Sorry for my 4-week absence from the pages of this newspaper. I had to take a break because of var ious pressures, i n c l u d i n g a v e r y unpleasant bout of typhoid. You will no doubt notice that this Sweet And Sour space has been r e d e s i g n e d a n d effectively re-launched. Please let us know whether you like the new look.

I HAVE always said that the only real difference between the PDP and other political parties is that the PDP happens to be more successful than its rivals.

BECAUSE of the way we do things at Vanguard, my Sweet And Sour reflections have to be submitted for publication on Wednesdays. Which means that even though this week’s column will appear the day after the PDP has conducted its presidential primary election, it is being written the day before this big event.

NOW that the latest election season is fully underway, I’m reminded of a very perceptive comment that my ex-husband (Dominic Midgley, an English journalist) made about the Nigerian political scene when he lived in Abuja some years ago.

YET again, we are about to say “goodbye” to an old year that will soon give way to a new year. And it seems appropriate to inflict a handful of random thoughts about 2010 events on Vanguard readers, the first being recent Wikileaks revelations about Shell’s alleged influence within our corridors of power.

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).