IF the granting of amnesty to Niger Delta militants after the laying down of their lethal weapons could be described as a super political step by the President Yar‘Adua, the move, [if it is true] to give oil producing areas a 10 per cent share in the oil and gas Joint Venture is another bold action towards the final solution of the unnecessary Niger Delta imbroglio.

Dear President Yar’Adua,
This writer broke his writing-milk-teeth working with a little-sung icon of the Nigerian press, Christopher Maduaburochukwu Okolie; the young man who dared to import classy full-colour gloss into the realm of Nigerian media (which was hitherto dominated by the “dreary” but popular Spear and Drum magazines) with his revolutionary “NEWBREED” magazine (with the delectable Ms. Gloria Rhodes gracing its debut 1972 cover).

THAT was the second time it was happening. When the Nigerian National Anthem was played before the commencement of the World Cup qualifier between Nigeria and Mozambique in Abuja on Saturday, October 10, 2009 , rather than obeying Nigeria ’s call, a large section of the football fans booed.

OF the innumerable sms messages this column receives each week in reaction, only a few stands out. The ones that do are not usually the most brilliant or profound.

When I started, I usually feel pains on the first day. But after the first day the pain subsides and then its just the flow. I used to think that all my blood will dry up with time if care was not taken because of the heaviness of my flow. So, I used to take blood tonic. But over the years, the flow has reduced. I guess it has found a pattern.