Nigeria, Sept. 6 -- It was already past 11 o'clock that night when I finally got home.

We had spent much of the day poring over data on the performance of ministers, interrogating numbers, testing conclusions and considering what they meant for the work of government. It had been a long day, even by the standards of an office where long days were quite normal. I took my bath and was preparing to retire for the night when my telephone rang.

It was Boss Mustapha.

There was something important that needed to be resolved. A decision had to be reached, and the resulting document needed to get to President Muhammadu Buhari the following morning. He apologised for calling so late and asked if I could return to the office.

So, back to the off...