What a fortuitous coincidence, writes A.B. Assensoh about Nigerian Vice-President Atiku Abubakar's keynote address of August 25, 2005 being published shortly after we read about him in the BBC report!

As I read Nigerian Vice-President Atiku Abubukar's keynote address published in Dialogue No. 1057, I smiled and wondered about why it was sent for posting at this time!

In fact, I also wondered aloud if he has heard that we have recently read about him as well as about the Ghana Vice-President and US Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana, as reported by the BBC. Of course, I know all of them to be honourable Black men (Bill Jefferson and I go way back in the early 1980s duirng my teaching and administrative position days there, coupled with Chief MKO Abiola's frequent business visits to us there about his fish-farming interests)! Indeed, if Nigerian Vice-President Abubakar does not know that we read about him in this useful forum, then I may sigh mightily: What a fortuitous coincidence that his keynote address will be published here at this time!

However, will the Honourable Vice-President, very kindly, care to explain things to all of us about, reportedly, the ongoing US-based investigations, as it is being alleged that, instead of meat and some mixed vegetables for preservation, raw cash (or "almighty" dollar) is being kept in deep freezers and refrigerators? In the case of Congressman Bill Jefferson, was it in anticipation of Hurricane Katrina in his home State of Louisiana that, allegedly, he deemed it necessary -- again reportedly -- to store cash in deepfreezer(s)? Of course, we know that the FBI cannot got to Abuja and haul Vice-President Abubakar to Maryland for the American probe but, as Africans, we are still interested in knowing some (if not all of the) details about what, allegedly, is going on with the Vice-Presidents of our two great nations: Nigeria and Ghana! This was part of the reason that I wrote the other day that nobody should lose sleep over the recent economic quarrels between Nigeria and Ghana! They are just quarrelling cousins, who will make up, especially when our Vice-Presidents get together!!

Over to you, Brother Toyin, to invite Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, GCON, to make his case, as we can't indict him, even if we find any fault with what he explains! Maybe, in the end, we may even applaud him for, allegedly, out-witting the unwittables!