And Four Other Things…
ABORTED REVOLUTION
The #RevolutionNow protests called by Sowore Omoyele, activist, politician and publisher of Sahara Reporters, ran into troubled waters on Day One when the police dispersed protesters and the DSS arrested him. The DSS has now secured a court order to detain him for “terrorism”. I definitely do not subscribe to some of the words used by Sowore in his call to action which tend to suggest he was actively supporting insurrection against the state. This is the same country he recently aspired to lead by partaking in the presidential election. But I can bet with my laptop that this terrorism charge cannot stand in court. People should be free to protest in a democracy. Sledgehammer.
BAYELSA BILLIONAIRES
Hon. Seriake Dickson, the governor of Bayelsa state, has said the state spends about N6 billion annually to service 1,500 political service holders. That is resource control at its best — sharing the money round to the political elite so that they can enjoy their lives. The N6 billion is probably a fraction of other benefits from contract awards and “something for the weekend”. An analysis of the oil-rich state’s budget by TheCable reveals that the allocation to health sector in 2019 is N6 billion. It is none of my business to tell any state how to spend the God-given “oyel” money, but this revelation backs my argument that more money does not automatically mean more sense. Fact.
LETTERED FELLOWS
Olusegun Adeniyi, chairman of THISDAY editorial board, was made an honorary fellow of the prestigious Nigerian Academy of Letters on Thursday — a fitting honour to one of Nigeria’s highest selling authors and one of the country’s most beloved columnists. His contributions to “letters”, particularly his last three books, have been duly rewarded by a worthy institution. Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi, academic, journalist and communication expert, was also made an honorary fellow. In the coming weeks, I intend to discuss the convocation lecture delivered by Prof Emeritus Godwin Sogolo on “Religion and Morality in a Secular State”. Stimulating.
‘TAKE A BOW’
If you do not have a sense of humour, you cannot enjoy social media. Although you find all sorts of things and human beings on Facebook and Twitter, it is not all bad. Aside the breaking news and educative information that I get on the go, the humour is one thing I cannot live without! The one I enjoyed the most during the week was a parody of the ministerial screening tradition of the senate in which some nominees are barely asked to take a bow and leave without any questioning. This one goes like this: “Armed robbers were screening victims then one of them said ‘sir I was once an armed robber ‘. They said ‘please take a bow and leave’…” Wicked!