–

THESE are perilous times for the country and there is no respite to the violent actions of the Boko Haram sect which are being thrown to our faces every day. No aspect of our national life is being spared in this season of perfidy – politics, economy. What with the hard times facing the masses because of the dwindling revenue from crude oil sales and uncertainty over elections in 2015. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly difficult to know who to trust or believe in our country. A citizen is supposed to believe what the government of his or her country is saying. A citizen is supposed to be patriotic and support the government and its officials. Over the years, the common bond between the citizen and the government has been broken on the altars of failed promises by the latter and its corrupt officials. Government, on the other hand, is disheartened that the citizen can no longer trust it even when it means well.

In Nigeria, the government has a wanton treacherous relationship with its citizenry who have been disappointed countless times by different regimes or administrations as the case may be. The situation is made worse by the grandstanding of elites who do everything possible to rubbish the image of government just for pecuniary reasons. It must be against this background that when the citizen is supposed to be chagrined over the misdemeanors of some people in our midst albeit foreigners who want to tear us apart and set asunder whatever that is remaining of the bond that held us together, nobody whimpers. Even when the evidence stares us in the face, that there are people who do not want this country to be united because they are profiteering from the crisis, we remain mute, unconcerned at best.

For how long will this go on? How long will the senseless war in the North East go on? Are we going to remain perpetually docile? These questions have been agitating the minds of Realnews editorial board. They came to the fore with the revelation by the Department of State Services when on December 10, it paraded suspects whose confessions implicated some government officials and a member of the United Nations System in the Boko Haram activities. The issue worried our editors so much that we decided not to overlook it but to draw attention to a very serious matter in the hope that those involved will at least explain their involvement in the matter. The details of our cover story for this edition entitled: Confessions of Bogus Boko Haram Negotiators: How they Implicated Shettima, UNICEF is very thought provoking. It was written by Maureen Chigbo, editor. Enjoy it.

————-

The year is gradually coming to an end. At this time of the year some companies also close down to oil the wheels of machines for a better operation in the coming year. Realnews is not different. We would like to use this opportunity to inform our readers that we will be going on break because of Christmas and New Year celebrations. There is usually a lull in activities and we will close operations to take our well-deserved vacation. But we have line up stories for the period to make sure you will not miss much on our website.

May we use this opportunity to thank you all, our beloved readers and visitors to our website, especially our advertisers for all the support you gave us throughout the year 2014. Thanks a millions times. God bless you abundantly.  Do have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Maureen Chigbo

Editor

mechigbo@yahoo.com  |  mechigbo@realnewsmagazine.net

— Dec. 29, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT

|