WHEN Odumegwu-Ojukwu sneezes, the nation catches cold. That is to be expected. General Ojukwu showed his paces in war. He led one of the most famous wars of the late 20th century. General Ojukwu led the people of the former Eastern Nigeria with its majority Igbo population in a war in self-defence when they became targets of a genocidal rage.

I always knew I would one day be forced into making a comment or two about sports although I had decided to reserve any expression of my feelings, exciting or depressing, to myself. I was sure that I would mostly be assailed by the latter anyway, so why bother.

Every passing day, events unfolding in the run-up to 2011 are lowering hope for a credible political process that is deemed democratic.

The year is fast moving towards the end, and to the glory of God we are still here. It is such a pleasure to know that we overcame. I really do want you to know what this season means to you all. It is really not a religious thing.

THIS is the moment that we have all been waiting for.I know how it feels especially for those who are passionate about Nigeria’s football.
Tension will take the greater part of them. In Mozambique, Tunisia will be playing to sail on to 2010 World Cup. In Kenya, Nigeria will be struggling to win and hope that Tunisia gets stuck.

Dear Fellow-Nigerians,President Umoru Musa Yar’Adua may go down in history as the just Pharaoh that “facilitated” the emancipation of the Niger Delta [something the Balewas, Babangidas, Abachas, and Obasanjos tried, in vain, to achieve] by simply listening to the true representatives of the region’s peoples and having the political courage to address the fundamental challenges of the region…or, at least, that is what we are all praying that he does…if the hawks in his kitchen cabinet will let him!

I HAVE recently, on two occasions, praised Mr President for his new Niger Delta initiatives. And I’ve been amazed by the number of sour comments I’ve received.

SOUTH Africa has again postponed the target date of its land reform programme. In its post apartheid election manifesto, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) had promised to redistribute 30 percent of agricultural land in its first five years in office. But by 2001, some seven years later, less than two per cent had been distributed.

To many serious Nigerians[someare patriotic]the problems of the country are so diverse and complex that they feel with utmost conviction that only a sovereign national conference would appreciate and be convenient to examine [not cure] the ills of the nation. They perceive that a conference, whether sovereign or not, is an ideal environment to discuss [in truth and in merit] national problems and their solutions.

POOR leadership in Nigeria starts from picking the team list. Nigerian leaders have rarely demonstrated visionary thoroughness in choosing the people with whom to work.