The mailbox of this page has been almost set ablaze by the passion conveyed in some of the messages that came to hand As usual, we can only deal with one or two because of space constraints.

This is an open invitation, asking you to relax for one week-end, away from, Attahiru Jega, Obasanjo, Bode George, The Tinubu Tribe, The Saraki Clan, and the Jonathan Ensemble. Come away from the cloying grip of politics, at least for a breather, and meditate on someone, something, or somewhere you love.

There is a loose cannon rattling around the corridors of Aso Rock. They call him Mohammed Abba-Aji, but we know what we would like to call him.

You would of course have recognized that as a loose paraphrase of the opening sentence of “The Communist Manifesto”, the classic declaration of the aims and objectives of a political movement which has become a model and a source of inspiration for all socialist efforts down the years. As you also probably know, it was published by Karl Marx, with the collaboration of Fredrick Engels in 1848 on behalf of the Communist League which was then a secret organization of Russian emigres in Europe.

Indeed, “these are times that try men’s souls”. Perhaps we can relax a bit, now that we are assured that the political parties have “declared their intention” to nominate some specific representatives, or “flag-bearers”, for the forthcoming elections. The nominees continued to be shuffled like a pack of cards in the hands of a master gambler. And that seems to be precisely what those who are in the position to call the shots have been … gamblers with human lives.

The big story of the week, so far, is the release of the lists for the candidates that emerged from the primary elections for all the political parties which are recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. There were allegations, or suggestions, that elections as laid down by democratic processes did not really take place in several constituencies. There is a mix-up of disparate perceptions here.

At the demise of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Yoruba people were not entirely without a leader capable of stepping into his shoes. As a matter of fact, there seemed to be a surfeit of capable leadership claims. Awoists of various hues and colours were already poised to pick up the august mantle, but they lacked the will necessary to drape it over their shoulders.

A phrase that has been swept in by the current developments in our political life is “internal democracy”. No pause was needed to decipher its meaning. It was so explanatory. It blew to shreds the assumption that accepted democratic practice, which normally includes the decisions of any group as a function of the will of the majority, was mandatory in all circumstances. It may be so made to appear outside a political party, especially when several parties are in contention, but it does not have to hold when decisions were made within each party.

To wonder where all this fuss about voting will lead us might sound crazy. Of course, everybody knows that we are heading for democracy or something in that neighbourhood.

I must be honest with you. I really do not know what a Direct Data Capture – DDC – machine looks like. But I guess it must be much larger than an average “pc” personal computer, that is. I know that it is used for the smooth and rapid registration of voters, a facility that is most urgently needed by our nation at this time.

There has been a disputation between the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Sanusi Lamido and the Minister of Finance, Mr.Olusegun Aganga on the one hand, and the members of the National Assembly on the other, about the allegation that legislators scoop about twenty-five percent of the annual budget of the nation, as their remuneration. The legislators deny this.

The acceptance of the PDP’s de cision to field Atiku Abubakar by his rivals is a model of democratic practice at the highest level. Pardon me if, even as a Nigerian, I affirm that it is “unNigerian”. Perhaps it presages a brighter future for our national politics

This is another season of joyful greetings. It’s festival time. It is an occasion of celebration for Muslims, though everyone joins in – Christians of all suasions, pagans of all denominations, atheists of every distinction, all identify in one way or the other with the festivities, at least, if not with the attendant observance which has several aspects; there are the purely religious which pleasantly flow into the social.

It used to be that at a pre-election period – that is, at a time like this – the atmosphere would be thick with manifestos proclaiming the virtues of various political parties through the advertisement of their individual policies on the issues of the day.

In the foaming maelstrom of unrelenting jostle for political advantage on every issue, by which Nigeria is consumed at the moment, no one may be adjudged to have got it right at any point in any endeavor. You are damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.