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).

“THE place: Lagos Racecourse. The dramatis personae: [The Governor-General] Sir James Robertson, representing Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and [the incoming Prime Minister] Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafewa Balewa, representing the 40 million people of Nigeria…And as the clock struck 12 midnight, [they] took their positions on the dais and watched the lowering of the Union Jack and the hoisting of the Nigerian flag…And so the people sang the National Anthem…And so the Independence of Nigeria was proclaimed…

Last week, I recalled Alhaji Atiku Abubakar saying, when I interviewed him many years ago that he regretted the fact that it was very difficult for average citizens to survive or thrive if they didn’t have access to influential people who were willing to help them and that he would be very happy if our society eventually evolved to the point where the government provided safety nets that would enable everyone to get what they needed and deserved.

SEVERAL PDP dignitaries attended Jonathan’s declaration ceremony. Some grinned supportively from the sidelines. Others eagerly grabbed the microphone and assured the world that they were fully behind Jonathan’s aspirations.

I’M in South Africa at the moment, attending a conference called “Planning Africa”; and it’s been such an interesting experience to not only listen to speakers who want our continent to thrive but to observe, at close quarters, how the country is getting along l6 years after Nelson Mandela was released from his lengthy incarceration to spearhead the dismantling of apartheid.