DOWN the ages, philosophers have speculated on time as both an arbitrary and an artificial construct. Time for this class of people is a continuum which humanity has for its own convenience divided into time past, time present and future time. Otherwise, time has no boundaries. But dividing time into parts is one way through which people make sense of their existence, have some notion of how far they’ve come and what progress or lack of it has been made. So when at the end of a year people take stock of their life, it is time that makes it possible. Otherwise, human life could be one long night of darkness or slumber without a beginning, middle or end.

IF there is anybody I can vouch for in Buhari’s Cabinet, it is Senator Udoma Udo Udoma. I have known him, and his best friend Keem Bello Osagie, for 30 years. All three of us are graduates of Oxford University, England, although I was there before him and Keem. Udoma is as sharp as a razor; he is one of the most intelligent people I know. Better still, he is a man of unimpeachable integrity. Udoma cannot be bought. He has a very successful law practice; the last thing he would do is fiddle public funds.

MALLAM Audu used to have a kiosk as you crossed from Moremi Hall to Awolowo Hall in Ife in those days. We bought little items from from the wares he displayed close to the health centre. After payment was made, Audu was usually not so quick with giving out the change, so, we would yell at him in our smattering knowledge of the Hausa Language: “Mallam,bani Changi!

MY family journeyed some 390 miles (about 630 kilometres) in roughly six hours to visit with and welcome 2016 in the company of my long-time friend, Tony Aduro, and his wonderful family in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Tony and I go way back to our days in Nairobi, Kenya, in the 1990s when we served as officers in the Association of Nigerians in Kenya. Fate brought us back together in the United States and we have kept in touch.

When oil companies fail to pay, bankers are in a fix. But, not just bankers; we are all in a fix. Shareholders of Nigerian banks, already waving off a bad 2015, will again have to endure two economic woes – low or no dividends and plummeting share prices. Currently, only two banks shares are above N15 per share: ECOBANK and GTB. None of the others is above N6 per share.