“We must therefore not shrink from accusing our friends or praising our enemies; nor need we be afraid of praising or blaming the same people at different times; since it is impossible that men who are engaged in public affairs should always be in the right; and unlikely they should always be in the wrong. […]

“Every institution is the lengthened shadow of one man” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882.  The philosopher, known as “the sage of Concord”, made no attempt to distinguish between good and bad institutions – those that serve the nation well and advance social progress; and those which lead to destruction.  Most people alive in any era […]

“True originality consists not in a new manner, but in a new vision.” Edith Wharton. “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” Herman Melville, Biodun Shobanjo has already been described as the Father of Advertising in Africa” by one of those who gathered last week to honour him after turning […]

A legal victory, if secured in his life time, might be outweighed by social repercussions which nullify the results, it might be a pyrrhic victory

Numerous are the streams that lead to social prosperity; but all of them spring from the same source and that is public education.  Gaspar Jovellanos, 1744-1811.   The British established five Government Colleges – Kings College, KC, Lagos, Government College, Ibadan, GCI, Government College, Umuahia, GCU, and  Government College, Ughelli, GCU — to complement the efforts […]

“No man was ever honoured for what he received, but for what he gave”— Calvin Coolidge, 1872-1933, 30th US President. It was twenty years ago, when the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, launched his book titled RESOURCE CONTROL. I was deeply honoured to have been asked to write the Foreword to that […]

“All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies” – Dr Arbuthnot, 1667-1735, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 191.  Note: This article started on the day of the Ondo State election. The result was not surprising. “You can’t beat something with nothing”. PDP is now nothing. Obong Victor Attah, a former governor […]

 Writing about the things that would destroy any nation, Mahatma Gandhi, 1869- 1948, listed them as follows: Politics without principles Pleasure without conscience Wealth without work Knowledge without character Business without morality Science without humanity Worship without sacrifice Bad politics, selfish, un imaginative and unpatriotic politicians will eventually ruin a nation – even if it […]

“Bitterness is like holding a piece of burning coal in your hand and hoping that it hurts someone else” – Nelson Mandela, 1913-2013 SABOTAGE, deliberate and planned, is increasingly becoming the most important factor in the frequent grid collapses Nigerians are experiencing now. Don’t get me wrong, the crimes committed against the people of Nigeria […]

The bail conditions imposed on the victims of this injustice betrayed the hidden agenda to deny them bail and hold them perpetually in detention