Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.

We call that person who has lost his father an orphan and a widower that man who has lost his wife. But that man who has known the immense unhappiness of losing a friend by what name do we call him? Here every language is silent and holds its peace in impotence.

My father described this tall lady who stands in the middle of the New York harbor holding high a torch to welcome people seeking freedom in America. I instantly fell in love.

I was 37 when my father died-and I no longer had any freedom of choice over what I would do with the rest of my life.

I think there is a heritage which I'm proud of which is a fight for democracy a fight for social justice a fight for freedom. My grandfather went to jail or exile six times in his life fighting for his principles for democracy or for his country. And my father twice.

It is hard to know how many people do but given that the people are so docile towards the rulers nowadays very few Americans show the passion for freedom that our forefathers had.

To us Americans much has been given of us much is required. With all our faults and mistakes it is our strength in support of the freedom our forefathers loved which has saved mankind from subjection to totalitarian power.

Our forefathers got it they got it man. They took godly principles and they put them into action and they developed our Constitution - the land of freedom where each man is accountable and responsible for his actions.

There are lots of people out there who think they know the truth about God and religion but does anybody really know for sure? That's why the founding fathers built freedom of religious belief into the structure of this nation so that everybody could make up their minds for themselves.

I'm very proud of my Nigerian heritage. I wasn't fortunate enough to be raised in a heavy Nigerian environment because my parents were always working. My father was with D.C. Cabs and my mother worked in fast food and was a nurse.