SUDDENLY, the news hit us July 25; Hadj. Alade Odunewu, journalism’s gift to Nigeria, is no more. As a small measure of his worth, the media have been abuzz with stories of his passage.

The world over, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are agencies, organizations or social movements that open up the liberal political space, engender equalization of opportunities; improve the circumstances of disadvantaged peoples and institutions and hold governments to account.

SUDDENLY, the news hit us July 25; Hadj. Alade Odunewu, journalism’s gift to Nigeria, is no more. As a small measure of his worth, the media have been abuzz with stories of his passage.

HERE we go again, chasing shadows and leaving the substance. The British, by announcing an impending Visa Bond, are saying, very clearly, that they do not want us in their country; and, as usual, we are flaring up, fuming and shouting.

RECENTLY, Ralph Uwazurike, the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), called for a one day sit-at-home. I was deeply disturbed that people, especially in Onitsha, heeded his call. But then, the masses barely think, and consequently, are susceptible to political manipulation.

THERE is no doubt that the Nigeria Police Force has suffered a fate worse than death in the course of our tortuous journey of nation-building so far.

THE Civil Service in Nigeria is a creation of the British colonial system with a fusion of Western administration and African traditional values. According to available records, it has passed through four distinct phases, namely the first phase (1914-1946); the second (1946-1966); the third (1966-1979) and the fourth (1979-date)

Gripping a machete he claimed was stained with blood, a 24-year-old civilian manned a checkpoint in one of Nigeria’s most dangerous cities, looking for members of a violent Islamist group.

TWO coloured birds sat complacently atop the Abia Tower this cloudy Sunday evening. They were chatting away happily, oblivious of the chaos of motorists below the height of about 100 meters.

THE ongoing political brouhaha in Rivers State is assuming a perilous dimension that should be halted before it snowballs into complete breakdown of law and order.

THE Senate last week voted on the report of its Constitution Review Committee and at the end of it all, it once again achieved a milestone in altering the 1999 Constitution to bring the document in line with the general aspirations of the Nigerian people.

THE Nigerian oil industry has continued to play a significant role in the nation’s drive towards economic growth and development.

WHEN we gained admission in 1985, we were among the youngest lads in the Mass Communications class of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. While I quickly reconciled myself with the daunting task of ‘flowing’ with men, a few of whom were more than twice my age as classmates, Douglas Akachukwu Ude, was determined to follow a different path.

In the past few weeks, groups that had hitherto stood on the fence or had distanced themselves altogether from President Goodluck Jonathan, who had declared that they would look elsewhere for another candidate in the presidential poll in 2015, have suddenly turned in a new verdict: Dr Jonathan will be the man to beat in 2015 if he decides to re-contest! They are even asking those not in their new camp to join them.

The drumbeats of the 2015 presidential elections are very clear and even deafening on the side of the amalgamated but yet unregistered opposition party. However the Peoples Democratic Party is treading, cautiously, as a result of the President’s ban on political campaigns ahead of the next general elections.