NIGERIA and Ghana are two presumptuous cousins – a rather complicated relationship. When the two national sides meet at a football match it always feels like the Battle of Armageddon. But when either team faces another, we rally to each other’s support. Nigerian music is all the rage in Ghana, as is Nollywood.

THE omens are not looking good. The moral sickness of our body politic is a nightmare that refuses to go away. If what we see reflects the spiritual condition of our country, I would make bold to say that Nigeria is on the throes of death.

CONGRATULATIONS for being sworn into the exalted office of chief executive of your state. Under our Constitution, the governor is not only the principal administrator but also the chief security officer of the state. Some of our jurists opine that, under our 1999 Constitution the governor enjoys wider prerogatives than the incumbent of the high magistracy of our great federal republic. His constitutional immunity gives him power to commit murder and get away with it. It would have drawn the envy of the Roman Proconsuls of old.

I HAVE written before expressing my deep concern about the attitudes and behaviour of some of our youths. But we must not be unfair. We as a society have actually failed our youths. Nigeria has become as cruel and heartless as the proverbial desert ostrich. We have mortgaged the future of our youths. In our own days, having a good degree was enough guarantee of a great future. Today, even having a masters and a doctorate guarantees you nothing. If your parents are influential – like emirs, chiefs, ministers or senators – letters of employment are delivered to your home from top public organisations without a job application or interview. But if you are the son or daughter of a pauper with a first class honours degree you are condemned to wandering the streets for years.

THE upcoming generation of young people may turn out to be the most dangerous we have in Nigeria. We are breeding a brood of vipers and we are the last to know about it. Some of my readers may have come across the story in social media.THE upcoming generation of young people may turn out to be the most dangerous we have in Nigeria. We are breeding a brood of vipers and we are the last to know about it. Some of my readers may have come across the story in social media.

THERE are great nations and there are mediocre ones. There are also run-of-the-mill nations as well as outright failed states. Echoing the inimitable language of the English playwright William Shakespeare, we could say that some nations are born great; some achieve greatness; while yet others have greatness thrust upon them. It might not be that easy defining what constitutes a great nation. But we know it when we see it.

A FEW days ago, I found myself hinking of Elephant. Elephant was a friend and senior at my old missionary boarding school in the defunct Benue-Plateau State. Elephant was not his real name. He was so nick-named because he was a rather fat lad with a reputation for being the school clown. Although I was by far his junior, we were best of friends. What united us was the fact that we both represented the school in inter-school quiz tournaments.

ULTIMATELY, it is the people that rule. That’s bad news for tyrants, demagogues, authoritarians, oligarchs, plutocrats and crooks. Sooner or later, the people will rise and demand accountability. The history of freedom is a long and brutal one. History teaches that freedom is never given; it is almost always taken by force.  

SOMEONE recently circulated his thoughts about his personal philosophy of politics and the state of the nation in general. His name shall remain anonymous. His views are sadly typical of the cynical approach in which young people define the structure of our politics today. We quote him in full:

WHERE do mothers come from? I have always pondered this question. All humans come from planet earth, of course. But, what of mothers? They have this uniqueness about them that makes me wonder if they could only have come from earth like everybody else. For one thing, everybody that breathes on earth came out of a mother. Even the Pope, the President and the most powerful men and women on earth – all those men and women of pomp and pageantry.