IN early 2012, a television station invited me, as Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to its early morning programme in Abuja. I was to discuss the State of the Nation with particular reference to the economy and well being of Nigerians. I arrived as scheduled, but was told the live programme was to be delayed as two other persons had been invited.

It is just as well that over seventy per cent of the current representatives in the National Assembly will not be returning. This is probably the least productive legislative branch in the world today. Unproductive, that is, in anything which could be beneficial to the people of Nigeria. It might however be the front runner for mischief and idleness.

Nigeria hosted the First African Youth Athletics Championship (AYAC) in Delta state and came out tops. An apostle of grass roots development of sports, that event for me was of great interest in a country where all our athletics eggs are heaped in the basket of Blessing Okagbare.

THE way Igbos voted in the 2015 general election has been widely misunderstood. The South East and the Igbo electorate gave their almost undivided votes to President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Presidential and National Assembly polls, such that the in-coming All Progressives Congress (APC) will not be able to effectively zone any of the its political offices to the Igbo heartland.

Have you ever had a prayer-meeting where, instead of praying, you groaned? Paul counsels that we should: “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers.” (Ephesians 6:18). Groaning is a kind of prayer. When we are pained and we groan, it is transmitted as a wordless prayer to God. David understood this. He said: “Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.” (Psalm 38:9).