By Ibrahim Sulaiman Jama’are
On Wednesday, 15th June 2022, two of my Facebook friends, Ahmad Muhammad Danyaro and Abdullahi Barau Azare, tagged me in a trending post that that one association called Jama’are Emirate Youth Forum (JEYF), awarded a popular Hausa political musician, Alh. Dauda Kahutu Rarara a “Certificate of Excellent” (don’t mind the grammar). The group added that “In recognize in your (that’s the awardee) tremendous effort and exceptional commitment towards development of humanity” (I beg for your pardon on the poor grammar).
Based on my search on Facebook, the story on this issue was first broken by Ibrahim Sanyi-Sanyi (who I follow), whose post seemed to be earlier than that of the purported chairman of the forum, Rabiu A Umar (who happens to be my Facebook friend too).
My dismay was minified by the comments on the Facebook wall of Ibrahim Sanyi-Sanyi by his followers, many of whom (thank God) suspected the forum to be fake and, of course, created and formed for the purpose.
Though there is naturally nothing wrong with conferring an award on any person who contributed toward the development of any community, the question remains: in what way did Rarara contribute to the development of Jama’are Emirate?. Many groups in Jama’are have a history of giving awards to personalities that excelled in different areas of endeavour and contributed to the Emirate’s development (which is normal and obtainable in many places).
It is a source of concern that churning out such awards to personalities not known for delivering any community services is a spoof that will do a great disservice in future.
The public should note that JEYF is not a registered association by any institution at the local government or state levels. Traditionally, such associations are registered with the desk officer of clubs and associations at the local government Social Welfare Office. Also, local clubs usually have patrons, typically elderly, who advise and guide members on what to do. JEYF neither to has no one and no in the registry of the LG.
I would naturally not write this if the awardee was, say, Aminu Bagwai, another famous Hausa singer. For quite a long time, he has been a friend and, of course, a frequent visitor to Jama’are and who had a dedicated song for Jama’are town, a headquarters of Jama’are Emirate.
On a serious note, from all indications, Rarara might have been a victim of ‘Yan-wanki’ impostors parading themselves as representatives of Jama’are Emirate Youths. The carelessness with which the certificate is written in quite mangled English indicates that this group does not represent us. It is an obvious fact that every casual observer can glean.
Ibrahim Sulaiman Jama’are is a concerned citizen of Jama’are. He wrote from Abuja via ibrahimsulaiman193@gmail.com.
