The problems of Nigeria are too serious to be treated cavalierly at this point in time. Therefore, instead of wasting energy and scarce resources celebrating a cretinous giant, Nigerians, especially top members of the ruling class and the bourgeoisie, ought to have spent the day meditating on the problems of the country and how to go about resolving them with renewed vigour, commitment, courage and selflessness. This year’s independence anniversary has come and gone.

Much has been written about the kidnapping situation in Aba; a situation which has basically sacked the city, and made life uninhabitable and brutish. Kidnapping in Aba seems to be the climax of affairs that have brought this great city to its knees.

Cecilia Ibru, the former Managing Director of Oceanic Bank, is a meek woman. She looks meek and behaves like it. I was surprised she admitted the fiddling she did.

Their citizens supported them by buying their products; warts and all. Now, their products are acceptable internationally, and to us down here they are the best and we clamour for them. How about us supporting our home industries while they make an effort to improve their products? I buy MADE IN NIGERIA always. Shunning products made here is not the way forward. Thanks. Fada, Ikoyi, Lagos.’‘

Bomb scares have become a new phenomenon on our already dangerous political space. That is the obvious conclusion to make from events of the last couple of weeks as people were made to scamper around in Abuja shortly after the Eagle Square blasts on the 50th Anniversary celebration.

They then spitted out their disgust at what everybody did, a disgust that they manfully kept on the boil but under wraps, for twelve days. If they had not been so concerned, or considered that the issue called for an urgent address, they might have waited even for a month. Of course, they devised no significant response other than to order an “enquiry”.

One of the many ‘ends’ of Philosophy –the discipline in which President Jonathan possesses a Doctorate Degree- according to J.P. Ekarika in his book ‘Introduction to Philosophy’, is to help in the acquisition of “true and correct know ledge –thinking, speaking, writing… by the proper arrangement and utilization of materials, resources and thought processes.”

I KEPT vigil like millions of humanity. We were breathless; will things go according to plan? It was Wednesday October 13, 2010 and Day 69 of 33 Chilean miners being trapped over 700 metres below the earth’s surface. It had been the longest case of people trapped in a mining accident being rescued.

HAPPILY, Nigerians at home and abroad did celebrate the 50 years of political independence from Britain without any vestige of bitterness against our colonial masters.

BY the time you read this column, all of the 33 men who were trapped in the San Jose copper and gold mine (near Copiapo in Chile’s Atacama Desert) should have been freed from a terrible and terrifying ordeal that has dragged on for over two months and attracted global attention (no less than 1500 journalists – from several different countries – showed up to personally witness their liberation).