Lunch at Ikoyi Club. I had just finished attending the 70th birthday colloquium of Ray Ekpu, an accomplished and consummate journalist and was in an upbeat mood. Ray was Editor of a Sunday paper about the time I was Editor of a Sunday paper.

The last two weeks have been quite busy in the country. We have witnessed political defections; real and simulated. We have witnessed political mergers; real and simulated. We have witnessed court summons; real and simulated.

Whoever celebrates a private birthday at Harbour Point? This was the question that first came through my mind immediately I got the invitation card for Dr Kofo Odusote’s 70th birthday party. Especially when the invitation card made it clear it was not an ‘Owambe’ party.

If you asked many people to mention the person Fayemi contested against in last Saturday’s election, the name that would most likely come up would be Fayose. Many of us would be hard put to remember that the contest was really between Dr Kayode Fayemi and one Professor Olusola Eleka, Fayose’s Deputy Governor. So dominant was Fayose that the real contestant became a mere footage, an addendum. It is one thing to nominate a successor.

A new political force made up of a coalition of 38 ‘political parties’ came into being during the week. It was a coalition that was expected given the absence of a viable political opposition to the ruling party and given the nature of our parties towards political power. It was such a necessary, pragmatic, and utterly predictable move that the question was not if sectional, fragmented political parties will come together for 2019 but when.