Obviously, in spite of the social system in a given country, particularly in advanced societies with welfare programmes for taking care of infants, parents are duty-bound to provide for their children until the latter can live on their own; likewise children are expected to help their parents and look after them in old age.

The concept expressed by the word ‘family’ and its diverse manifestations in various societies throughout history have been discussed for a long time from different perspectives by anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, historians, philosophers and educators. Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary provides the lexical meaning of ‘family’ which we shall adopt as a working definition.

Logically speaking, it is quite possible that the events around which the gospels’ narratives were woven actually did not take place or that the stories are so garbled it is impossible to separate fiction from fact.

For a nonreligious columnist like me, faith-based celebrations like Easter, id el malud, Christmas and so on provide a good opportunity for interrogating the fundamentals of religious worship.

It must be remembered that official corruption has been a leitmotif in governance at all levels since independence in 1960. Major Chukwuemeka Nzeogwu, leader of the first military coup in Nigeria, cited corruption as one of the main reasons why the army decided to wrest power from the government of Alhaji Tafawa Balewa. Since then, coup plotters had been using it as their number one excuse for taking power by force.

Human life is so full of uncertainties that one cannot say for sure what tomorrow might bring, despite the pretensions of prophets, fortune tellers and astrologers. Ancient Igbo sages knew quite well the facticity and essential indeterminacy of human existence and encoded this knowledge in names and aphorisms such as Onyemaechi, echi-di-ime and uwanaatughariatughari.

He deplores pseu do-science and anti-science both of which he attributes to the difficulty “in accepting the idea of a random universe and a universe without purpose” (p. 49). In spite of the apparent universe-without-purpose revealed by science, however, Herrick concludes the chapter with the following proposition: “… anyone able to surf through complex mathematics, study the natural world, or contemplate the stars above will surely possess a stimulating sense of wonder in the face of the universe” (p. 49).

Unlike ideologues, humanists are wary of all-embracing solutions or teachings, preferring to anchor each question and idea on the practical, the particular, and the personal.Pragmatism and logical positivism, two prominent schools of thought in philosophy, are important for humanism.

On many occasions, as a columnist and concerned Nigerian, I feel depressedwhile discussing the hydra-headed, mostly man-made, problems of contemporary Nigeria. In fact, the more I think about the country and its unending recycling of failed members of the ruling elite into positions of power, authority and influence, the more I am convinced that Nigerian leaders do not believe in the Nigerian project.