Though well advanced in age, the death of Second Republic President of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, on Friday did not fail to elicit reactions of regret and sorrow across a broad spectrum of the Nigerian populace. The reason for this is not far to seek.

After their fairly good outing in their first World Cup finals appearance in USA in 1994, Super Eagles players turned the bride of many.

Is poverty synonymous with the present craze of religious activities? In neighborhoods, you hear all sorts of noises in the name of worships. And these are inside dilapidated and corrugated iron buildings. You see the pastors or leaders in soaked but weather beaten suits and members sweating with nothing to show aside the main man reaping.

APART from personal encounters with him, I have followed Comrade and his niche since the 1980s when I first saw him on television. This was in his days as the General Secretary of the Textile Union, sticking it to the then dreaded Military Government of IBB at a town hall meeting.

Lack of critical infrastructure has been the bane of economic development in Nigeria for decades. This has remained an intractable problem that successive governments at the federal and state levels have had to tackle, with varying degrees of success.