Every position depends largely on the personality of the person occupying the position and the personality of the person who puts them there. There are those whose personalities overshadow those of their colleagues and even their bosses. There are those who ‘take over’ because they are forceful and hardworking while their bosses are hesitant and slothful.

An Afenifere chieftain gave an interview to a mainstream newspaper a couple of weeks ago in which he heaped all the so called suffering the Yoruba race was facing in Buhari’s government on one man. According to this chieftain, he had warned Asiwaju Bola Tinubu not to align with Buhari and lead Yoruba into what he inferred to be another northern domination.

A Professor wanted to teach his students what he called an important lesson of life. After the day’s lecture, he seated them and gave each student a sheet of paper. He asked them to crumble their sheets into hard balls. He then placed a basket near his table at the front of the room and asked them to throw the balls of paper into the basket. As to be expected, the rate of success depended mostly on the proximity to the basket.

Things you learn early in life hardly leave you. In fact, they influence the course of your life either for good or ill. I had an Editor during my early years in journalism who drummed certain ‘truths’ into my head which have influenced my practice of the profession. Two of them will suffice for the purposes of this discourse. First is that there is no story that cannot be cut; the skill is in the manner of cutting.

The media goes through the same process every Independence Day. It calls on ‘prominent’ Nigerians to talk about whatever age the country is celebrating. The comments you get invariably depend on the status of the respondents. The current ‘leaders’ will talk patronisingly and benignly about the giant strides the country has made.