It was David Gemmell in his book, Shield Of Thunder who said: “I may be stupid, as you say, to believe in honour and friendship and loyalty without price. But these are virtues to be cherished, for without them we are no more than beasts roaming the land.”

THEY would have effectively lost all ground they may have gained under the cover of protecting Northern interests or the achievement of improvements in intra-PDP democracy. What would they gain by conceding to a Jonathan candidature in 2015? Clemency from EFCC? Guaranteed Senate seats?

LET me confess that my choice of title for this piece, which in any case is my first in a long while, sounds weird. Having opted for a political and activity hibernation of sort, in the past few years, not a few would have expected me to debut from my self-imposed holiday, smoking with rage, and breathing furiously, vintage OTJ.

As we mark this year’s edition of World Standards Day, let us take some time to reflect on where we were before now in terms of our level of awareness with regards to product quality in the country, and where we are at this present time.

In the order of importance, housing comes third after food and air. Most governments in the modern times have been evaluated by their scorecards in these sectors.