MR. President is clearly in fighting form at the moment because he has recently sacked, transferred or politely edged out a number of senior officials who were previously regarded as sacred cows.

Last week, I praised President Goodluck Jonathan for appointing Major-General Kenneth Minimah as Chief of Army Staff (I said he had a good reputation and felt that those who were criticising Jonathan – simply because Minimah is a fellow Ijaw – were being unfair).

Major-General Kenneth Minimah, was recently appointed Chief of Army Staff; and I’d like to seize this opportunity to express gratitude to President Jonathan for bestowing such a huge honour on a gentleman soldier from my state.

LAST week, I commented on a political rally that resulted in a major clash between the police and supporters of Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.

MY home state, Rivers, is currently in turmoil and has, for the past few months, been both a theatre of war and a theatre of the absurd.

MANY Nigerians and foreigners are convinced that Nigeria cannot move forward significantly until Mr President totally or partially reshuffles his Cabinet.

The “festive season” is not festive for everyone; and I’ve been thinking about Vanguard readers who didn’t have merry Christmases.

On Wednesday, this newspaper announced that it had exclusively obtained an “open letter” in which Iyabo Obasanjo, the ex-President’s eldest daughter and a former senator, bitterly accused her father of being a liar who treated his family shabbily, described his recent criticisms of President Jonathan as hypocritical and told the world that she wanted no further contact with him.

Ex-President Obasanjo’s leaked “Letter Of Appeal” to President Goodluck Jonathan has made huge waves and will surely go down in our history as one of the most controversial high-level communications Nigeria has ever witnessed.

Last week, I told you that all that I and most Rivers People I knew wanted for Christmas was for our President and our Governor to patch up their quarrel.

I SPEND a lot of time with Nigerians and foreigners who are interested in the presidential election. Most of them are shocked when I say that I intend to vote for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 because he is “my Brother”.

I recently watched a thrilling American TV drama in which well-connected Police and government officials were arrested for taking bribes to protect a criminal.

To Her Excellency, Dame Ibifaka Patience Jonathan, the First Lady, who will, today, bury the late Mrs Charity Fynface Oba, her aunt and surrogate mother (Mrs Oba took over responsibility for Dame Patience’s welfare – and brought her up – when she tragically lost her real mother at a very young age). The funeral will […]

THE Federal Capital Territory Authority, FCTA, is threatening to demolish a building that “New PDP” rebels are using as a Secretariat…on the grounds that it is in a residential area and can therefore not be used for this purpose.

I wept when I heard that Tunji Okusanya, the distinguished undertaker, perished in the Associated Airlines crash, alongside his son and four employees, en route to the funeral of Olusegun Agagu, the former Governor of Ondo State. I didn’t know Tunji well. But I will never forget him for two reasons: