It is a few minutes before the hour of departure. An agitated man stands in the middle of the aisle of SP0001 around the group of ten seats with a table. Doesn’t he have a seat? Maybe he is one of those people who managed to buy a ‘standing’ ticket. He has a single diagonal…
A glimpse of Turunku
The expressway between Kaduna and Zaria is under reconstruction and there are a couple of diversions that sometimes slow down the traffic into a snarl-up in both directions around Birnin Yero. Today, the last Saturday before Eid al-Fitr, there have been reports of a terrible grid-lock. Motorists have been held up for hours. Just before…
From the new Abuja International Airport to Frankfurt en route America
As we approach the new international terminal, the driver makes to turn left toward the train station but instantly changes his mind. He hasn’t been to the airport since the new terminal was opened. He is apparently thinking that the entrance to the new terminal must be on that side. Its underbelly betrays no orifice…
Stephen Hawking (1942-2018)
Gifted with a gorgeous imagination,And inspired to peep into the dark void of the cosmos,He glimpsed blinding, darting, comets of comprehension.Even as his body would not yield to the commands of his mind, He took a deep dive into the unfathomable sea of physical nothingness,And came up with nuggets and pearls of mysterious insight.His mercurial mind…
VS Naipaul (1932-2018)
One of the best writers of the finest English prose of our time has just passed on. My first encounter with VS Naipaul (1932-2018) was about two decades ago when I borrowed a millennium edition of his A House for Mr. Biswas (1961) from the British Council Library in Kano. The deceptively beautiful simplicity of…
Don’t jump the queue, it’s not right
06:25, I'm at Idu Train Station. Long queue. Almost as long as last Saturday's. But it is moving. Hopeful. But no problem if I don't make the first train. I have a lot of work to do on my computer. As I lug my baggage on to the back of the queue, I meet a…
A Saturday morning’s experience
April 6, 2019 You want to be on the 7 o' clock train to Kaduna. So you shower and dress up before dawn prayers. Straight out of the mosque, you call Bolt and leave Asokoro before 6 o' clock. The earliest time you've ever set out for the train station. Bolt. Why Bolt? Why change…
Sunday morning walk in Asokoro
Cool breeze. No sun. No rain. Me in Abuja on a Sunday morning? A rare occurrence. A very rare occurrence. Good time to take a long walk. I explored Asokoro on foot. I did more than 16,000 steps in the highbrow labyrinth. One can't be sitting in front of the computer, pressing smartphone or reading…
Black Panther
Okoye is a brave no-nonsense athletic warrior fiercely loyal to the African Kingdom of Wakanda. Her character is as firm and deep as the blackness of her ebony skin. She is easily my favorite in the whole cast. If the guys who made the movie understood any Hausa, she should have been the one named…
Books read in 2017
I would like to remember the books I read or listened to last year and share my impressions. Yes, listened to. You can listen to mp3 recordings of the books you otherwise don’t have the time to sit down and read. You can listen to them in the car during your daily commute or through…
