WISDOM MARBLE

Do more than belong: participate.
Do more than care: help.
Do more than believe: practice.
Do more than be fair: be kind.
Do more than forgive: forget.
Do more than dream: work.
Before you speak, listen.
Before you write, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you invest, investigate.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.
Before you retire, save.
Before you die, give.

So Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua has ended weeks of silence with comments on the BBC that he is getting better and hopes to be back home soon.

That at least appears to have answered speculation in local media that he could be brain damaged, in a coma or even dead.

But it hasn’t satisfied critics who say that to fulfil his constitutional duties he should be handing over powers to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, at least temporarily.

“Whether he is alive or brain damaged or spoke to the BBC is not our bone of contention. He left a vacuum which we want filled,” as one put it.

It has been a particularly difficult time with Yar’Adua away and doubts over his future.

Not only has the speculation slowed government in Nigeria and fuelled the maneuvering by politicians only too eager at the unexpected chance for an opening to power, but Nigeria has come under new pressure internationally following the failed plane bombing by a Nigerian passport holder.

Lead Image The ruling by the Federal High Court appears to have dashed the hope of upholding the constitution over Yar’Adua’s absence Court says Jona

The political crisis that the absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua has thrown Nigeria into got messier yesterday when a Federal High Court in Abuja held that the Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan, has been performing the functions of the president as assigned or delegated to him by the president before he left the country.

In a somewhat supersonic judgment that defies all known permutations in the Nigerian court system since the case was filed on Monday, Justice Dan Abutu, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, ruled that the vice president has the right to perform all duties on behalf of the president without any formal transfer of power.

A certain Christopher Onwuekwe filed the suit against the Attorney General of the Federation...

Buhari, Atiku propose 15-man team to visit Yar’Adua in Saudi Arabia

Former Head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other members of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) have asked the National Assembly, in conjunction with the Federal Government, to set up a 15-member panel of eminent Nigerians to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to ascertain the true state of health of President Umaru Yar’Adua.

Buhari and Atiku, joined by other members of the NDM, including ...

WORD ON THE MARBLE

The art of leading comes down to one thing:facing reality, and then acting decisively and quickly on that reality. If Nigeria leaders will imbibe these leadership principles in the fear of God then our country will be the better for it. We have the natural and human resources for all Nigerians to live in abundance and be fulfilled.

PERSONAL SUCCESS QUOTES

"The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes" - Benjamin Disareli

"The only difference between a success and a failure is that the successful person is willing to do what the failure is not willing to do." - J. R. Ridinger

"There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions the way they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them." - Denis Waitley

"People who are afraid to fail can never experience the joys of success." - Pete Zafra

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hardwork, and learning from failure." - Colin Powell

"Success is never ending, failure is never final." - Dr. Robert Schuller

"Effective people are not problem-minded; they're opportunity-minded. They feed opportunities and starve problems." Stephen Covey

Christian Virtues

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:12-14 (New International Version)