IN the recently concluded campaign for re-election, Barack Obama posted more than 250 videos on Youtube. He was not using Youtube to broadcast his material. Rather, he would link these videos in emails that followed.

Even if one is not a religious fanatic, one is bound to be captivated by the simplicity of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan at the recent Annual Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). At the Redemption Camp (Lagos/Ibadan Expressway), the President was reported to have asked Nigerians to continue in their prayers for the country and his administration, asking also for the advice of people at anytime he is making mistakes.

WHEN I learnt that Imo State’s Governor, Anayo Rochas Okorocha intended to set up what was described as “the Fourth Tier” I was excited. My excitement was based on my long held belief that the current local government system has failed to take either governance or development to the grassroots. For a very long time, I have campaigned for the scrapping of the local government system and the establishment of governments based on kindred-defined communities covered by the various town unions.

WHEN the price of a bag of cement pointed to the direction of N15.00 in 1985, this writer addressed what looked like a world press conference, which touched principally on the outrage. I was the Chairman of the then Bendel Development and Property Authority (BDPA) and as the guest speaker of that year’s annual dinner of the Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Bendel State Chapter, my stand was that, that “bagged dust” had no right to go beyond N5.00 per bag. It was the first time I hit the major headlines in most Nigerian newspapers.

THERE has been a solemnity about the city of Kaduna since the story broke of the tragic death of Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa at the weekend. In death, Nigerians have been united in appreciation of the human decency of the late governor. I never had the privilege to meet the man, but when I broke the story to Kabir Mato, he paused for a while and then said: “we have lost a gentleman; a decent gentleman”!

THE awesome power of the Almighty was visible on Saturday last week when the plane which was flying the Governor of Kaduna State and former National Security Adviser, among others, crashed, and all lives in it were lost. The nation was also reminded of the deep submission to the powers of God by President Goodluck Jonathan in the manner his pictures were splashed all over the media and social network sites kneeling, as he did in 2010, before Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

THE seriousness and the power of any country can be gleaned from the quality of the roads it builds for itself. You can never be in doubt of America as the most powerful nation on earth or of South Africa as the strongest economy in Africa, once you leave their airports and hit their road! Driving on the roads of these two countries, for example, you immediately come face to face with nations that love themselves; nations that have respect for their citizens; nations that are sincere with themselves; nations that do not cheat themselves and nations that want to be taken seriously among serious nations. Have you heard of any scandal associated with South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 World Cup? No, you won’t!

PROF. Akinyemi’s treatment of nationality as the unit of Nigerian federalist statecraft is his strategic framework as affirmed in the following: “Nigeria, made up of 250-300/350 nationalities (depending on which 1 study one consults) of disparate population sizes, was obviously a candidate for federalism”.

THE high and mighty are under siege in Nigeria. Under siege too are those who are not so high and mighty. The mere fact that you own a decent-looking air-conditioned car could put you in danger of being attacked by highway Area Boys in Lagos.

The other day, a friend narrated a story, which I found stranger than fiction; the story related to the travails of a family who lost a successful and illustrious breadwinner, who, incidentally, died without a Will. The family’s elders were consequently entrusted with the responsibility of efficiently managing the estate of the deceased.