Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, in this interview, speaks on the challenges the Buhari administration is facing to take the nation out of economic recession. Udoma is, however, optimistic that the economy will be reflated as soon as possible.

Chief of General Staff (Vice President) under the Abacha regime, Lieutenant General Oladipo Diya, says every citizen has a role to play to make the country great as Nigeria celebrated its 56th independence anniversary, yesterday. Diya also speaks on the Abacha regime’s handling of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, the detention of the presumed winner, the late Chief MKO Abiola, and the 1997 coup plot he was accused of mastermiding.

Mr. Anthony Olatujoye is a legal practitioner, and Managing Partner, Difgland Partners, a law firm based in Abuja. Before his foray into private practice, he worked with the Central Bank of Nigeria for 31 years and retired as Legal Adviser/Director, Legal Services. In this interview, he talks about the economy and restructuring among other national issues.

Permit a personal dimension to this prologue. There were trenches in many neighbourhoods and we all rushed into them and stayed there all day to avoid air raids. Bombings were not restricted to the battle fronts or military targets. Civilians were even bombed most. The fighter jets came so low that we saw some of the pilots and saw the jets drop bombs that killed, maimed people and destroyed houses. If we were not in the trenches we were always outside, largely to alert parents and other older people on sighting the jets.

Ever since Nigeria got her independence in 1960, successive governments have made several attempts at creating a supreme body of laws, or constitutions, for the easy administration of the polity. Nigeria was founded on the false tripod of three major tribes: Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo, whereas, there were over 250-500 ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.