THESE days Nigerians fight over anything. A disputed bus fare, a misunderstood word at a community gathering or the better known incidents of cult rivalries or the more celebrated cases of land disputes are reasons for Nigerians to go at each other.

IN Malawi, hundreds defied the rains on Wednesday to hear corruption charges against a senior civil servant and two construction executives, the principal suspects in a case in which 68 state employees and executives are being accused of stealing more than $20 million (N1.2bn) of public funds.

THE Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, LIE, has had its fair share of unearned attention from the controversies surrounding repairs of the road commissioned 36 years ago. It has degenerated to a stage that its motorable portions are like seeing oasis in the desert.

ARABS would not forget Ariel Sharon soon. The Israeli soldier, politician and statesman, who his compatriots loved and hate, in proportional measures, was to some a hero, while Palestinians call him a murderer.

A YEAR after they were tortured – one of them died – and their suspected attackers were strutting the streets in sheer defiance of the law; justice may come to three women assaulted in Ejigbo Central Market. The Lagos suburb gained a place in the map when about 1,000 people perished in its canals while fleeing the Ikeja bomb blast 12 years ago.

ANYONE who looks through the list of ministers the President has submitted to the Senate would move from surprise to wondering what ministers really do. In that list, the President appears to have set out only to fulfil the constitutional requirement that each State should be represented in the cabinet.

IT is obvious the Nigerian economy is in a precarious situation. Is it anything new? Even oil theft, and the unclear accounts of oil receipts, coupled with corruption that are speedily draining resources available to governments, are not new.

EKPO Una Owo Nta, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has narratives about corruption that make the issue seem more academic than practical. His experience in the federal public service should serve him well in the second year of his five-year tenure as head of one of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies.

CASES of kidney failure are alarming. Afflicted Nigerians would appreciate efforts to ameliorate the situation. The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, said more than 5,000 Nigerians travel to India and other countries monthly for medical attention.

STATISTICS on rape incidents may still not be a good reflection of the extent of the crime. Stigmatisation of rape victims keeps the numbers low, a further armoury to the criminals.