Nigeria, July 15 -- Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Nigeria, was widely revered as a nationalist, a statesman, a visionary. Yet, on January 15, 1966, he was assassinated in a military coup. Just like that-his story was sealed. A legacy, interrupted by the unrelenting force of death.

History has a peculiar way of repeating itself: kings and commoners, saints and sinners, all are eventually swept away by time's indifferent tide. Death does not discriminate. Every day, good people, bad people, young and old alike, exit the world through illness, accident, violence, or quiet sleep. And no amount of virtue or villainy seems to offer immunity.

Science has tried to explain it. We link long life with quality of ...