OUR convoluted and highly charged political environment gathered more steam recently in the aftermath of the presidential pardon granted eight Nigerians. The Council of States had granted pardon to the former Chief of General Staff,General Oladipo Diya and former Governor Of Bayelsa State,Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.Others include former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquaters, the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua,Major Bello Magaji,Mohammed Lima Biu,Shettima Bulama, the late Major General Abdul Kareem Adisa and Major GeneralSegun Fadipe.

WHEN recently, the publisher and chairman of the Leadership newspapers, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, announced that he was stepping down as Editor-in-Chief of the organisation, I did not need anybody to explain to me the reason he did that.

ON behalf of the working people of Africa, the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity, OATUU, welcomes you to Addis Ababa the historic city it was born exactly 40 years today! Mother Africa gave birth to OATUU in this remarkable country which rejected colonialism and fought off the invading colonialists.

THE news of the death of Pini Jason came from the radio this morning(Sunday morning) and threw me off balance. I was thrown from the joy of preparations for a communion service in Church, to instant confusion, from preparation for Worship to wondering what life is really about, from assurances from the Word of God, to a confirmation, that we are indeed sojourners in this world.

MEMBERS of a terrorist gang that has targeted and bombed civilian centers; murdering and maiming the innocent in droves deserve severe punishment. Therefore, the prospect of an amnesty for Boko Haram rankles and boggles the mind.

A RECENT statement that the All Progressives Congress will probe how the various administrations from 2000 to 2013 managed the nation’s oil revenue appears to be a costly talk for the newly merged party.

As far as I know, many countries that have opted for a federal system of government have done so because it is the best known system for managing diversity; whether of tribes, nationalities, religion, ethnicity or language.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole is committed to turning Edo State around for good, but not without a cost. With the electoral system, the recently conducted local government elections, Oshiomhole has to clean up the Augean stable of previous governments. He is like Moses in the Holy Bible.

THERE is a particular local saying that when a child is crying and pointing in a particular direction, it is either the mother or father is there.

RESILIENCE has become the buzzword in international development circles in recent times. The ability to withstand adversity and bounce back is a simple definition of this word.

IN the typical Nigerian fashion, the political scene gets more charged with desperation and desperadoes as the election year approaches and there are all the signs that general elections fever has since gripped the nation.

I READ with scarcely restrained stupefaction, the sweeping conclusions Mark Onome managed to distil from the contrived premises in his ‘The Uduaghan-Ochei tug of war’, [The Vanguard of Wednesday April 24, 2013].

Since Dr. (Chief) Patrick Ekeji’s retirement was announced two weeks ago, there have been mixed reactions from many people on how he ran the National Sports Commission (NSC) in his capacity as director-general which began in 2009 and ended in April 2013.

MY first encounter with Chinua Achebe was through the sociological cum literary eyes of the immortal and seminal Things Fall Apart (TFA), first as a secondary school aficionado of the in-any-form written word.

WHEN politicians cry to the high heavens about some inanities as if their entire lives depended upon them for survival, discerning onlookers are always amazed.