In my dear country Nigeria, the notion that ‘nature abhors a vacuum’, is adopted and applied in a typically absurd manner. As a people, we seem to thrive on the basis that there must always be a smouldering fire to keep us busy. Moreover, rather unfortunately, for our wholesome interdependent coexistence, we have become very adept at creating or perhaps inventing fires. In the period since the return of civil rule, we have successfully dowsed the Sharia fire. In perhaps Obasanjo’s finest leadership moment, he cut off the oxygen from those who were fanning the embers. We dowsed the 2015 election fire. In perhaps Jonathan’s only leadership moment, he threw the lighting rod in his possession into the creeks rather than the highly combustible basin of ethno-religious substance that was clearly within reach. In the past few weeks it is evident that the Boko Haram fire is being successfully extinguished and even though the ash still smoulders in different places, our rejuvenated gallant military seem poised to choke out any remaining life in that fire.