“It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but him who knows how to use with wisdom and the blessings of the gods, to endure hard poverty, and who fears dishonour worse than death, and is not afraid to die for cherished friends or fatherland”- Horace

In our discussion last Sunday, I made the point, which was almost distorted by editorial pusillanimity, that ideally, in order to render justice to Ndigbo Nigerian leaders who participated in genocide against them during the civil war should be prosecuted at the International Court of Justice. But I also argued that given the very low level of political maturity and moral consciousness in the country presently, that would never happen.

The Federal government is running on half its lungs: President Buhari’s inability to constitute a government nearly thirty days after taking his own oath of office is worrisome, and does provide some perverse humour for those whose thinking about Nigeria is often in the breach. It is true that the constitution does not give a time bar for when the president can constitute a federal executive council, but the law is quite clear that there shall be an executive council to make for the full governance of the republic.

Professor of Economics and Noble Laureate, John K. Galbraith, once observed that a man who makes his entrance by breaking down the front door of the house deserves some criticism for excessive violence; but, something also needs to be said about the condition of the door. Saraki’s emergence as Senate President, against the wishes of the leaders of the All Progressive Congress, APC, is a classic case of a weak door meeting an individual determined to gain entrance – even if it means breaking down the door.

Sometime ago, I listened to Ms Grace Zemaye Egbagbe, lawyer and television personality, on Metrofile, Channels Television. Her hostess asked her the secret of her youthful looks. She responded that two reasons make women age faster: husbands and children. In other words, she looks young partly because she does not have a husband (Although she said she still nurses the hope of getting married someday if the right man comes along) and has only two children to contend with.

The past governments controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party, at both the federal and state levels, left a record of shame in governance. They mismanaged the financial resources available to them. The upshot is the painful result of wages, monthly wages, not being paid in many areas. One needs to be involved to appreciate the agony of the people so blatantly denied of their due remunerations.

When you hear some of the cases of medical malpractice that have become all too rampant now you can’t but conclude that some medical doctors have become petty fraudsters. It’s one thing to commit a mistake that falls below the standard expected of doctors or even one that borders on ‘criminal’ negligence , it is however egregious evil to engage in activities aimed primarily at defrauding patients. And tragically, in many of these cases, hapless victims must “leave it to God”

If you get up in the morning expecting a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself. It’s about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly and the customers were unhappy.

I am a little confused about the things I hear and things I see. We seem to be romancing with a certain demon that ensures that we remain at the level of beginning all the time. My confusion is simple: when it appears as if there is going to be a measure of advancement, then we see ourselves slipping down again and I wonder; why? I ask, is it possible for us to, at least remain, at a spot, for some time, so that we don’t really degenerate. I am only asking that we be given the grace not the move at all since if we must, we always slide ‘downward’. There was a mad man, I mean a crazy man, not really an angry man, in my home some time ago who advanced this philosophy of “remaining where one is.” He had come to sympathize with some folks who were bereaved.

“As a father, I can’t stand that for my daughter, I treasure my daughters, and I believe in girl-child education. African should begin to change our attitude and mentality, our thinking of female child. I want to believe, I may be naïve, if we begin to have women leaders at the highest political level, we will overcome some of these problems.”