AFRICA stepped into 2010 with shaky legs and uncertainty about the future. This is not so much due to the anarchy in the Congo, the failed state of Somalia, the rise of hooligans in Guinea-Conakry, the sway of military might in Mauritania, the strong arm tactics of the Niger regime or the blood thirsty nature of the Sudanese government. All these as well as the continent’s economic ill health are contributory factors.

EVER since Mr President took off to Saudi Arabia to take care of his health, words like “rudderless” have frequently been used to describe the country he left behind.

Hi, Who is your confidant? Is it a friend or your spouse? How much of your secrets can you share with your spouse?
Love, they say is about giving and sharing, which can only thrive where there is mutual trust, understanding and effective communication between the partners. So, who better can you share your secrets with other than the one you claim to love, cherish and share your body with? The one who is supposed to know you inside out.

A FEW weeks ago, a presenter and documentary maker for one of the more prominent television stations drew attention to the state of primary healthcare in one of the more prosperous local governments in Lagos State.

‘’We live, at present, with our fellow -men as they are. If these volumes have shown what a wonderful world we live in – no creed, establishment, race, political organization or group of teachers, researchers, writers and artists has a monopoly of wisdom or morals- our editorial group may have done a little to help the next generation or two to live with our fellow-men as they might gloriously, and ideally, be.’’

ALL through the New Year season, the Nigerian Government was apologetic to the United States (US). It continued to cry that the insane Christmas Day attempt by Nigerian born Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab to blow up an American airliner over Detriot is unNigerian.

It’s this idea that it’s either his way or the highway, what Soyinka called ‘The Credo of Being and Nothingness’ that would lead Umar Farouk to want to commit mass suicide in the belief that he is right while everybody else is wrong. In his Facebook journal, Farouk betrays this sense of superior apprehension of religious knowledge despite his painful lack of social skills that could make him bond with his mates, make sense of his own growing sexuality and, maybe, strike up relationships with the opposite sex.

In the wake of the recent Central Bank’s pseudo liberalization of dollar supply to the foreign exchange market, naira rate tumbled from over N140=$1 to today’s rate of about N130=$1 in the black market, leaving a spread of just about N2 from the official rate.

It was in the year 2009 that Ghana made the Black Continent proud by historically winning the FIFA Junior World Cup.
If you think I am trying to run away from Nigeria you are mistaken. In 2009, Nigeria emerged the champion of African Beach Soccer World Cup elimination. In 2009, Engineer Habu Gumel restored Nigeria’s pride at Olympic level when he was elected into the most prestigious sports board on earth, that of the International Olympic Committee, ( IOC ) .

IT is a new year – the year 2010 after the Common Era. So, I welcome every Nigerian, and particularly all readers of the “Orbit” to the New Year, and wish you all the best of the New Year. Even as I utter this heartfelt wish, I also know, deep within me, that this is going to be an interesting and challenging year.