Nigeria, Jan. 26 -- I have told this story before. But it bears re-telling in the current circumstances. More than 30 years ago, a friend was involved in a car accident. He was driving back home in the wee hours of the morning, after an all-night party. No one quite knows what happened, but the accident was dreadful enough to leave him hospitalised in critical condition. By the time his dad got to his bedside, his mum and grandma were done crying. More hawkish than both female parents, my friend's father reminded him about existing concerns over how fast he drives and wondered how that might have contributed to the accident.

Grandma would have none of her son's callousness. She invited him to be more grateful to God that the outcome of t...