STATES complain about the size of their civil service. Most of them do nothing about it. The services are over-staffed. This accounts for the fact that most states are unable to foot their overhead bills.

MOBILE telecommunication services, which Nigerians have relied on for the past 11 years, are probably at their worst state since the teething problems. The lingering issues of dropped calls, voice clarity and access to certain parts of the country have tasked subscribers’ patience.

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan wants to convince Nigerians that they need security more than food or employment. He is emphatic about the nexus among security, employment and food. The President holds insecurity responsible for the failings of his administration.

THE arrest Tuesday of two military personnel who were plying lanes dedicated to the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, is another pointer to the disdain some have for traffic laws, often with devastating consequences.

IF voters were not determined to have a peaceful election, the frustrations the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, placed on their way would have been enough to ensure that Edo State was on fire.

CONTROVERSIES are spicy alternatives to the daily tedium of reports of deaths, scandals, government inactions and the pictures of a future tarred with bleakness. When the news broke that Dame Patience Jonathan was promoted permanent secretary in the Bayelsa Civil Service, many were shocked.

WHEN life is meaningless, people throw it away without a thought. Thousands did so in Jesse, Delta State in 1998, and the hundreds who died in Okogbe, Rivers State last Thursday, added to the long list of Nigerians who died scooping fuel.

FORMER Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, deserves pity in his defence of his EFCC days. His recent attempts at exonerating some individuals of corruption fail under the barrage of questions he posed about their conduct.

HERDSMEN have the headlines this week, introducing new dimensions of denials to the security challenges Nigeria faces. The pretences at action are worse than doing nothing.

MOST of the pains that people will go through in Lagos as the Third Mainland Bridge is being fixed are avoidable. They are part of the larger lessons about the consequences of poor planning. It is a great idea to maintain the bridge, but more thoughts should have been invested in minimising disruption of life.

MORE than 100 people were killed in two days in Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas of Plateau State. We may be paying attention to the killings – which are routine – because Senator Gyang Dantong and the Majority Leader of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Mr. Gyang Fulani were killed on Sunday.

A FEW things are becoming clearer about the fuel subsidy scandal that is rocking the House of Representatives – there are more scandals within the scandal, and the public must not know them.

WE hope Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice-Marshall Oluseyi Petinrin was not feeling triumphant when he told the House of Representatives committee probing the oil industry that oil thieves stole only about three million barrels of crude oil monthly. He sounded so.

JUNE 23 was the United Nations’ International Widows Day. Many interests and non-governmental groups, in Nigeria, took to the streets with placards calling for an end to crises and violence, the major sources of widowhood – especially among young women.

ON 10 May 2011, Nigeria was drenched in emotion as President Goodluck Jonathan paid compensation of N5 million each to families of 10 members of the National Youth Service Corps killed in election-related incidents.