WHEN during the run-up to the 2007 general elections former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, left the Peoples Democratic Party he must have been convinced of the rightness of his action. For someone who had nursed the ambition to be president for as long as when he first announced his entry into party politics in the early 1990s, perhaps the only path left for him after the rebuff from his party was the one that led out of it.

BUT somehow, after the victory, the people you vanquished, the opponents we demolished, whom we conquered and who should be, ideally, our booty have today found a life-wire whereby they make so much noise to the point that, apparently, we, the PDP, we who won the elections, who should be defending the interests of the PDP, defending our victory and our fortunes have been blackmailed into silence.

THESE election series deal with eight issues two of which have already been addressed. Issue No.3 is how to constitutionalise and democratise election party competition over control of government.

”Africa’s survival into the next century is fraught with dangers. The mother continent seems to be the only region resisting inter-ethnic identity.

Over the phone she tried to explain her disappointment, how the place was not befitting of the Eagles and how it lacked adequate security.Yet it was only when we got back to Nigeria that I appreciated the level of her worry given the visuals highlighted in her World Cup countdown programme which was further corroborated by a colleague, Kayode Thomas of Next newspaper who also saw the hotel, live.