THE Ekiti State governorship election has come and gone. The result has caused serious shock waves amongst some of us, but to others like me, it did not come as a surprise. When I canvassed for a concerted approach by everyone, irrespective of political affiliation, to join hands and fight the common enemy of insurgency, some ascribed names like ‘Jonathanians’ and ‘PDP appologist’ to us. Now the picture is becoming clearer and the blind will soon begin to see clearly.

HE clocks 54 tomorrow, Dr. Bolanle Olawale Babalakin, SAN, and the need to celebrate this Nigerian legal and business frontliner becomes necessary.

NOT even the most politically naïve Nigerian can fail to appreciate that the recent governorship election in Ekiti State is a forerunner to the 2015 presidential election.

ALHAJI Isa Kaita (1912-1994) was the Northern Region Minister for works between 1954 and 1957, and later Minister of Education between 1957 and 1966. He later became the Waziri of Katsina. Alhaji Kaita was one of the few closest advisers of the late Northern Region Premier Sir Ahmadu Bello (1909-1966), the Sardauna of Sokoto.

SATURDAY’S governorship election in Ekiti State has a fundamental significance that appears to have eluded the punditry of most of those that have weighed in with analysis. Some say the victory was down to Governor-elect Ayo Fayose’s charisma which struck a welcome chord with the state’s flotsam and jetsam who constitute the vast majority.

Do not be surprised that I am writing you an open letter. Shortly after you died, Nigerians went into a season of writing open letters; the bug has bitten me. I know this letter will meet you well, but I wonder if you are still interested in some of these issues judging by the posthumous message you sent through our friend.

IT was meant to be a prophecy from her God, but those who ought to have done something took after Ali Baba and his band of comedians.

I KNOW the Niger Delta pretty well. Between 1981 and 1982, as freshly minted University graduates, my cousin – Bola Awosika Oyeleye, and friends – Barine L. D. Gbosi, Joseph Uduehi, and I, were all ‘itinerant’ evangelists’ in this area.

OUR governors are doing what they must, but some of them are not doing enough. What is going on in respect of the road network in our states? I have asked this question and will continue to ask.

THEY say hindsight is 20/20. That is why sometimes it is good to get a glimpse into the future with the hope of preventing mistakes. A periscope is a very handy tool.

THE APC Convention, held on Friday June 13, 2014, lived up to its billing. A lot of hype, razzmatazz, and of course, tantrums directed at the PDP, represented by Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency. They tried so much to paint a picture of unity and integration and to confirm this, they elected a Christian South-South man, John Odigie-Oyegun as the new chairman of the party, without opposition. This was done to appease the critics, who, otherwise, felt that the party hierarchy is heavily tilted towards members of the Muslim faith.

A FEW months ago, the Federal Government had expressed its intention to begin the implementation of a national policy on cassava bread.

FOLLOWING the conclusion of the All Progressives Congress (APC) national convention in Abuja last week, it is obvious to all now that the APC is no more than a parastatal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), because all of its actions had the imprint of the ruling party. For many of the insiders who have been crying themselves hoarse over the sins of the PDP, it was clear that they were all wrong or have been playing the ostrich all the while.

A FEW months ago, the Federal Government had expressed its intention to begin the implementation of a national policy on cassava bread. Under the arrangement, bread manufacturers are expected to substitute 20 per cent of the wheat flour content of bread with cassava flour, a decision that is expected to drastically reduce the country’s total annual wheat import bill by N127 billion from the over N600 billion worth of wheat imports annually. This move by the Federal Government to give full backing to such an initiative of substituting wheat with cassava in the local production of bread in Nigeria is laudable in the sense that it is a good opportunity to make better use of the nation’s abundant cassava, which research has shown to be healthier and a better suitable flour for bread making.

The recent arrest of 486 suspected Boko Haram members, including eight girls, by the 144 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Asa, near Aba, Abia State on June 14 has once again raised the question of how secure the entire country is presently?