The latest banking sector development report as contained in the 2011 annual report of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation(NDIC), may have stated the obvious while analyzing the fraud record in the banking industry in 2011. For those Nigerians who have been close to the trends in electronic banking and the spate of job cuts in the sector, the 54 per cent rise since last two years may really appear largely under-estimated.  In the real sense of it, fraud-free banking or a sharp reduction of it, is not any of the promises of electronic banking. In fact , the escalation of fraud and the expansion in its reach are some of the greatest fears of the innovation. Two years after the cashless project has potentially taken off in most cities and has become accepted by various private institutions and government commercial units, the exposure of a horrendous fraud report has taken some unsuspecting enthusiasts of the policy aback.

The emerging revelation on the employment racket in the Federal Civil service is just one of the overflowing indications to the increasing level of corruption in the country. Money-for-job is a trend that seems to be the icing on the debilitating moral morass which has been threatening to increase the tempo at which the Nigerian nation is negatively growing. Before this new revelation, jobs may not have been easily accessible by all, but its availability has never been based on how much money people paid. Global development criteria indicate that the stage where the unemployed could be asked to pay some money before he will be given a job points to an indication of monumental decay in the character and creed of the entire people. The consequence of this stage is nothing but total anarchy, which can manifest in many ways, some of which are already assuming higher growth perspectives and proportions in today's Nigeria.

Few weeks ago, I asked my ICT reporter to breakdown the word Portability, to our readers so as to drive home its full content. I gave this instruction based on the life-style of Nigerians in relationship with new developments, bearing in mind the fact that Nigerians are not ready to go the extra mile to search for the real meaning of  the word, Portability. In the real sense of it, most of them did not realise that the idea of portability has a universal appeal based on the growing demand for clarity in network service and the tendency to eliminate unnecessary cost structures in service consumption. This trend which offers a phone user the luxury of crossing-over to another network with his existing number without buying a new sim card is another way of explaining the nature and kind of progress so far made in the telecoms industry over the years.

This copy was written by this columnist and published at the heat of the debate on whether to dialogue with the Boko Haram Sect or not. Today, this article still has a lot to tell Nigerians. It is not advocating amnesty as an option, because by the time it was published amnesty was not one of the trump card of the Boko Haram protagonists.

You really do not need a woman as pretty as Funmi Olayinka as a PR head, but if that kind of beauty comes through any company's chances, that becomes a plus. Even with this great advantage, Funmi's beauty was never any of the trips she encountered while doing her job. Running through the corporate affairs desks of two major banks, she carried along the big and small players in her constituency and that was why her nomination as Deputy Governor was a plus for Fayemi's candidature. Her sudden demise came with all the trappings of a shock ,going by her age and enthusiasm.

Mike

An adventure into a collection of world's most dangerous roads reminds me of the dearh-stretch from Lagos-Benin-Onitsha in the Southern Nigeria, with its greatest hotspots between Ore and Benin. In the actual facts of history, the world has been able to record only 10 very dangerous roads where the least dangerous among them records some 200 fatalities each year. Going beyond the list, there was no mention of Lagos-Benin road where over 300 fatalities have been recorded each year by unofficial sources. The Road of Death in Bolivia records some 300 fatalities, The Highway of Death in Iraq has 10,000 fatalities on record while The Widow-maker in England has the least. All the 10 most dangerous roads are obviously trailing our record here, especially on Lagos-Benin Road. It was so bad that a minister had to cry openly, but that has not solved the problem.

In each of the democracies that we have seen as a people since 1979, there is always a governor ordained by nature to be seen by many as humane and charitable. In the second republic spanning the Shehu Shagari years, Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo was known as a giver of immense capacity. Nwobodo popularised the word 'donation', so much so that his political allies and foes alike nicknamed him 'Donatus'. He was more regularly referred to as 'Donatus Nwobodo' based on his passion in announcing huge free gifts to people and organisations and communities. To him, the state would better have operated its budget using donations and gifts to people as the best way of reaching the masses or extending the national cake to everyone.

Nigerians seem to have been worried with the way the federal government conducts the business of governance, so much so that they are not bothered to know what most state governors are doing.