Her passion is to see every child surmount autism just the way she was able to help her son who was diagnosed with the developmental disability at age 2 overcome it and move on to mainstream society. Autism is a complex neuro-developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life as a result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain.

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.