IT is best to start at the beginning. I was born in October 1939 in Ugborodo, DeltaState of Nigeria, the first child of my father and only male child of my parents.

THIS is a personal story. As I write, I am going through something known as the ‘tenure and promotion’ process in the lexicon of the US university system.

THE 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based and Intimate Partner Violence, beginning on November 25 and ending on December 10, International Human Rights day, offers an opportunity to renew the global commitment to free women and girls from violence.

It may as well be taken as pardon without benefits. That is the case with Adenike, the widow of Lt. Col O.O. Akiyode, aide to the former minister of communications, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju, who was convicted for the 1997 ‘phantom’ coup under the Abacha administration. Akiyode died while still serving his prison term and before all those also jailed for the controversial coup plot, including Lt. General Oladipo Diya, Olanrewaju and the late Major General AbdulKarim Adisa, were released courtesy of an amnesty proclamation in 1999 under the Abdulsalami administration. They received presidential pardon on March 12, 2013 after the National Council of State (NCS) approved a list presented to it by President Goodluck Jonathan. The implication of the pardon is that the former convicts are to receive all their benefits from the military authorities.

Once upon a time, millions of children all over the world were afflicted by a crippling, incurable and fatal infectious disease known as poliomyelitis (polio). Today, the world is heaving a sigh of relief because polio is on the verge of eradication. While experts note that ending polio will be an historic feat for humanity, and also a huge part of efforts to reach every child with a range of life-saving vaccines, one organization that has relentlessly pursued the dream of global polio eradication is Rotary International.