The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Ms. Christine Largarde, a fortnight ago visited Nigeria and held crucial talks with President Muhammadu Buhari and other top echelon of the Nigerian government. She also had interactions with legislators, business leaders, prominent women, and the civil society. Ms. Lagarde prior to the visit looked forward to productive meetings with President Buhari on how his team was addressing the economic challenges occasioned by low oil prices. At the end of the visit, the Bretton Woods Chief advised Nigeria to devalue her currency, increase value added tax, withdraw petroleum subsidy and so forth.

Our soldiers are stretched. And when stretched minds snap rebukes are measured, condemnations muffled . They are giving it their all, fighting demons with gloves. The depravity of the other side makes any rule following seem a handicap. We knew something was amiss but we didn’t know that the billions of dollars meant for the war were this footloose. Against the asymmetry and barbarism of boko haram for whom killing and maiming is a compulsive obsession , the waywardness of the ‘boko haram dollars’ was egregious evil.

ERITREA is a relatively unknown African country. Little news filters out. In October 2012, I wanted to pay with a hundred dollar bill in a Washington supermarket, and the cashier declined. He asked me to pay with a smaller denomination, which I did not have. Noticing his features, I asked if he was of African decent. He asked if I knew Ethiopia. He said his country is near Ethiopia. I asked, Eritrea? “Yes” “So why didn’t you simply say you are from Eritrea?” “I tell people, and they never seem to have heard of such a country”

Last week, I wrote about the many Nigerian VIPs who do not manage success graciously, change for the worse the minute they cease to be ordinary citizens and start treating old friends (and blood relatives as well, in some cases) very shabbily, even when these folks who knew them before they became VIPs have helped them a lot in the past and are therefore owed considerable goodwill and courtesy.

ONE of the most significant issues of recent revelations of high wire corruption in Nigeria today, is the way that leading politicians have brought their children into the corruption loop. Top Nigerian politicians are appearing in courts together with their sons. Humungous sums of public money are stolen and shared by fathers and sons (their daughters are entering the political fray too). Ruling class irresponsibility has led to the detention and arraignment of fathers along with their children, for stealing monies in their care, expected to be used for the betterment of society.