Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Emir of Kano, is an Islamic modernist and reformist. I arrive at this conclusion by the sheer weight of his contributions to contemporary Islamic thought, particularly on the question of Islamic Economic thought and Law, and particularly in its applications in what we now generally call “the Muslim North.” I am always a bit careful about a blanket description of the North as “overwhelmingly Muslim,” because we have no credible census to determine that. No one knows the number of Christians and Muslims living their lives daily in that part of the upper North of Nigeria.

One subject that has agitated the minds of Nigerians since our current democracy took off in 1999 has been the closure of the political space. No one seems to be able to decode the special lexicon which lures our political class into so much of electioneering and little of governance.

It’s Easter Sunday. The day we celebrate the victory of our Lord Jesus over death and grave. Easter is the essence of Christianity. Today, I pray that the power of the risen Christ will bring back to life every good thing that is dead in our lives in the name of Jesus.

FIVE years ago, I’d called on Florence, a very good friend at her Abuja residence after not seeing her for close to three years. We talked constantly on the phone, of course. But when I had to go to Abuja on business, I thought I would save on hotel accommodation by staying with her. She was all for it too, shrieking with excitement when I asked her on the phone. Looking forward to catching up on the snippets of news we’d exchanged over the past years, I enthusiastically settled into the guest room of her tastefully furnished flat. It was quite late and we turned in early. The next days would be more than enough to catch up on our natter, I thought. I had an early morning appointment and was having a quick shower when there was this urgent knock on the door! “Hurry up in there, would you?” Snapped my friend.

It is apparently raining Naira, Dollars and Pounds and now, CBN may be complicit in not utilising trillions of naira in foreign exchange earmarked for trade. The writing is on the wall. We are a nation of light fingered hoodlums and scoundrels.