Dr.(Mrs.)Patricia Iwelunmor possesses a rare passion for helping indigent persons. She retired voluntarily in 2008 from the teaching profession after 34 years of service.

It is no longer news that inhabitants of several communities across the country have been displaced by flood in recent times. The consequence of this being the separation of children from their parents and loved ones. This unhealthy and disturbing development has also resulted in destruction of properties worth several millions of Naira.
Experts have, however, blamed the problem on some environmental factors, dam management and lack of adequate awareness.

THE Presidency and the National Assembly are at each other’s jugular over President Goodluck Jonathan’s presentation of a request for legislative approval to take an external loan of $4.9 billion, which the President said will be used to jump start the economy, create jobs, tackle HIV scourge and development of the infrastructure nationwide.

THE process of repayment of the foreign loans and debts to international creditors had resulted in the Federal Government taking on the role of a guarantor of the various debt contracted by state governments which became insolvent at a time and were failing in their obligations to repay their debts.

EDUCATIONAL reforms are geared towards development, coming from the basic conviction that meaningful changes can be made in a nation through meticulous engineering of the educational process.

ON Wednesday, October 27, when this reporter hinted a Rivers State based military officer of his intention to travel to Abia State through the Port-Harcourt Aba Expressway, precisely the next day, Thursday, October 28, to find out how the Nigerian Army operations to flush out kidnappers from “God’s Own State” is progressing, he warned that any trip on the infamous expressway without military escort could be precarious.

ONE of the greatest desires of Lovette Emezu is to be a footballer. The dexterity with which the stocky 15-year-old handles a football leaves no one in doubt that she has all the makings of a budding star. Lovette, a JSS III student of High Achievers College, Ajegunle, could be said to be on the way towards realisation of this dream by virtue of the fact that she is currently one of the star players of her school’s female football team.

FOR members of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria in Ogun State, it is time for a showdown with the Ogun State Government over the latter’s unilateral and arbitrary increase in the fees and levies to be paid by the produce merchants.

LIKE every other farmer, Awalu Danasabe looks forward to the rainy season with great expectations because it affords him the opportunity of planting his crops.
But the Sokoto- born peasant farmer is singing a different song today.

MOST Nigerians have described the pattern of rainfall this year as unusual. What we have seen so far is a shorter period of rainfall but intensity has been quite high. Under normal weather conditions, Nigeria should have the wet and dry seasons. All parts of the country should be observing the dry season now.

THE Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga stirred the hornet’s nest through a circular addressed to the Comptroller General, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Managing Director of Global Scan Systems Limited, Chief Liaison Officer, SGS Nigeria Limited and Managing Director Cotecna Inspection Limited.

Creamy or firm when cooked, yams have an earthy, hardy taste and usually a minimal amount of sweetness. Although they are available throughout the year, their season runs from October through December when they are at their best.

When the arrears of military pensioners, talking about the 12.5% and the 15% increment in salaries of public servants were secured for ex-soldiers and officers by the Directorate of Military Pensions, it was thought that the hue and cry by military personnel who had clamoured for justice in this regard would be happy and give kudos not only to the government of President Goodluck Jonathan, but also to Brig Gen. Kwaji, the officer who mid-wifed release of the arrears.

GOING to Ayobo Ipaja for the burial of a fallen colleague last week, was like travelling to Golgotha. Although we were warned about the parlous state of the road, we did not bargain for what we went through. Put succinctly, the journey was akin to walking through the biblical valley of the shadow of death such that one wondered how residents of the area connect other parts of the city.

The doctors attached to the Centre for Gender Values and Culture who in the last three years had embarked on series of health care assistance to women and children in the predominantly riverine state after evaluating little Emmanuel case, who was then passing stool through a device inserted on his stomach, referred his case to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) where second and third surgical operations were carried out on him this year having lived without an anus for about a year