IF you needed proof of how powerful the media is, it was right there for you to see for yourself when last week Thursday, August 20, the media came out in full force to make a statement, a statement of fact that without the media, what they show those who read them in print and listen to them on radio and watch them on television, no democracy anywhere in the world can work. Oh yes, it was a great and memorable outing.

You wonder how professionally run banks could have so severely hamstrung themselves to a degree that turned around to make them, the creditors, eventually insolvent. An expert characterized most of the loans as being mismatched – that is, they were long-term propositions in a situation of short-term investments.

HILARY Rodham Clinton the 67th American Secretary of State swung through seven African countries in 11 days ending August 14. She was like an old conservative headmistress scoring her pupils in examinations she had not conducted, and making remarks on their moral conduct and fitness.

IN the 1930s many developed nations of the Western World faced what was described as the worst economic crisis. Prices of commodities fell, abysmally and the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. That was followed by a severe loss of confidence in the economy, leading to failure of businesses.

The British under Lugard perceived the north as the location of the superior race. Islamic religion of the so called finer race was a better regarded form of paganism than the fetish practices of the savage south.

For sure, everything became uncertain after the crash last year of the money and capital markets in the world’s financial capitals and all dependent on them such as Nigeria, except one thing: the world is going to get far smaller than it has always been.

MALAM Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is quite a dresser. You have seen him in snappy suits with flamboyant frills on his shirt and elegant bow ties. Last Saturday, August 15, 2009, he dressed to shock his guests, top media practitioners, whom he had invited to Eko Hotel Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, to explain what his shake-up in the banking sector was all about.

USUALLY, it is workers who are accused of working out of negotiations or refusing to negotiate. But the Federal Government (FG) has made a dubious contribution to the industrial relations system by breaking off negotiations it has been having with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) since December 2006.

THERE are few qualities to define a purposeful, goal-oriented leadership as clear-thinking, careful planning and execution. The amount of these qualities a leader and/or government possesses should at most times be indicative of their/its preparedness or otherwise for leadership

Chidi Amuta has already appraised the Opposition and founded it wanting. He has concluded that “Among the contending parties that are not in power, a consensus on strategy is far as outer space. Blinded by narrow endangered herd mentality, the personal interests and myopic ambitions of their principals, each party that has control of one state or two clutches to its little miserable corner of the political crumb like a life vest.

THERE was fresh threat to the amnesty programme of the federal government for militants in the Niger-Delta weekend, as a new militant group, the Urhobo Revolutionary Army (URA), comprising mainly members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) emerged to fight the interest of the oil-rich Urhobo ethnic nationality in Delta State.

This was followed by a confirmation by AIT’s Aisha Falode. I thought this was credible given the calibre of people behind the award, the personalities I was to serve with, but most importantly, the concept which was quite refreshing coming from a private sector player that is constantly seeking ways of affirming its good corporate citizenship.

The answers to these issues of increasing debt service cost against declining total debt value are not satisfactorily answered by DMO’s explanation of the dynamic nature of loan disbursement. National Assembly is requested to take a closer look at the relevance and effectiveness of the involvement of Debt Management Office in further debt creation for our country

There were at least some attempts made by the Americans to seem to work with Nigerian officials to make the visit hitch-free. Clinton’s visit left behind a lot of ruffled feathers. Even the media were not spared, as she did not even bother to wave the press corps goodbye, let alone stop briefly for a perfunctory chat.

Hi readers! It was nice to be pursued once more, but frankly, I don’t see myself falling for Alfred or any other man for many years, or even forever! To me, no man can ever measure up to late dear Vic. He was in a class of his own – so refined and a complete gentleman. Even if he had lived up to two hundred years, he would still appeal to me. Strong words, yes? But true! It was his mind and character, you see.