Imagine a scenario where God appears to you and declares that your thoughts would be broadcast on Radio Nigeria for everyone to listen to for just two days. How would you react? Would you accept the challenge or would you beg for mercy? What if he were to tell you the two days would be randomly selected over the next two months, without prior notice of exactly when. Would you still be considered a Christian by any after the exercise?

In Nigeria, several things are hard to understand by many people including even the most learned. In fact, quite often, those who eat, drink and sleep politics are mesmerized by the posture of grassroots politicians.

And I think that one of the real strengths of Igbo culture is “Ita ukwa, jaa Eze” – to eat the roasted breadfruit, husk and all, and to bare one’s messy teeth thereafter. It is to position one’s self in things without artifice. It is the Igbo metaphor for denoting the primacy of truth-telling and critical self-appraisal. It is the strenght of a people who are not afraid to examine their own failures and weaknesses, accept their own failures and ugliness, in order to better reposition, and chart new courses.

Last week, we observed that N970 million was budgeted for President Muhammadu Buhari to move around within the country and abroad this year. From that money, N739, 487,784 will be for his international travels and transport alone. Of course, the escalating cost of governance at the federal level also applies across the presidency, from the Vice President, Prof. YemiOsinbajo, to the President’s chief security officer, together with the National Assembly dominated by APC members.

It is crucial that the freedom of the press continues to ensure that government are made accountable to its electorates at all times