DEVELOPED societies do not happen by accident. They are products of conscious, deliberate and focused planning. Included in this planning are programmes for youths. When we say the youths are the leaders of tomorrow, it has great implications. When you lay good foundation for the youths, the future is assured but when they are neglected, society pays for it. Part of the reasons Nigeria is in the current mess is the neglect of our youths.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, recently wrote a letter to Mr Michel Forst, the UN Rapporteur on situation of human rights defenders on Senate’s refusal to confirm Mr Ibrahim Magu as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, claiming political and other concocted reasons for the said refusal.

TAKE this to the bank: in the run-up to next year’s gubernatorial election in Anambra State, Governor Willie Obiano is countless strides ahead of the most determined of his opponents.

SINCE the news broke that Chief James Onanefe Ibori, former Governor of Delta State, is due to be released after serving time in the UK on charges of money laundering, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , EFCC, and other security agencies seem to have gone into overdrive. Their excitement is that they will have another chance to prove how ‘effective’ they are in fighting corruption by immediately pouncing on Ibori, generate headlines and railroad him to prison here in Nigeria for the same offences for which he was jailed in the UK.

I just watched a horrific video of hundreds of young men in the traditional orange prison garb.