Few appointments have generated as much excitement— and entranced the imagination of Nigerians— as the appointment of Ibrahim Agboola Gambari as President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff. Emir of Ilorin thanked Buhari for it even though there is no record of him publicly thanking Olusegun Obasanjo when Abdullahi Mohammed, another Ilorin son, was appointed Obasanjo’s Chief of Staff in 1999—and reappointed by Umar Musa Yar’adua in 2007. Northern Governors’ Forum also congratulated Gambari on his appointment even though they had never congratulated two previous northerners who had occupied the position. And then you have mostly Yoruba irredentists who are intensely…

This dangerous season of Covid-19 is truly one in which the inherent contradictions in the society blow up. On a positive note, the socio-economic trauma consequent on the (mis)management of the public health emergency is daily bringing out the best examples and expressions of our collective humanity. Acts of compassion and genuine love for the poor are vividly on display in many quarters. The mood of the moment is indubitably that of massive solidarity. Food, water, medical facilities and equipment are donated on daily basis to support government’s efforts to care for the sick and the socially vulnerable. Spaces and…