MADAM, l am not too sure which side of the divide this open letter to you will put me because the line between conventional and unconventional is too thin for the uninitiated to observe. In addition, we are in the season of open letters but l can assure you that this is not one of those.

THROUGHOUT history, we have recorded accounts of the persecution of reformers, transformers, prophets and saints. Back home in Nigeria, we have had our fair share of leadership interlopers who came in the garb of military rulers lamenting the state of the nation’s affairs, and promising us Eldorado, but only to dash our hopes. In contrast, they became worse than the leaders they condemned.

THAT former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has gone back to grin alongside some of the same politicians who roundly chastised him into leaving the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria with his tail between his legs is amusing to say the least. It is even more amusing how he has been trying to convince Nigerians that his new adventure with the All Progressives Congress (APC) is about achieving “change” and not about him taking another shot at winning the presidency for himself. At this juncture, it is only natural to wonder what sort of “change” Atiku—a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a long-time politician of note—can be talking about today.

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has just released the timetable for the 2015 general elections. This means political activities will soon pick up and the atmosphere will once again be charged. The most important of all the political horse-trading that will soon ensue is determining who occupies the presidency by the year 2015. There is so much interest and calculations across a spectrum of stakeholders on this all important position. Many political gladiators are jerking up their sleeves for a showdown in the contest of who grabs his party’s ticket for presidency.

IF the proposed national conference is to address wholesale, the protracted challenges of the Nigerian nation state, it must begin by getting the representation to the conference right. Anything short, is failure – like they say – a building that is on a poor foundation will not stand.

FINALLY, seven senators on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have ignored the order by their party asking them to block the screening of service chiefs recently appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan by fully participating in the screening exercise. The opposition party had initially issued a directive to its members in the house to frustrate the passage of the 2014 budget and the screening of ministerial nominees, alongside the confirmation of the new service chiefs. Questions that kept ringing through the mind of people are why on earth the opposition will politicize some sensitive issues that have direct bearing on safety and welfare of the people.

AT the last All Progressives Congress (APC) rally held in Yola, Adamawa State, the popular refrain among most of the contributors was the fact that the party was in place for change. The shout of “Change!” rented the air as each speaker tried to work up the crowd, mostly hired, to respond loudly by chanting “Change!”

That exactly is the situation with a large number of the country’s broadcasting organisations. Technically (and actually) many broadcasting organisations are ineligible to keep doing what they are doing, given their repeated failure to pay for the renewal of their respective licences. Up until 9 January, the scale of default in payment by radio and television organisations, including cable and pay TV services providers, to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), stood at over N3trillion.

IN 2008, following a huge outcry over his constant jetting out for treatment, the government announced that some $20 million would be spent to upgrade Aso Rock Clinic. $20 million! That clinic is for the exclusive use of the President. But there is something called the National Hospital in Abuja which I understand was founded by Maryam Abacha. This is, supposedly, Nigeria’s premier hospital, but still our big people will not patronise the place.

Hicham El Amrani is the Secretary General of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). He says CAF is satisfied with the performances of players at the just concluded African Nations Championship (CHAN), hosted by South Africa.