Oscar

Unlike our general elections, Oscar is done and dusted with minimal fuss- no host, but the event was still graceful. And, it was also a  mixed fortune for blacks in a black month on the world's biggest entertainment stage.

On stage was Africa’s biggest export in comedy, South Africa's Trevor Noah. His climb to the zenith of creative comedy has been a combination of hard work, ingenuity and clarity of purpose. Just like other comedians, he’s talented but where he stands out is his ability to consistently engage intellect, shun mediocre jokes and acclimatize his wit to his environment. Such a pure class, you'll say, but I digress.

The Oscar wasn’t about Trevor; his time is surely coming.  It was to be about Black Panther, the $1b grossing movie of an almost entire black cast partly filmed in Nigeria. The movie got looked over at the coveted best picture category as the award in that category went to the Green Book. I have seen both movies in a disproportionate times, and still cannot quite figure how Wakanda lost the ‘election’ to the Green Book. Before heading to court, a proof is needed.

It has to be a Sunday. With every member of my family gone to church, I picked an armchair, remote, parchment and pen and settled down with a bottle of something as company to watch the Black Panther. Again, the movie appears to tick everything in the box. But for Killmonger, the villain in the movie last request, “bury me in the ocean with my ancestors that jumped from the bridge because they knew death was better than bondage”. This seem to cynically address the  challenges obstructing black excellence like cynicism, racism  and slavery. The dispassionate council may have found this obtrusive. There is no point in going to court on this one, it is a premeditated decision. I will lose.

Backstage at home and capitalising on the tribal benevolence of Buhari, Atiku has continue to make a parody out of a famous Yoruba idiom that speaks to his alleged reputation as a kleptomaniac. Presently, a court is entertaining a case of stolen mandate that Atiku brought querying why the people allegedly chose his kinsman over him.

But the President is not threatened as there is no proof of any malpractices. The President is equally finding it difficult to get evidence to establish a case of corruption against his kinsman. And if there was one, there is an acting Judiciary to serve both actors fairly by ensuring that neither case is won or lost at the expense of another.