“There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.” Dr Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784. VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ p 183. Nigerian clubs are modern versions of taverns in Great Britain long before the eighteenth century – places  men, and occasionally some […]

“Allow an untenable situation to persist for a long time; and, suddenly, there are no good options left” – Arthur Burns, Chairman, US Federal Reserve Bank, 1987 Contrary to my expectations of an avalanche of negative reactions to the first part of this article, there were very few; and the majority admitted that most Nigerians, now […]

“Most of the problems a President has to face have their roots in the past” – US President Harry Truman, 1884-1972. President Harry Truman became President when Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1945, died. Truman inherited the Second World War, WWII; and ended it in a manner that still shocks the world today. He ordered two atomic bombs to […]

“If you hope to live a few years, buy shares. If for thirty years; plant a tree. If forever, write a book” – Japanese words of wisdom. To this I would like to add: “or have a book written about you.” One of the tragedies of African history can be traced to the fact that […]

The Man in the Middle “You will go mostly safely in the middle” -Ovid, Roman Poet, 43BC -17AD. Ovid never lived in a country called Nigeria and at a time like this. Otherwise, he would have known that the man in the middle stands a good chance of getting punched from both sides in the […]