The dream for a peaceful community especially in Sub-Saharan Africa is not an elitist desire derivable from unending government white papers. It is a progressive phenomenon that starts from the willingness of leaders and development partners to, one coach after another, set up social building blocks that would guarantee equity and equality, fairness and justice, and the rule of law regardless of individual's or group's social status. Where quality education and training, unemployment, social infrastructures, access to good and quality health care delivery, and a host of other deliverables are ensured, society's journey to a world free of extremism and the like, is sure.

VOTERS IN MONTENEGRO ARE CASTING THEIR BALLOTS IN A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION THAT ANALYSTS SAY FORMER PRIME MINISTER MILO ĐUKANOVIĆ IS EXPECTED TO WIN AFTER HIS PARTY DEFIED RUSSIA AND TOOK THE SMALL BALKAN COUNTRY  INTO NATO  LAST YEAR. THE VOTE IS THE FIRST SINCE  MONTENEGRO  JOINED THE WESTERN MILITARY ALLIANCE IN DECEMBER. IT IS SEEN AS A TEST FOR ĐUKANOVIĆ, WHO FAVOURS EUROPEAN INTEGRATION OVER CLOSER TIES TO ITS TRADITIONAL ALLY MOSCOW. ĐUKANOVIĆ, THE COUNTRY’S DOMINANT POLITICIAN, AND HIS POLITICAL PARTY HAS RULED MONTENEGRO FOR NEARLY THIRTY YEARS. THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT, FILIP VUJANOVIĆ, IS NOT RUNNING, DUE TO TERM LIMITS. ABOUT FIVE HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND VOTERS WILL CHOOSE BETWEEN SEVERAL CANDIDATES. ĐUKANOVIĆ’S MAIN CHALLENGER IS MLADEN BOJANIĆ, WHO IS BACKED BY SEVERAL OPPOSITION GROUPS, INCLUDING PRO-RUSSIAN PARTIES. ACCORDING TO POLLS, THE FIFTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD ĐUKANOVIĆ COULD WIN MORE THAN HALF OF THE VOTES AND AVOID A RUNOFF. ##...

AS THE TWENTY-EIGHTEEN GOLD COAST COMMONWEALTH GAMES COMES TO AN END TODAY AT THE CARRARA STADIUM IN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA HERE’S A RUNDOWN OF SOME OF NIGERIA’S PERFORMANCE AT THE EVENT NIGERIA CONCLUDED EVENTS WITH ONE GOLD, THREE SILVER AND ONE BRONZE THE COUNTRY EFFECTIVELY DROPPED FROM THE EIGHTH POSITION IT HELD ON FRIDAY TO NINTH. IN ALL, TEAM NIGERIA CARTED AWAY NINE GOLD, EIGHT SILVER AND SIX BRONZE MEDALS, MAKING THEM THE SECOND HIGHEST-RANKED AFRICAN TEAM ON THE MEDAL TABLE BEHIND FIFTH-PLACE SOUTH AFRICA, WHO HAVE THIRTEEN GOLD, ELEVEN SILVER AND THIRTEEN BRONZE. THE NEXT AFRICAN COUNTRY ON THE MEDAL TABLE IS KENYA, WHICH OCCUPY THE THIRTEEN POSITION WITH FOUR GOLD, SEVEN SILVER AND SIX HOST AUSTRALIA EMERGED WINNERS WITH SEVENTY-FIVE GOLD, FIFTY-FIVE SILVER AND FIFTY-SEVEN BRONZE WITH ENGLAND 42 GOLD, 40 SILVER AND 41 BRONZE, AND INDIA 25 GOLD, 16 SILVER AND 18 BRONZE, COMING SECOND AND THIRD RESPECTIVELY. TEAM NIGERIA WON THEIR FIRST MEDAL AT THE GAMES ON MON...

THE MINISTER FOR SOLID MINERALS, KAYODE FAYEMI, HAS DECLARED HIS INTENTION TO JOIN THE EKITI STATE GOVERNORSHIP RACE. HE MADE THIS KNOWN IN ADO-EKITI, THE STATE CAPITAL, WHERE HE PROMISED TO RESTORE THE STATE TO ITS FORMER GLORY FAYEMI SAID THAT HE HAS A DUTY TO THE PEOPLE TO CONQUER POVERTY. HE BLAMED THE INCUMBENT GOVERNOR, AYODELE FAYOSE, FOR THE LEVEL OF POVERTY IN THE STATE, ACCUSING HIM OF NOT RUNNING A PEOPLE-FOCUSED GOVERNMENT.

THE CATHOLIC BISHOP OF SOKOTO DIOCESE, BISHOP MATTHEW KUKAH, REGRETTED THAT THE NORTH HAS BEEN MORE IMPOVERISHED UNDER PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI THAN UNDER PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN. SPEAKING WITH A NATIONAL DAILY, BISHOP KUKAH NOTED THAT THE AVERAGE NORTHERNER BELIEVES THE REGION'S ELITES ARE ABOVE THE LAW, ADDING THAT IT  IS AMONG THE REASONS THEY EMBRACED SHARIA LAW. ACCORDING TO KUKAH, THEY HOPED SHARIA LAW WOULD HELP THEM PUNISH THEIR ELITES. THE VOCAL CATHOLIC CLERGY POINTED OUT THAT THE REGION WILL STILL VOTE FOR PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI BECAUSE THEY SEE HIM AS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN HELP BRING THEIR ELITE TO ORDER.

THE TARABA STATE GOVERNMENT HAS EXPRESSED SHOCK OVER THE ALLEGED SUDDEN WITHDRAWAL OF A MILITARY CONTINGENT DEPLOYED TO ENFORCE PEACE AND SECURITY IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE STATE. A STATEMENT BY THE SENIOR SPECIAL ASSISTANT ON MEDIA AND PUBLICITY TO THE GOVERNOR, BALA DAN-ABU, ALLEGES THE UNCEREMONIOUS WITHDRAWAL OF SOLDIERS FROM THE FLASH POINTS IN THE STATE. THE STATEMENT ALSO EXPRESSED SURPRISE THAT NO REASON WAS GIVEN FOR THE WITHDRAWAL, INSISTING THAT THE STATE GOVERNMENT WAS NOT NOTIFIED BEFORE THE EXERCISE. SIMILARLY, THE CHAIRMAN OF DONGA LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL, NASHUKA IPEYEN, SAYS THAT SOLDIERS DEPLOYED TO TROUBLED SPOTS IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT STARTED PULLING OUT AROUND 1:00AM ON SATURDAY. IPEYEN EXPLAINED, "WHEN I RECEIVED THE INFORMATION, I QUICKLY CONTACTED THE COMMANDING OFFICER 93 BATTALION, ADA BARACK TAKUM, LIEUTENANT COLONEL IBRAHIM GAMBARI WHO CONFIRMED THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE SOLDIERS". THE LOCAL COUNCIL CHAIRMAN DECRIED REMARKS BY THE ARM...

THE NIGERIAN ARMY SAYS IT HAS ARRESTED THE MASTERMINDS OF THE KILLINGS IN TARABA STATE. DIRECTOR OF ARMY PUBLIC RELATIONS, BRIGADIER GENERAL TEXAS CHUKWU SAYS TROOPS ON EXERCISE AYEM AKAPTUMA HAD ON APRIL TWELVE TWENTY-EIGHTEEN, ARRESTED DAN-ASEBE GASAMA AND DANJUMA ALIAS AMERICAN IN CONNECTION WITH THE KILLINGS AND UPRISING IN TAKUM AND USSA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF STATE. THE TWO SPOKESMAN SAID THE SUSPECTS WERE ARRESTED FOLLOWING INTELLIGENCE THAT THEY WERE THE COORDINATORS OF SEVERAL ATTACKS ON FULANI AND OTHER LOCALS CHUKWU EXPLAINS THAT PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION IDENTIFIED THE INDIVIDUALS AS KEY PLAYERS IN KILLINGS AND UPRISINGS IN THE AFFECTED PLACES