INTERESTINGLY, it is only in Yoruba land, and I stand to be corrected, where the problem of abandoned properties did not afflict the Igbos.

IN some parts of West Africa, political change and possibly the quest for a better life, has acquired a new image. It is now anchored on Islam, by the group now classified as the Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb.

AFRICA Rising – That is the headline of last week’s cover of Time Magazine. It is for me an appropriate place to start my discussion on the theme “Governance, Security and Peace in Africa”; and if I might say so at the onset, it is a somewhat misleading if not patronizing headline.

THE crisis of underdevelopment of the Niger-Delta amidst a huge resource contribution came into razor-sharp focus, last week, in Warri, Delta State, where Professor of Comparative Politics and Public Policy, University of Benin, Professor Augustine Ikelegbe, declared that poverty, which is at the bottom of the grievances/ marginality of the youth/citizens of the region, has not been alleviated.

The North may be having a bad run; for now, that is. What goes around comes around. Whether its fortunes would migrate sooner than later to a better platform can only remain in the realm of conjecture. The prognosis to this may be stark for some and shrouded for others. One thing that is clear is that the North is having a bad run and its leaders, interestingly, know this; but there are still a few who are unwilling to admit.