IT was described in official circles as a visit to deepen trade relations between Nigeria and South Africa. Nigeria’s largely unutilised Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geffrey Onyema, said the state visit of President Jacob Zuma of South Africa was also meant to calm the tension that “may exist at another level”. After all,

The start-up of wealth is in developing a wealth consciousness; whatever you manifest in life hinges on your level of consciousness. This implies that wealth begins from the state of the mind and materializes as the state of life. The start-up of poverty is in possessing a poverty consciousness and it is the poverty consciousness that keeps people perpetually poor and not just the condition of poverty. Therefore, to break free from the condition of poverty, you begin by raising the level of your consciousness.

Religion in Nigeria produces zealots who spew gender inequality and discrimination masquerading as religious doctrine.The pursuit of power at any cost is the hallmark of many religious organisations. The Bishop of the Wusasa Diocese of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Kaduna State, Reverend Ali Lamido, recently bemoaned a situation whereby the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, “turned government houses into ATMs”.

Last week a patient called me in distress. “My Doctor”, he yelled over the Lagos traffic. “I need to see you. I’m begging you; you must get rid of this pain TODAY!”

THE Nigerian judiciary is often described as the last hope of the common man, blind and impartial to the cause of justice. But recent events in the land would seem to suggest that this description has, for many members of the Bar and the Bench, long outlived its usefulness.