So once more, we're coming up to National Day, October 1, when all other cares and worries of the world take a back seat as we celebrate all things Nigerian. We flock to the streets in green and white, play 'Arise O Compatriots', and make merry as we eat jollof rice with dodo and chicken.

But why October 1? Sure, it was the date that we were gifted political independence by the British, but I honestly do not believe that its significance is felt viscerally by many present day Nigerians...

When I was growing up, one game that fascinated (and still fascinates) me is opon ayo (more commonly known as oware). I noted how placing a single extra seed in a hollow could change the total number of seeds in the hollow; this in turn could change the the effect of playing out the seeds in that hollow, which in turn could change the number of seeds in other hollows, which ultimately could change the way the entire game was played out.

Of course, this phenomenon isn't limited to...

I've just enjoyed reading this article:

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/...-market-2.html

The author talks about how the traders in Tejuoso market attribute the recent fire in the market to the government - this is because the government asked everyone to move away from the market shortly before the fire.

I've already spoken about this tendency for people to hook up highly significant events in my article...