The indisputable breaking news of the immediate past week was the killing by suspected insurgents of several students of the Federal Government College, Bun Yadi, Yobe State. Whereas, different accounts of what transpired centred on about the same content, everyone had a different version of the number of students affected. During a sympathy visit to the school by the state governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, a Senior Master in the institution, Ibrahim Abdul, confirmed that Twenty-nine students were killed. He added that 11 other students sustained gunshot wounds in the attack. Abdul’s report was corroborated by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Sanusi Rufai who also confirmed 29 dead.

On October 22,2013, the Edo State Electoral Commission organized an election into the Esan North-East Local Government Council. Somewhere along the line, it declared the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the winner of the chairmanship election. The opposition party- the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cried foul alleging that it was a travesty of justice as the rightful winner was reportedly short-changed.

For quite a while during the life of this present government, many Nigerianslooked forward with eagerness to the emergence of a strong political opposition to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Thus, the birth of the All Progressive Congress (APC) brightened the hopes of many citizens that better governance was on its way. The APC seems to have done fairlywell so far especially in bringing down the high degree of impunity of the ruling party. Their rather unpopular directive to their legislators to block the passage of the 2014 may have started, even if inadvertently, to refine our crude democracy – a good example being the end of the police control of Rivers State.

Indeed, the ‘democratic’ government of President Olusegun Obasanjo decreed same for the nation as if our leaders had a secret pact unknown to the rest of us with Lord Lugard to preserve his creation. Is this suspected pact also binding on President Goodluck Jonathan whose government recently declared the same no-go-area which bars Nigerians from debating whether or not they wish to continue to belong to the Lugardian nation?

Last week’s announcement of the time table for the 2015 elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no doubt opened a new vista in the nation’s political landscape. Already, it has elicited a number of viewpoints from different analysts. To some people, it is a pro-active welcome development. In fairness to such analysts, it is the first time in about 2 decades that our electoral body has been forward-looking with respect to its mandate thereby creating a path way for the nation’s electoral process. To other people however, the time table is nothing more than the script of the ruling party. The nature of politics and elections particularly Nigeria’s winner takes all, zero-sum game system, would make it difficult for anyone to dismiss either of the viewpoints.