“Failure is not fatal; but, failure to change might be” – John Wooden. Nothing substantiates the Pareto Principle better than the structure of the Nigerian economy which is composed of the vital few organisations and the trivial many. According to Pareto principle, twenty percent of our activities account for eighty per cent of our results. Four […]

“In every community, there is a class of people profoundly dangerous to the rest. I don’t mean the criminals. For them we have punitive sanctions. I mean the leaders. Invariably, the most dangerous people seek power” – Saul Bellow, 1915-2005. The chaos experienced in Lagos State government goes beyond the ordinary political disturbance nations occasionally experience. […]

“Old age is now a moving concept” – American Sociology Professor, 1967. It was in my third year as an undergraduate, when taking a course on demographics, that Professor Epstein made the remark to introduce us to demographics – defined as “the study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which […]

“A group without a leader is a mob” – Anonymous, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 82. “All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies” – Dr John Arbuthnot, 1667-1735, VBQ p 191.  Ask anybody who is the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or the Labour Party; and you would receive […]

“OPEC oil output declined in January …” – News Report, February 6, 2025.  Later in the release, tucked in the middle was this statement which should be of interest to all Nigerians. “Specifically, the report [by Reuters] said Nigerian production slipped by 60,000 bpd, the survey found, reflecting lower exports, although domestic usage is increasing […]

“Revolutions end up in the hands of mad men. Besides, if the power is great enough, it will make its own mad men by its own pressure” – Saul Bellow, 1915-2005, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 217 When a national newspaper thundered on its front page that EFCC BATTLES INTERNAL SCANDALS AS OPERATIVES LOOT RECOVERED […]

“Choose the best; shun mediocrity. Mediocrity has a way of shriveling enthusiasm. But commitment to excellence taps an incredible source of energy” – Robert Schuller, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 52. Your Excellency, I had the honour and privilege to deliver the Keynote Address at the 80th anniversary of Government College, Ughelli, GCU, on Friday, […]

“Every time you negotiate with terrorists, you become their accomplice” – VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 244 The story in the Weekend Trust of January 4-5, 2025, titled, ‘Inside Kaduna’s peace deal with bandits’, was the sort of thing to make one tremble for this country. The Governor of Kaduna State was reported to be […]

First of all, my sincere appreciation goes to Femi Falana, SAN, whose rejoinder to OBJ in the VANGUARD, cited above, has partly exonerated the NNPCL

“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. […]