Theoretical Physicist Albert Einstein, described as the greatest scientist of the 20^th century, passed away on April 18, 1955: 63 years ago. Certain events and persons in Nigeria remind one of Einstein. A case in point is April 18. First, let’s take Prof Wole Soyinka, who has some interesting things in common with Einstein: like winning the Nobel Prize, being prompted to vie for the presidency, confronting dictators, being a trouble-shooter on campus, associated with the unconventional, similarly attracted to sea life, playing a stringed instrument and going on exile.

Soyinka was invited to Princeton, to give the Toni Morrison Lectures from April 18 to April 20. Einstein passed away in Princeton.

Toni Morrison, a former professor at Princeton was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama on May 29, 2012; the anniversary of the confirmation of the General Theory of Relativity, as advanced by Einstein, said to be the greatest discovery of the 20^th century.

On May 29, 2019, the 100^th anniversary of the confirmation of the General Theory of Relativity, a Nigerian president would be sworn in and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo wants to have a hand in who that person would be. Chief Obasanjo was sworn in as Nigerian president on May 29, 1999, and re-elected on April 19, 2003. He was to become the Patron of The Next Einstein Initiative of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). On April 18, 2018, he led a delegation of the Next Einstein Initiative to the African Development Bank.

On the year that marked the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Einstein, Obasanjo handed over to Alhaji Shehu Shagari: precisely on October 1, 1979, the anniversary of Einstein starting elementary school and, Shagari, like Einstein, at elementary school was literarily learning on the job. Obafemi Awolowo – who was to be described as the “best president Nigeria never had” – was said to have lost the presidential election to Shagari in 1979. Interestingly, spouse to Obafemi Awolowo was born November 25, 1915: the exact day Einstein presented his equations on the General Theory of Relativity in Berlin, Germany. And, Oby Ezekwesili – named by the Einstein Foundation as top among 100 visionaries of our time – gave the first H I D Awolowo lecture.

On April 19, 2018, Novelist Chimamanda Adiche was featured in the Harvard Gazette as Class Day Speaker. What is interesting about this is that the Einstein Foundation has also named Adiche as one of the top 100 visionaries of our time. Adiche was born September 15, 1977, whereas the Einstein gravitational waves were first observed on September 14, 2015: the eve of the 38^th birthday anniversary of Adiche.

Some of my articles on coincidences have been registered at the Statistical Laboratory, Cambridge University, under the headship of Prof David Spiegelhalter, once described as the world’s 34^th Best Mathematician. In the African world-view, when lightning strikes the same place three times, it is believed that “there must be something”; but in the Western world-view, it is just coincidence. Prof. Steven Pinker, one of the world’s top 100 thinkers, opined in his recent book, Enlightenment Now: The case for reason, science, humanism and progress that we make, under estimate the prevalence of coincidence.

It would be interesting to know where Prof Aderemi Kuku stands. He has been President of the African Academy of Science and President of the African Union of Mathematics.

•COINCIDENCES is a periodic column published on selected Wednesdays. The next appearance will be on September 12, 2018. The columnist, Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth, is based in England, Britain, but can be reached via e-mail through atogonub@yahoo.com;atogonub@hotmail.co.uk or info@newsexpressngr.com

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