POLITICIANS have foresight. They see things that non-politicians do not see. For them the future is always bright, glistering with optimism of victories at elections. Politicians see power, its uses, for themselves, and frighteningly, the challenges of being outside the spheres of power. They dread it; they can do anything to be in power.

FOR the third time in four years, a stowaway ‘flew’ Arik Air, the largest commercial airline in Nigeria. In October, 2012, the lifeless body of a stowaway was found in the hold of Arik’s Lagos-New York flight.

NEITHER the official reaction, nor the reasons adduced for the killing of more than 40 students of tertiary institutions in Mubi, Adamawa State, three years ago could excuse another in the series of loss of lives. Many other killings, with the circumstances different, the gruesomeness outstanding and the brutality on women and children have not elicited the reactions and actions that could stop the killings

THE tragedy of the continued clashes among various security agencies is that each episode is quickly consigned to a long list of similar incidents that failed to stop new dangerous incidents. Why do agencies that should work together clash? Is there anything the commanding officers teach their rank and file?

THUGS understand the business of violence. The boldness that has grown from not punishing them is evident in the havoc they are causing. They are appropriating space, the law watches, they are becoming the law.

WHAT do we want to do with our prisons? Better still, what do we intend to do with our prisoners? Prisons are not a favourite subject of many. Prisoners are outcasts, considered worse than the scum of society. Politicians exclude them from their trite campaign messages.

THE Bank Verification Number, BVN, is another 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.

CONCERNS for peaceful outcome of the 2015 general elections have led to two major initiatives to promote peace in the country. The first was the signing of an accord on violence-free conducts before, during and after the election by presidential candidates of 14 political parties, notably President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Peoples Congress, APC, on 14 January 2015.

POLITICS is replacing the attention our country needs to make progress. The biggest casualty is the people. Politics should focus on the collective future of Nigeria, a future that appears to be in abeyance. The consistent and flagrant abuses of individual and group rights, with a veneer of official seal, muddle issues to resolve Nigeria’s unworkable politics. These abuses have become features of our politics. They are dangerous and must be stopped.

FEW elections have had the hype of the 2015 elections, which has created strands of expectations that would be challenging to manage. They are principally on two fronts – expectations of victory and campaign promises to change the country.

THERE are more issues in the 2015 general elections than the tenure of the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega. A focus on them, instead of Jega, is critical for the free and fair elections Nigerians desire.

IF Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, Mr. Ekpo Nta, intended to shock Nigerians with his disclosure to the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption, that some contractors presented forged tax certificates, he at best produced partial shocks.

OUR humour can be electric. It must be in drawing from its eclectics that someone came up with the line, “every problem has an expiry date”. Stephen Keshi, Eagles coach, whose cognomen, Big Boss, tells its own story, defies every logic about dates retiring problems.

THE Nigerian military and the security agencies would wish to forget 2014 because of the strange, nightmarish experiences they went through. It was a year things became so bad that people wondered aloud if this was the mighty military that fought the civil war, effortlessly put down other insurrections and became the reliable guard of troubled countries in the West African sub-region and beyond. In the past 50 years, our troops have been in high demand internationally and they always returned with accolades.

SEVERAL reactions have trailed the report of the PricewaterhouseCoopers forensic audit of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, which resulted from the allegation of unremitted $49.8bn that former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi made. Mallam Sanusi at various points reviewed the figure to $10.8bn, $12bn and $20bn. The Federal Government was accused of delaying the audit. Some had concluded the report would never be made public.