BY the last count, almost 700 women and children have been rescued from Sambisa Forest, where insurgents have made their base f0r attacks on Nigeria.

IF we are to judge the future of Nigeria by the promises that appear on election posters, Nigeria is about to become one of the most developed countries in the world. Candidates and their parties have managed to capture issues affecting Nigerians and listed them for solution, once they get our votes. Are we not used to politicians and their pranks? What is different from what they promised in 1999 and 16 years after?

FEWER speeches could be hollower than the ones that would be made nationwide to mark Workers’ Day, today. Speeches are traditional, their contents remain traditionally empty, especially during transitions, as we are witnessing. Millions of jobs have vanished with the turbulent economy, globally, but particularly in our economy that depends mainly on crude oil exports.

MAJ-GEN Muhammadu Buhari’s orders barring the crew of the Africa Independent Television, AIT, from the courtesy visit of the Cuban Ambassador to him at Defence House, Abuja, has set off an uproar that connects to Buhari’s first administration 31 years ago.

THE Bank Verification Number, BVN, is an-other important step the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is using to strengthen the security of banking transactions and to ensure that fraudulent transactions are minimised, if not totally eliminated. The campaign is on, but the public may not realise its importance until it closes in June 2015.

WE expect the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, should know the importance of its business of managing airports. Why is it unconcerned over incidents that make airports unavailable for use because either its workers are on strike, or they are taking the laws into their hands by stopping airlines from operating?

TWO ignored factors that emphasise governments’ insensitivity to Nigerians – overwhelmingly unacceptable sanitary conditions and the abysmally low levels of access to medical services – have helped in the ricocheting cholera outbreaks.

MORE than two years of legislative work, expectations of millions of Nigerians and the new directions of democratic growth that the proposed constitutional amendment would have produced are about to be wasted.

THE world watched in horror at the violence in South Africa, targeted at foreigners in several cities. Gangs of weapons-wielding youth descended on hapless foreigners, killing, maiming and destroying their property. Shops and restaurants were looted, and in most cases, these went on with law enforcement agents seeming to derive some pleasure from watching.

THE impeachment saga in Ekiti State is a political culture that escalated during the eight year reign of General Olusegun Obasanjo that might as well have been an extension of military rule.