ESTHER SALAMI, a beautician, came to my house last Sunday to do a pedicure for a member of my family. When she had finished, I handed her a small wad of folded naira bills and she dropped it into her handbag without counting it.

DURING the year that Odein Ajumogobia, SAN, was Foreign Minister, many Nigerians and foreigners sang his praises and told me that they regarded him as the best Foreign Minister this country has ever had. And I would bask in the reflected glory whenever I heard the compliments that frequently were lavished on him because he is an indigene of my state, Rivers.

AT the time of writing, speculation about Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s career plans is rife. Some say that the former Minister of Finance and current Managing Director of the World Bank will soon leave Washington behind and come home to play a key economic management role within President Jonathan’s administration.

YES, I know that there is no excuse for the terror and mayhem that Boko Haram is inflicting on law-abiding citizens. Yes, I too was appalled when the car bomber invaded Police Headquarters and killed himself and several others.

ABUJA is awash with rumours about heavy in-fighting at the Villa. The story is that various senior officials are giving President Jonathan major headaches by forming themselves into competing gangs and taking pot-shots at each other.