Two scantily-clothed malnourished-looking young girls stood outside a Guest House, patiently waiting for someone to answer to their knock on the gate. At last a burly guard opened the gate and in a gruff voice asked them what they wanted. One of them pointed to the signboard on the wall. It was a job advertisement for bar boys and girls.

The party in government – the PDP – has splintered into two factions: one still “dey kampe” as the “main PDP,” and caucuses around the president, Goodluck Jonathan and the Party chair, Bamanga Turkur; the new PDP has former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its moving spirit, with a coterie of rebel governors and affiliates opening new offices for the “New PDP” in a move at establishing dual authority within the party.

We are at the mercy of the politicians who rule us as masters rule slaves. They do not have any consideration for our needs and desires. They do not care to honour even their word to us. They care less still for the pride of the nation, or her progress. They hold us in utter contempt.

I want to apologise for my column this week to those who missed the classic US open last Monday night out of choice; especially those who don’tknow the difference between a serve and a volley.

The first twinges of disquiet came when, knowing my irrepressibly optimistic compatriots, I investigated a suspicion and discovered that the gazelle from Sapele had been registered for combat in 4 events at the championships, three of which were individual (100m, 200m, Long Jump; plus the 4x100m relay).

I was discussing with a friend who lives in China and has decided to relocate to Nigeria, and has been upgrading his businesses in Nigeria in readiness for his relocation.

NOBODY on this earth is perfect, so I don’t always agree with my Governor, Rotimi Amaechi and I’ve criticised him on this page on a few occasions.

After the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed, his successor General Olusegun Obasanjo handed over the responsibility of government to a civilian President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the victorious National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1979. The change of baton which did not happen until after the Supreme Court has ruled, also witnessed the end of army rule since the military coup of 1966.

I don’t think that any Nigerian President has shown the kind of concern President Jonathan has demonstrated in sports in the past two decades.
General Sani Abacha did well but those managing other sports other than football would not readily agree. Again, Nigeria was a pariah state at the time and only sports could give us succour. And Abacha embraced soccer. It paid off.

Our readers deserve to know that their Column is interested in silent revolutionaries who are unsung and uncelebrated largely because of society’s default and its apparent preference for rabble-rousers who only succeed in heating up the world around them.