Wages of irresponsibility, by Muyiwa Adetiba
Traffic jams along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway are not new. They are in fact, almost ritualistic. It is as if some gods want to exert some toll on commuters from time to time and we are yet to come to terms with ways of appeasing them without donating blood. The traffic gridlock around the notorious Kara […]
The taste of ashes
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.
Religious tourism
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.
An evening in Toronto
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.
In the interest of righteousness
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.
Our corrupt cops
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.
