The last general elections in Nigeria took place in 2011. Since then till date, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate the pre-election atmosphere from that of national development for which governments were instituted. This is because campaigning for candidates into offices that have already been occupied is still very much on-a dangerous trend which no doubt hinders improvement in the welfare and living standard of the people.

The end to the last long drawn-out university teachers’ strike means that students are set to return to school. On the basis of their experiences during the strike, they are likely to once again, face the reality of a wide gap between theory and practice. In the area of mass communication for instance, many students may have to grapple with the real meaning and nature of communication. Having learnt that written communication is generally superior to other forms such as oral communication and body language, they would not easily comprehend why the choice of writing as a channel of communication by former President Olusegun Obasanjo (Obj) with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) elicited so much anger from some people. Did the many angry commentators read Obj’s letter about which they made pedestrian comments?

Exactly one week ago, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) decorated Governor Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State as the best Nigerian Governor in the area of Fiscal Responsibility- a concept which refers to openness, discipline and accountability in governance. This writer was proud to serve as guest speaker on the occasion because it was a remarkable award that was specific, credible and indeed verifiable. It was obviously not purchased like the ones that are given to those who had donated huge sums to the issuing body. In the case of Kwankwaso, the several memorable developments in Kano State for which he was honoured are exceedingly persuasive. What are these developments and what challenges do they pose to other State Governors?

The strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) since July 01, 2013 will probably go down in history as the best ever well-organized action of the union. Although the action lasted longer than many Nigerians envisaged, it is to the credit of ASUU that it was fully ready for business. The union had in fact made it clear that only a complete resolution of the issues at stake would bring the strike action to an end. Hence, it was also ready for any eventuality. Consequently, when the government introduced the ‘no work, no pay’ rule into the game, the union responded by resorting to providing other welfare strategies such as distributing food items, giving out soft loans and cash advances to members to cope with the effects of the policy.

The ideal role of a critic is to serve the best interest of society through constructive criticism by drawing the attention of leaders of society to issues which are begging for redress. It is however not enough to enumerate and propagate what is wrong. A good critic ought to, in addition, proffer solutions to the problems or articulate alternative options for handling identified concerns. More importantly, a critic should be charitable enough to commend leaders in those areas where they have made efforts to right their wrongs. The latter is the premise of today’s article which identifies 3 state governors whose recent activities deserve some measure of commendation. The governors are Adams Oshiomhole of Edo, Babatunde Fashola of Lagos and Theodore Orji of Abia.