One lesson I have never forgotten about the human mind and how it operates was taught me way back in the 70s in the unlikeliest of circumstances. The 70s were the years of the strong anti-apartheid movement all over the world. And Nigeria, led by the extremely likeable Joe Garba as External Affairs Minister, had a strong anti-apartheid foreign policy. In fact, Nigeria was listed among the front line states although it is geographically miles away from Southern Africa where apartheid was in full force.

Last Friday morning found my senior brother and I on the way to Ilesha in Osun state. It was a trip we should have made months ago.

They came out in good numbers to pay a befitting tribute to a man who had devoted more than half of his working life which spanned four and a half decades to active journalism.

Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, the Action Governor of Lagos State, the ‘Baba Kere’ of yore, became officially certified as ‘Baba Agba’ last Tuesday when he joined the revered and extremely rare club of Octogenarians. I missed the event that marked the occasion.

I have Aremo Olusegun Osoba’s yet to be autographed and yet to be opened biography in my hands—I hope to rectify the first soon by requesting him to do me the honour of an autograph and the second next week now that Wimbledon, (British Open) which ended last weekend, and Africa Cup of Nations, which ended this weekend, have been cleared off my sporting table.

I have Aremo Olusegun Osoba’s yet to be autographed and yet to be opened biography in my hands—I hope to rectify the first soon by requesting him to do me the honour of an autograph and the second next week now that Wimbledon, (British Open) which ended last weekend, and Africa Cup of Nations, which ended this weekend, have been cleared off my sporting table.

Since the Federal Government, or an arm of it, announced the policy of RUGA settlements to contain  the itinerant nature of our cattle business, neither the government nor the governed has had peace.

A prominent Minister in the last government once told me a story of how as a young boy, he was hurrying out on an errand along the dusty streets of his village in Otukpa, Benue State when he went past a heavily pregnant woman labouring to pound yam.

Anybody who is familiar with interstate travels in Europe will attest to the belief that it is usually a pleasant experience as long as you keep to basic traffic rules. The highways are lined with conveniences should you decide to take a break either to refuel yourself or your car. The police vehicles you see in strategic places are there to make you feel safe as well as to keep you on the straight and narrow.The only fear you can have is a car breakdown, and it is not that much of a fear because help is usually available at the touch of a button. Not so in Nigeria where the absence of basic conveniences on the highway makes you feel vulnerable in case nature calls in any shape or form—or your car decides to rebel or malfunction—while the presence of police vehicles fills you more with trepidation than relief.Certain highways are in fact, dotted with more than police. They have other government operatives like Customs, Immigration and even Civil Defence which line up to exact their toll and regular interstate travellers have to learn to deal with them. Recently, bandits masquerading as herdsmen have joined them to make roads unbearable for travellers.And a car breakdown in this situation makes you susceptible to many dire challenges. That there is still space for these marauders to rob and kidnap in the ‘tightly marked’ interstate roads says a lot about the quality of the people supposedly put on the roads to protect us.

By Muyiwa Adetiba Chief Moshood Abiola has become the hero of our democracy. And so shall it be for as long as June 12 is seen as our Democracy Day. In fact, the day might as well be called M.K.O. Abiola Day. But it is by no means a unanimous choice. There are people, a […]