named it “Nigeria”. This was how the journey of the chequered history of Nigeria’s unity began.

Untill you hear the Scotsman play the bagpipes in the early morning mist of the Scottish highlands, you have heard nothing. Until you hear the Irish maiden sing ‘’O Danny Boy’’ on the lush green fields of the Emerald Isle, you know nothing.

Augustin Okocha, former Super Eagles’ prolific midfielder, on Saturday suggested the inclusion of Osaze Odemwingie, Ikechukwu Uche and Joseph Yobo in the team to represent Nigeria at the World Cup finals in Brazil.