NIGERIANS and their democracy are unique. If elsewhere people delight in the capacities of their government to deepen their liberties, broaden opportunities, our democracy is delivered as structures, visible and tangible. We call them dividends of democracy.

Early results from an Ebola trial using the experimental drug Avigan (favipiravir) showed Monday it was somewhat effective at saving lives if given early in the illness, but not later.

PERHAPS, if we called the Minister of Power the Minister of Electricity, we would have been speaking the same language about the poor state of electricity supply. The Minister speaks about “power generation”, we are interested in “electricity supply” to places we need them.

AS dates go, 10 November 2012 may not have a place in our political history, but it was the day the House of Representatives held simultaneous peoples’ public sessions in Nigeria’s 360 federal constituencies – they all started at 10am. People offered their views on amendments to the Constitution, the only time the people have had a say in the making of the document that governs us. On 24 July, 2013, the House of Representatives voted in tandem with the people, another landmark of the amendments.

AFTER investing billions of Naira in fighting corruption, the verdict of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is that corruption persists in Nigeria because we do not have institutions, systems and processes to prevent corruption. She should know.

POLITICIANS are suddenly awake. The smartest beings in existence think it is time they said a few words to the Nigerians. Power belongs to the people, it is time to wrest it from them democratically.

THERE are only 19 days to the last chance for voters to collect the permanent voter’s card, PVC. How many Nigerians know if they are eligible voters for the elections? It is doubtful if any Nigerian with certainty can say his name is on the list.

The Anambra State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Tony Nnachetta has debunked claims that he was interested in contesting for the chairmanship of the state football association in an election holding later this month.

THE scandalous performance of governments, with very rare exceptions, should be one of the issues to be judged as Nigerians vote for their future,a future that exceptional incompetence has suspended in the past 16 years. It is frightening that those who failed to make positive changes in Nigeria’s affairs, are once again at the verge of hijacking it to sustain their selfish interests.

TWO ignored factors that emphasise governments’ insensitive to Nigerians – overwhelmingly unacceptable sanitary conditions and the abysmally low levels of access to medical services – have helped in the ricocheting cholera outbreaks. Contaminated water, unhygienic handling and poor food preparations are among factors that aid rapid spread of cholera. Its high mortality rate is evidenced by the number of States reporting deaths.