Nothing infuriates more than to trivialize a serious issue and nothing ruins a good argument than exaggeration. In the recent interview with CNN’s Amanpour, the finance minister Dr okonjo-Iwealla declared 2013 as a game changer. The presidency must have been hoping her interview would put a better spin on the Nigerian story and effectively amend for the poor interview of President Jonathan with the same Amanpour. So effectively this is a do over.
Probably thinking that her antecedent would cut her some slack, she seems a bit unprepared as the interviewer did not shy from asking the tough questions. And so she was taken up on the assertion that this year would be a game changer. She was unable to give reasons for the optimism. Hear her response: Read more »

By Dele Ayoko (deleayoko@yahoo.com)

China may well be celebrating her new year this month- year of the snake, ironically, they are not experiencing the venom of some reptile but of environmental degradation and air pollution.

The rise of China in the past few years has been outstanding. However, along with its upswing is the lack of due care for its environment. China is the biggest environmental polluter in the world – releasing green house gases at unprecedented levels. Read more »

In the ensuing clash between the Federal Government and the National Assembly over the budget bench mark price of crude oil, it is possible the import of the budgetary provision for the police and its command could go unnoticed. The 2013 budgetN348.92 billion for Defence and N319.65 for the Police. These amounts are lower than last year’s combined provision of about N921 billion, despite the security challenges that the country is faced with. Provision for the police in the budget should have been higher for three reasons. Read more »

If there was ever a time Nigerians needs to be their brother’s keeper, it is now. For those in the eye of the storm, the anguish can be felt in the voices. Due to flashflood triggered by torrential rains, and the subsequent release of dam waters in Nigeria and Cameroun, the casualty has been unusually high this year, so much that the government had declared many state emergency areas. Read more »

Many families in the bolstering states of Kwara, Kogi and Jigawa have been thrown into mourning – mourning caused by catastrophic loss of lives, livelihood, properties and farmlands.

As at the last official count, eight people had been confirmed dead in Kogi, with more than 40 villages rendered inhabitable in Kwara and Jigawa states. Read more »

Recent reports indicate that the armed robbery incidence has gone up. It appears armed robbers has change their strategy and are becoming daring-even raping women, and housemaids in the process. The Lagos-Ogun axis has now become their domain such that some landlords and others with means are now moving out of their houses to escape the wrath and rampage of these marauders. They seem to have taken their clandestine operations a notch or two higher. Read more »

For over nine years, it seemed to have been swept under the rug, but in the end, justice had been served on one of Nigeria’s biggest scandals- the Nigerian ID card bribery scandal- at least to some extent. A Paris court had last week fined electronics group SAFRAN 500,000 Euros (E630,000) for bribing Nigerian officials to obtain a huge ID card contract in 2002/2003.The case concerned offences committed by former electronics firm SAGEM, which merged with SNECMA in 2005 to form SAFRAN, a major French Electronics, Aerospace and Defense group. The Court had ruled that the bribes had helped SAFRAN win a 170 million euro contract to make more than 70 million identity cards. Read more »

Ayokunle Ayoko

With the deluge of depressing news littering the pages of newspapers in recent times; one may be pardoned for earnestly desiring some heartwarming news.
Recent events however reveal a ray of hope that bode well for the country’s future. An appeal towards donation had gone viral for a lady by the name ‘Debbie’who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and required about N6 million for a corrective operation. The donation appeal messages was disseminated though many social media outlets. A few days later, it had been reported that ‘Omo Baba Olowo’ exponent and fast rising musician, Davido had donated the sum of N1million towards saving the lady. This is part of a recent trend of artistes going philanthropic. Read more »

With the successful landing of an unmanned exploratory rover called Curiosity rover to planet Mars, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has pushed the frontier of science, technology and space programme to a new level. The $2.5 billion rover is on a mission to determine whether Mars ever had an environment capable of supporting life. The project also aims to study the Martian environment to prepare for a possible human mission there in the coming years. After sailing 352 million miles (566 million kilometers) and eight months, Curiosity finally arrived Mars, where it will spend the next two years poking into rocks and soil in search of the essential ingredients of life. It is the most expensive and ambitious mission yet to Mars in the history of interplanetary exploration. Read more »

By now, it is no longer news that the performance of Nigeria in the London Olympic is dismal. Nigeria has not recorded a single medal even as the Olympic comes to an end. Indeed the Nigerian Olympic Committee had boasted Nigerian would get a minimum of five gold medals.
At the start of the games, Nigerians were filled with optimism but as results started pouring in, the air quickly became thick with disbelief and later resignation. Nigeria contingents were being pummel at every Olympic venue-from boxing to basket ball, from taekwondo to table tennis our athletes were falling like a pack of cards .The initial fervor of patriotism has since disappeared. Read more »