POLITICAL leaders are by their very status newsmakers; none more so than the president of a country. But there are times when such leaders seem to enjoy more media attention than they normally do in the ordinary run of things.

MANY times I have hinted at what I call the ambivalence of Nigerians about corruption. Indeed, what I mean is that we are all hypocritical about our concern over corruption.

This weekend, the 16th edition of the flagship club competition of the Confederation of African Football CAF, the Orange CAF Champions League “CL2O12” will kick off all over the continent.

In one corner of Cross River State, raw rubber production, which should be at its highest during the rainy season, is dropping. Reason; a paramount chief in the area died recently and ten human heads are needed before he can be buried.

FESTUS Odimegwu, an Eze and former Managing Director of Nigeria Breweries PLC, has bounced back to public limelight after about five years in the shadows. But this time, he has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC).

This week, we will provide answers to some frequently asked questions regarding inflation, interest rates, and naira depreciation. Kindly read on.

How the times are changing! I never thought that there would come a time in my country when citizens would not want to have many children, to the point that many young couples now opt to have just two children, or three at most. What’s more, these young people, at least, those I spoke to on the issue, are not bothered whether they have all boys or all girls. This is quite a departure from the usual craving for a male child by most families. So, why are young people now rooting for a small family?

Otunba Ayora (Dr.) Bola Kuforiji-Olubi, OON, is a woman of many firsts. She was the first female President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria-ICAN, and also the first female Chairman of any bank in Africa, having served as the Chairman of UBA in 1984.

Ask Joe Christian for the fruits of the Spirit, and he will answer you with Paul’s “voice of a stranger.” (John 10:5). Paul says: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

On a cool Friday evening, a few days after President Goodluck Jonathan had unilaterally proposed a name-change for the University of Lagos, I went to the Senior Staff Club to relax a little after spending over six hours working on a research paper I was writing.

Last week, Sam Momoh a reader of the “orbit,” posed a number of questions to me in reaction to my column. The most poignant of his four posers speaks directly to the rest, and in summary, to the so-called “national question.” Sam Momoh asked, “Which other country in the world has been created by a colonial authority that contains more than 200 nations having their own languages and cultures?” I think I owe him some answers as a foreground to my thoughts today.

Permit me, if you would, to start with the words of late Segun Olusola: “It is unfortunate that many people have missed opportunities to make peace.

Nothing has of recent given Nigerians more anxiety than the unprecedented high level of insecurity in the nation. Any one who watched the 2012 ministerial platform where the Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd), reeled out incredibly high figures of such crimes as robbery and kidnapping adding that 766 firearms and 31,175 ammunitions were recovered from suspects in year 2011 must have become apprehensive especially with the spate of bombings in parts of the country.

“Every government is run by liars and nothing they say should be believed”. I.F Stone. US Journalist, 1929. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 80).

I was in Calabar to see the Eagles beat Rwanda 2-0 in a Nations Cup preliminary match. And just like I reminded Samson Siasia during his time that his team had only exhibited only 40 percent of what his dream performance was, I say same of Stephen Keshi’s team today.