WHEN on July 12, 2009, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, bombed Atlas Cove, a sprawling Federal Government owned oil facility in the heart of Lagos, it was a shocked nation that suddenly woke up to the realisation that the country as a whole was no longer safe from attack by the Niger Delta militants who, up till then, had restricted their attacks to the oil facilities in that region.

HAVE they forgotten that Akume and Uzamere could best be described as accidental or circumstantial members of the party and Obende was a greenhorn in the political arena who rode on the back of Governor Adams Oshiomhole to emerge victorious in the election.

LAST week’s bombing of Nigeria Police Headquarters, Abuja, was cataclysmic in every material classification. By the time the dust settled, at least eight ill-fated persons amongst us were sent to untimely re-union with their forefathers, while over 73 vehicles were either reduced to smithereens or irretrievably mangled. In the days that followed much of the picture captured by newspapers from the scene was grisly, portraying as it were seeming features of a country at war with itself.

There is one strand of convergence between Mallam El Rufai, politician turned columnist, and I in the last piece from his intriguing ink pot.

BEFORE the April polls, Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, was seen and perceived as a regional party based in the Southwest zone and built around the former governor of Lagos State and leader of the party, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

NASARAWA State is hugely endowed with numerous natural resources such as arable farmland, solid minerals, tourism potentials and a good climatic condition.

THE Nigerian state has always faced and will continue to face the daunting challenge of making democracy deliver the much avowed dividends that should be the hallmark of democratic practice. Against what the political class would want us believe, which is basically a ploy to hide their inefficiency and greed – it is not that we are still learning the ropes of democratic practice, but the fact is that we have blatantly refused, so it seems – to use well our democratic opportunities.

HE has to tell us whether that is a manual for governors on who to support or not. When the better part of wisdom dictates that a Governor should show equal love to all the parts of the state, he wants him to show preference only to those that supported him. Tragic!

THE April general elections are over and encomiums have not ceased to come the way of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, ably led by the indefatigable Professor Attahiru Jega.

I HAVE watched and read with keen interest some fairy tale lies written and published in a national daily owned by the demystified and estranged godfather of Abia politics since the conclusion of the last general elections in the State.

IF political careers were judged by years of service or number of positions held, then there would be no shortage of those with outstanding record of public service in Nigeria. If, however, they are judged by the significance of one’s political moments, then we would have to look harder to find those with truly remarkable records in public service.

THE Seven-Up end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway daily records unprecedented influx of people into Lagos from across the country. Indeed a recent study reveals that over 25,000 people from across the world move into Lagos for various reasons on a daily basis. This is what makes Lagos a melting pot.

The 2011 elections have come and gone. It is time for agenda-setting. Suggestions are rife about what priorities the government should set for progress and development. Many would be of the opinion that the government should improve security.

Local governments were designed to bring development to the grassroots. It cannot be otherwise, as the Federal Government, which is calling the shots from Abuja, is too far away from the headquarters of the 774 local government councils in the country. Similarly, most of the state capitals are far from the many towns and villages in the local government areas

ON June 8,1997, one of Nigeria’s erstwhile Heads of State and military chief, General Sani Abacha, passed away in Abuja, the nation’s capital. General Abacha passed on whilst still in office as Head of State. The place of Gen. Abacha in Nigeria’s military and democratic history can scarcely be over-emphasized. He was one Nigeria’s finest military officers.