WHY GOATS STEAL YAMS

Our dear President Goodluck Jonathan, like most political leaders under constant public gaze and oftentimes, glare has had his fair share of 'moments to regret'. Different leaders have different ways of dealing with the aftershocks of these blunders. Some indeed can be laughed off. Others can be logically reconstructed with clever 'wordneering'. The thing though is that there are certain attributes that help a bumbler to talk himself out of a sticky 'moment to regret'. It may be a gift of the garb, locally known as 'sweet mouth' or the confidence to admit that it was a 'stupid thing to say'. Or indeed to keep quiet and at least some will afford the benefit that the bumbler had seen the light and was internalizing his painful regret. Our dear President Jonathan,  will rather and in the most unconvincing fashion defend the indefensible and make things worse, or in 'yamandgoatspeak' -  'pour sand in his own garri' 

RIFLES, ENEMIES, CERTIFICATES AND KIRIKIRI

For many months, some vested interest groups, on realizing the imminent possibility of a successful Barack Obama candidacy for the presidency of the United States, sponsored the throwing of different arrows to puncture same. They either claimed that he was not a bona fide US citizen or was a Muslim, Kenyan or Indonesian or such inanities. Obama refused to answer those 'issues' and it was from him I first heard the phrase 'silly season' – meaning (in my view) the 'hot' period leading up to an election where people get so confused by a myriad of issues and personalities, that they will rather 'cool off' and enjoy more salacious jibes and mudslinging. In Nigeria there is no shortage of supplies of arrows and it will appear that even our dear President Goodluck Jonathan whilst he detests 'opposition' and social media arrows, has his own arsenal and now fancies throwing a few himself. The problem with throwing arrows, is that if an arrow is blunt no matter how poisoned or poisonous the thrower is, the target will suffer at most minor bruises and at times a backfiring may occur. Another problem I see, is that Buhari like Obama being of similar frame provide very slim targets and often even the blunt arrow will miss the target!