Month: January 2022

By Ibrahim Tukur

For many years, persons with disability have been encountering various forms of discrimination from the government of all levels in Nigeria. From the onset of Nigeria’s democracy, nay, independence, there had been the executions of different, life-changing, life-saving and life-enhancing projects. However, if meticulously observed, one can see that only a very few numbers of persons with disability have benefited from it. Finally, in its bid to battle against abject poverty, and thanks to the establishment of the National Disability Commission, the current administration began to make a difference.

Persons with disability, for many years, have been using various mediums to battle against the discrimination thrown at them by the government. They clamour for their right, but their efforts yield only a slight result. Although the current administration enacted a law prohibiting discrimination against persons with disability, it has yet to be implemented in its entirety.

Disability-based discrimination is a huge problem that seems to have abounded every nook and cranny of our country. Fighting such entails a decisive element in the vicinity where the discriminations exist.

Persons with disability in Nigeria receive little concern or attention from the government regarding employment, health, education, empowerment etc. This happens as a result of the fact that persons with disability do not have a voice that will fight for them.

To eradicate this irrational discrimination, persons with disability should participate in politics. They can then play roles or be advocates of good leadership to help their kind and the general public.

Ibrahim Tukur wrote via inventorngw@gmail.com.

The killings of two officers in Taura Local Government Area and the abduction of Haruna Maifata, the state’s contractor’s son-in-law, have been confirmed by Jigawa State police.

The incident happened at Kwalam, part of the Taura LGA, where the contractor lives.

Ma’aru Abubakar, the contractor’s son-in-law, was kidnapped.

While confirming the event to reporters, Lawan Adam, a police spokesperson in Jigawa, said the police were stepping up their efforts to apprehend the bandits. According to him, Anas Usaini, a superintendent of police, and Sunusi Alhassan, an inspector, were killed.

According to him, the cops were shot and killed beside an improvised patrol car set on fire by the attackers.

Residents stated that the gunmen broke inside their target’s home after striking a security formation and then proceeded unhindered into the town.

Residents said the latest incident happened less than three months after a businessman, Kabiru Taura, was kidnapped and released after allegedly paying a ransom of over N20 million.

Jigawa is a comparatively tranquil state in Nigeria’s troublesome northwestern area, but locals have urged for increased security to guarantee that the situation there does not worsen.

Compared to neighbouring Northwestern states like Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kebbi, where thousands of people were slain or kidnapped last year, the state has seen far fewer armed attacks.

ByBilyamin Abdulmumin

At the beginning of a new session, usually from this period that many schools release admissions, fresh students often in the euphoria of the admission have their optimistic bar in full scale. Everyone has a plan for a result they want to graduate with, perhaps for what lies ahead: the labour market, scholarships, or any other opportunities.

But at the end of the study, looking back from the beginning, the dreams of a majority cannot be said to have been achieved. Although much potential would have been blown along the journey, few fittest would survive the perilous journey unscathed.

But there’s good news; having orientation at the right time, tutorials, mentorships, attendance, references, and past questions can help the freshers’ yearnings come true.

Fresh students come to meet arrays of tutorials from which one has many to choose. The school associations at the departmental, faculties, or states deem it their responsibility to provide headway for the newcomers. The religious bodies are also offering among the best tutorials on the campus. As a new to the environment, there could be so many areas of distraction, but tutorial venues should always be among the focal points. 

Like tutorials, studying past questions gives the 1-million-dollar idea about courses and the length and breadth the lecturer can go with questions. Past questions accord a student with knowledge for how the same question can be asked. These save a lot of time during the actual exams, even if exact questions are not asked. Past questions help students develop ideas on how to go about answering some questions. With past questions sufficiently studied, the student can deliver a marking scheme.

One should belong to the right group of friends. If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go farther, go with others. Interacting with some coursemates more prepared offers a chance to leverage from them. Many students who attend extra moral studies such as Zaria refresher or similar are friends material. Students who participate in such programs are usually ahead of what lies ahead.

References are another goldmine when it comes to smart study. Reference implies the materials, especially the book (s) a lecturer uses. In class, you hardly get the average gist of a lecture, and you might already jot down a chunk of a mix-up. Reference is the undiluted notes that would allow a comprehensive digest of the lecture. In other words, references are like having the original copy of a story. It helps you go through the story without interfering with anyone else’s opinion.

With regards to exams, references can be the holy grail. One of my undergraduate memories came in 300 Level. One Chemistry course from the Chemistry Department made students decry to high heaven. To make matters worse, the course coincided with a hectic day for us; it was offered after six hours of laboratory work. But this is not to justify the massive failure that followed. One of the notorious test questions that led to the catastrophe happened to be examples from a particular textbook – Castellar, I think – the reference I couldn’t lay my hands on at the right time. I passed the course with credit, but I always remember the scenario with my index finger bitten, hoping in retrospect that I had read the book (reference) just at the right time. Having a lecturer’s references is reassuring because, with it, you have your lecturer on the palm.

The most important tip that a student can take to the bank is attendance. Imagine getting information from chains of narrators. Usually, the integrity of the information fades as it cascades down from one narrator to another. It is safe to compare this scenario with missing a class. Even if one attends a class, it is not plug-and-play. So, the hope of understanding the lecture becomes blurry when a student copies from another who basically writes his side of the story. If you decide to rely on friends’ notes, the chance is that you tell a different story from that of a lecturer. Hence, you shall get ready for angry-looking results. 

Bilyamin Abdulmumin is a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering at ABU Zaria. He is also an activist for a better, informed society.

By Hussaina Sufyan Ahmed

President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has today, Tuesday, January 25, 2022, kick-started the National Policy on Fifth Generation technology, which is widely known as 5G technology, for the development of Nigeria’s Digital Economy.

He said this at the presentation of the national policy on 5G, approved at the Federal Executive Council meeting.

He also directed all security institutions to make use of the new technology to ensure an enhancement towards curbing the insecurity in the country.

He said that the Federal Government would ensure the nation’s well-being by taking full advantage of opportunities provided by the 5G.

The Daily Reality has gathered that the arrival and usage of the new technology will enhance Nigeria’s networking activities and equally make Nigeria compete in the technological race in the world.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kano State, has issued a press release applauding the security agencies for the quick and perfect response to the murder of a five-year-old Hanifa by her primary school teacher. In the statement, the opposition party also warned and cautioned the state government over what it alleged as “extorting” the private school owners over the sad incident. According to them, the good ones among the private school owners should not be punished or penalised based on the evil wrongdoings of others.

The full release:

“The Kano state chaper of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has applauded the efforts of security agencies for their swift response in investigating, arresting and arraigning the kidnapper and killer of Kano school girl Hanifa Abubakar.

The party wishes to acknowledge the successful operation that led to the arrest of the suspected culprit Abdulmalik Tanko and his cohorts through strategic intelligence gathering and tactical security operation.

As members of the opposition in Kano, we wish to join other well meaning Nigerians to also commend the prompt prosecution/ arraignment of the suspects before a senior magistrate court in the state to pursue justice on late Halifa without any delay.

On reforming the private education, the PDP therefore advised Kano State government under the leadership of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to follow the necessary due process in accordance with law establishing Kano state Private School Board which regulates the activities of all non public schools in the state.

“We learnt that Governor Ganduje has withdrawn the operating licence of all private schools in the state, with all sense of humility and patriotism, we will like to caution the state government not to use this opportunity to extort money from the proprietors of private schools in the state”

The party noted that there have been a standard operating procedure provided by the law establishing the private school board developed by the previous administration of Sen. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso.

Despite the importance of reforming the private education sub-sector which has been long overdue, the Kano state government should not see it as a window of opportunity for extortion of money from the hands of the schools proprietors.

The party is hereby extending its heartfelt condolence to the family of late Hanifa and the good people of Kano on the unfortunate incidence that have put people in deep sorrow and sympathy.

Signed

Shehu Wada Sagagi
PDP Chairman
Kano State Chapter

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Kano State Deputy Governor, Dr Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, has revealed that the State Agro Pastoral Development Project (KSADP) in the year 2021 achieved 123.43% of its disbursement projection.

A release signed Monday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Kano State, Hassan Musa Fagge, disclosed.

The release added that the Deputy Governor who is also the Commissioner of Agriculture stated this on  Monday while chairing the State Steering Committee of the project meeting at the Government House, Kano.

He said: “There is no any agricultural project in the state that has attained this level. This feat of progress is the highest achieved by any Live and Livelihood Fund Project (LLF) funded by the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) in Africa.

“In my recent discussion with the ISDB Vice President and report reaching me from LLF, KSADP is the fastest project in fact the progress made by it has gingered the Bank to support Kano State with various interventions such as Structure Agro Processing Zones, National Program for Food Security and Bilingual Project.

He further said:  “The project will be tasked in the year 2022 with the delivery of project outputs to the intended beneficiaries,” adding that 2021 did not call for many oversights supervisory visits by the steering committee being a year for planning, designs, capacity building and strengthening of stock route committee members.

“2022 is going to add value to what the project has started and will be full of physical activities as the previous year has been for planning and consultancies,” he said.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has fixed the date for registering for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

According to Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s spokesperson, the registration starts on February 12 and lasts until March 19, 2022.

The examination board made this known through its weekly bulletin, released on Monday, January 24.

By Ismail Hashim Abubakar

Although the articulation of the presidential ambition of Bola Ahmed Tinubu (if actually this his real name) is seizing the attention of the public these days, Tinubu’s psyche might have likely become fraught with political confusion since 2020 when Mamman Daura gave the popular BBC interview on competence as the chief criterion for Buhari’s succession, rather than regional or ethnic consideration. 

This time around, the greed of  Bola Ahmed Tinubu seems even to surpass that of Atiku Abubakar. The man is using every channel to realise his (of course, legitimate) ambition while at the same time subjecting himself to more public shame. The man has become too wild in his bid to realise his dream of emerging as President, and there is a strong indication that he can go to any length to achieve his goal.

However, Tinubu is in a very disadvantageous position occasioned by the mixture of his ethno-religious and geographical inclination. The man is a Muslim, no one doubts, but of course, a very nominal Muslim who favours ethnic proclivities more than religious brotherhood and solidarity.

Based on clear historical evidence, to Tinubu, a Yoruba Christian is far better than a Muslim of any linguistic extraction. However, his hatred for the Hausa is beyond any human quantification. The series of brutal massacres of northern Muslims by government-backed OPC in the Southwest, especially Lagos when Tinubu was governor, still evokes gory memories in the minds of many Muslims, and this will play well as Nigeria approaches the general election in 2023.

Nevertheless, the shaky religious credentials of Tinubu, besides the status of his wife as Christian and his Christian handlers, do not at all make him a Christian or outside the fold of Islam. If that is the case, if, for example, he is nominated to contest for President, CAN and Nigerian Christians will never accept him as their representative, lest it means his running mate can be a Muslim.

Moreover, for most Muslims, especially in the North, Tinubu does not have enough moral credentials to be nominated as a Muslim candidate with any (northern) Christian candidate. Many northerners, in fact, will prefer a Christian from the South and a strong Muslim from the North to be paired to contest for the big office rather than Tinubu.

Tinubu’s visit to Kano a few days ago and his meeting with important and influential clerics in the city would not likely be sufficient to make his ambition sellable. Likewise, the many (courteous) praises showered on him by some Muslim scholars during the visit will not help him either.

So far, this is the dilemma that Tinubu has found himself in. My biggest fear, which I pray situations will not lead to that, is if all the above peculiarities tend to remain the huge stumbling block in the way of Tinubu to the Villa, and he may be left with no option but one: to publicly proclaim to accept Christianity. This decision will then mark his burial in the cemetery of Nigerian politics.

Ismail Hashim Abubakar wrote from Rabat and can be reached via ismailiiit18@gmail.com.

By Faruk Abdulkadir Waziri 

It’s been more than three weeks already since the new year, but here you are, not a bit less of all the marks of your earlier self you so much speak of erasing come 2022. Not less in dealings, sense of direction or reasoning. Nothing less—just the same old you. A pragmatic reflection of familiar personality affiliated to same ideas and thoughts, perspective and perception, manners, impressions and approach. Even after the resolution to embark upon the path of behavioural restructuring, almost everything about your temperament remains astoundingly unchanged. But why? Simply because your profound intents to embody traits of positive transformation are pivoted to joints of weak willpower, impotent and lackadaisical physical effort required for their realisation. Regardless of the intense desire to achieve attitudinal reform, without the unwavering resolve to commission the process, it is like aiming for a bird without an arrow in the bow.

When you set a date to have a particular job done, the time will always arrive, but as for the task, you must work to accomplish it. Otherwise, it continues being a plan hanging in the balance, awaiting a ‘perhaps next time’ implementation that may never be actualised. This is also what happens with resolutions. You either remain steadfast to your decisions or afford the miserable luxury of resolving to the same pledge again and again. That will, every time, make yourself appear a constant disappointment to the prospect of personal betterment.

The thing about resolution is that it begs for your stern pluck, patience, perseverance and spunky endurance. It entails detachment from acclimated habits while simultaneously espousing new, unfamiliar ones. Speaking of which, how difficult is extricating from acquainted routines and wonts, and does fostering new ones get any easier? One might ask. The answer is no. In an article for the National Institutes of Health, Dr Russell Poldrack, a neurobiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, states that your brain can release a pleasure-seeking chemical called dopamine for both good and bad habits. This craving encourages a person to perform the same habit to gain desirable results. “In a sense,” he states, “parts of our brains are working against us when we try to overcome bad habits.” This is how hard it is to break an old(bad) habit.

It is quite alright to say that breaking free from old habits banks on your tenacity to remain focused and consistent towards changing them. However, do not underestimate the little steps you take because, as opined by Mark Twain, “A habit cannot be tossed out of the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.” Eli Saphart also states, “Habits die hard; that’s why we must kill them slowly.” “The habit that takes years to build do not take a day to change.” Susan Powter, just like the two aforementioned esteemed personalities, outlined this when emphasising the importance of patience in liberating from accustomed traits.

Do not hesitate or delay. You are not late to take the path of changing into a better person. Instead, make a resolution today and stand firmly by it. As a famous proverb goes, “Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow.”.

Faruk Abdulkadir Waziri can be contacted via farukakwaziri019@gmail.com.

By Hussaina Sufyan Ahmed

The Kano State Government has revoked the license of all private schools in the state.

Kano state’s Commissioner for Education, Honorable Sanusi Kiru Sa’id, stated this at a press conference held on Monday, January 24, 2022.

This news came up as a follow-up after the brutal murder of a five-year-old school pupil, Hanifa Abubakar, by her teacher and school proprietor, Abdulmalik Tanko.

The state government also announced the arraignment of Mr Tanko before a magistrate court in the state. The accused and two others are remanded in the correctional facility pending the next hearing.

On the suspension of the operational permits for private schools, Hon. Kiru said the government would set up a designated team for guidance on the next line of action.