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Why akara and kulikuli trap always succeed

By Dele Sobowale It is another election year; and suddenly, “free” money is being given at every convenient gathering. Givers, usually politically exposed individuals, call it empowerment; their paid megaphones in the media hail the altruism and, naturally expect widespread gratitude. Those of us, who have experienced this sort of grand deception before, know the truth […]
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Unplanned pregnancies

Mama T. was 47, a grandmother, when she suddenly felt very sick one morning. She tried the usual self-medication that many of us normally start with. She did not get better and had to see her personal physician, who ran a series of test–malaria, typhoid, infections, etc–but they were either negative or insignificant. Finally, the doctor suggested the unthinkable: a pregnancy test. “Are you out of your mind? I’m 47 and my last child is 14,” she screamed. But the physician insisted because “there is no harm in trying.”

Retired workers waiting to collect their pension

It got to a point that school fees of our children could not be paid and we had to take undertaken with their school proprietors that their school fees would be paid as soon as salaries are paid. Luckily enough their school proprietors allowed our children to attend classes and also write their exams. To compound our problems gratuities were not also paid since our retirement since 2012.

Baba Bose, the Kano born beggar who is the face of a Lagos bus stop

As you climb the bridge, his pitiable condition is bound to attract your attention. And when you try to engage him in a conversation, you will be amazed at his good command of the English Language. But Baba Bose, as he prefers to be called, is not just a beggar. He is a peculiar one. At the pedestrian bridge at Ijesha-Tedo Bus Stop, along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos, where he has domiciled for over 25 years, Baba Bose is seen as ‘a worthy landlord of the bus stop.” He remains there during the rainy or dry seasons, begging passers-by for alms to make ends meet.

Much ado about First Ladyship

Truth is, Aisha Buhari and Dolapo Osinbajo are generally liked by Nigerians not as much for the reasons listed above as for the following two. First of all, the immediate past First Ladies of the Federal Republic had provided an excellent foil for them. Patience Jonathan had been as garrulous as Amina Sambo had been lacklustre, showing an ability to engage her publicly in a positive manner only after office.

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