AS this year closes, one cannot but reflect more intensely that if Chief Festus Sam Okotie-Eboh were to still alive, he would have been one hundred years old, having been born in1912 which is one hundred years ago. He was assassinated in 1966 which was 46 years ago when he was only 54 years of age. By that age, the impact he had already made in the building of the nation had been monumental in each of the several sectors of his endeavours.

WHEN Mr. Mike Omeri took over the reins of leadership at the National Orientation Agency (NOA) on January 17, 2012, he made it very clear that one of his primary concerns or vision was “to transform the Agency along with its various units and organs into a proactive, knowledge based and activity driven organisation, able to rise up to evolving challenges in our national space”. Eleven months down the line, Nigerians continue to testify to the fact that the Agency under his watch has kept faith with this thrust.

FEW DAYS ago, the LASTMA patrol team caught me as I did an illegal U-turn in front of Glendora book store at Falomo roundabout; I had not seen the “No U-Turn” sign and for added measure the LASTMA officials had hidden themselves at the back of a concrete pillar and in front of the book store. It was roughly 4pm in the afternoon and I was ordered to pull over into the bus stop slot. I had left the house to get diesel, just 50 litres.

Jacob Balarabe pondered over the matter for a very long time before he decided to discuss it with his friends.

LIVING in a country where any critical observation attracts negative or sometimes shadow chasing responses, a less courageous person may be cowed from expressing his views when it comes to ecclesiastical matters. But, since Nigeria is a fundamental member of our interconnected world, I will like to share some of the contents of a story I read some years ago with my fellow compatriots.