Month: January 2022

By Musa Kalim Gambo

January 15 marks 56 years since the gruesome murder of Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Nigeria. To borrow a few words from Shakespeare, both were like Colossus under whose giant feet the North strode.

The description of that Saturday’s night events still haunts many of us here in the North. Though we sincerely believe that Allah must have predestined that these servants of His were not going to exceed that day on earth, and they would die from the bullets of Igbo-led soldiers. It is still a tragedy we will never forget.

On Tuesday, January 11, Daily Trust published an opinion piece written by my excellent friend Sa’adatu Aliyu titled “Igbos too deserve Nigeria’s presidency”. When I saw the title, at first, I thought it must have been written by an Igbo ethnic nationalist from South-Eastern Nigeria, for she is expressing an opinion that is utterly alien to Northern Nigeria’s political thought and discourse. One should expect this line of thinking to come from the Igbo because the Igbo elite has popularized this illusory notion of exclusion from Nigeria’s corridors of power, especially Aso Rock, as one of the major precursors for secessionist agitation in today’s Nigeria.

By the way, this is the ethnic group that produced Nigeria’s first civilian president, Nnamdi Azikiwe, in the 1960s. Then, again on the return of democracy in 1979, Chief Alex Ekwueme emerged as Nigeria’s Vice-President.

In 2019, Atiku Abubakar had Peter Obi, a former governor of an Igbo state, as a running-mate. Unfortunately, it was a wrong calculation, and we saw how it ended. One of Obi’s major sins that stained Atiku’s ticket is that as a governor in Anambra state, he reportedly came up with policies that frustrated Northern traders and artisans in his state. This sin is an expression of the general attitude towards the Northerner in the South-East region – where the Northerner is perceived with disdain and attacked in the event of any slight provocation.

Again we cannot forget Sardauna’s warning about the Igbo tendencies and quest for dominance in every little sphere of endeavour. This warning and the pain of Sardauna’s murder is still with many of us.

But it is important to understand that even without this fear of domination, the Igbo vote on its own is inconsequential in the making of a president in a democratic Nigeria. So even without January 15, which now resembles the Roman Ides of March, when power mongers assassinated Julius Caesar, the Igbo will not make it to the president.

However, suppose we have an Igbo man in the line of succession within the political equation. In that case, a natural tragedy as it happened to Umaru Musa Yar’adua may undeservedly promote an Igbo man to occupy the exalted seat of the president. And that will be a pure work of Providence that the North will pray for God to forbid.

Some people suspect that an average Northerner hates the Igbo man; that is a wrong assumption. No, the Northerner is comfortable doing business with the Igbo man, as can be seen by the presence of Igbo businesses in every village, town, and city in the North. However, in the political scene, the average Northerner is apprehensive about the Igbo man at the apex of political power. The Northerner does not want January 15 to repeat itself in terms of the elimination of our most revered political leaders.

In the end, I like to re-emphasize, as has been emphasized by many Northern political elites, we are in a democracy. An Igbo man is free to purchase a ticket on any political party’s platform to run for any political office, including the president. If he can generate the requisite number of votes to win the election, who will stand in his way?

Let it be known very well that the presidency of this country is not a baton in a relay race that would just be handed over to the next athlete standing. No, it is a tug of war with competing parties pulling against each other on opposing sides. So, no one should come here again with that sense of entitlement declaring that the Igbos deserve Nigeria’s presidency too. Instead, they should be advised to jump into the arena and fight for the seat with the full knowledge that the North’s deciding population will not clap for them. We study and honour history, its figures, and defining events in the North.

Now, on January 15, and every other day, let’s not forget to pray for Allah’s mercy and blessing upon the souls of Sirs Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Ahmadu Bello, and all other departed heroes of ours who had the progress and development of our region and people at the centre of their hearts.

Gambo writes from Zaria, Kaduna State, via kalimatics@gmail.com

By Aliyu Yakubu Yusuf

In the not too distant past, there was a widespread belief that footballers of northern Nigerian (read: Hausa-Muslims) extraction are serially marginalised when it comes to a call-up to the Super Eagles. Due to the proliferation of viewing centres in the North that has brought a relative exposure to European football and the easy access to internet-powered mobile phones, most northerners have realised that there was a plot against players from the region. The ongoing African Cup of Nations in Cameroon has somehow brought the debate about whether the North, with its vast landmass and way larger population, is criminally under-represented in the Super Eagles. I don’t believe in any conspiracy theory as far as this argument is concerned. Here is why.

1. Unlike in the South, football is regarded as, first and foremost, a hobby in the North and not a trade or a career. As a result, many talented northern players lack the ambition to push themselves to the limit, to build football as their way of living. For example, some of his close friends testified that former Kano Pillars player, Ahmed Garba Yaro-Yaro, failed to settle at the German Club, Borussia Dortmund, because he couldn’t withstand the cold weather in the European city, among other reasons. That was a player who had the chance not only to make millions but also make a name for himself at the Super Eagles set up. Instead, he blew the opportunity and shortly returned to Kano Pillars via a Tunisian Club, Esperance. Imagine an Igbo or a Yoruba getting this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

2. Culture and religion also discourage our football players. In most quarters in the North, top-level European football, the utmost dream of all footballers worldwide, is seen as a strictly Euro-Christian tradition. Most parents would rather have their children become petty traders in Kano, Kaduna or Abuja than millionaire footballers in London so as not to have their culture and religion contaminated by the infidel westerners. In fact, the few football players that take the game seriously and attempt to reach the highest level of local football (the Nigerian Premier League) are often seen as wayward, low-IQ fellows who couldn’t make it in school and therefore resort to football.

3. Historical factors also play against the North. Just like western education, football was brought here by the Europeans and has taken a firm root in the South before the North. Because of their connection to their former European clubs, some Nigerian ex-footballers convince the clubs to establish football academies. The location of these academies is, more often than not, the South. Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid all have football academies in Abuja, Lagos and a few southern cities but none in the North. The ex-Super Eagles’ golden boy, Nwankwo Kanu, has an academy in his native Owerri. I wonder whether we can say the same about the likes of Garba Lawal and Tijjani Babangida. Lagos alone has more than ten football academies, while the whole 13 states of the ‘core’ north have zero, with Kwara state as the only northern state with a football academy. If we genuinely want to compete with the South, we need football academies in the North. These academies employ agents that look for young players, recruit them, train them and open doors for them to pursue a career in top-level football. And because of historical factors, most football agents and scouts of European clubs seem to look for talents in the South rather than the North.

4. All around the South are former footballers who succeeded in the game and, therefore, serve as mentors and role models for aspiring young players. You quickly draw inspiration when you have a practical example right in front of you. A player from Delta state, for example, would look no further than Okocha, Keshi and Oruma, to know that he, too, can follow their enviable footsteps. Some of these ex-players use their networks of relationships to send young players for trial in some European clubs. However, the story is entirely different here.

5. All countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, essentially select players who ply their trade in European football. Apart from the economic aspects, Europe is where football is played at its most competitive level. If you select Nigerian-based players primarily, they would be schooled by the likes of Salah, Aubameyang and Mane, who are more experienced in the game. Now, compared to the South, how many northern players can we mention who play football in Europe? I challenge everyone here to mention just ten prominent northerners in European football.

For these reasons, I don’t believe the Nigerian national team is rigged against us. As it stands, we are not doing enough to be selected for the national team. If our young players give it a better go, we have the potential to equal the South in that regard. I find it amusing that while most things are done on a quota system basis, football players are chosen purely on merit. Perhaps that is why it is the single most crucial thing that unifies Nigerians across diverse ethnic, religious and regional leanings. If we can begin to choose our leaders on merit (not quota system), I believe the country stands a better chance to progress.

Aliyu is a lecturer at the Department of English and Literary Studies, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via aliyuyy@gmail.com.

By Lawi Auwal Yusuf

The amalgamation of the protectorates in 1914 predetermined a united state for multiple precolonial chiefdoms. Highly diverse Nigeria featured by a rainbow of cultures is deeply fractioned along ethnic and religious lines.

Imperial misrule left a bad legacy for national unity. Regional devolution caused intense tussles among regional forces over the powerful central authority, which was the basis for post-independence sectarian disputes.

Thus, six-year-old Nigeria witnessed a catastrophic separatist war that took the lives of many heroes. Since the aftermath of the bloodletting, the country has been bedevilled with lingering ethno-nationalisms coupled with regular fatal brawls between the tribes. This was due to extreme polarization and segregation of the heterogeneous groups with no sense of togetherness, community cohesion and dovishness. 

Deeply ingrained tensions have been the order of the day. Igbos accuse Northerners of their grief and impeding their chances of realising the apex power. The Northerners equally see the Igbos as power maniacs. Yorubas feel discontented with the status quo, while minorities have the impression of a roughshod ride over them.

Tribal and religious absolutism are awful threats as multiculturalism has failed, and communities have become ever more fragmented. Patriotism has eroded, and Nigerians are less tied by the bond of nationality. They are no longer one united people and do not regard themselves as national brothers with a sense of shared identity. Hence, there is an absence of the desired unity in diversity, tolerance and integration.

Politicians must develop the impulse and genuine commitment to national unity. They must believe that this is a dire task that transcends beyond cultural exhibitions, festivities or even wearing traditional attires of host communities during political rallies. Instead, it requires solid whims, sacrifice and effective policies.

Technocrats are required to accomplish this task efficiently. They must design policies that ensure equitable treatment of the ethnocultural groups alongside the creation of space for all the divergent voices to be heard. Everybody must have a say in society. Moreover, they must devise ways to live together harmoniously, without prejudice or malice.

Integration is so effective in ensuring peaceful coexistence between fractious groups. Therefore, increased contact across the nation should be emphasised, and Nigerians should increasingly intermingle with one another. This will allow people to live closer to one another, work amicably, and ensure that relations remain peaceful. Therefore, disputes will vanish obstinately.

This can only be realised if there is an honour for individual cultural preferences in public life. All institutions must make special provisions for all Nigerians’ choices and cultural needs. So, everybody will develop a worthy stake in the social order. Policies must be put in place to accommodate the values, diet, dressing, spiritual convictions, and practices respectably.

We need to facilitate multilingualism by encouraging people to learn several native languages. Speaking one another’s languages diminishes suspicion, tensions and conflict. This will also build trust, honour and understanding across all cultures.

Social exclusion creates deficient opportunities for disadvantaged/minority groups suggesting that they don’t have equal rights. As a result, they are treated as second class citizens, hindering cohesion and egalitarianism featured by social inclusion and pluralism. Moreover, it leads to distress to the abandoned groups, which poses a persistent threat of disharmony. However, institutions must make efforts to meet the needs of all communities and not tilt towards the needs of a particular section.

Regrettably, the tribes have distorted perceptions of each other. Malevolence aggravates because of misleading histories and myths falsifying the reality and typically portraying others as diabolic. They hold malicious convictions and stereotype each other based on their previously treated beliefs. Any trivial provocation warrants the impression and becomes a basis for vengeance. The exasperation of hostilities by IPOB, ESN, Afenifere and others are clear examples.

It is needful to enact a statute outlawing attitudes of these tribes calling one another with derogatory or slur names that denigrate or demonise others. Ethnicities hardly unite if they are abusing one another.

The present mass idleness must be evaded alongside the creation of decent jobs. Graduates happen to be jobless long after they have left school. Similarly, numerous unknowledgeable youths remain redundant. Ethnic and religious skirmishes intensify every day due to hardships encountered by youths in their efforts to have a lawful means of subsistence. Many of them have the requisite skills and qualifications but found them not helpful in securing employment. They have fallen victim to anxieties, delays, and disparagement and developed a strong feeling of despair, oppression, and unfairness. Hence, they engage in crimes or sectional clashes to counter the injustice and avoid the distress of poverty.

With such dissimilarities in all parts of society, tolerance is indispensable if Nigerians want to live in peace. The capacity to live in a plural society will secure a harmonious future for multiethnic Nigeria. However, Martin Luther King Jr. once said to Americans at the peak of racial segregation that “we must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

Lawi Auwal Yusuf wrote from Kano, Nigeria. He can be reached via laymaikanawa@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Police detectives have nabbed a woman identified as Aisha Ibrahim for allegedly trying to sell her co-wife’s two-year-old boy in Gusau, Zamfara State.

Mr Ayuba N Elkannah, the state police commissioner, disclosed that the detectives used intelligence before they finally tracked down the suspect at the Tullukawa area of Gusau metropolis.

However, the suspect confessed that she stole the boy to sell and raise money for her day-to-day needs.

Ibrahim was said to have been born in Danyade Kaya village in Maradi, Niger Republic.

By Nusaiba Ibrahim Na’abba

As Northern Nigeria continues to be engulfed by violent activities of terrorists by the day, the thoughts of dreadful terror acts of the famous Sunni Ali of Songhai who conquered the old, widely acknowledged historic city of Timbuktu keeps reappearing on my mind. The likes of late Muhammad Yusuf, late Abubakar Shekau and most recently Bello Turji and Dogo Gide, including some of the ‘unknown’ alleged sponsors of these activities, are no different than Sunni Ali – ‘tyrannical, cruel and merciless’.

The only probable difference is that the miniature Sunni Ali’s of our time live under the protection of a democratically elected government that vowed to protect our lives. This system we all thought would salvage us from the brink of destruction. With all the high hopes for this salvation purposely adopted to elect President Buhari into office, it is under his watch that in 2018, the Nigerian army gave an order to halt the near-arrest of late Abubakar Shekau in the depths of Sambisa Forest.

While at secondary school, it used to be quite fascinating to read and learn about the legends of some of the most powerful kings in Africa. Timbuktu’s Mensah Musa, Usmanu Bin Fodio of Sokoto, the rulers of Ghana’s Asante Kingdom and their powers on their followers, especially their strength, have always remained interesting references for their followers, especially history scholars and political leaders around the world. From leadership structure, means of sustenance, warfare and particularly military strength devoid of politicking have remained exemplary and worthy of emulation as legends have primarily documented.

Inherent in today’s Nigeria, a ravaging systemic corruption, unambitious leadership, lack of education prospects contributing to a staggering number of unemployed youths (some even throwing their hats in the ring and retiring from the state of being called youths), poor security apparatuses and myopic economic vision that continues to increase our foreign debt figures without pans of paying back. Not even the vibrancy of our historic leadership structure is being inculcated in the ‘democratic system’ we (African countries) borrowed from our colonial bosses.

Nigerians are already hopeless as the nation races towards the 2023 general elections. About two months back, I went shopping in Abubakar Rimi market (alias Sabon Gari market). All I could hear filling up the sky were words of hopelessness about the state of our dear Nigeria. “I would rather lose my voter’s card than to elect anyone in 2023”, “Our leaders will not make heaven, I tell you,” and “I’m just hoping to make it to next year alive; we are not celebrating anything” among many unending agonies. 

It is no coincidence that the President himself vindicated these agonies in an interview NTA aired on January 8, 2022. He warned his political party that “the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could win the 2023 presidential election and return to power, if the All Progressives Congress (APC), does not settle crises that have stymied the party”. Of course, a speech of such nature and coming from the President is subject to multiple interpretations from analysts, experts, particularly politicians and lay-Nigerians. However, the President has undoubtedly depicted a lack of confidence in his party to exacerbate an already hopeless situation. His first thought is PDP winning elections to continue from where they stopped – over a decade of misrule.

Indeed, it is pretty late that Nigerians realize that both APC and PDP are birds of a feather that flock together. During an interview with Talk to Aljazeera on February 15 2015, then-presidential candidate General Buhari highlighted the weakness of PDP’s 16-year-misrule. He, specifically, lamented on the rising insecurity and the deteriorating economy as oil prices dropped significantly. A year later, when he had a similar discussion with the same Aljazeera on his visit to Qatar in early 2016, he tried to admit that he hasn’t failed Nigerians – as Boko Haram held some strategic places in the outskirts of Maiduguri. Over the years of his administration, we now fully understand who has failed Nigerians the most.

Like every race to a general election in Nigeria, we all scale through hurdles and hitches. However, what is particular about the 2023 general elections is that it showcases the real wielders of the entire Nigerian system – the elites. Indeed aspiring candidates are fully aware of problems they will undoubtedly inherit from their predecessors. They also know that they may worsen existing situations in most cases. Thus, they shall race through rising insecurity than ever before, calls for secession from the Eastern part of the country, deteriorating economy, a staggering number of unemployed youths and out of school children, dilapidated schools, bloodshed, brain drain of medical personnel, weak security apparatuses, widely acknowledged electoral violence and, to cap it all, systemic corruption.

Since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, every political aspirant has been fully aware of the problems ahead of them, but they always divert followers’ attention by being optimistic. This is why it was pretty easy for most Nigerians to succumb to President Buhari’s change agenda.

Be it as it may and with almost nothing to redeem ourselves, expectations are meagre as the race to 2023 heats up. It’s no longer news that the country’s entire political economy continues to suffer in the hands of the few ‘powerful’. The masses do not wield enormous influence in the system that steers the affairs of Nigeria. So, we absolutely cannot change the country’s political structure without owning the system. Therefore, there is no confidence or trust in the election processes with ‘inconclusive elections’ that have come to stay with us since they favour the wielders of the system. 

Nonetheless, we will remain optimistic that Nigeria will prosper as a united and incorruptible country no matter what it takes. This storm shall pass. Borrowing from the words of South Africa’s Apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, “I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed towards the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death”.

Nusaiba Ibrahim Na’abba is a master’s student from the Department of Mass Communication, BUK. She is a freelance writer and researcher. She can be reached via nusaibaibrahim66@gmail.com.                                     

Ahmadu Shehu, PhD.

Like any other place around the world, 2021 has not been easy, and 2022 does not seem to promise anything better. Great people have been lost all over, but Adamawa State has seen its worst for a very long time.

On one of those cold mornings, the world learnt about the transition of one of the bedrocks of the modern Nigerian university system, Dr Mahmud Tukur, the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of what has become Nigeria’s centre of academic excellence, Bayero University, Kano.

Not many weeks passed before death struck again, this time at the heart of the Nigerian civil service veterans, taking away one of the best black-boxes, our father, Baba Ahmed Joda. As if that was not enough loss already, one of the leading public servants, a silent achiever and an erudite scholar, Alh. Abdullahi Danburam Jada left a vast vacuum that cannot be filled in the foreseeable future.

These were first class, first-generation Nigerians who fought for and served this nation in different and various capacities. They built the nation’s civil service, education, military, politics and economy. These were among the people without whom there wouldn’t have been Nigeria. They were the best Adamawa could offer to the world.   

But, today, I have not been as sad for a very long time because the reality of losing an icon, a mentor, has come to a step closer. A piece of unbelievable news surfaced on various platforms that one of the best of the bests in brain and character, a glittering light, a joint of unity among many, an icon of devotion and commitment, one of the most selfless souls, whose humility, sacrifice and gentility are immeasurable has gone to rest.

 Professor Gidado Tahir? No! I couldn’t believe it, for we have so much in stock waiting to be accomplished, none of which was for him or any single soul. Everything has been for his society, Nigeria, humanity. Although already 74, I couldn’t fathom the reality that Prof. has left without seeing some of these things happen.

However, the will of Allah is sacrosanct. Therefore, I accept it. I have come to terms with the reality that Professor Gidado Tahirhas left for good, but not without leaving us behind with the heavy responsibility of actualizing beautiful plans for our society and humanity.    

My relationship with Professor Gidado is a 24-year-old journey full of fascinating stories, exciting experiences and unforgettable lessons. In 1997, my father, Shehu Isa, took me alongside the headmaster of our nomadic primary school, Mamukan, Mal. Ahmed Musa Nyibango, to visit the head of the National Commission for Nomadic Education.

Before the visit, my father had organized a well-attended first graduation ceremony to celebrate the first graduands of the school. Professor Gidado was ably represented but asked that my father visit him for familiarization. I was 12 years old, fresh from primary into junior secondary.

My headmaster introduced me to him as the school prefect and the first in class position during that occasion. Prof. shook my tiny hands and said, “sannu maa Professor”, and while stirring deep into my eyes, he added, “do not leave school because you are the future”.

He then asked my father to “please keep in touch” and not relent in his pursuit for the education of the nomads, who he persuades to settle down with him and enrol their children into school. Indeed, my father kept to these words until the final moment.

The subsequent encounter was when Prof. handed me my Grade II certificate, which I earned from a DFID-sponsored nomadic teacher training program anchored by F.C.E., Yola and NCNE. Once again, Prof. followed this by saying to me, “move on, this is not the bus stop”, and that there is so much ahead to achieve. I heeded this advice and returned to school immediately after completing the two-year mandatory service at my nomadic school of origin. 

In 2004, the year I obtained an N.C.E., someone from the college who knew my modest academic activities had the cause to discuss me with him. I didn’t have a phone at the time, but Prof. ensured that his message got to me. It says, “please further your education to the university and let me know if you need my help. You can reach me on….” I immediately walked to my mentor at the college, Dr Salihi Atiku, and asked him to facilitate my results and application to the university.

There was a slight communication gap since I joined the University of Maiduguri until Dr Nafisatu D. Muhammed – who was instrumental to the survival of the entire nomadic education and my personal progress – mentioned me to him, highlighting my modest first-class degree and seeking his intervention in my application for a teaching job.

As the usual father that he was, Prof. immediately asked to see me, spoke to me regularly, mentored, engaged and supported me during my good and bad times. My last moments with him are unforgettable. He invited me to his house in the Villa on a Friday evening, where I met him undergoing physiotherapy with his doctor. I asked to excuse them, but he said to me, “sit here close to me, my son because you [plural] are our pride.”

More like a pre-planned episode, Prof narrated their struggle at and for NCNE, UBEC and how they helped establish the American University of Nigeria. Among many things, I would like to share his last words with all the young people out there: These legacies are for you to sustain and build upon. I gave him my words and left around 05:50 P.M. Allahu akbar!

Thank you for everything, Professor. May Allah grant you Jannah – until we come.

Dr Ahmadu Shehu writes from Kaduna. He can be reached on ahmadsheehu@gmail.com

By Uzair Adam Imam

President Muhammadu Buhari expressed deep grief over the recent atrocious killings in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The incident has claimed the souls of not fewer than eighteen people, The Daily Reality discovered.

Buhari’s lamentation was in a press statement by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu.

The president has lamented that the incident was not in keeping with the principles of the peace agreements reached between the two ethnic groups, Irigwe and the Fulani, in the area.

“My thoughts are with the families of the victims in this time of grief. May their souls rest in peace,” the president said.

Buhari warned that “Every group taking the law into their hands claims to be retaliating. As a society, there is no place for this sort of violence. This is unacceptable.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A fake Army General identified as Bolarinwa Oluwasegun has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

According to the commission, Mr Oluwasegun was arrested for posing as an Army General appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the Chief of Army Staff, COAS. Bolarinwa used his fake identity to defraud unsuspecting persons. In a statement by the EFCC on its verified Facebook account, Mr Oluwasegun met his Waterloo after receiving a complaint from Kodef Clearing Resources.

A part of the statement reads: “The suspect who posed as an Army General in the Nigerian Army, allegedly made false representations to the complainant, Kodef Clearing Resources, that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, had shortlisted him and one other to be appointed as the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, and that he needed a short grant to press and process the appointment.”

The EFCC added that Mr Oluwasegun also allegedly forged a letter of appointment as COAS purportedly signed by the president to substantiate his fake claim.

By Abdulrazak Iliyasu Sansani 

I had initially not titled this article “AFCON: The gigantic tournament” not because I had less respect for it hitherto. “I’ve heard that so often, that there’s no international break until March,” Jurgen Klopp said. “In January, there’s a little tournament in Africa, I just want to say, and I think Asia is playing games, too – South America as well. Great, can’t wait!” But I have done so now primarily to respond to the purported disregard, misinformation, or rather outright disrespect directed at the most prestigious football tournament in Africa, which Jurgen Klopp’s comment on the African Cup of Nations seems to convey, as less relevant.  I have tremendous respect for Klopp, one of the finest tacticians in football. I can’t certainly say he meant to disrespect the AFCON, though, this doesn’t stop me from tackling what is gradually gaining credence in Europe whether glaringly or subtly: the scanty regard for AFCON. 

I had once written an article titled the Pinnacle of African football and the quest for glory. It would have been published ahead of the last edition of AFCON in Egypt. However, it was never published. The said title aptly captured how I view African football. I believe this is how the vast majority of African football fanatics regard it. And no amount of disrespect, misunderstanding, red herrings, or disinformation could alter that. 

The biggest event in African football commences on 9th January,  with five times Champions Cameroon taking on Burkina Faso in Olembe Stadium in Yaounde. It is the curtain-raiser for the most important tournament in African football. The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Total 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, is the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the tournament will be hosted by Cameroon, the Champions of the 31st edition. The competition was held in June/July in the previous edition, which Algeria won. 

But this edition has been moved back to January/February. Cameroon were to host the last edition, only for them to be stripped of the hosting right in  November 2018 mainly for three reasons: Anglophone crisis, delays in the delivery of critical infrastructure, and the Boko Haram crisis. This edition of the AFCON has come with numerous challenges even before it starts. Strong opposition has come from many angles centred on the timing of the AFCON. Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reverted back to AFCON’s traditional calendar, as against the normal Summer calendar used in major international competitions like the World Cup and European Football competition, though the former is set to be played in November this year, unlike the prior editions. 

The bulk of the opposition to the timing of the AFCON has understandably come from European clubs, who have a lot to lose by having some of their key players miss some features for the duration of the AFCON. These have made many clubs to devise means to keep their players against the wishes of the players or in collaboration with the players. This has allegedly seen some of the clubs going out of their ways to engage in unethical practices in order to keep their players from playing for their countries. We heard former Super Eagles player, John Ogu made startling revelations about his manager asking him to fake injuries in order to prevent him from playing for the Nigerian national team, ‘not even surprised at the situation of the foreign managers or clubs not wanting their players to go represent their country in tournaments,’ Ogu tweeted.

‘One certain manager in Portugal asked [that] I tell the coach of Eagles then that I was injured so as not to go for a friendly game.

‘After I left, went back to the club, he stopped playing me, and this was prior to the World Cup coming that year. I made mentioned it here and many out here said I was lying and so on. Una don see how them be now?’

Ogu, who eventually missed out on the 2014 tournament, has been without a club in 2020, as reported by Goal.com Africa.

‘I missed out on that World Cup list,’ he continued. “The evil part of it was when the list came out and he found out I wasn’t invited, man, walk up to me and asked I call the manager to list me and that if he wants, he can start me in the last game in the league.” ‘I was shocked how evil one can be.’  You could see the length some of these clubs could go. It is absurd, gratuitous, unacceptable, and a blatant disregard for African football and Africa in general. 

European Club Association wrote FIFA, stating why they might not release players for AFCON: health, the welfare of players, and the timing of the AFCON. The ECA further accused African football affiliated associations of failing to “properly implement protocols with worrying degrees of negligence.” The ECA said they would release African players for the forthcoming 2021 African Cup of Nations only when national football associations in Africa meet certain stringent conditions. At its meeting of December 2, 2021, the ECA in an official letter to FIFA Deputy Secretary-General Matthias Grafstrom and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), made their position known, especially with the raging Omicron variant of Covid_19. The ECA mandated FIFA and CAF to ensure necessary precautions are in place to protect players and club interests ahead of the tournament.

I have to concede that there are vital issues to iron out in the timing of the AFCON and the ECA are entitled to protect their interests. So also are CAF and its member associations. CAF will be unfair to its affiliated associations if it remains adamant on the current calendar merely to prove a point that it has sufficient grounds. However, all these don’t give the ECA the impetus let alone the justification to insult African football. Going forward there should be a clearly defined means, concessions, and major decisions must be made by all stakeholders for a mutually beneficial solution.

I know certainly that if it were the other way round: The backlash from the European press, clubs, and fans would have been deafening. A Series of sanctions would have been in place on those clubs from FIFA. CAF, FIFA, and all stakeholders should treat this matter thoroughly with a view to finding a lasting solution that has the players, the fans, and everyone in mind. Above all, a workable remedy that upholds the dignity of Africans and aids the development of the beautiful game should be rigorously pursued. 

Abdulrazak Iliyasu Sansani Writes from Turaki B, Jalingo, Taraba State and can be contacted via abdulrazaksansani93@gmail.com.

By Abdullahi Aminu Mudi

The intriguing question is, what makes Kano State what it is today? Coming from Kadawa on Zaria Road, into Unguwa Uku, and on Eastern By-Pass, going up to Mariri, and getting to Wudil, back to Hadejia Road, going up to Dawanau and Bichi, and finally, moving to Janguza on Gwarzo road, is a sprawling and a densely populated city. Its growth in number matches its enterprising exuberance. Kano is a commerce city with a large market covering northern, extending to many parts of central and southern Nigeria, and linking up to the Central African Republic, Niger, Cameroun, and Chad.

As business and entrepreneurial opportunities abound in Kano, due to a large population, it represents a sordid state with a grubbily degenerating condition. Its growth depicts chaotic organization, unplanned settlements, lack of, in many aspects, the absence of sanity in the society and the public system. This is the intriguing question that points to a paradox and a binary of opposites; from one angle, one sees the positive outlook of Kano, and another perspective provides insight into the deplorable and annoying situation that has engulfed the state.

The impetus for this write-up emanates from the disorganization that has become of Kano. Given its status and development, the state has metamorphosed over the years into what it is today. Therefore, setting a clear path, and for us to understand and appreciate the status of Kano, its historical and evolutionary development must be looked into. This will shed light on its present condition and the challenge of managing a cosmopolitan state. Building on this, having understood its current situation, an attempt will be made in the second part of this article to suggest pathways towards addressing such challenges and rebuilding Kano to claim its rightful position.

Like many other cities, towns and states, Kano’s evolutionary and historical development to what it has become cannot be linked to or reduced to a single factor. Cumulative actions by different actors and events, not what some historical accounts say, of the decline of Katsina as a city of commerce, or the trans-Saharan trade, have influenced and shaped Kano’s growth and ascendency. Ruled through a combination of efforts and collaboration between traditional authority, merchants, and religious leaders, over the years, from pre-colonial, through colonial and post-colonial times, Kano has transformed and developed. During the colonial era, the traditional leadership took active steps by changing key institutions and making the Native Administration a functional system in a way that key social and economic sectors were made to be responsive. Thus, industrialization and economic reinvigoration were made to match statecraft. Under Alhaji Abdullahi and Alhaji Muhammadu Sunusi (I) as emirs of Kano, the Challawa and Bompai Industrial layouts were established. These were made and established to industrialize the state. Their impacts, so enormous were they, relative self-sufficiency was achieved, jobs were created, and set Kano in an envious position.

This collaboration and the state’s central role in development and planning continued in post-colonial Kano, principally with Audu Bako’s government prioritizing agriculture and its value chain. Based on the prevailing macro-economic, social and political climates, subsequent military and civilian regimes enhanced Kano’s industrial atmosphere and production base. The state, capable of competing and compared with any other important state in Africa, became significant. As a consequence of the phenomenal economic activities, an aviation hub and centre emerged, serving the domestic market, and connecting regional and international routes.

Amid the oil boom in the early 1970s, shortly after Nigeria’s civil war, the federal government’s indigenization and nationalization policies led to the emergence of industries in many states. Manufacturing and assembly plants became catalysts for economic activities. In Kano, Bompai and Challawa became beehives of activities. With the progress made and subsequent expansion, Sharada Phase I and II came on stream serving Nigeria and many other African countries. These developments were made possible through the active interplay between various institutions, political actors, and the merchant class.

The collaboration, as stated earlier, over the years, to what prevailed in the 80s, made Kano a centre to be reckoned with, then, even with the subsequent economic decline and collapse of industries in the following years. This collapse signals the frightening condition that was to become of Kano from the 80s to the present. In the last three decades, the aftermath of this collapse from the 1980s has seen a persistent increase in unemployment, rise in social vices, failure in social and political institutions and general discontentment, coupled with excessive population growth. Kano’s position has continued to degenerate and placed it on a gargantuan precipice. Kano’s enduring decay represents a classical negation of positive and functional development. It is not the case here; it is neither growth without development but a community geared towards self-destruction and eventual destruction.   

Coming into Kano’s airspace from Lagos or Abuja, pleasing as it is, as one nears home, descending into the town, one’s happiness changes into a burning gloom, as one comes into a full glimpse of Kano as a poorly planned city or an unplanned one. From 1999, with the coming of new civilian administration, Kano witnessed drastic changes and massive development in socio-economic and commercial activities. It also heralds crystallization, from the rise of industrialization in the 60s up to the early 80s, of a downturn and further decline and collapse of manufacturing. As political leadership collaborated with the merchant class in bringing about industrialization in Kano state, their cumulative efforts and inactions derailed the state’s progress in this dispensation even against their enlightened self-interest.

It would seem, looking at the myriads of challenges, nagging and unmanageable as they have been, institutional bottlenecks might have hampered development. Indeed, institutional failure, especially in the public sector, dramatically contributes to escalating the challenges facing the state. Against itself, the public sector operates in a complete variance of its mandates, sowing discord and seeds of its destruction and weakening its sustainability. The civil service cannot be relied upon to carry out government business or regulate life in civil society. One cannot understand this failure in isolation and a vacuum.

Since 1999, Kano has been managed by four regimes belonging to different political parties. Successful implementation of policies of each administration relies on an efficient and effective civil service. However, and to our dismay, none of these regimes ever contemplated reforming the civil service so that contemporary challenges are tackled, visions translated into policies, and their implementation carried out. Expediency, which is a hallmark of utility, necessitates a system of succession that is vital and critical to the survivability of the public system. There is a need to do a lot to fix these and other problems, especially in recruitments and promotions in the civil service.

Mr Mudi sent this article via aamudi28@gmail.com.