Last Monday June 20, 2016 one of the two pioneers’ for clean energy, Bertrand Piccard who took control of the cockpit of a solar airplane at 6.30 UTC from the JFK airport New York, cruised across the Atlantic Ocean without fuel and landed safely at Seville Airport, Spain Thursday June 23, 2016 by 05.38 UTC. The airplane named Solar Impulse 2 had a 71 hours 8 minutes uninterrupted flying time. The Flight 15 in the series of the first Round-The-World Solar Flights without fuel covered a distance of 6765 km, flying electric with solar energy of 1388 kWh, zero fuel and zero emissions. Piccard’s transatlantic adventure was anchored on research and development in aviation powered by the sun.

This country is going through a lot of stress at the moment. The proliferation of militant groups into which the tide of brigands has been flowing is gradually becoming a fixed feature on the terrain of our lives. It has removed a lot from our individual safety as well as the general security of many communities all over the country. When the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta erupted a few years back, it seemed to have a steady vision —the empowerment of the people of that area. It also had a cause. The grievance was, and is still, perceptible: the source of the nation’s wealth had nothing to show for the exploitation of the resources which left the people impoverished, while citizens of other regions benefited from the wealth thus produced. The insistence of the people thus negatively affected was left unaddressed chiefly because those in power were in the majority, and were also from the profitably affected areas. It took the episodes of Ken Saro-Wiwa and Adaka Boro to direct the sufferings and resentments of the people towards a violent resolution.

Tragedy was averted weekend as three unidentified aged pensioners slumped during the verification exercise organised by the Lagos State Local Government Pension Board, for pensioners. The incident which temporarily halted the verification exercise occurred when the pensioners were struggling to submit their forms to government officials for verification. The exercise which took place at the old Lagos Secretariat, adjacent the Nigeria Police College, Ikeja, attracted hundreds of elderly persons in their 70s and 80s.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has postponed Round of 16 matches of this year’s Federation Cup competition in the men’s category, as well as quarter-final matches of the women’s category.

Two weeks ago, we talked about getting our priorities right as spouses and parents. This is just an addendum. I do not know what the person who coined the phrase “better half” had in mind, but spouses must strive to be just that in every sense of the phrase to their wives/husbands. As a better half you have an obligation to make your spouse a better person. It is, therefore, a failing if after a while in matrimony, your spouse is worse than before you met him/her. Complement his/her strength and make up for his/her weaknesses. Your spouse should feel incomplete without you in the normal everyday living. We know we are mortals and dispensable, but as long as you breathe, be indispensable in spouse’s life. You are on shaky grounds in your marriage if your spouse can operate as if you do not exist, as if he/she is whole. If he/she is whole, who are you half to (we are not even talking of “better half” now)?

I understand Mr Rauf Aregbesola, the Osun State Governor is Ijesha. I don’t know if he spent his early years in Ilesha like I did. I also don’t know if he attended any primary school in Ilesha like I did. If he did neither, then I can proudly tell him that mine was a beautiful experience. My school was what we called an ‘Awolowo School’ in those days which meant education was largely free. It was the main school in its catchment area which also meant that all eligible children irrespective of parentage—rich or poor, educated or illiterate, Christian, Muslim or Pagan—made a bee-hive for the school at enrolment time.

Alhaji Modu Sheriff is a former acting National Chairman of the party. For us in PDP, Modu Sheriff is now history. Here is a man who was given a position by the National Executive Committee of the party against stiff opposition from party elders who knew him very well. All that I can advise him is that he should look for a very good Christian and ask about the story in the Bible about King Solomon and the two women who were in dispute about the ownership of a child. They both claimed to be the mother of the child and King Solomon in his wisdom said he was going to divide the child.

Many people mistake Egbesu to be Ijaw deity of war, but it is more than that. Egbesu is a goddess of protection and unity. The people believe it is a very powerful god and that is why there is Egbesu in all the 64 Ijaw-speaking communities and clans in Arogbo- Appoit in Ondo state to the territories and boundaries of the Ijaws in Eastern Ibeno in Akwa-Ibom state and in the core south of Federal Republic of Nigeria. Some said Egbesu is the spiritual foundation for combating evil and the main spiritual tool (weapon) for overcoming evil. “It is used to put into effect the celestial order in the natural sphere so that all things coming into being can take place in their own space and time without violating other structures. It ensures that all things function in one piece in the face of their outward differences,” a devotee disclosed.

Governor Fayose is truly unrestrained. And once touched the child that bubbles beneath erupts. Our society has degenerated. But defecating in the open has managed to remain repugnant. Statesmanship requires measurable moral continence. But a governor with an inflated id, fixated at the oral stage, will do anything for self gratification. Tantrums should be beneath governors. But not any given to thrill seeking acts of irresponsibility. Impulsivity means consequences are never thought through. Without discretion, a leader of the opposition becomes a mere perpetually howling tout. Such a leader trivializes the role of the opposition, reduces it to noisy rabble rousing.

In 2000, some youths in Rivers state formed two cult groups; Deygbam and Deywell and operated in Port Harcourt where they terrorized the residents of the city. Their activities were limited to the state capital while other communities in the state enjoyed relative peace under the watch of local vigilante groups. In 2007 however, when Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi became governor of the state, he chased away all the cultists from Port Harcourt and the residents heaved a sigh of relief.

League leaders, Wikki Tourist will face a tough test in their quest to remain top of the Nigeria Professional Football League when they battle second placed Rangers at the Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi tomorrow.

Super Eagles winger, Victor Moses is being linked with a big money move to Sunderland, whose manager, Sam Allardyce has expressed his intention to strengthen their attacking options ahead of the upcoming season. According to a report in the British media yesterday, Allardyce feels Moses, who is back with Chelsea after spending the last three seasons away from the club on loan will fit into his plans in the next Premier League campaign.

BARELY a month after he stunned the world, premièring aboard an Air-France flight to Paris, France, his highly anticipated mystery thriller, ‘The CEO’, Kunle Afolayan is about to embark on another landmark project that will further enlarge his profile.

More eminent Nigerians have continued to pay tributes to the former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe who died Wednesday at the age of 71. Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, in his tributes yesterday described late Maduekwe’s death as a big loss to the diplomatic community and Nigeria. Anyaoku who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria on the sidelines of the celebration of the 240th Independence Anniversary of the U.S. in Lagos, said ‘’Ojo’s sudden death is shocking and most unexpected. Ojo really achieved distinction in combining distinctions in local Nigerian politics and in foreign affairs. ‘’Ojo was the Secretary of his party, the PDP and its Board of Trustees. He was also a Foreign Minister of this country, and in that capacity introduced the policy of Citizen Diplomacy.

Operatives of the State of State Services (SSS) have arrested, Mr. Cornelius Ubara, the suspected abductor of 16-year old Miss Precious Osuji, who got missing from her home in Kapwa, a suburb of Lugbe in Abuja on November 13, 2015. The suspect was until the sudden disappearance of Precious a tenant of her parents and lived with them in the same premises. Sources said that he was arrested by the operatives through painstaking investigations and deployment of state-of-the-art technology.