APRIL 14, terrorists abducted school girls from a government school in Chibok, Borno State. We are still debating how many they are. The rescue efforts were futile enough for the parents of the victims to dare Sambisa Forest, on their own.

OUR governments adopt the easiest approaches to the malaria scourge – talk about it, prescribe more use of mosquito nets. Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, announced in 2012 that more than 90 per cent of Nigeria’s population – about 150.3 million people – is at risk of malaria infection.

THE Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, is one of the barely understood programmes of the Federal Government. Its broadly stated objective is to utilise money government saves from selling petroleum at N97 per litre, to ameliorate conditions of poor Nigerians.

MONDAY, April 14, 2014, the Supreme Court voided the Igbo customary law, which denies daughters inheriting their fathers’ estate. The Supreme Court said it was discriminatory and in conflict with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

MURTALA Hamman-Yero Nyako, at 70, should be taken seriously. A former Chief of Naval Staff, a former Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, who left service as Vice Admiral, his position as Governor of Adamawa State since 2007, makes him one of Nigeria’s top political actors.

MERRIMENT and excessiveness are alien to Easter. The manner of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, whose death according to Christian doctrine, God used in saving mankind, is always filled with the sobriety of appreciating the depth of the sacrifice.

ABUJA is threatened by its fame as the place where all the opportunities are, especially for making quick money. Hundreds of thousands of Nigeria have their eyes set on Abuja. They have heard that once there, they can make something for themselves. Whether it is a myth or not, there is little anyone can do that would convince those with their minds made up that relocating to Abuja was the panacea to their personal challenges. They have examples that testify to the abilities of Abuja to cure all cares.

PRESIDENT Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has done something about the Boko Haram insurgency – 24 hours after an attack in Nyanya, Abuja killed more than 100 and injured hundreds, he was in Kano campaigning for his 2015 re-election.

WASILA Umar, 14, has hit fame: she allegedly killed her husband, his three friends, and injured many others. What is she doing with a husband at 14? The wise men in her community in Gaya Local Government Area of Kano State said she was ripe for marriage. Their word is law. What is a 14-year-old’s word worth when the elders have spoken?

OUR politicians never cease to amaze. Their trip to a Washington policy forum on Nigeria’s plans and preparations for the 2015 elections leaves many wondering what America has to do with how Nigerians are governed.

IS there something so unAfrican about corruption that we do not understand, yet we can accuse others of corruption without noticing it seeping through our systems?

THE Pension Reform Act 2014, which stipulates at least a 10-year jail term on conviction for pension fund administrators or anybody who misappropriates or diverts pension funds, is meant to address the serial stealing of pension funds. In addition, the provision of a fine of an amount thrice the misappropriated or diverted sum should take care of the embarrassing incidents of pension frauds and the weak penalties.

QUEUES for petrol still dot many Nigerian cities and villages. This is to tell government that importation would never solve the country’s challenges with fuel. Groups that once challenged governments over the matter have long gone to other affairs, seeing how selective governments remain about matters on which they heed advice.

HOW does an economy that does not have regular electricity, where infrastructure is in deficit and most of the people are so poor that the Gross Domestic Product per capita does not get into their pockets, become the largest in Africa?

AFTER two passenger boats sank within three weeks, we are likely heading to the wrong reaction if we may just ban water transportation! The stand of most commentators on the matter points to this direction. It is like recommending decapitation as cure for headaches.