The president flew out to South Africa just as the streets became hot last week and not before he dropped a bombshell. In a church service at Abuja, Dr. Jonathan had declared that his cabinet, Nigeria’s National Assembly, the Nigerian Armed Forces and the Nigerian Intelligence Services have all been infiltrated by the terrorist group, the Boko Haram.

The pattern of public communication in Nigeria has over the years been poor. Public policy is hardly ever well publicized. The people are always in the dark about a policy especially the roles they are to play to ensure its success.

Inadequate supply of power is the most critical factor crippling our drive towards economic development. It is asphyxiating the real or manufacturing sector of the economy, as many companies – small, medium, and large – have either closed down completely or moved their factories to countries with more reliable electricity, such as South Africa and Ghana.

It is very encouraging to know that our citizens are becoming more and more health-conscious, and the days of accusing our ‘enemies’ of being responsible for any ailment we or members of our families suffer from, are fast running out.

The so-called complete deregulation of the downstream sector and the removal of subsidy may seem like a purely economic policy decision, but it is so tied to larger Nigerian questions that it ought to be more rigorously debated, and government should make haste slowly. As at this moment, Nigeria operates a partial deregulation regime in the downstream sector.

The loss of a child at birth is heart-breaking; forget that you may not have even named him or her. A healthy, thriving baby should be the reward for nine months of labour.

Don’t give up, Nigeria. The current subsidy crisis, on the face of it, is a two-way tussle between the desire of the Jonathan government to increase the petroleum pump price, and the determination of the people not to allow that to happen.

January 9, 2012 was the day NLC/TUC carried out its promise to commence a nationwide strike against the removal of petrol subsidy which the Federal Government packaged as New Year gift for Nigerians.

My wonderful father, Ignatius Suage Kogbara, OON, died exactly l0 years ago, on January l3, 2002. And we who knew and loved him have never quite recovered from the emotional trauma we experienced when he left us behind.

By Tonye Princewill DENDROCHRONOLOGY is a specialised–and little known–branch of science. Among other things, it measures the seasons or years a tree has experienced, using growth rings as indicators. Give a tree trunk to a dendrochronologist, and he’ll tell you, not only the age of the plant but also a, great deal about the climatic […]

LAST week, I expressed worry about the simplistic acceptance of ‘Boko Haram’ complicity for the bombings around the country. I had argued that we needed a more open-minded and critical interrogation of the various claims

ON September 15, 1963, during the American civil rights movement, the American terrorist group Ku Klux Klan, which uses twisted Christian language to support its racist ideology, set off a bomb in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where civil rights activists often congregated. The bomb killed four little girls coming out of their Sunday school class and wounded 22 other people.

LAST week, I expressed worry about the simplistic acceptance of ‘Boko Haram’ complicity for the bombings around the country. I had argued that we needed a more open-minded and critical interrogation of the various claims. This is because, even statements coming from state security, indicate there are criminal syndicates claiming to be Boko Haram.

ANOTHER American is once again getting Nigerians all worked up over an opinion on the state of our nation and its future. Another American, John Campbell, last year caused quite a stir when he predicted that the 2011 elections were going to be conducted in an atmosphere of chaos and violence owing to the loss of control of the political process by the Nigerian political elite.

THE reactions to the New Year’s Day increment in fuel price are generally the same across the country and are by no means friendly. If anything they promise to be more hostile and aggravating as the days go by. After making it determinedly through Christmas in spite of violent attacks from desperate groups like Boko Haram, Nigerians must have hoped for some quiet, stress-free New Year’s Day.