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By Abdullahi Mohammed Governor Aliyu Babangida of Niger State has been doing everything within his power to get fellow 18 state governors in the North and other leaders from the area to change the scandalous poverty levels in our part of the country. It is the right thing to do. Otherwise, the Millennium Development Goals will be a mirage, and the seven-point agenda of President Umaru Yar'Adua. True, poverty is pervasive in the entire country. According to international development agencies, 90million out of of Nigeria's 140 million people live in abject poverty. But desperate poverty is far more pronounced in the North. Apparently in response to unflattering statistics, from international agencies and the Central bank of Nigeria, Gov Aliyu took the gauntlet to address the acute poverty in the area. He has, among others, conducted a major conference on this issue and sought far-reaching solutions to it within the shortest possible time. However, not all northern leaders are pre

Woke up early Struggled to the bathroom Got dressed and ready for work... Its 40 miles away. Had cereal and dashed into the car. Haven't prayed for more than a minute (literally) in a while. Today, something made me stay longer... and i loved it. Engine running, mouth moving, heart meditating... Done praying and started on my way. Got on the highway and remembered I had to make a quick call. Headset on, dialled number and started the gist... Slow moving vehicle in front, indicated and moved... well almost. Blaring horns, Car at top speed... Swerved a bit and zoomed past. Me calm, still talking but heart thankful. It almost happened but thank God it didn't.

The day oil was discovered in Nigeria By Andrew Walker BBC News, Oloibiri, Nigeria Chief Sunday Inengite can understand why people have taken up arms Chief Sunday Inengite remembers the day the foreigners who had come to his village in Nigeria's Niger Delta struck oil. "They made us be happy and clap like fools, dance as if we were trained monkeys," he says. Years later, the 74-year-old now looks back on his youthful enthusiasm with sour regret. Nigeria has become Africa's biggest oil producer, but the people of Oloibiri complain they have not seen much of the money made in the 52 years of oil production. "It smacks of wickedness, hard-heartedness," he says. Inquisitive Mr Inengite was 19 years old when the foreign engineers came looking for oil in 1953. An inquisitive young man, he made friends with the British, German and Dutch engineers during the years they were exploring the area around Oloibiri, now in Bayelsa State. "I was trying to know why t