Allow me to wish you a happy birthday in arrears, Your Excellency. A few days ago, I came across a portrait of you as a young man, and could not help but wonder how time flies. Looking at a younger version of you from many years ago, it is worth thanking God that you turned 66 years old this month. …

Helen Inafa Bob gained quick popularity as a female politician worthy of note in Bayelsa State. Her personal attributes recommended her to power brokers even before she knew it. She simply did her thing, not knowing that she was being watched. Her enthusiasm in whatever she did, to start with, was noticeable. Her friendly disposition could not be missed, and …

Two weeks to his fifth anniversary in office as Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri emerged as Chairman of the South-South Governor’s Forum. The title was the latest addition to a row of accolades pertaining to Diri since he took office on 14 February 2020. For many, he is better known as the Miracle Governor. For others, he is …

Senator Duoye Diri came into office as Governor of Bayelsa State a few weeks after the outbreak of the corona virus pandemic in China. Covid-19 was a virus that was not on the regular catalogue of medical science. When it came like a wave, therefore, doctors were left flustered, and so were nurses. The disease took a quick toll on …

Dear Governor Douye Diri, I could not help but see your passion as an Izon man on show, in a recent television appearance. I could feel the vibrant timbre of your voice belting out the resolutions of your government. I saw an expression of your ethnic mettle as a son of Ijaw land who would brook no nonsense under your …

Dear Governor Douye Diri, allow me to express my condolences over the passing of Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark. I feel so overwhelmed by this eventuality that I need to say something. I’m grateful to find a willing confidante in you. You know the story of E. K. Clark as well as I don’t. All I know is that he was …

Dear Governor Douye Diri, I have been writing letters to you since the last time I met with you in your office on 8 October 2024. But it seems to me that, for some reason, my letters have not been getting to you. I can only hope that this one finds its way to your desk, in spite of the …

Shadrach Ekeremor has a dream for 2025. He wants to be the first Chairman or Director of a government agency that caters to the special needs of disabled members of society. He feels he is well equipped for such an assignment, to redress the neglect and discrimination suffered by people of his kind. Shadrach read Political Science and Administrative Studies …

Brass was one of the places I wanted to visit again after I lost my son. I wanted to go far away and still be close enough to be certain about what had happened, and learn to live with the fact of the matter. I wanted to visit everywhere I had been as a boy, to traverse the years of …

In the morning of Tuesday, 24 May 2011, I went down on my knees in my sleeping gown, brought my open palms together, and prayed that God would make a way for me where there seemed to be no way. Here was I, in my lonesome bedsitter in London, and Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was about to be sworn into …