THE first time we met was sometime in 1988 soon after his youth service under the National Youth Service Corps’ compulsory programme for young graduates, which prepares them for the challenges of our society away from the infatuations of the academic environment where dreams are generated and views of the reality of society are mostly in conflict with the facts of the decadence of our own society.

I NEVER gave a thought to the idea that I could be a teacher. But teach I did when I could not secure a job years after completing my national service. For five years, I did the little I could in preparing young minds for post-tertiary institution examinations. Until journalism took me away from the classroom, I derived great pleasure in seeing those young faces look up to me almost in awe as I impacted knowledge on them.

As Africans in America, no one can tell our own stories like we live it. Other people may read about Africa, visit Africa or do business in Africa, but no one can represent us like ourselves. Although there are huge different ethnic groups, cultures and countries, Africa has unique values that have not yet been told in a balanced perspective by the Western media, thus the birth of the Yaba TV Show.

I JOIN in the tributes to Professor Wole Soyinka at 80, not necessarily because he is a genius. It is more because like Nelson Mandela, he is a courageous humanist with a compassion for the weak who wields enormous moral authority. Unlike Mandela, but like Mahatma Ghandi, he earned this without holding formal political office.

EVERY nation takes her security very seriously. The only difference being the degree of investments, which vary according to individual experiences and circumstances.