Not all the story of the exploits and achievements of Nelson Mandela would have been told decades from now. His towering sense of patriotism, his indomitable spirit of resistance to evil, his soaring charity of forgiveness and several other facets of an unforgettable character which he has bequeathed to the world as a model for sterling human interaction, will survive him for a long time.

Among the (depressingly few) lights that twinkle in the firmament of Nigerian sports, none shone brighter in 2013 than the so-called ‘beautiful game’.

Curiosity they say kills the cat. Yet curiosity is a major attribute to good journalism. I often hide my curiosity, or need to know as I quaintly put it, under this guise. So when Cornelius Tay, an old friend, invited me to the funeral of his mother in Ghana, I felt it was an opportunity to know how the other side handles funerals.

Ex-President Obasanjo’s leaked “Letter Of Appeal” to President Goodluck Jonathan has made huge waves and will surely go down in our history as one of the most controversial high-level communications Nigeria has ever witnessed.

IT is a matter of fact that the great statesman is gone, and gone also with all his attributes recognized throughout the world. Never in African history has such array of dignitaries (including 91 Heads of governments) ever assembled in African soil to honour a departed soul. The other great African, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana became dictatorial in his last days before he was ousted in a coup organized by his country’s military adventurers.