AFTER the election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, my cousin, who lives in my hometown, called me. He told me that he, in concert with many other supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan, was celebrating the president’s electoral victory.

THERE is no doubt that today, Nollywood has become a national brand. It has become the foremost signifier of our cinematic energy as a creative people. Nollywood began small, but today it has become a huge contributor to the national economy. In the recent GDP rebasing exercise, Nollywood contributed 1.2 per cent to the national economy. If that appears little, then you have no knowledge of where and how Nollywood began.

I AM in a state of total confusion by the way and manner global affairs are being shaped largely by the activities of the Arab World and the Western Powers.

IN this centennial season of blame game over everything that has gone wrong with Nigeria since 1914, it is not surprising that President Goodluck Jonathan has become the whipping boy. Yes, the buck stops at the President’s desk – and he knows that.

A SLEEK, private Bombardier Challenger jet along with a tidy $9.3 million (how much is that in Naira?), two Nigerians and an Israeli were last week impounded (Yes, the plane, cargo and humans are all contraband) and being investigated in South Africa.

PASTOR Tunde Bakare is many things to different people, depending on what side of the prism you are viewing him from. One thing that is constant however, is; his stand or position on any issue. You can never find him sitting on the fence, he never wavers, he takes a stand on any issue that he is presenting, no matter how others sees it.

CHAIRMAN of the Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees, Chief (Dr) Tony Anenih, has been called a political tactician-in-chief. He has been called the Oracle of Uromi. He also has been called Nigeria’s political Nostradamus.

TRULY, before any settlement, town or community could be termed developed, such must have a surfeit of infrastructural facilities in place. Putting the same issue in different words, a city devoid of infrastructure is like an Oba (king) without a crown. This explains why experts have identified infrastructure deficit as a major constraint to Nigeria’s development. So, to address this problem, successive governments had introduced various policies aimed at bridging the gap.

A CURSORY glance at the power equation in Delta State reveal a startlingly remarkable political puzzle; and this is the glaring inequality in the distribution of the most juicy political appointments in the littoral state. As a matter of historical fact and figure, from the Western Region through the Midwestern Region, Midwestern State (later Bendel State) to Delta State, the Delta South Senatorial District has not had a taste of the office of Governor or Deputy Governor.

Much ado has been made about recent events in South Africa concerning the Nigerian-owned jet that was found loaded with millions of dollars and that was in the process of procuring arms and a fighter helicopter for the Nigerian military and security agencies. As a former Minister of Aviation, I wish to assure the general public that the flying of large sums of cash by security and intelligence agencies for the purchase of arms in a time of war and conflict is something that is quite normal and that it happens quite often. As a matter of fact, it happened under successive Nigerian governments, both military and civilian.