The inability of government to persuade the people to embrace its policies is not new in Nigeria. During the Babangida days, the then Minister of Information, Prince Tony Momoh thought he could redress the situation through what became known as ‘letter to my countrymen’- a write-up by the Minister to his fellow citizens to change their perception of government.

Many months ago, some of our senators proposed a leisure centre for elderly citizens. The move was applauded by some people, but in the piece I wrote on it, I said it was a good thing that the senators thought of something to put more zest in the lives of the elderly, but that in a country with dismal healthcare like ours, and where the majority of the elderly are poor, it wasn’t a leisure centre that the majority of them need, but rather, qualitative care in all areas of their lives.

Last week we argued, among other things, that the present ruling elite who constitute less than one percent of the Nigerian population are unwilling and incapable of moving the country from the precarious position it is at the moment to a better place in the future. Keep in mind that this group, which includes top key players in politics, the military and business, controls over ninety percent of the country’s wealth.

There are so many issues one has to grapple with daily, some more important than others. By issues I refer to the difficulties, problems and even challenges we all have to contend with. They affect our health, finances and general outlook and this past week my mind has been on just one issue that I consider the biggest of all.

The recent gathering of ten State Governors in Lagos reminds me personally of a spectacle I used to cherish in my boyhood days around the late thirties and early forties.

My boss had a roving eye. One day, many years ago, we were driving to some place, just the two of us, and he indulged in his favourite past time. He glanced at every passing lady – I was the one driving – and if the frontal view satisfied him, he used the side mirror to check the posterior.

Can the Eagles withstand the physical attributes of their Burkina Faso counterparts and win the Nations Cup in South Africa on Sunday?

That is my wish.

RELIABLE sources tell me that President Goodluck Jonathan is becoming increasingly allergic to the advice to which he is subjected on a minute-by-minute basis.

NIGERIA, which has been described as a mere “geographical expression”, is also to many people, a funny place where “anything goes”.

THE villagers have a better way of expressing the same feelings. They will quickly tell you that there is no royal road to geometry and that life has no short-cut. Some will keep drumming it into your ears that you shall only reap whatever you sow