1. There’s a scene in The Sopranos where Tony, the boss makes a joke. It’s a bad joke. But his lieutenants laugh hysterically. In the Mafia, the boss’s jokes are always funny. And you have to laugh. That’s how our Government behaves towards a certain all-weather friend.

2. Some say it’s the burden of indebtedness. When you owe someone money, you’re condemned to cheering their every act & pretending not to see their wrongs. Even if they make a bad joke, you just have to laugh. When you’re a perennial debtor, the creditor’s joke is always funny.

3. I’m reminded of the relationship between Okonkwo and his father, Unoka in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Part of Okonkwo’s early meteoric success was driven by his desire not to resemble his father who was lazy, irresponsible & perennially in debt. Our government is like Unoka.