By Ozodi Thomas Osuji -- There is really, really something about Barack Obama that drives me up the wall.  He is aware that many white Americans secretly believe that he is not an American, that he is not born in this country and is probably a Muslim. Now, one would expect him to ask why despite the fact that he was born in America and is a nominal Christian (I have not seen him go to church lately, as President Clinton used to do every Sunday) Americans still have this sneaking doubt about his Americanness and Christianity. One would expect him, if he is intelligent (and he must be to have attended Harvard University ), to have wanted to know why many Americans see him as a foreigner in their midst and as not a Christian. The last time I checked America is a Christian nation, while allowing guest religionists to practice their religion here. But despite that reality, Obama seems to treat Christians as if they are on equal gro...

By Wole   Soyinka -- Intervention by Wole Soyinka, Member of UNESCO's International High Panel, at the 2012 Conference on the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence, United Nations Hdqrs, New York, Sept. 21 2012 To such a degree has Religion fueled conflict, complicated politics, retarded social development and impaired human relations across the world, that one is often tempted to propose that Religion is innately an enemy of Humanity, if not indeed of itself a crime against Humanity. Certainly it cannot be denied that Religion has proved again and again a spur, a motivator, and a justification for the commission of some of the most horrifying crimes against humanity, despite its fervent affirmations of peace. Let us however steer away from hyperbolic propositions and simply settle for this moderating moral imperative: that it is time that the world adopt a position that refuses to countenance Religion as an acceptable justification ...

By Emmanuel   Ojameruaye -- One of the highlights of the revised Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which President Goodluck Jonathan re-submitted on July 17, 2012 to the National Assembly is the inclusion of the establishment of a Petroleum Host Community Fund (PHCF). According section 116 the revised PIB, “There is established a fund to be known as the Petroleum Host Communities Fund”. Section 117 states that the “fund shall be utilized for the development of the economic and social infrastructure of the communities within the petroleum producing area”. While this attempt to establish a fund for petroleum producing communities is commendable, the design of the PHCF has left much to be desired. The bill should therefore be amended to ensure that the PHCF is effective, efficient and meets the expectations of the intended beneficiaries. In this write-up, I will point out some of the pitfalls of the PHCF and propose some neces...

By AMOS TAUNA -- Barrister Ayuba Abdul had approached the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court September last year, asking the court to stop the Federal Government from demilitarizing the Nigerian Military School, Zaria. He argued that the proposed demilitarization of the school was contrary to the spirit, letter and intent of section 220 of the 1999 Constitution of the country that the training given to boys of the Nigerian Military School, Zaria, does not offend the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, among others. Abdul, who sought the order directing the relevant authorities to forthwith mobilize and post boys who have duly passed out from the school to various units and formations within the Nigerian Army, also asked the court to restrain the defendants, agents, or privies from taking any step towards the demilitrisation or decommissioning the school pending the determination of the suit. Counsel to t...

For Nasarawa state governor Umaru Tanko Almakura, the provision of social amenities especially the construction of roads amongt others has remained a top priority of the administration. Since his emergence as the governor of the state,  this sector has continued to remain a cardinal point in view of its importance to the socio economic well-being in a state that has longed for development. Despite the huge liabilities that tied down him on taking up, Almakura see them as challenges, not  impediments to provide the needed infrastructural development for the state .“We have refused to be tied down by the huge liabilities, but to consider them as challenges in the course of our development drive, he said. Governor Almakura had earlier promised to open up the state to enhance its economic fortunes. One of the surest ways was to open up the vast lands of the state for movement of goods and services as Nasarawa state is predominantly...

By Habibu Umar Aminu Continuity as agitated by many is the surest way of providing the needed impetus for sustained growth and development which was recently examplified in Nasarawa State by the Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura. On assumption of office, Governor Almakura promised to complete all abandoned projects of his predecessor the immediate past governor, Alhaji Aliyu Akwe Doma. As such, this was informed recently when the street lamps along the city’s main roads were pulled down for upgrading and subsequent re-installment. Other new ones of higher technology were erected in areas that hitherto had none. Most people are asking as to the rationale behind the removal. According to the acting General Manager of the state Urban Development Board (NUDB) Egr. Edward Daudu in a chat with newsmen in Lafia, the previous PDP government had spent close to 545 million Naira on the contract that went through series of problems at its ini...

[dropcap]Traditional[/dropcap] rulers are still highly respected in most communities in Nigeria for wielding considerable political and economic influence. Although they have no formal role in the democratic structure and in the constitution, there is now a growing need to assign them some specific roles and that way, harness the strategic position they occupy in the society. The traditional institutions have suffered systematic annihilation since the military incursions into politics began in 1966. The argument has been that there is need to shield and isolate the traditional institutions from politics. One wonders why Nigerian leaders opt for this position while the colonial masters put the traditional rulers and traditional institutions to extensive use, to great results. And the institution cannot be said to be directly or indirectly responsible for the collapse of the first republic, when it formed an arm of the bicameral legis...

By OMOBA KENNETH AIGBEGBELE The cry and uproar about the creation of state police has left many Nigerians wondering what are the true reasons for the call at this time in our national development and demanding the genuiness of the creation of state police if not for political reasons or for the sake of national security or for the Nigerian elites who have the most say on national issues nor the governors who are already polarized on the creation of state police and the maintenance of the already existing structure of the federal police through funding and reforms. The history of the reforms goes thus; in year 2000, a five year development plan was released by the ministry of police affairs that outlined the strategies to reform the police. So also in 2002, there was the presidential committee on national security led by Professor Tekena Tamuno, which also submitted their report. By 2006, another police report on the reform panel wa...