The way we are preparing to celebrate 50 years of our independence, I want to be proved wrong that we are not seriously hoping that October 1, 2010 would be a destination, not a bus stop. A destination is the end of a journey.

For the sake of those who might not be familiar with the way trouble started let me quickly summarise. Mrs Jonathan was a guest of the people of Okrika because she is (emphasis mine because this has an important bearing on the case) an indigene of Okrika. As protocol, or “apple polishing”, demanded, the Governor accompanied her and even planned a dinner for her after the visit to Okrika.

In Luke 10:5 when Jesus sent out his disciples two by two, He told them that whatever house they enter, they must first say ‘peace to this house’. This brings my thought to family violence. How many homes experience peace?

Obviously that is a limitation, but we are not totally helpless as a result. Media practitioners over the years have improved their information-gathering and investigative capabilities using available technology, to the extent that one can have enough reliable information about prominent individuals (without necessarily meeting them face-to-face) which otherwise would not have been possible.

The great dome of his head framed by wooly white hair. As we sat for a long, lingering breakfast, overlooking a golf course and a mild sun in descent, we went down memory lane, I prodding gently to retrieve the fragments of a remarkable life; a rich and textured life, and long. He said, very humorously, over a generous spread of hash-brown, eggs and sausage, “you see, I eat slowly. I have to be careful now how I chew otherwise my teeth will fall all out.