Joshua King's Free Press

OBASANJO’S EPISTLE TO PRESIDENT BUHARI AND MATTERS ARISING   News of ex-president Obasanjo’s letter to Buhari has not waned. As of the time of this writing, Obasanjo is still trending on Twitter and the contents of his letter is shaping the political dialogue of Nigeria. How can one man be such an influence as to completely alter the discuss? That would be the subject of another piece. The Obasanjo brand is indeed consistent with his letters in the past 3 decades. A quick tour of history would remind the reader that 1.             He had written a shorter letter to president Shagari after which incumbent president Buhari struck. 2.             He also wrote one to Buhari which was not quite popular but soon saw the end of that regime. 3.             He went ahead to write twice to military president I...

I saw a post on Facebook with the question: If given the opportunity, who would have been the best ruler of the seven kingdoms? A simple answer could not cut it for me, I got tempted to write. Lord Eddard Stark. The father of Rob, Sansa, Brandon, Arya and Rickon Stark was a just and noble man. He teaches his children to be same. He was quite valiant in battle. Honour is the word that best describes him. However, his honour was also his weakness. He could not deal decisively with Cersei when he had the chance offering them an "honourable chance to get away". Of course that was his undoing. Cersei would later go on to say: This is the game of thrones, you either win or die. Verdict: A decent honourable king but unable to make hard decisions. Stannis Baratheon. Hated by his brothers Robert and Renly respectively but determined nonetheless. Stannis' claim to the throne was based on Ned Stark's discovery of Lannister incest. His desperation led him to the battle ...

Yesterday the world hailed Dr. Martin Luther King jr. He was celebrated more in the United States by African Americans and indeed white people and Latinos. His speech, "I have a dream" still ranks 1st among public speeches given in the last 250 years of mankind. Dr King was not just an orator. He stood for something greater than himself. He stood for justice, equal rights and the end of segregation. It was not an easy struggle. Police brutality was targeted at the African Americans and shops were marked "whites only". The injustice and wickedness faced by the African Americans were terrible. Many could not even sit quietly in a bus because a white man had to sit down first. Make no mistake, there were other freedom fighters in his day. But Dr King insisted on non violence and non resistance. A certain Malcom X accused him severally and bitterly for leading the African people astray. But Dr King would not resort to hate speeches, threats or even calls for sece...

Recently, a girl asked me to explain relegation in the football context. It was fairly easy. A set number of teams that finish at the bottom of a league must descend to the lower league the next season. The concept of relegation is one that is not only applicable in competitive football but in many other aspects of life.   But teams don’t just get relegated. Relegation is not an act of God or an act of marginalization nor does it come as a result of conspiracy by other players in the league. Relegation has one key determining factor: poor form over the season. The teams that get relegated failed to find form during the greater part of the season and in the end, must go down. Teams must struggle to find form, rhythm and confidence to carry on in the fixtures of a season. Football managers are quite inclined to ensure the lasting of form. They have different assistant coaches who keep looking at the players, scouting opponents, training and generally doing everything w...