The feeling of gratitude for the good fortune of regaining health in no something one could easily describe, so I won’t even attempt that. I returned to an inbox full of email, as well as a gaggle of text messages, all of varying tones, topics, urgency, and even temperament. While what I really wanted to do was a piece on the super-bleak affair that was last week’s Eid, I finally settled for a collection of messages from readers, of course edited for clarity and length. I hope you find them as entertaining and enlightening as I found some of them to be. Live long, and prosper. – Abdulkareem.
Re: You don’t know what you’ve got until…
I was deeply moved by your recollection of the harrowing ordeal you went through for almost half a year. But thank God, you are still here with us, and healthy enough to tell the story. One thing about good health is, like they say, we take it for granted when we still have it. But the truth is that we sometimes do take care of ourselves very well, but still fall ill anyways. It is, after all, part of our humanity. Perhaps we recover faster and better if we had been paying attention to our health. We can only estimate, and only Allah SWT knows for sure. All the best.
Jimi Yekini, Lagos
Re: You don’t know what you’ve got until…
To say I have missed your column would be an understatement. It provided calm and depth for me in a way I always need after the loud noise of the news and other doubtful viewpoints. I had initially thought you had rested it, and I mourned it for a while. I even reduced the frequency of my acquisition of the Trust on Saturday, but would sometimes pick it up in the hopes you had returned. Ironically, the day you returned, I did not buy a copy. I saw it on your Twitter feed, and I was overjoyed. Welcome back, and hopefully for as long as the foreseeable future. I wish you good health. God bless.
Matthew Chawai, Barnawa, Kaduna.
Re: The not-so-dynamic duo of Tinubu and Wike
Your write-up is pure sour grapes. You are not happy that after years of your kith [and kin] occupying the presidency and the FCT ministry, nothing tangible was done. But now that two Southerners are occupying those positions, and have achieved so much within one year, you are characteristic of the Northerners who see nothing good in non-Northerners.
Felix Faden, Jos.
Re: The not-so-dynamic duo of Tinubu and Wike
While I agree with your points on President Tinubu needing to pick more important things to commission, you were wrong about the FCT Minister, Wike. He is a refined politician who also happens to get things done. Do you blame him if he has enough power to get a president to grace his occasion, no matter how trivial? It just shows you how adept he is at his craft. If anything, you should praise him for that. I personally don’t care about the ‘dynamic duo’, but let us take it easy on some of our leaders. There is only so much nuclear physics that a roadside tailor can understand.
Mariam Abdullahi, Abuja.
Re: The not-so-dynamic duo of Tinubu and Wike
God bless you, and welcome back. I can see you returned well-prepared to take on the issues currently unfolding in our great nation. Your piece echoed my thoughts almost word-for-word, as I also wondered what business President Tinubu has with the commissioning of an urban road. And I believe you’ve figured out the president’s problem, which is that he loves to be seen as doing a lot. But all that does is to spread him too thin, and eventually achieving naught. Anyway, welcome back, again, and may God guide and protect you always.
Femi Obafemi Femi, Abuja.
Re: So short a letter to President Tinubu
Dear Mr. Baba Aminu, I am writing to first of all wish you better health, and God’s guidance. However, my observations about your column are not going to be too pleasing to you or to those who share your sentiments. And while I may be of the same extraction as President Tinubu, I assure you that I am not being ethnically biased. You see, you are the one who is being a tribalist, as I am quite sure you did not train your sights in such an acidic way when Buhari held sway as president for eight years. If we all would just try and be objective as citizens, it would be clear that there is only so much work Mr. President can achieve in less than a year so far, especially when you consider what he met. The state of disrepair of Nigeria is deep, and we all know it. Why don’t you criticize hiss VP, Kashim Shettima as well? Oh, I see, he isa fellow Northerner. Well, all I can say is I will continue to buy Daily Trust for its strategic importance, but not because of your column. I wish you a peaceful week ahead.
Michael A. Makanjuola, Asokoro, Abuja