In the pit of Nigerian politics lies the soul of philistines. A nation cursed with a political leadership without the subtle refinements of culture is doomed to crassness. We see this truth as a matter of fact, reflected in the utter disregard to which the political establishment places culture and matters of cultural policy.

Even as I write, there is an attempt to accommodate those who have criminal records to access office as long as they are declared winners of elections that may not have been held. So who is afraid of generals or men in uniform? Having discovered that going to the farm is less paying than accessing power through the vote, our men in uniform opted for the latter.

The issue is no longer Iwu. He is gone for good. Our controvertial professor chairman of INEC has lost his spirited battle to stay on his lucrative job. Now, that man is part of our blighted history.

It’s going to be a long ,long year. I can see it coming. From this point to election time next year, we shall surely have exciting times. The handwriting is on the wall, and on the ground, and even in the sky. A merry time is sure to be had by all.

THERE were attacks from last week at the border areas of southern and northern Sudan, Africa’s largest country. The clashes were between the south-based Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) and Arab marauders from Darfur (the Janjawid) aided by the northern army (SAF) Raids by the latter group are not new. In fact, their murderous raids against the people of Darfur which resulted in about 400,000 killed and 2.5 million displaced, has been classified by the international community as genocide.

I DON’T know what to tell sports minister, Ibrahim Isa Bio. But I will prefer that he talks less especially on technical matters.

As my esteemed media colleague, Simon Kolawole of ThisDay newspaper pointed out in his column last Sunday: “The PDP crisis…is not about food on the table for ordinary Nigerians. It is not about roads and water and electricity and schools and hospitals. It is just about intrigues and self-interest. We have seen this before. Those who benefitted extensively from the ‘impunity’ in the PDP become reformers when things don’t go their way.”.

President Jonathan was the proverbial breath of fresh air to Nigerians who listened to him in Washington DC two weeks ago. Perhaps that hapless country may yet go somewhere with the kind of optimism which Jonathan exudes and projects. Did he recently say that money for Nigerian leadership echelon who go overseas for medical attention will no longer be accepted.

AHMAD Sani Yerima is easily the strangest and possibly most dangerous creature ever to emerge on the Nigerian political scene. He was the Governor of Zamfara State for eight long years and now occupies a prestigious seat in the Nigerian Senate. If his gamble had worked, he would have been the president of Nigeria, since he vied for that office in 2007 even though he could not make it through the presidential primaries of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).

I SAT in a popular fast-food joint the other day and listened to two friends argue over “office” matters. It was obvious that the two were close friends, and from the nicknames they shared, it was also apparent that they knew each other well, long before they came to settle in Abuja and work in the same office.