Watchers of the unfolding drama in Mali, where reports emerged at the weekend that the leader of Boko Haram Islamic Sect was shot and injured in a combat with members of joint task force, may be having a second thought about their misgivings of Nigeria’s decision to participate in the West African military intervention in the drought and poverty stricken Sahel country.

Elementary lunacy – the idea that the insistent repetition of a process can lead to a completely different outcome! We can leave psychologists to determine if that form of lunacy is elementary or not. But it is pure lunacy.

BY the end of December 31, 2013 the three tiers of government in Nigeria would have spent N80 trillion or more, going by federal and states’ budget appropriations and statutory allocations to the 774 local councils since January 2005, Vanguard’s investigations have revealed.

A United Nations report titled: “Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2010,” which was released on May 16 showed that 14 percent of the world’s deaths related to childbearing occur in Nigeria.

Imagine dropping your children off to school in the morning, and watch them jump off the car, with their school bags strapped behind them. They wave you goodbye as they run along with their friends.

FOR 11 months in 2012, no fewer than 1,100 fire cases were recorded in Lagos state giving an average of 100 cases per month.

LAGOS State Governor, Mr.Babatunde Raji Fashola, has complained to the Federal Government about the worsening condition of the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, a major highway that links the nation’s busiest sea ports to other parts of the country. In separate letters to President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Nemadi Sambo, the Governor also drew attention to the horrific traffic congestion on the expressway and the need to take urgent steps to fix the ever-busy road.

After electricity and security, a major challenge on which many Nigerians have reached consensus is the need to fix our roads that are absolutely in utter state of neglect, disrepair, decay and rot. Nigerian roads have been described as “slaughter slabs” because of the incessant automobile accidents recorded in which thousands of people lost their lives yearly.

The new year is a time to reflect on the changes we want or need to make in our lives. CHARLES ADINGUPU writes on the many challenges that confront Nigerians while engaging in this near futile ritual in a society in transition.

HOWEVER, the state government, which expressed concern over the plight of the victims given the colossal loss incurred during the flooding, reiterated its commitment to ensuring their quick resettlement. The government, however, ruled out monetary compensation to the victims, saying it was more concerned about how they would start life all over again, especially those who lost farmlands, properties, livestock and other means of livelihood.