My father was not too pleased when I wrote that I wish I was from Osun. For those that read my page you know that I find the Ogbeni’s leadership inspiring and refreshing. Ogbeni puts his opinion of leadership so well when he said, “Indeed, it is my belief that leadership offers a golden opportunity to serve the people and bring improvements to bear on their lives and existence.

Permit me to try my hands at some elementary philosophy borrowed from Philosophy 1a, which I read as an undergraduate in 1964. It goes like this “Facts and truth are not always synonymous; but, anything claiming to be the truth must contain elements of fact(s) which are indisputable.”

The things we long for, or dream about, sometimes correspond to an object in reality – for example, the glass of water we obtained in a dream – and sometimes not – for example paradise on earth. A belief constitutes an illusion when a wish-fulfilment is a prominent factor in its motivation.

I was pleasantly surprised to stumble into a television documentary during the week which featured Mohammed D. Abubakar, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) functioning as a traffic warden. Unfortunately, I did not get to watch the entire episode but the two short scenes I saw made salient points. In one case, he was portrayed directing the free flow of traffic at a busy location.

The world that we live in is changing, times are hard and there is no candy floss way to sweeten it. The entire world has been in the vice grip of a punishing recession and terrorism has added a new and bitter twist to hardship.

Last week Monday, I wrote in my column in the Vanguard Newspapers that we will be banned by FIFA. The closing paragraph was “…..Let no one be deceived that the bluff of a FIFA sanction can be called. It will paralyse football in this country, turn us into a pariah state and hit the youth of this country who will be thrown out of all football competitions until we learn to operate by the rules “

We have had many thrilling moments in this World Cup. We have seen extra-ordinary skills from extraordinary talents. As we salute those skills, we must also pause to appreciate the hours of devotion and discipline that have produced those inspiring achievements.

Leisure: A man with a family of eight I met recently mentioned some mind-boggling figures they spend on airline tickets and accommodation when they go on vacation, especially to the United States. Many Nigerian families cannot afford that kind of vacation.

Last week, I said on this page that Boko Haram’s murderous sprees and heartless kidnappings have made Northern Muslims look bad and have strengthened President Jonathan’s chances of being re-elected next year.

This week seems to be full of many interesting events – the usual carnage of Boko Haram killers and the assuring forecast that the reign of terror might, sooner than later, come to an end. It might be that the end of the month of July (month of fasting and sacrifice) could signify the start of the period of peace in the country.