GOVERNMENTS and newspapers around the world attributed the horrific Christmas Day bombings of churches in Nigeria to “Boko Haram” – a shadowy group that is routinely described as an extremist Islamist organization based in the northeast corner of Nigeria.

Excerpts of the interview, conducted in his sitting room at Ologoama with over 50 villagers, overflowing his living room to the balcony, front and back of his compound as spectators.

WHAT is on a man’s mind? The answer, over the years, tended to anchor on the phallocentric psychological theories of the Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud (born Sigismund Schlomo Freud) 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939; co-founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology. Libidinous as his tendencies were, the profundity of a man’s mind is doubtless.

It is indeed not only a surprise, but also an inspiration to all of us here in the local government and I believe by extension humanity, as a whole that at 90 Papa Allen is starting school. And that is why we decided to give him scholarship and N15, 000 monthly for his upkeep so that that can further motivate him to continue the programme.

Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah was an unusual draft in the nominations for Vanguard’s Man of the year. Neither her entrepreneurial skills which earned her a huge fortune in the oil and gas industry nor her acclaimed role in mobilising finances for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign mattered.

People that don’t have people to send them to school are helpless. President Jonathan should do everything to help the helpless; he should as the president of this country identify such people and provide the wherewithal for them to go to school” – Pa Tete Allen, (via an interpreter)

Two alleged separate and massive oil spills are threatening several communities in Delta and Bayelsa States. Although crude oil spills have been a recurring decimal in the blighted oil and gas rich Niger Delta, the spill of December 20, 2011 from the Bonga oil field, off the western Atlantic coast close to Ekeremor local government area of Bayelsa State, has been described as the worst in more than a decade.

IN the next couple of hours, 2012, the year of multiple expectations will be ushered in and 2011 will be consigned to the dustbin of history. However, the same cannot be said of the avalanche of unresolved, partly resolved and yet to be articulated problems that 2011 left in its trail.

At around 4 p.m. on our way to a wedding in Mangu, two of the cars took a wrong turn in Barkin Ladi local government area. The first car, a small Mazda, contained eight people. I was driving the second car. We were all Hausa-Fulani from Jos. The other car was ahead of us. I stopped to ask for directions. …

Subscribers to pay television services in Nigeria have expressed dismay over the tariffs charged by the service providers who seem to be exploiting the tax regulation by the authorities.