NIGERIANS’ wish and prayer is that the successful trend of the 2011 General elections should be sustained in such a way that our electoral headaches would be minimised if not completely eradicated.

WHEN I wrote an open letter to the Coordinating Minister in Charge of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, over appointments to some top positions, it was, to me, simply the continuation of an age-old hobby that I developed since my student days in the university.

DATELINE : MAIDUGURI, MARCH 8, 2013. It was the second day of his two-day visit to Yobe and Borno states, the hotbed of Boko Haram insurgency in the country’s Northeast zone. President Goodluck Jonathan had, at a Town Hall meeting in Maiduguri, countered the elders gathered at the parley who were demanding the withdrawal of the military task force from the zone and amnesty for the Boko Haram insurgents.

ON April 4, Vanguard reported that the IOCs – or International Oil Companies – have responded aggressively to the latest draft of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB. It is no surprise that they’ve been so critical.

RECENT happenings in Delta State suggest that the uneasy relations between Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and Victor Ochei, Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, has taken a turn for the worse. What brought this state of play to the fore is the spate of kidnappings in the state.

A DEAFENING din rent the air on Tuesday March 12, 2013 when President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan granted unconditional pardon to former Bayelsan governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and others.

Among the others are Gen. Oladipo Diya, a former Chief of General Staff, the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, the late Gen Abudukareem Adisa, Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju, Major Fadipe, Major Bello Magaji and Alh Mustapha Bulama, the Former Managing Director of the Bank of the North and Alh Mohammed Lima Biu.

UNDOUBTEDLY, Boko Haram is a terrorist organisation. It is indiscriminately striking at civilian centers, wantonly murdering and maiming the innocent and the defenseless. Its bomb- laden, suicidal operatives have bombed places as innocuous as bus stations and sanctuaries as inviolable as the church. It is a barbaric, savage, bloodthirsty group. However, despite the general abhorrence for these murderous fanatics, the government, unavoidably, must negotiate with them to secure the peace of the country.

NIGERIANS’ wish is that this trend should be sustained in such a way that our electoral headaches would be minimised if not completely eradicated.

THE Internet-based Premium Times was winging on March 6, 2013 about top appointments denied its sponsors of the Northern establishment. It mentioned four portfolios held down by Ndigbo and concluded that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance Minister, was “Biafranising” Federal positions.

ANTONELLA SGAVO, a city official in Civitanova Marche, told reporters that the stories of those three killed are not unique. For that reason, she said it is crucial that the community keep their eyes open to such everyday struggles and reach out to those in need.