Kidnapping for money is an evil that came to the South East, for whatever reasons, about seven years ago. Ndigbo fought it ruthlessly; houses belonging to kidnappers were simply bulldozed, and culprits were promptly prosecuted.

As the results for the leaders of the 8th National Assembly were being announced, what came to my mind was that ‘democracy has finally come to stay in Nigeria’. Imagine in Nigeria where members with minority status were elected Deputy Senate president and the Senate leader? There is no gainsaying the fact that democracy is fast taking its rightful place in our politics.

Muhammadu Buhari is in trouble. However, I am not cringing in sympathy for him: he asked for it, and he must bear his cross alone like a messiah. Nonetheless, I must confess that I am not treating his plight lightly because I know he is a human being who is devoid of any tripartite personality.

Supporting its customers with value added services, Mobile phone operator, MTN Nigeria has introduced CallerFeel, an innovative service that allows subscribers display personalized messages during calls.

All over the world, people choose their heroes for different reasons. Some designate legendary creatures from every historical epoch and every field, such as Christopher Columbus, Florence Nightingale, Joan of Arc, Louis Pasteur, Alfred Nobel or even Napoleon Bonaparte. Yet, there are also those who believe that some heroes are unknown to the general public, their heroic deeds unrecognized but far from insignificant.

Nigeria’s democracy is quite speedily evolving, especially with the relative peaceful and transparent conduct of the 2015 elections which resulted to the humiliation of the arrogant and contemptuous Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

One might think that when the heads of national standards bodies, NSBs, gather, they would have time for only their type, but in the ARSO President’s Forum being hosted by Nigeria at the International Conference Centre, Abuja June 22 – 24, 2015, it will not be so and this is perhaps the largest gathering of NSB chiefs in Africa! Fifty-five of them will fly into Abuja at the countdown to the great convention. And to the company of hundreds of manufacturers and service providers some of whom are sponsors of the event or just exhibitors or seminar participants.

With the exit of Chief Tony Anenih as the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the role of godfathers in our politics has again been brought into focus.

One of those few Nigerians well grounded in the nefarious and technically slippery Nigerian oil terrain is the Managing Director of Capital Oil, IfeanyiUbah. He is a colossus in the industry, mostly at the downstream sector. He has invested heavily in the promotion of the trade. He knows all the department of the sector. He has made stupendous wealth from moving the “black gold” product from one place to another. Yes, the gossip in some quarters is that the man, by this trade, is richer than his home state of Anambra in the South East of Nigeria.

The wind of Change whose silent whistle emerged on March 28, 2015 finally reached its crescendo, when General Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as the fifth democratically elected president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He hardly grants media chats because of the sensitive nature of his office. When he speaks, it is with bluntness and sincerity delivered with deliberate measurement. He knows that he can be misquoted out of mischief or ignorance.

On the fictionally derived blackmail that Nigerians voted for “change” and not for “anti-corruption”, an irritating clamour has arisen from a rabble of interest groups for President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore corruption and concentrate rather on delivering “change”! Instructively, many of these loudmouths simply cannot bring themselves to acknowledge Buhari as a hero and embrace him as President.

He literally barged in on the political consciousness of the Lagos political mainstream, almost turning to shreds its well known uncompromising proclivity to doing business with only those schooled and weaned by the denizens of the old political establishment. In sum, you must have been in the eye of the people and have a track record.

Prof. Attahiru Jega’s INEC had a disastrous showing in Abia State, in the governorship election. The wishes and aspirations of the people, who had clamored for change in the state, were thwarted by some unscrupulous INEC staff, in collaboration with the PDP. It is only in Abia State that all the contested positions and declared results by INEC are in contention and vigorously challenged in the election tribunals.

I have pondered on the rot that made some people to refer to Nigeria as a failed state and I came to the conclusion that the problem lies not only in the hands of our leaders, but also in the formation of the country. The geometrical decline of the infrastructures and the socio-economic welfare of the citizens call for stock taking, re assessment of our value and charting new strategies for a fresh start.