May 29 Special

For once, the electorate told the leaders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, that a few of their candidates won the election on their own steam and not because they contested on the party’s platform. That was really the first time PDP would not be surefooted going into an election. Jide Ajani presents the factors responsible for this.

LOOKING at the prevailing implicit quietude in the Niger Delta, compared with the frenzied situation of bombing of oil installations and kidnapping of oil workers that used to be the order of the day, as well as the taking into custody of the “master”, Henry Okah, who is undergoing the trial of his life for terrorism in South Africa, one could be lured to give President Goodluck Jonathan a pass mark for the manner he has tackled the affairs of the region so far. The only thing, however, is that is it is not the way a cat walks that it catches a rat.

The story of how ACN emerged and the role of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State. It is the story of how to remain focused in the face of competing interests and odds.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, in this interview, bares his mind on what he expects from President Goodluck Jonathan in the unfolding dispensation. He also shares his views on the call for the abrogation of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and how his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, defeated the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo State

With over 800 people reportedly slain during the post-election violence of April 2011, the importance of security to life and property during important national engagements once again reared its ugly head.

The “Transformation Agenda” that I present comprises five “Fundamentals”, three “Transformation Result Areas” (TRAs) and some implementation issues. In Part One, I briefly discuss the five selected fundamentals: electoral legitimacy, peace and security, government policy stability, rule of law, and anti-corruption.

The scenarios are frightening but they represent the reality. Lagos may be submerged in the event of sea level rise. An estimated 87 million Nigerian farmers face food insecurity as a result of frequent climatic disasters. This is due to the changing rainfall patterns, increased desertification and flooding which pose the greatest challenge to farmers, and continue to deepen rural poverty. This puts 42 per cent of the GDP currently contributed by agriculture at a great risk.

This is the story of how newly-elected public office holders are demonstrating that their time has come and that they intend to institute a new paradigm. However, the hastiness in their acts suggest an underhanded attempt at stonewalling their predecessors and, in the instance of the House of Representatives where the tussle for the office of the Speaker is still roiling, the newly-elected representatives are spoiling for a showdown with the ruling party.

In this report, we examine the spectre of violence which greeted the 2011 general elections and how some innocent Nigerians, including members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, who were drafted to assist the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the conduct of the elections, lost their lives.

The troubles confronting health care delivery in Nigeria are legion. Even as he gets set to carry on with the mantle of leadership at the federal level of government, President Goodluck Jonathan already has his work cut out. Presumably, he is under no illusion about the Herculean nature of the task ahead.

The National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, recently, came under severe verbal attacks from certain quarters because, like Prophet Isaiah in the Bible, he dared to point at those he perceived to be troubling the nation. In this interview with SAM EYOBOKA, apart from setting an agenda for the incoming governments across the country, Oritsejafor refused to join issues with the CPC presidential candidate, Major General Muhammadu Buhari and his co-travellers, insisting that ”you cannot build a nation on anything less than the truth.”

An infusion of comic relief would not be out of place. Since 1999 when Nigerians embarked on this journey in democratic governance, some names have appeared like permanent fixtures on the firmament.

As the tenure of the present administration comes to an end today, stakeholders, industry players in different sectors and the masses are divided in their views on what government has achieved in the last four years in the areas of infrastructural development, economic growth/development and public goods for improved standard of living. While some experts rate the Federal Government low on infrastructural development, especially in the area of power supply, others called on the new administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure adequate planning and policies implementation to fast-track development for long-term growth.