"First they came for the Socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me"- Martin Niemoller (1892-1984).

The other day I posted a copy of the now famous picture of President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart President Vladimer Putin where they both coldly looked into one another's eyes without the trace of a smile. They looked like two hardened prize fighters in their prime that were summoned into the middle of the boxing ring by the referee for the usual short pep talk just before he shouts "seconds out" and sends everyone, apart from the two boxers themselves, out of the ring.

The Greek tragic dramatis and philosopher Aeschylus (525 BC - 456 BC) said "in war, truth is the first casualty". It is in this context that one has to view the absurd claims by the DSS that massive sums of cash ranging from 2 million USD to hundreds of thousands of euros and pounds sterling were found in the homes of all the judges that were arrested in the early hours of saturday morning.

Their homes were raided by hundreds of fully armed DSS commandos between 1.00 and 2.00 a.m. this morning. Their streets were surrounded and sealed up. Their gates and front doors were smashed open and they were forcefully and violently arrested and detained. Their families and loved ones were traumatised and terrorised.

Professor John Paden, President Muhammadu Buhari's official biographer, is a man that is very comfortable with distorting the truth and telling lies. He is also a man that has been doing so for virtually all his adult life. Anyone that doubts that should read his biography on the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, which was written in 1986 and titled "Ahmadu Bello, Saurdana of Sokoto: Values and Leadership In Nigeria", and which is essentially a self-serving and comprehensive compilation of Bello's numerous virtues with little or no mention of his many vices.

There are two events that are of major significance this week. The first is the birthday of a man of immense integrity and a great son of the Yoruba by the name of Olusegun Rahman Mimiko who was 62 years old on October 3rd. Much has been said about him over the last few years and encomiums have been deservedly showered on him from all quarters for his birthday. I will only add this: ever since I have known Mimiko when he was a senior colleague in President Obasanjo's cabinet he has been kind, forthright, courageous, honest, consistent, clear-thinking, hard-working and God-fearing.

Nigeria is 56 years old today. Consequently it is time to speak some home-truths and look at where we are in the scheme of things. It is time to consider how well our governnent has fared since coming to power and to compare their record of service to previous governments that were in the saddle before them. Sadly the score sheet does not look too good.

One of the greatest souls that ever bestrode the earth, a champion and founding father of the Jewish State of Israel, a former freedom fighter, a former soldier, an internationally-acclaimed statesman, a Nobel Laureate, a former Minister, a former Member of the Israeli Parliament for 50 years, a three-time Prime Minister of Israel, a President of the Jewish state, a diplomat, a peacemaker, an institution in the politics of Israel and the Middle East and the most experienced leader and politician that the State of Israel was ever blessed with, President Shimon Peres, has passed on at the ripe old age of 93. How, indeed, are the mighty fallen! I had the singular honor and distinct privilage of meeting Shimon Peres on at least two occasions. The first was when I was a student at Cambridge University in 1984 where he came to deliver a lecture on the State of Israel and the complicted politics of the Middle East.

I do not like to delve into matters touching and concerning the APC because I am not a member. However what is happening in the ruling party today transcends partisan politics and should be a concern to us all. At the very least we can learn some very hard lessons from it. The truth is that the behaviour of Chief John Odige-Oyegun towards the man that single-handedly made him the National Chairman of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is reprehensible. And neither does this matter begin or end with the way and manner in which the Ondo state governorship primaries were conducted or its final outcome.

On 19th September 2016 after the latest bombing in New York, Mr. Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, said "In the 20th century the United States of America defeated fascism, nazism and communism. Today the United States of America must destroy (radical) Islamism". Mr. Trump is absolutely right! Yet it is not just in America that the scourge of jihadi violence and Islamist terror must be destroyed. It must be uprooted, defeated and destroyed throughout the entire world, including Nigeria.

Permit me to indulge in a quick aside and take you into a brief journey of discovery into the deep and devious mind of Lugard. On September 8th 2015, in an essay titled 'Lord Lugard's Magic and Flora Shaw's Spell' (New Telegraph, Daily Post, Naij. com, Premium Times, Pointblanknews) I wrote the following:

Each time I hear from you I look back on both our lives and consider how far we have come. Against all odds God kept and preserved us: how faithful He is. Remember the Bourdillon days? Remember those evil dark alleys and dirty streets? Remember our inglorious descent into the portals of hell and the citadels of shame and darkness?