I HAVE gradually become extremely disillusioned about certain aspects of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s regime. As I’ve said a couple of times in this column, he has too many unimpressive aides and ministers…and has not been sufficiently dynamic or inspirational since he took over from his late former boss, Yar’Adua.

I HEAR that IBB has written to Dr Nwodo, the PDP Chairman, to say that he and many other members may resign from the PDP in protest if the party does not prevent President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting in next year’s election.

MYANMAR, formerly known as Burma (its natives are still known as Burmese), has hit the headlines big-time in the past few days because Aung San Suu Kyi, the globally admired Burmese civil rights activist, has just been released by the ruling military junta, having spent l5 out of the past 2l years under house arrest.

TRANSPARENCY International (TI) is a civil society organisation that spearheads the fight against the dubious practices that jeopardise the welfare of the poor all over the world and prevent so many countries from fulfilling their potential.

BY the time you read this column, all of the 33 men who were trapped in the San Jose copper and gold mine (near Copiapo in Chile’s Atacama Desert) should have been freed from a terrible and terrifying ordeal that has dragged on for over two months and attracted global attention (no less than 1500 journalists – from several different countries – showed up to personally witness their liberation).

“THE place: Lagos Racecourse. The dramatis personae: [The Governor-General] Sir James Robertson, representing Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and [the incoming Prime Minister] Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafewa Balewa, representing the 40 million people of Nigeria…And as the clock struck 12 midnight, [they] took their positions on the dais and watched the lowering of the Union Jack and the hoisting of the Nigerian flag…And so the people sang the National Anthem…And so the Independence of Nigeria was proclaimed…

Last week, I recalled Alhaji Atiku Abubakar saying, when I interviewed him many years ago that he regretted the fact that it was very difficult for average citizens to survive or thrive if they didn’t have access to influential people who were willing to help them and that he would be very happy if our society eventually evolved to the point where the government provided safety nets that would enable everyone to get what they needed and deserved.

SEVERAL PDP dignitaries attended Jonathan’s declaration ceremony. Some grinned supportively from the sidelines. Others eagerly grabbed the microphone and assured the world that they were fully behind Jonathan’s aspirations.

I’M in South Africa at the moment, attending a conference called “Planning Africa”; and it’s been such an interesting experience to not only listen to speakers who want our continent to thrive but to observe, at close quarters, how the country is getting along l6 years after Nelson Mandela was released from his lengthy incarceration to spearhead the dismantling of apartheid.

LAST week, I said that most of the Niger Deltans I know are anxiously hanging all of their hopes on President Goodluck Jonathan, that Jonathan reminds me of an only child who is the sole focus of his parents’ ambitions and that I sometimes pity Jonathan because it isn’t easy to be under so much pressure.

LAST week, I praised Ima Niboro, the President’s Special Advisor on Media and Publicity, for his writing skills and eloquence. But I also complained about the fact that I and many other journalists have felt frustrated by his failure to respond to our polite requests for advice, information and official statements.

I DON’T know Mr. Ima Niboro, President Goodluck Jonathan’s Special Advisor on Media and Publicity. But I know quite a bit about him. I’ve read his reactions to several current affairs issues in various publications and know many people who know him and know him to be a seasoned and talented member of my profession.

DURING a press conference that took place in Pretoria earlier on this week, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (retired), the former military administrator of Lagos State and our current High Commissioner to South Africa, told journalists that he could show them the results of a recent opinion poll that proves that most Nigerians are not bothered about zoning issues and are more interested in leaders who can deliver than in where they come from.

Whenever Nigerians talk about zoning in particular or politics in general, they talk as if they are totally wedded to the idea that a Southern President must have a Northern Vice-President; and vice versa. There is also a tendency to regard each geopolitical zone as a united interest group…AND a widespread assumption that it’s OK for every Head of State to have two four-year terms.

EARLIER on this week, Professor Attahiru Jega, the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), publicly reminded his 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of the need to conduct themselves appropriately while they are preparing for the 2011 polls in various states.