No day goes by when I do not feel rudderless and bereft without him. No day goes by when I do not wish that I could be a far better human than I am, in order to live up to the very high moral and intellectual standards he set Wednesday July 3  was my late father’s birthday. If he’d 

survived till now, he would have been 96 years old this week.

Ignatius Suage Kogbara (OON) was an extraordinary Renaissance gentleman – a poet as well as an ethical politician. Brilliant but humble. Serious but amusing. And so very, very, very kind-hearted.

No day goes by when I do not shed a silent tear and remember him with profound love and respect. No day goes by when I don’t recall his terrific sense of humour and smile nostalgically at some joke he cracked. No day goes by when I don’t recall something he taught me.

No day goes by when I do not feel rudderless and bereft without him. No day goes by when I do not wish that I could be a far better human than I am, in order to live up to the very high moral and intellectual standards he set. No day goes by when I don’t pity the less privileged relatives I cannot take care of the way he did.  

Rest in peace, Daddy. Until we meet again.

FOREIGN ELECTIONS

As I write this column on Thursday afternoon, British voters are going to the polls to elect a new government. By the time Vanguard appears on Friday morning, the result will be known.

The ruling Conservative Party, headed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is expected to lose woefully to Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.

I am a Sunak supporter for purely racial reasons (does that make me a racist?!). OK, so he and his wife Akshata seem pleasant enough.

But my main reason for wishing the Sunaks victory is that they are of Indian extraction and immensely rich, which makes them good role models for ethnic minority kids who lack self-confidence and need to know that anything is possible if you work hard.

Win or lose, I salute white Brits for giving a brown man a chance to run the show. And I hope that locusts descend on the houses of those who blame Sunak for everything that has gone wrong in a Conservative Party that was messing up long before he took over!

Another foreign election of interest to Nigerians is the presidential race that is revving up in the United States.

My contempt for Donald Trump, the worst type of Republican, has been well documented. And I am desperate for the ruling Democrats to keep him out of a second stint in the White House.

What I don’t understand is why the Democrats are allowing President Joe Biden to be their flagbearer when he has clearly run out of steam.

It is not Biden’s fault that he is old. Old age will catch all of us in the end, if we don’t die before it sets in. And though I sometimes participate in the mockery, I know that it is cruel and just plain wrong to mock elders who are struggling to function because of senility.

But Biden really needs to quit being so damned selfish and obsessive! By refusing to acknowledge his increasing frailty while stumbling around like a half-blind man who doesn’t know road and needs crutches, he is exposing his party to a massive electoral humiliation.

The debate that was televised a few days ago was an absolute disgrace. Biden floundered and faffed so badly that he made Trump look like a professorial statesman by comparison.

And I’m very upset with his wife, Dr Jill Biden, for allowing him to spectacularly embarrass himself and everyone in his camp at such a critical juncture! I used to admire Dr Jill, but no more!!!

I had an argument with some girlfriends the other day. They were saying that it is not Madame Biden’s responsibility to drag her husband off the stage…and that it is the politicians around him who should pull the plug on him and sack him if he refuses to quit.

I say that it IS Dr B’s responsibility because Mr B is not just shaming himself and his party. He is also shaming his family; and Jill is influential enough to insist that he protects his legacy by stopping this dogged shameless nonsense, handing over to someone more robust and retiring to chill out with his grandchildren and enjoy what is left of his existence.

America is not Africa where leaders can get away with doing as they please and wickedly hang onto power in their dotages.

America is a sophisticated democracy and the capital of the “Free World”; and the mandarins in the Democratic Party should please get some dignity and balls and do the needful as soon as possible and get rid of this albatross that is dragging them down.

Left to me, Biden should hand over to Kamala Harris, whom I love.

But America may not yet be ready for an African-Asian female head of state. And pragmatism is crucial at times like this; and as far as I am concerned, any Democratic candidate who is halfway decent and not going through cognitive decline and physical collapse will do!

DONU’S WORLD

I have a new YouTube channel. It’s called DONU’S WORLD.

https://youtube.com/@donukogbara?si=bBm_IPdFZ_wUyKYq

Check it out every Friday to watch me talking about my life and issues that interest me. And please “like”, subscribe and share!

Today, I highlight some key contents of an outstanding book everyone should buy. It is titled AN AFRICAN HISTORY OF AFRICA – FROM THE DAWN OF HUMANITY TO INDEPENDENCE.

The author is Zeinab Badawi, an award-winning Sudanese-British broadcaster, journalist and film-maker who also happens to be the President of London University’s School of African and Oriental Studies. Pick up a copy if you can and learn as well as enjoy!

RESPONSES TO  donzol2002@yahoo.co.uk  or to 0805 404 6887. (TEXT ONLY). PLEASE NOTE THAT UNLESS YOU REQUEST ANONYMITY, YOUR EMAIL OR TEXT MAY BE PUBLISHED WITH YOUR NAME AND CONTACT DETAILS ATTACHED.

Please listen to my podcast AfricaHere&NOW.

YouTube.com/@AfricaHereAndNOWPodcast

http://Www.africahereandnow.com

It can also be accessed via Spotify and Apple podcasts