In their daily lives, Nigerians must cope with this open ambivalence – they have oil but they can’t see oil; they have petroleum, but they have no petrol; they pay for light but they get darkness. There is no better way to explain what we mean here than by telling our usual story of the so-called subsidy on petroleum products in its most elemental form.

It was the standout phrase from President Muhammadu Buhari’s Inauguration Day speech on May 29, 2015: “I belong to everybody, I belong to nobody”. The phrase went viral, triggering an output of comical expressions.

It was as exciting and gripping as a typical World Cup soccer match between the Super Eagles and Brazil or Argentina. Thanks to a number of patriotic television networks, such as the Africa Independent Television, AIT, the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA and even (believe it!) Silverbird Television, STV(obviously because its owner, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce was involved) we were able to watch it live from beginning to the end.

Out with the old, in with the new. If only it were that simple. In the field of political science, various theories and methodologies exist to advise government, thought leaders and the private sector on strategic planning; that is, how to bring about change or modernisation in any organisation. The theory of change, in particular, promotes social change by defining long term goals mapped backwards in order to identify the pre-existing conditions which enable the said change.

The contest for the Senate Presidency yesterday, was billed to be one of the major fights of the current political dispensation. It was one between Senator Ahmad Lawan backed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and his fellow party man, Senator Bukola Saraki who refused to step down despite losing the party’s endorsement.