NIGERIA’s path to democracy is chequered. Once we lost it to the 1966 coupists, several military leaders thereafter, made unsuccessful attempts to return the country to democracy.

SINCE May 29, 1999 when Nigeria’s ongoing nascent democracy commenced, the giant of Africa has set this date for an annual ritual of celebrating a continuous and unabated democratic rule aimed at consolidating this global political value as well as creating awareness on the need for our democratic operators to improve on its dividends.

TRIBUTE
OUR hearts are broken by the passing of Dee (Uncle) Pini Jason, a legendary Nigerian journalist. We have lost a tireless advocate of social justice, whose role on the public stage will always be missed. I heard about the sad event on Saturday morning, May 4, 2013 from my elder brother, Emmanuel, who called from his Abuja base. Like most people, I was sent into a state of rude shock with many questions bothering my mind relative to the actual cause of his death.

Aware that they have failed to get a fully-fledged peacekeeping force up and running, African leaders now plan a rapid-deployment emergency force, but analysts question whether it can deliver.

IT is curious how a single word evokes diametrically opposite reactions from people. And yet this contrasting opposition, in more ways than one, spices piquantly people’s use of languages generally and the English language particularly.