YAR'ADUA HANDING OVER TO VICE PRESIDENT?

On November 23rd, 2009, Nigeria's President Yar'Adua was rushed to Saudi Arabia for a medical emergency. It was later revealed that he had pericarditis, a hardening of the lining around the heart. His absence from Nigeria and a lack of forthcoming information on his condition or when he would return, created a power vacuum. An interpretation of the Constitution suggested that a formal letter from the President was necessary to temporarily transfer powers to the Vice President. This interpretation left the Vice President seemingly powerless to use executive powers and some citizens in outrage over the ensuing political confusion. However, in the over 75 days since the President went to Saudi Arabia, and after various court cases and judgments, it appears Nigeria's President may be ready to bow to public pressure and send a letter indicating intent to temporarily transfer executive power to his second in command.

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PRESIDENT "ECOMINI" OF GHANA

I cannot believe nobody told me how much fun President Atta Mills of Ghana is! And here I was 'wasting my time' with Nigerian officials and my favorite member of Nigeria's legislative body - Patrick Obahiagbon. While the Honorable Obahiagbon is an indecipherable delight to listen to, Atta Mills has entire tracks that have been made, remixed and transformed into ringtones on his behalf.

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BRITAIN RETURNING LOOTED MILLIONS TO NIGERIA

British officials are working with Nigeria's Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to return £43 million illegally stolen and placed in British banks by certain Nigerian officials. This is not the first time that stolen monies have been returned to Nigeria. In fact, over $500 million was recovered from former dictator Sani Abacha's foreign accounts. Enrico Manfrini, a lawyer hired by the previous administration to track and recover Nigeria's stolen wealth, also achieved the return of $160 million, stolen by Abacha, from Jersey in 2003.[1] And by 2009, "the tally of recovered Abacha loot stood at about $2 billion."[2]

Consequently, when it comes to recovering such stolen monies, £43 million (N11.25 billion) is a mere "drop in the ocean when compared to the vastness of all of the looted wealth."[3] However, this move by Britain must be seen within the context of other intriguing factors as it is more than the simple and honorable return of stolen monies found in British controlled banks.

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JOS - THE POWER OF TEXTS & POVERTY

Cell phones have transformed Nigeria. It was previously too expensive to obtain a landline from the government owned NITEL, which lacked the capacity to service the growing population. Cellphones have thus become a more efficient and affordable means of communication, not to mention the fact that unlike landlines, they are mobile. Additionally, their texting functionality enables even cheaper communication across wide distances, making them a blessing for most. However, this blessing has proven to be a curse for the people of Jos who recently experienced another devastating round of religious violence that left over 300 dead.

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UZOMA OKERE WON N100 MN (VIDEO)

Uzoma Okere is the young Nigerian lady whose assault by military officers became a viral video that raised the ire of many. In November 2008, a military convoy belonging to Rear Adm. Arogundade overreacted when Okere's Mitsubishi Colt did not move out of their way. Arogundade's ratings beat Okere mercilessly beating with gun butts and horsewhips in the street. A brave citizen recorded the incident and put it on the internet, exposing Arogundade, and other officials who take for granted that they need to share the streets with civilians and use violence against innocents.

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ARE NIGERIANS TOO TOUGH ON YAR'ADUA?

During a recent conversation, I was informed by a fellow Nigerian that some of us Nigerians are far too critical of President Yar'Adua. According to my friend, most Nigerians have never given him a chance to do anything right and have little compassion for the difficulties Yar'Adua must face as President of a nation with many problems and many interested in preventing solutions.

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OJO MADUEKWE ON BBC'S HARDTALK (FULL VIDEO)

Ojo Maduekwe is Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs. Like other Nigerian government officials who have the fortune/misfortune of an audience, he can be very interesting to listen to. Maduekwe is notorious for publicly stating that the unfortunate 'child witches of Akwa Ibom' were frauds, paid to put on a show. He once famously and incredulously claimed that there were no homosexuals in Nigeria, an assertion that only one man has ever been able to make in the recent past - Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And, right before the Abdulmutallab suicide bomb attempt that has created a diplomatic problem for Nigeria, Ojo Maduekwe defended the  N2.7 billion he spent solely on travel by claiming Nigeria needed the "visibility" that his many foreign trips afforded the nation.

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IBORI: CASE DISMISSED

James Ibori is a former governor of one of Nigeria's oil rich states, Delta State. In 2007, British authorities froze his British assets in a case that is still ongoing, on suspicion that he "laundered at least 30 million through that country between 2005 and ... 2007."* Ibori also faced a list of 170 charges involving corruption and fraud in Nigeria and reports soon emerged that he bribed former anti-corruption czar, Nuhu Ribadu, to the tune of $15 billion. Despite all this, the Federal High Court in Asaba granted Ibori a wonderful present to end 2009 as the 170 charges against him were dropped.

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HAITI: NIGERIA NEEDS TO RESPOND

By now, most people are aware of the horrible earthquake that happened in Haiti on January 12th. It registered as the strongest earthquake on that island nation in 200 years and the death toll will likely be very high. Many individuals around the world have contributed in one way or another, as have large organizations and countries to the recovery effort, trying to rescue and assist as many as possible. Currently, the African governments of Gabon, Ghana, Benin, Liberia Morocco, Rwanda and South Africa have pledged/donated money ranging from $50,000 to $1 million. Senegal's government has gone a step further of offering free land parcels and/or accommodation to Haitians who opt to repatriate and settle there. As more African countries will undoubtedly join in the global chorus to assist the Haitian people, the Nigerian government must use this opportunity to show kindness to Haiti.

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