THE eleven Electricity Distribution Companies, DISCOs, have declared war against consumers of power as they have embarked on mass disconnections throughout Nigeria. From Lagos to Port Harcourt, Benin to Kano and Kaduna to Abuja, consumers continue to lament as the DISCOs disconnect them from the national grid over indebtedness.

Each year, a significant number of Nigerians travel to India and the UK for treatments ranging from cardiac surgeries, neurosurgeries, cosmetic surgeries, orthopedic surgeries, and renal transplant surgeries. The penchant of Nigerian leaders, past and present, to patronise foreign health institutions is legendary.

If truly the fasting was for the worship of Allah and not for the sake of tradition, then, it will be a huge step towards self-rededication and national rebirth. Fasting develops in a person the real spirit of unity, love, brotherhood and justice which are required for national stability and development. 

IRRESPECTIVE of whatever legal and political reservations being advanced, we are convinced that the Federal Government has done the right thing by officially recognising the late Chief Moshood Abiola as the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Also, the two major political parties have tried to make political capital from the NTYTRA. President Buhari even put it as an item in his 2018 Democracy Day broadcast and gathered a cross-section of youths when he signed it with flourish.

We give them a pat on the back because their action went a long way in restoring the dignity of the National Assembly which was seriously undermined by the serial, flagrant refusals of some top appointees of the Federal Government to appear before our elected representatives.

In the past two weeks, the foreign exchange market came under pressure as a result of many factors. The main one was that many investors that flooded the economy with foreign exchange in portfolio investments are pulling out, which has led to serious demand pressures. Consequently, the Naira had depreciated across all market segments.

Fears of the stakeholders are that the excise increase could trigger massive layoffs in the sector’s 20,000-strong work force, raise the prices of the locally-manufactured products and lead to the smuggling of cheaper foreign brands, which would hurt the economy in many ways.

IT is heartwarming to note that in spite of daunting security challenges facing the nation and its infrastructural deficits the tourism sector has continued to expand its contributions to the economy.

THE recent mudslinging between President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo should provide Nigeria with an opportunity to have a conclusive  look into the matter of how federal funds were spent in the Power sector during the Obasanjo regime.

Having inherited an economy that was rapidly heading towards recession due to falling oil prices and lack of savings, the regime did not help matters when it failed to quickly define a new economic direction. The slow pace of forming the Federal cabinet further dampened the confidence of local and international stakeholders in our economy.

This is quite different from the scenario witnessed with the tobacco manufacturers who, for years, dithered and spent billions to slow down the efforts of regulators to ensure that warnings of the dangers of smoking were inscribed on cigarette packs.

RIVERS State, once again, wore the crimson portrait of a political war front on May 11, 2018 when a long-drawn exchange of gunfire between political gladiators stalled proceedings at the state’s Judiciary Complex in Port Harcourt.

IT is very reassuring that the Judiciary under Hon Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, has seized the gauntlet in efforts to reduce corruption among members of the Bench. By so doing, the Judiciary has voluntarily keyed into the anti-graft programme President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

Nigeria existed under dictatorship for 74 years (when the 46 years of British colonialism and 28 years of indigenous military rule are combined). It is not surprising that our political class still exhibits a lot of dictatorial reflexes at the various tiers of governance.