At the conclusion of the 2012 IMF/World Bank Group Annual Meetings in October, the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, decried the dollarization of the Nigerian economy to some Nigerian journalists, who were sponsored to that event in Japan. According to the Governor, his anxiety was equally shared by President Goodluck Jonathan.

2012 was a year ruled by an unparalleled Olympics disaster, one that beclouded all the accolades garnered by the Nigeria Football Federation as regards National Teams. Never in the history of our football did ALL the national teams qualify for the finals of all the continental competitions they entered for.

Where is Governor Sullivan Iheanacho Chime? Is he dead? Is he alive? There is clear indication that in Enugu state, a cabal of state officials has taken government hostage by their complicity to stage what might be the most scandalous and most elaborate cover-ups in Nigeria’s public administration.

Which is better: to be rich or to be poor?  Jesus’ answer is without ambiguity; according to the dynamics of the kingdom of God, it is better to be poor.  Jesus says: “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” (Luke 6:24).  When you bring these ominous words of Jesus to the remembrance of Christians, they attack you as if they were the words of Satan.

Chief(Mrs.)Victoria Folashade Thomas-Fahm’s may be taking a back seat on the fashion-designing scene these days, but she laid the platform for the Nigerian fashion industry. She was Nigeria’s first fashion designer and the first to own a boutique(Shade’s Boutique) in Nigeria.

Man (in the sense in which it includes woman of course) has been characterised in different ways by philosophers since antiquity. For example, man is said to be a homo faber, homo economicus, homo politicus, and homo sapiens.

When Reagan was contesting against Jimmy Carter, US President, 1976-1980, he asked Americans the same question over and over again, “Are you better off this year than four years ago?” Much as I hardly supported Reagan’s approach to governance because it represented “government of the rich by the rich for the rich” – a bastardisation of democracy, he left us with a metric for judging whether or not we had been well-served by governments, at Federal, States and Local government levels in 2012.

Travails and trials around the world this year has made 2012 a most unpopular year for many. If it were within the power of some to cut its tenure short, they would readily do so. Poor 2012!

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong, Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”- George Washington Carver.

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.

Half the time you go around like a headless chicken trying to cover every day all that needs to be covered from personal hygiene to the children’s homework, and ever thing else in between. And even if you are one of those super-efficient individuals blessed with not one but 2 effective assistants, you can still come away feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day.

We all dream of being rich, famous and good looking with lovely spouses and beautiful children. But for all of us, that is where it all ends— in the realm of the surreal. Harold Robbins puts it well in his timeless novel:‘Dreams die first’, because they do.

IT is customary for columists to be especially reflective about the past, present and future at this significant annual turning point when old years are about to give way to new years. And I thought that it would be interesting to look back at some of the observations I made at the tail ends of 2010 and 2011…with a view to discovering whether anything has changed for the better or worse.

BY sentient instruments is meant instruments which refuse to be deployed in the achievement of evil, sinful and inhuman purposes. These would be instruments such as knives, clubs, base ball bats, guns, 747s and nuclear weapons which are sentient to recognise when they are being used to stab innocent bystanders, to bash people on unoffending heads, to smash weakening knee caps, to shoot unwary toddlers and to blast into smithereens entire cities to show that it could be done.

HOUSING administration has always been a major problem in Nigeria. It was in 1984. I had just been appointed Chairman, Board of Directors, Bendel Development and Property Authority (BDPA). The books were in bad shape and there were many defaulters around. Many who bought the Authority’s houses were heavily in default in their repayment.