I get uncomfortable, peeved even, when I hear the sweeping statement that the Presidency has achieved nothing in what? Six years? It is a statement that is shallow at best and, stretched further, uncharitable. Even Lucky Igbinedion, as incompetent as he was, achieved ‘something’ in Edo State.

I confess to looking away in embarrassment and disgust the first time I saw adult men kiss and fondle on TV. It was in a UK based soap opera. Today, years after my first encounter, I still feel uncomfortable— squeamish even— when I see two grown men tongue kiss. I suppose these things need getting used to because I don’t feel that squeamish about lesbians kissing and fondling on TV since I had seen the female version of same sex relationship at least a decade before the male version.

The remains of Sesan Ogunro, my friend and brother, was laid to rest last Friday. He would have been 62 on May 1. It is ironic that a man who took such a good care of his body— he neither drank nor smoked, took living bitters periodically to detox, exercised almost everyday, and took his medical check ups seriously— never lived to celebrate his 62nd birthday. That is a reflection of the short and brutish life in Nigeria.

The Nation newspaper published some pretty frightening stuff on the state of the nation last week. Quoting BGL, a Lagos based firm of consultants, the paper stated that only about 5% of the country’s population consumes over 40% of the country’s resources while the rest of us – a whopping 95%- contend with merely 60% of the resources. And this is on salaries and emoluments alone.

To all intents and purposes, the festive season is over. Another year with its expected twists and turns, starts in earnest on Monday. It is time maybe to reflect on what the festive season has meant to us over the years.