FOLLOWING on the heels of the recent “deportation” saga, another, perhaps more dangerous, storm that could threaten inter-ethnic relations in Lagos is brewing. I call it the babaloja controversy. Babaloja, in Yoruba, literally means “father of the market” just as iyaloja means “mother of the market”.

THERE is an old, simple way of defining the news for fresh journalism students. “When dog bites a man, it is not the news. But when man bites a dog, that is the news”. It is also held that bad news sells.

HURRAY! I say it again: hurray!! The Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria have announced the elimination of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, the religious sect that put Nigeria on the prime spot of terrorism map of the world.

THE Lagos deportation saga exposed our collective poor attitude to issues of citizenship rights. It is a collective, national guilt because what happened in Lagos occurs in all parts of the country in one form or the other, such as employment, educational and sundry opportunities, from which non-indigenes are excluded.

The Lagos deportation saga degenerated into a free-for-all between Igbos and Yorubas. I am gratified to note that majority of the commentators on both sides have been sane, objective and committed to putting issues in their proper perspectives to minimise damage and learn useful lessons.