THERE’S a sense in which the larger chunk of what has been written about the use of a chartered jet by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, mirrors the challenges affecting public discourse in Nigeria. The matter is being pursued by all sides more with emotion than substance and a clear grasp of the crux of the issue.

IN his words of wisdom, John Caldwell Calhoun (1782-1850) said: ”The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit of an individual or a party.” Describing one of the invaluable attributes of a great leader, America’s foremost activist President, Theodore Roosevelt, believed that: ”The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men [and women] to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”

As death bears its fang again, question is: ‘Who will die in the next second as we read this? Every 45 seconds, a child in Africa dies of Malaria – according to Prof. Chinedu Chukwu the Hon Minister of Health! As we celebrate the World Malaria day on 25th April, the introduction of “Technology to Fight Malaria” may have accelerated the hope to save more lives – more than ever before. The theme for 2014 and 2015 is: “Invest in the future. Defeat Malaria”. It is estimated that with the newly developed Malaria Destroyer Game (MDG), Nigeria can resolve her colossal malaria by 50% in the shortest possible time in compliance with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

DELTA State is one of those geo-political entities in Nigeria where social and inter-ethnic re-engineering have proved abortive as its history since the cloning of the state in 1991 has been that of virulent acrimonious relationship among the different nationalities that make up the state.

WITH the way the Boko Haram ins urgency is playing out, it is apt to ask the question once again: How prepared are we for this battle? It is not a matter of mouthing it, we must let our actions speak.

ON my way home from work on Monday, the bloody day in Nyanya, Abuja, a lot of depressive thoughts went through my mind as we encountered a huge traffic jam on our route, a major road in the city.

THE initial response of the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, to the death of 21 young job applicants, including four pregnant women, at the Nigerian Immigration Service recruitment test, at different stadia in the country epitomized the government of Goodluck Jonathan.

THIS is indeed not a good time for Lagos State University (LASU), the only university owned by the Lagos State government. For three years running, the university has been facing various crises ranging from students’ discontent to decaying infrastructure. The university seems to be in serious decline by all yardsticks.

THERE is no gainsaying the fact that Federal Government through its National Universities Commission, NUC, is doing its best by way of checks and balances, effective supervision and quality control of all universities in Nigeria particularly the private ones.

JUST before I picked my pen to write a piece about the recent blast in Abuja, I was greeted with the news that about the 100 or 200 school girls had been abducted in a village in Borno State. It is quite unfortunate that Nigeria’s situation has got to this alarming level where virtually all aspects of life are calling for urgent attention. Nonetheless, the issue of insecurity is the most important as you can seek employment, good roads, electricity and other basic amenities of life, only if you are alive and well. In this vein, my heart goes out to all the victims of the insurgency and their families and I pray that God should bring an end to these inhuman activities.