In 1999, the military organized an election for the return of democracy to Nigeria. Whether the election was free and fair did not quite matter because everyone, having become tired of dictatorship, accepted its outcome so as to prevent the military from finding an excuse to stay-put in the political terrain.

Last week, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-governmental Affairs, Senator Dahiru Kuta publicly asserted that civil service jobs in Nigeria now go to those who can bribe their way through. Senator Kuta named 3 federal bodies involved in the reprehensible act.

Many years to come, Nigerians would come across many things in honour of one of their predecessors -Andrew Owoye Azazi- a citizen who served in the Nigerian Army and like some others rose to the pinnacle of his career. If Nkpogu Road in Port Harcourt ends up a dualized road and not like some of our other roads where construction works go on without end, future Nigerians would wonder how it became Azazi Road.

On Friday December 28, 2012, the Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada was seriously injured in an auto crash. The accident reportedly occurred at Emi Woro village in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of the state when one of the tyres of the governor’s official car, unexpectedly burst in motion. Wada’s aide-de-camp (ADC), Idris Muhammed, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), lost his life in the crash.

Early in the year, this columnist and 5 of his friends set out to determine the best of our 36 Governors in year 2012. Each of us was to follow the activities of 6 Governors. The assignment ended a few days ago with a few complexities. First, we found a common public feeling that to describe any Governor as the best for the year would not be well received.