WILLIAM Shakespeare in the Twelfth Night captured three distinct routes to greatness. According to him, “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them”.

THE third phase of the battle in Mali is the democratisation process. The country’s electoral commission has announced July as the new month as opposed to April as initially agreed. This will present the challenge of healthy political process in the country when there are still conflicts in some parts of the country.

Nigeria’s participation in the multinational military coalition in Mali continues to generate interest as the Islamists in the Sahel are ready to engage France and the foreign troops on a prolonged military combat.
In this interview with Vanguard Newspaper, the Director of Research and Studies at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs(NIIA ) Professor Ogaba Oche looks at the dynamics playing out in the crisis in the Sahel.

Lt. Col. Gabriel Anthony Nyiam came to national reknown after the abortive April 22, 1990 coup orchestrated by a group of middle belt and southern officers of the Nigeria Army against the then authorities headed by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

Abba Moro simply stood there, ramrod, hands akimbo, mouth opened wide. Mind you, he is Nigeria’s Internal Affairs Minister.The sight was shocking; even to him. Welcome to Seme, Nigeria’s notorious border point to the West. The same thing replicates itself at the Idi’roko Border post.

The scenario simply reinforces the claim that Nigeria’s borders are porous.

Chaos rules! Traders carry out their activities in such a manner that you cannot tell when you have crossed the border. Observing the activities at the border, in fact, you may be on the Nigerian side and be haggling with a trader on the Benin Republic side.
You can buy any item of your choice ranging from rice to vegetable oil, household items, etc, with either the Naira or Cefa, currencies used in Nigeria and Benin Republic, respectively.