THE rather untidy involvement of the military in the relocation of villagers around Jos to enable operations against identified terrorists has thrown into sharp relief the current engagement and disposition of the military in the affairs of the nation.

ON Thursday last week, our nation lost a little bit more of its humanity, after over one hundred people perished in a fire while scooping spilt petroleum from a crashed tanker. Exactly how many people died in those circumstances, in a State literally sitting on oil resources may never be known.

IF you are voter in Edo State who believes that your vote should and must count, you must be wondering whether it is safe to exercise your right to decide who becomes Governor of the State this coming Saturday.

Among the many vital requirements for good governance, the existence of openness and transparency in the manner Nigerian leaders manage our affairs is the most visible by its absence. An accountable leadership with a capacity to submit to the highest moral standards is absolutely essential as a requirement for the growth and development of our democratic system.

I AM writing this on the sixth day of the near-total lockdown of Kaduna State where I live. Since two bombs went off in two churches in my hometown, Zaria, and another in Kaduna, my fellow citizens have been back to familiar trenches or behind closed doors counting losses and licking wounds.