Against the fear of many Nigerians who have shunned air travels in the wake of the Sunday June 3 Dana plane crash in Iju Ishaga, Lagos, that claimed the lives of all passengers and crew on board, Pastor (Dr.) Oyeleke Owolabi, Pro-Chancellor, Babcock University, has been travelling to several towns by aeroplane without fear since the fatal accident occurred.

Femi Fani-Kayode was drafted from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Aviation in late 2006. As expected, he got there and stormed. Usefully, Fani-Kayode’s tenure experienced what has been described as a turn around because just within a year preceding his posting, five air disasters had occurred. And once he left the ministry, either by a mix of ill-fate or coincidence or negligence, things began another turn around for the worse. Last Sunday’s Dana Air crash in Lagos forced Sunday Vanguard to seek Fani-Kayode out.
In this revealing session, he insists that government should demonstrate more willingness to safe-guard the skies. And whereas he says the current aviation minister is trying her best, things could still be better.

… Avoid 2015 debate now, he says
JIGAWA State Governor, Sule Lamido, in this interview, argues that the current debate over who becomes Nigeria’s president in 2015 is a misplaced priority. He adds that no part of Nigeria can singularly lay claim to the 2015 presidency. Lamido also defends his anger over the comments made by the National Security Adviser on the alleged role of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the current insecurity plaguing Nigeria, among other issues of national significance.

Dr Olu Agunloye has intimidating credentials. He was a lecturer at the Department of Physics, University of Ibadan, the chief executive of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), member of the Constitution Review Committee, chairman of the ICT Thematic Area of the National Technical Committee for the Vision 20:2020, Minister of Power and Steel as well as Minister of State for Defence (Navy). Beyond these, he was a close associate of the late Chief Bola Ige, the Minister of Justice who was assassinated in 2001. Now, Agunloye is aspiring to be governor of Ondo State via the October 20 poll. In this interview, he speaks on Bola Ige’s murder and issues surrounding his gubernatorial aspiration.

Brig-Gen. Nnamdi Okore-Affia is indeed an army officer who says it the way he sees it. When he spoke with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, he was blunt on the contentious issue of posting corps members to volatile areas where several of them were killed by insurgents last year. According to him, female corps members now receive marshal arts training and members will no longer be posted to areas where their lives could be threatened. Excerpts:

Councillor Adedamola Aminu, a Labour Party member in the UK, is the Deputy Cabinet Member for Children and Young People for London Borough of Lambeth. He is also the chairman of British-Nigerian Councillors in the UK and President of Association of Nigerian Academics.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state received the Champion Man of the Year Award at Sheraton Hotels and Towers Lagos in Lagos, last Tuesday May 16, 2012. Incidentally, the award came barely 24 hours after the Governor led a protest to the Edo state secretariat of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Benin City, where ACN members protested what they described as the alleged illegal registration of voters ahead the July 14 governorship election in the state.

Senator Ben Obi, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Inter-Party Affairs, is one of the leading South-Easterners noted for his political brilliance.

People of this country are sick of talking about corruption. They have little or no interest in finding out why this cankerworm has continued to eat deep into the fabric of our nation, because corruption has virtually overwhelmed everyone, defying all efforts to halt its rampage. It has become a national way of life.

Yesterday, the Akran of Badagry Kingdom and permanent Vice Chairman of Lagos State Council of Obas, His Royal Majesty, De Whenu Aholu Menu Toyi 1, marked exactly 35 years on the throne of his forefathers. Badagry, his Kingdom, is a coastal town and Local Government Area in Lagos State of Nigeria. It is situated between metropolitan Lagos and the border with Benin Republic at Seme.

The Otaru of Auchi, Ikelebe 111, Alhaji Aliru Momoh, is not like many other traditional rulers in the country. His activism and bluntness on issues have distinguished him from many other first class traditional rulers. Not too long ago, the Otaru led a protest in the streets of Auchi against kidnapping and the menace of erosion in his domain.

Crescent University,Abeokuta, is the first Islamic University in Southern Nigeria. Its establishment was the vision of Judge Bola Abdul Jabbar Ajibola, a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, also one-time Judge at the World Court in Hague, Switzerland.

Major-General Tajudeen Olanrewaju, former Minister of Communications and member of defunct Provisional Ruling Council (PRC), is a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). At his Lagos home on Tuesday, the former General Officer Commanding (GOC), Three Division of the Nigerian Army, told Saturday Vanguard that consensus in party politics as done by the PDP at the last weekend national convention was the best alternative to crisis resolution at elections. Excerpts:

Colonel Olu Craig is a name that calls to mind story of the 1995 alleged coup involving the then former Head of State General Olusegun Obasanjo; former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua; former Military Governor of Niger State, Colonel Musa Gwadabe and several others.

The Nigeria Airforce will host its Airforce counterparts from different parts of the world in April in the NAF AIR EXPO scheduled for May this year.