Nigeria--Defying Expectations (Washington DC Notes) : PRINCE CHARLES DICKSON

"There's corruption everywhere, 'cept in DC, it is professional". Anonymous

We are driving to Virginia, and my friend, whom I 'll just call Karim tells me this story--"I love Nigeria, I remember when I was a kid in Nigeria, my father and I were traveling to Ibadan from Lagos" he said. 

"We hit this guy in an accident, and the crowd pulls on us, its getting rowdy. And then the police comes, my father comes down, ...gives the man some notes...the whole report changes, infact he tells the people that they are lucky, and we were nice people because it was the man who actually hit us (our car)..., I 'll never understand how a man on foot hit a mobile car".

Minister Ngozi Iweala And The Turtle:PRINCE CHARLES DICKSON

The greatest lesson in life is to know that sometimes even fools are right—Winston Churchill

Early this year, I was with Ngozi Iweala and she spoke glowing on Nigeria's economy, gdp and all those terms. I nodded and smiled.  I recalled our meeting pre-debt relief era and all her talk then...it wasn't so much of a changed woman.

Only a week ago she was again at it with Labaran Maku, the chief talkative as umpire at the ministerial briefing, more and more figures and data of progress, international validation and all that ratings from fitch.

Northern Nigeria And Her Mythical Realities:

When a people have suffered for too long, they will drink fairytales on fairylands with insatiable gullibility." (Hamilton Ayuk) 

My admonition this week dwells with a section of Nigerian--the North and it is a do-no-favors essay, call it the truth, or falsehood, call it nonsense, be bitter or be complimentary about it, I really do not care--or better still I care enough to tell us the way I see it.