This morning, a South African broadcaster (who shall remain nameless) told me that when she heard that our President had signed the supplementary budget in Saudi Arabia, she was extremely skeptical and wondered whether he was really in a fit state to understand the contents or pick up a pen!

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MERRY Christmas to all Vanguard readers. I pray that you can take a break from any stresses you are enduring and enjoy the holiday season with your families.

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By Donu Kogbara NIGERIANS have always complained bitterly about the countless inadequacies of their country and multiple shortcomings of their leaders. But the complaints have been even more embittered than usual ever since 2009 dawned nearly 12 months ago because this has been a particularly bad year for almost everyone. Every nation contains exceptions to
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It is very painful to accept it, but everything Lord Lugard said in 1922 is still true today. He was prophetic. Today, Ikedi Ohakim, the Imo State Governor, confirms that “Nigeria has become the black sheep of the world oil producing community for her lack of accountability and unproductive use of the oil revenue.” If you think Lugard was harsh, read Ikedi Ohakim’s “The Courage To Challenge”.

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A FRIEND just sent me an excerpt from The Dual Mandate In British Tropical Africa, a book that was written in 1922 by Lord Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, the British colonial administrator who spent 13 years in Nigeria – first as High Commissioner, of the Northern region, then as Governor-General of both the Northern and Southern Protectorates – at the beginning of the twentieth century.

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LAST week, I quoted a friend who thinks that seduction is a “coping” or survival strategy within certain contexts and is absolutely convinced that predatory women who set out to seduce influential men deserve sympathy rather than condemnation.

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I HAVE recently, on two occasions, praised Mr President for his new Niger Delta initiatives. And I’ve been amazed by the number of sour comments I’ve received.

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By Donu Kogbara LAST week, I expressed the opinion that President Yar’Adua deserves  two hearty cheers…One “for possessing the humility and foresight to meet with Niger Deltan militant leaders and offer them an Amnesty deal in a bid to secure peace in a region that was becoming increasingly uncontrollable.” And the second “for recognising the
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I AM very happy with Mr President at the moment and have decided that he deserves two hearty cheers.
One hearty cheer should be directed at Mr President for possessing the humility and foresight to meet with Niger Deltan militant leaders and offer them an amnesty deal in a bid to secure peace in a region that was becoming increasingly uncontrollable.

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By Donu Kogbara LAST week, Chief E.K. Clarke, the veteran champion of Niger Deltan rights and a zonal leader I regard as a close friend and father figure, was kind enough to invite me to his residence to attend a reception he was hosting for Ateke Tom, the famous militant commander and founder of the
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