Mr President, permit me, even so late in the year, to congratulate you on your election as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, especially when that historic victory was premised on the promise of change. Granted the contents of the “Change Programme” were not fully spelt out, but, given the emphasis so far placed on eradicating corruption, it is fair to assume that it would also encompass “justice for all”.

There is a famous speech by the former British Prime Minister, iron lady Margaret Thatcher, she gave at her party conference in 1980: “If our people feel that they are part of a great nation and they are prepared to will the means to keep it great, then a great nation we shall be, and shall remain. So, what can stop us from achieving this? What then stands in our way?

Obnoxious evil can pass by you unrecognized. A loved relation was brutally dispossessed by death, not once, twice. He lost his sons in succession and mysteriously.

A friend just came back from the burial of a 60-year-old man, but that is no news, sadly: Many people are dying these days without getting to a ripe old age. The gist is that the man was never married in his lifetime. Even though it is not a crime, many Nigerians view it as an aberration for a 60-year-old man to be single. It is very difficult to explain or justify. (This, of course, excludes priests and some religious personalities who have taken vows of celibacy).

Nigeria’s top musical brand Onyeka Onwenu, is always in search of innovation far ahead of her closest rivals, but when you come to think of it, who are her rivals? They probably don’t exist, because she is the lone ranger who is always important in the entertainment mix of the country and always ahead of the competition.