ALL these are calculated steps towards making FMC Umuahia a centre of excellence in cardiothoracic surgery capable of undertaking open heart surgeries.

THE current state of the country’s healthcare system can be said to be quite worrisome, judging by the health indicators and statistics that are abysmal. In fact, Nigeria’s health indicators have stagnated or even deteriorated during the past decade.

IRETO Road is a street in Sapele, famed timber capital of Nigeria. It is probably the safest neighborhood in the town and got its name from one Ireto, now late, the founder of Ireto Hotel now called Richards Continental Hotel, still one of the best hotels in Sapele. Ireto Road is a monument to underdevelopment, is flooded in the rainy season, a dust strip in the Harmattan, and perennially a road to hell for pedestrians and drivers alike.

THE abhorrent and bloodcurdling assailment on the highly respected Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Alhaji Ado Bayero – 13th Fulani emir since the Fulani War of Usman dan Fodio, and the longest-serving emir in the emirate’s history – perhaps signal of an emerging blitz on the emirates, partly because of their disinclination to the heightened threat of Boko Haram.

IT never ceases to amaze me to what length Nigerians would go in their unbridled quest for relevance.