Every once in a while, something happens to humans that makes them treat their race with new respect. Obama's election is one of those things, Oshiomole's another. Coming at a time when the world is all doom and gloom, when governments are scampering helter skelter in search of solutions to the worldwide recession, when all the predictions point south for the prosperity of man and his gargantuan aspirations, isn't it just so wonderful that remarkable men are emerging as it were just in time to fill hearts everywhere with a rush of hope that will last them a lifetime. Where were you the day Obama won? I remember clearly. I was right in my house, glued to the set. I should have been observing from the Civic Centre as a guest of the US Ambassador, but my younger daughter caught a chill, and I thought I could be by her and still not miss a thing. Which was exactly what happened. And it was all worth it.

Obama won fair and square, to the delight of the world. My phone, the next morning, was a flood of text messages from so many people, and all of them saying the same thing: one of our own has made it at last! Personal celebrations weren't enough; big parties were called, people took to the street s. It was a bedlam of joy.  My pastor was so moved he called to say how he'd shed tears of joy. One gratifying thing for us was the number of people who said they got introduced to the Obama phenomenon via previous Momentum write-ups on him.

That's why this edition is, if you like, an Obama Special. We thought we needed to memorialize that great day that's etched in history as the fulfillment of one man's audacious hope and the muted hopes of millions before him. Inside, therefore, you'll find insights and photos you had not seen before. This is one story that won't go stale, especially if, as we hope, Obama delivers on his pre election promises.

Another important victory was that of Adams Oshiomole, the labour titan who has been swept into the Edo State Government House on the strength of the judgment at the Court of Appeal. It was a victory some were afraid would never materialize, considering the godfathers and parties involved. When it did, it was another high point for Nigeria's judiciary which hasn't always delivered popular verdicts.

What do these victories portend? They go beyond the individuals on whom they were bestowed. What they say is that man's nobility isn't all eroded. It says that doing the right thing and expecting the right results is not out of fashion. It says that we can fight the good fight and come out victorious, that there are no down and outs except for those who've run their course on earth and are lying prostrate in the bowels of the earth.

For the rest of us who are alive, we simply cannot give up on our hopes and aspirations. It goes beyond dreaming, though, we must step into the ring, and resolve that in the New Year, we'll be out there swinging with all we got. For every punch that tries to dent our dreams, we must reply with at least two decisive blows of our own. We've got to stand our ground in the face of the recession and move with purpose. We must resolve to have a better story to tell at the end of 2009.
From all of us at Momentum, we wish you a merry, very merry Christmas and a fulfilling, result-driven New Year. 
Yes, we can. Yes, you can.