BARACK Obama was a phenomenon when he turned to politics. His Presidential victory seemed assured that July 24, 2008 day he stood in a street to address over 200,000 Germans in Berlin, in the “Victory Column Speech”. It was a trip to Europe to test if the young Democrat had the presidential stuff to lead the world. He electrified the audience painting a picture of a new world, a new partnership and a new direction towards peace. He displayed the rarity of a genius.

SOMETIMES when you examine the way things are done in this country, especially at the level of government, you get this feeling that Nigeria is a huge circus stage where acts of inanity are elevated to high art in the name of leadership.

The leadership of organised Labour Unions, last week presented a new demand for N56,000 monthly minimum wage, to the federal government. The President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Ayuba Wabba told a news conference in Abuja, that even though it is true that the economy is not doing well, but the law has stated that wages for workers must be reviewed after every five years”.

“…I approached the President and the governors that we defer the loan deductions from the Federation Accounts entitlement….The aim of this is to ensure that we support them through this difficult period to be able to meet salary obligations.” Minister of Finance, April 21, 2016.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) won the 2015 Presidential elections in Nigeria because the party promised to bring about positive change in governance. Before the elections, it was generally agreed that corruption was the nation’s number one enemy which must be aggressively fought.