Saturday July 16, 2010 was a day the residents of Akinbayode Street in Papa-Ajao area of Lagos will never forget in a hurry due to an early morning inferno that gutted a two-storey building in the area.Nothing was salvaged from the inferno.

It was indeed a day of joy and celebrations for no fewer than 650 widows, orphans, less- privileged persons and jobless youths in Benue State who were the direct beneficiaries and graduates of the Sev-Av Foundation Crafts and Skills Acquisition Centres in Gboko and Vandeikya local government areas of the state.

OBUBRA in Obubra Local Government Area of Cross River State is a serene community to live in. It is predominantly an agrarian setting with yam as a major produce of the farmers. Besides yam, cassava, plantain, bananas are also produced in marketable capacity.

The people of Ikyobo village in Ushongo local government area of Benue State are still counting their losses and mourning their dead following the mysterious crashing of a large tree branch at the centre of village market square which claimed the lives of no fewer than eight persons while scores sustained varying degrees of injury.

The increasing influx of Chinese products into the Nigerian market is giving sleepless nights to many concerned Nigerians.Given that agencies like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria ( SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC ), mann the borders to regulate the influx of banned and sub-standard goods, many are at a loss as to how these fake goods find their way into the country. Some have concluded that the institutions are largely ineffective in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities. Following the crippling effect of this trend on the economy, the Federal Government is set to tackle the problem headlong. Would this measure follow the way of other failed initiatives? Charles Kumolu asks.