“We salute the men and women who kept our nation together, especially those who paid the supreme price…The only way we can honour their memory is not to re-open old wounds but to resolve that never again will our people’s blood be shed by their own people. We must harness our diversity to make our union perfect”. Governor Babatunde Fashola, at Colloquium Fair, held at Brown University, Rhode Island, USA by Professor Chinua Achebe.

In November 2009, the Nigerian Senate, speaking through Senator Ayogu Eze, suggested that most of the projects earmarked in the budget were not implemented “because Civil Servants in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) lack the capacity to implement the budgets and appropriations they ask for every year”.

“We will not enjoy security without development, we will not enjoy development without security, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights.”-Kofi Annan

Right from the early times, being female meant being a zero-class human being with no rights whatsoever, in any area of life. Maybe it was punishment for mother Eve, who not only disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit, but added to her sin by giving the fruit to her husband Adam to eat.

Going down a flight of stairs in a familiar place, filled with friends and family, sharing pleasantries and exchanging greetings is pretty normal for a Sunday. It’s the equivalent of the sentiments expressed in the the theme song of the eighties sitcom “Cheers”. It’s a simple song, with simple words we all can relate to and I thought I’d use it to illustrate my theme for the week.