The Nigerian military is fast becoming a ready topic for this column. I have no apology for it because if I couldn’t early in life summon enough courage to enlist in any of its forces, as a journalist, i ought to be able to write about the institution when necessary.

My father had thrown down the gauntlet and told me that he will no longer come to the UK to visit me until I come home. Home, meaning Nigeria. He does have a point. I haven’t been home for over 27 years. My son is 26 and my daughter is twelve and they are pretty savvy as to their culture and their identity but nothing will compare to first-hand knowledge of their homeland. Why did it take me so long? The call of home was never loud enough for me to respond to, so people come and go and then on their return they come with good and bad stories. None of the stories ever coloured my opinion of my home land. Well, I can very much make up my mind and I am immersed in the goings on in Nigeria. I write about it every week.

Any sincere open-minded person who investigates Christmas would conclude that almost everything about the celebration is either non-Christian in origin or a distortion of what is written in The Bible.

Jesus was not born on December 25. That is the date of a pagan festival of the sun god Tammuz merged with Christianity under Constantine. However, the evidence is overwhelming that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles.

DURING this season of goodwill, let those of us who are luckier than most remember the millions in Nigeria and across the globe who will suffer or die during this festive season and won’t enjoy special meals or receive nice Christmas gifts.