Some 30 years ago, a military president told the country that it needed to make investments and sacrifices that would benefit the coming generation. And he said it in such a quaint, catchy and colourful phrase that it resonated with the rank and file in the country. ‘For their tomorrow, we gave our today’ were more or less, the unforgettable words he used. Unfortunately, they are now words that will haunt him—because he is still alive, his generation and indeed, the rest of the country.

If President Buhari loves Nigeria as much as he says, then he must release her. Too many barriers, too many regulations are holding Nigeria and her development prostrate. Restructure the states and make them viable. Let the Niger-Delta region do that it wants with its oil; let the regions that have gold, tin, nickel, coal, bauxite etc have control over what is on their soil and in their soil as long as they all pay the necessary taxes. Let the local economy along with education, infrastructure and security be the preserve of the respective regions. Just as it is done in the US.

I missed the opening of the Rio Olympics. I was told by those who watched it that it was a spectacular, not-to-be-missed event. But I was, unfortunately, shuttling planes and airports and was more concerned at that time with getting self and baggage to the next destination safely. In the process, I also missed the first game of the dream team which it won handily despite the match being played within hours of the team’s arrival in Rio. That feat demonstrated the power of the spirit over physical limitations. The consequence of these was that I was determined to watch the closing ceremony and as many of the dream team’s matches as I possibly could.

There are many reasons people go for pilgrimages. Some go because it is on their ‘wish to do list’—like education, marriage and children. Some go because it seems worldly and elitist as well as an escape from the doldrums and monotonies of the village life. Some go because they think it will enhance their self-esteem and earn them respect among their peers.

One of the things that made this evening interesting is that it was totally unexpected. I did not know when I woke up that morning that I was going to have dinner outside my hotel. My guide, driver and custodian for the day simply let it out that we were going somewhere to have dinner just as we were rounding off the day’s event. He saw the look of surprise on my face and he jocularly but aptly said that I had entered a ‘One chance’ vehicle.

I know Dr Junaid Mohammed; maybe not very well, but enough. Apart from what I had read about him over the years, our paths crossed a couple of times in the heady days of the Second Republic. Late Senator Mahmud Waziri’s Louis Solomon Street apartment in Victoria Island was one of the places top military and government officials often met after the then NTA network news to discuss national issues.

Not many of us were genuinely shocked at the ‘shocking accusation’ by the Acting Inspector General of Police that his predecessor in office carted 24 cars away as part of the retirement benefits he allowed himself. Not many of us found the allegation incredible.

The news that closed last week from our hallowed chambers was not very cheering. It had nothing to do with any of the things we pay them such exorbitant sums to debate. It was not about the economy that needs all hands on deck. It was not about youth restiveness and rising crime.

I have to be careful how I tell the following stories; not because they are not true, but because I do not want the personalities involved to identify themselves or be identified by those who are familiar with any of the stories. At the same time, I do not want to distort the stories to such an extent that their veracity, which is the core of my message, is lost. One of the stories involves two friends who pulled out of an agency to set up their own enterprise. The two had different personalities which led them to have different social lives but seemed to complement each other in business. They both brought different sets of skills to the enterprise in any case.

I had brunch with a small but select group some two weeks ago after the Sunday service. Good conversation flowed with the food and wine as the day’s dailies passed from hand to hand. It was inevitable that the issue of the Niger-Delta activists would come up especially since the papers had carried their latest acts of pipeline vandalisation. Two of the guests included a retired NNPC Chief Executive and his lovely wife who made it very clear that her view on the activities of the Avengers was different from the general view at the table. Many of those at the brunch table had posited that the group was cutting its nose to spite its face.

I understand Mr Rauf Aregbesola, the Osun State Governor is Ijesha. I don’t know if he spent his early years in Ilesha like I did. I also don’t know if he attended any primary school in Ilesha like I did. If he did neither, then I can proudly tell him that mine was a beautiful experience. My school was what we called an ‘Awolowo School’ in those days which meant education was largely free. It was the main school in its catchment area which also meant that all eligible children irrespective of parentage—rich or poor, educated or illiterate, Christian, Muslim or Pagan—made a bee-hive for the school at enrolment time.

My column last week was on Mexico, a country I visited last month. I tried in the article, to point out how Mexico which might become a major economic power in less than a decade, had benefited from its close proximity to the US through tourism. In fact, Mexico receives one of the world’s largest numbers of tourists in a year according to statistics. Yet, its tourism strengths —weather, historic sights and the seas —are not greater than ours. If anything, Nigeria has a more diverse weather.

If Mr Donald Trump has his way and becomes the next American President come November, ‘a big, big wall’ will spring up to divide Mexico and the United States of America. Mexico’s economy is on the rise and is billed to get to the top 10 among the world’s largest economies in about five years. The US economy on the other hand, is on the wane and might even stop being the world’s largest economy by the end of next year.

The words above are not mine. They belong to Jorge Bergoglio, known world-wide as Pope Francis; also referred to within the Vatican as the ‘Pope for the poor’ or derisively by some powerful personalities in the curia as ‘the poor Pope’. This impassioned plea was made at a speech he gave on July 7, 2013 to about six thousand seminarians from 66 countries. In calling for the future religious to live lives that are consistent with their teaching and preaching, he said: ‘It grieves me to see priests and nuns with the latest model of cars… .You must not do this! It is better to cycle, or use a smaller car.’ That was when he used these words that have resonated with me: ‘Think about the children who are dying of hunger’.

This year’s May 29, was no different. You could tell which side of the political divide a writer came from just by reading his assessment of the past year. In addition to this, and it is unsettling, is the new dimension of regional bias. These days, you could tell, by looking at the by-line, what the tone of the article would be. It seems a section of the country has decided to shoot the President down irrespective of where he is perched. Unfortunately, there are many reasons to shoot him down if you are so inclined. Or if you are unwilling to understand the peculiar circumstances of this presidency.