In the report, Nigerians learnt that about N900bn will be reduced from the capital budget for 2016. There was no mention of how much reduction will be made in the recurrent expenditure. A few days earlier, the Vice-President, flanked by Governors Ajimobi of Oyo, Aregbesola of Osun, and El-Rufai of Kaduna States had launched the School Meal Project from which 5.5 million primary school kids are to benefit in the first phase. It was among a lot of ill-conceived and badly conceptualized promises made by the President as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the last election. It was not the only one.

For me and several other people to whom I have spoken, the events leading to the release of the amounts recovered by The Federal Government by the Minister of Information on Saturday, June 4, 2016, without the list of names promised by President Buhari was an embarrassment in many ways. Only God knows how many friends and associates I have lost since 2011 on account of my total support for Buhari, who was the closest person to meet my idea of the sort of leader needed in Nigeria at this particular time when corruption killing us. I always felt that he was a leader who would keep his promises once made. You might not agree with the promise, but, you knew where you stood with him. The other person was late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

This is second longest series since this column first appeared in 1994. The record holder is till the series on Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, detailing how Obasanjo allegedly mis-appropriated over N100 billion in PTDF money during his eight years in office. (See Chapter 6 of my book, PDP: CORRUPTION INCORPORATED.) Fair-minded observers would understand how Obasanjo established the template for corruption and why any selective probe of the Jonathan administration, without touching OBJ is itself promotion of corruption. An estimated N8 trillion was missing by 2007 – when Obasanjo left office.

Last week a promise was made to present some pictures from Agatu. Unfortunately, the article was too long to allow for the pictures. So permit me to start this week’s column by presenting some of the pictures. Over fifty of them were taken by the freelance photographer engaged who has not been paid.

The main reason why no African nation had launched a spacecraft on its own and might never launch one is our inability to reason logically and allow facts, as they emerge to guide us. All the sciences are basically logical and logic is an integral part of Philosophy which Nigerian universities don’t teach as an elective course. And they should. Most American universities make Philosophy a compulsory course for all students. The results are there for all to see. Americans are not more intelligent than other people, they just reason better.