When you cut off the head of a snake, the rest of the languid body of the snake will flip and flop, wobble and jolt, convulse and squirm in protest until it no longer has the strength to continue its protest of, perhaps, an unjust act! Such seizure-like state of a beheaded snake is where I see Nigeria today, without a president to direct its daily affairs. For nearly two months now, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has been away from Nigeria, attending to his illness inSaudi Arabia, and throughout this period Nigeria has been without a leader.

THERE is clearly a great divide in the reading of Ambassador Lyman’s evaluation of Nigeria’s current relevance in the world. Of the many comments two are particularly personal. Olusegun Lawal’s my former student says “I’m disappointed”.

THINKING about the corner into which those who rule in the name of the people have painted themselves and the rest of us, I’m forced to ask if this is how we intend to carry on, which is the literal translation of the title of today’s discourse, rendered in pidgin.

The incumbent Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, has stubbornly decided to continue the destructive and suicidal monetary and foreign exchange market policies of his predecessor. In this event, this article, which was first published in 2006, with progressive supplementary comments in this column on 23/3/2009, is today 18/1/2010 reproduced for objective public evaluation!

HAPPY New Year, folks! Sorry I did not sign off formally when I proceeded on my annual vacation which, by the way, is still on-going. You know how things can get sometimes. I just had to pop in and say my mind on a couple of issues. The first is the phenomenon whereby Nigeria produced her first international terrorist.

Jonah was a prophet with a mission from God; it was not a mission he particularly relished. Having served God for many years he was at his wit’s end at the merciful nature of God. God’s mercy made him a liar before the people; Jonah wanted to be feared, revered and respected.

Nigeria is the irritant. An irritant may not accept that it is one. But the tag is supplied by those who look at you, watch what you are doing and smile if you vibrate on the same wavelength as they; or you make them want to throw up by what you do.

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria may now officially be said to be under hostage to a foreign power – namely Saudi Arabia- and her local collaborators – namely, those within the Nigerian presidency who have conspired to hide the person of the president, Umaru Yar Adua, to prevent a full accounting to the government and people of Nigeria.

While in the village, I interacted with my relations who I had not seen for sometime. We had meetings where vital issues relating to how to improve my kindred, Umuokwara,was discussed.

A few people are “alive” in the world today but who are on perpetual life support systems. They cannot leave the hospital and are virtually vegetables. The former Prime Minister of Israel, Sharon, has been in coma since 2006; so are about 200 people worldwide. None of them, however great will ever be allowed to govern their nations from their sick beds. As General De Gaulle had said, “The graveyards are full of indispensable people”. Yar’Adua and nobody else born of woman in Nigeria is indispensable.

It is just like yesterday. But it was twenty seven years ago that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as head of the then ruling military junta proclaimed democracy unrealistic in the immediate future in Nigeria.

Since late Monday morning this week, opposing forces in the Nigeria constitutional crisis began to move decisively. Our president in absentia spoke for the first time, and within 10 hours of his speech, the opposition to his constitutional violations was up in arms in their thousands virtually rejecting Mr. President’s excuse for his disregard of the law of the land.

Out of the miasma of what must be a trying period in their lives, the AbdulMutallab family hass emerged with impeccable conduct, sitting astride of the situation and calmly riding the storm, Thank heavens; no blood was spilled, no bones broken. We can soon put all this behind us. And we’d better

Is football failing to be a unifying factor in Nigeria?
Since I started following football in Nigeria, never had I experienced the mixed reactions that followed the defeat of Eagles by Egypt last Tuesday. There were those who felt extremely sad and those who felt happy. There were those who were simply indifferent. They never cared for they have since lost hope in the national team.

LEON PANETTA, the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director had the painful duty of defending the professional conduct of his agents cut by a suicide bomber in Khost, Afghanistan. Humam Khalil Abu-Mulai al-Balawi was a 36-year old Jordanian doctor who was providing the CIA a stream of useful intelligence information. He was being jointly run by the CIA and the Jordanian intelligence.