And Four Other Things...

A lot of people tried very hard to create friction in Aso Rock by claiming that VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo did much better than President Buhari during the medical vacation. Do you remember the chant of “Saul killed his thousands and David his ten thousands” by Israelite women after the killing of Goliath? Thankfully, Osinbajo did not take the bait. He told Buhari, gracefully, on Friday: “I thank you, Sir, for giving me the opportunity and for the absolute confidence you repose in me. I recall, in one of our discussions, you didn’t even want me to ask you for anything. You said I shouldn’t consult you and I should just do as I wish. I thank you for this, Sir.” Wisdom.

The Nigeria customs service has decided to start asking motorists for evidence of payment of import duty on vehicles bought even 20 years ago. It promises to be the most chaotic move in Nigeria’s recorded history. Nigeria is the only country in the world where you see customs officers mounting road blocks inland. They will stop the driver and demand for evidence of duty payment? I mean, who does that? Who keeps such documents, much less carry them around? I can understand a bit if you say vehicles bought from a future date, not ages ago. It looks like a money-making venture that will end up enriching customs officers at the expense of Nigerians. Ridiculous.

So DCP Danjuma Ibrahim, the big fish, is innocent in the 2005 murder of Apo Six? And two lesser mortals will die for the extrajudicial killing? May we know who allegedly strangled Ms Paulinus Ogbonna for being “rude” to him after they were stopped by the police? The junior officers only opened fire on six others apparently to destroy eyewitness evidence. But for the fact that one of the traders survived to tell the story, it would have been reported as a case of seven armed robbers shot dead by brave police officers — national heroes, you know. Nevertheless, there is one more judgment which the godfathers cannot rig — the judgment of the Almighty God. Inescapable.

Another good one gone. You will hardly find a better human being than Dr. Onukaba Adinoyi Ojo, the journalist, scholar, communicator, playwright and politician who died on Sunday in Akure, Ondo state, on his way from President Olusegun Obasanjo’s 80th birthday in Abeokuta, Ogun state. As the story goes, armed robbers were operating at a spot and he alighted from his car and tried to run for safety. He was killed by another vehicle in the melee. Nigerian roads are so hostile — robbers could kill you, potholes could topple your car, police could extort or shoot you, kidnappers could grab you. Spare a thought for his children, who lost their mother a few years ago. Devastating.