Bayelsa State which prided itself as the “Oasis of Peace” in the Niger Delta in the aftermath of the restoration of the peace to the state following the Federal Government amnesty programme is gradually drifting towards its dark past as the 2011 general elections draws closer.

While calling for youth empowerment through Information Technology tools, the Nigerian Youth IT Ambassador, Nkemdilim Uwaje recently led a team of Bake for change in a Christmas visit to many remand homes including Lagos State Transit Home for Kids, Lagos State Correctional Centre for Boys, Lagos State Old People’s Home, Lagos State Children’s Transit Home.

The Okori community, in Eleme, Rivers State recently hosted the entire Eleme community to a delightful display of culture under the aegis of its annual cultural festival/ end of the year celebration.

EIGHTY-TWO-year-old Madam Rebeca Taniyu Akinimola of Sapele, Delta State , got the shock of her life on November 4, 2010 when during her early morning devotion she got a phone call that some land speculators were busy clearing her land in preparation to developing it. Not amused by the story, she sent one of her sons, Shola to go and verify what was reported. He got there and never returned until late in the night.

IT was drizzling at Oshodi when this reporter boarded a commercial bus en route Ketu/Mile-12. But the light shower soon turned to a downpour as the vehicle approached Ojota.

For years, Igando New Town in Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Authority and Olayemi-Asipa in Ipaja-Ayobo Local Council Development Authority were only 365 metres apart. But in spite of the short distance separating them, people in these two areas found it difficult visiting each other. The reason for this was the swamp that lies between the two communities.

It was an event Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State was scheduled to hand over 250 taxi cabs to taxi operators in the state as part of on-going efforts to phase out rickety cabs in the state. But the event was to be temporarily disrupted by a bomb scare which created panic beyond the confines of the State Secretariat, Alausa.

Before now, street begging was the exclusive preserve of the physically-challenged whose condition usually attracted sympathy. Majority of them were usually seen at bus-stops and other public places soliciting for alms.

Pandemonium will best describe the scene that fateful Friday of December 31, 2010. This was after an explosive device was detonated at a part of the Mammy market located inside the Mogadishu Cantonment Barracks in Abuja where people sell roasted fish.

As you read this piece, thAs yurbed and confused. Many are still struggling to beat the deadline of updating their accounts in various banks across the country, while others are jostling at different Glo or MTN centres to beat the deadline of registering their lines.