THAT the unconstitutional office of Nigeria’s ‘First Lady’ is a conduit for siphoning public funds while self-aggrandising has been brought to the fore by the ongoing face-off between the immediate past occupant of that office, Turai Yar’Adua and the ‘current champion’, Patience Jonathan, who, unlike Turai, is also a Permanent Secretary, PS, in her husband’s home state of Bayelsa.

IT’S been two weeks since I first broached here the rather idle decision of Seriake Dickson, governor of Bayelsa State, to appoint Mrs. Patience Jonathan a permanent secretary in the State.

ONE wouldn’t know if this is a sign of political ineptitude or an admission of failure but with his claim that his government is being distracted by insurgent activities in parts of the country- activities that have crippled his ability to deliver on his electoral promises, President Goodluck Jonathan increasingly appears to be at a point between a reluctant president and a confounded one.

HISTORY was made Thursday last week when Justice Aloma Mukhtar assumed duty as Nigeria’s Chief Justice of the Federation. She is the first woman to reach that height. An earlier contender to that position and wife of Chief Bola Ige, the slain Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Justice Atinuke Ige, suddenly died in the course of fighting to bring the killers of her husband to justice.

A LOOK at how world leaders conduct themselves today leads one to ask what role government should play in the lives of citizens; how much of government involvement should be allowed in the affairs of a people? The American society presents an interesting picture of how this question is handled.