Month: February 2023

Book Review: Man’s Search for Meaning

By Muhammad Muzzammil Bashir

Think of a moment when you once found yourself in a situation where you were either physically, spiritually, or emotionally stressed, or both, where you could not help but give in and submit to your predicament, and all of a sudden, a flash of thought crossed your mind of the consequences of your choices, inspiring you to become decisive in your fate and bear with the situation while looking forward to its end until you are free from it.

The book, Man’s Search for Meaning, is the story of a psychiatrist, Victor E. Frankl, and his life at the Nazi concentration camp, envisioning and inspiring his colleagues to find meaning for life ahead while enduring the horrendous experiences of the camp.

The book accounts his experiences together with those of his colleagues’ lives at the camp, the sacrifices, the crucifixion, and the deaths of the great army of unknown and unrecorded victims, and of course, those who gave up on life and hope for a future; thus, they died less of lack of medicine or food than of lack of finding meaning or purpose to live for.

Frankl likened the experiences to assert that while we cannot avoid suffering, we can choose to learn how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move our lives towards a renewed purpose.

The author asserts that life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, wealth, or power but rather a quest to find meaning in one’s life. He coined his ideas in theory called “logotherapy,” meaning that striving to find meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force. The force usually comes from three possible sources: work, love, and in courage during difficult times.

A purpose-driven life is one that is enveloped in finding meaning that the mind holds subconsciously to pursue no matter the circumstances one is in. Obstacles may delay I but cannot deter that mind from pursuing its course. Fankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is a masterpiece in this field, written in simple terms to comprehend its message easily.

Muhammad Muzzammil Bashir can be contacted via mbashir199@yahoo.com.

Group orders INEC to declare winner for Fagge National Assembly

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A pressure group, Voice of New Fagge, has demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declare the winner of the Fagge Local Government’s National Assembly election held on Saturday.

Dr Muhammad Suleiman Abdullahi Fagge, the spokesperson of the group, made the request in a letter addressed to the chairperson of INEC in the Fagge Local Government Area of Kano State on Tuesday.

According to Mr Fagge, tension and uncertainty are brewing in Fagge over the refusal of INEC to declare the winner in the election on time.

He said: “We write in order to notify INEC about the growing tension, apprehension, anger and uncertainties brewing in Fagge Local Government’s communities over the recently concluded National Assembly elections. We also want to notify all the authorities concerned that the Fagge Local Government’s National Assembly election winner should be declared without wasting time.”

Mr Fagge also alleged that plans are underway by Hon. Aminu Suleiman Goro to increase the number of cancelled votes in order for him to comfortably thwart the will of the electorates.

He said: “There’s an allegation that Hon. Aminu Suleiman Goro, who is the third in this election, is working tirelessly to increase the number of cancelled votes to pave the way for him to rig the election in his favour, and this will not augur well with our democracy and the peace of the people of Fagge Local Government. It is upon this background that we call on INEC to immediately declare the winner of Fagge Local Government’s National Assembly election. This is in order to preserve the peace of the good people of Fagge Local Government and Kano State in general.”

Obasanjo is a danger to democracy, says Gen. Akinrinade

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A former Chief of Army and Defence Staff, General Akinrinade Alani, has faulted President Obasanjo’s call for the suspension of the collation of results of the presidential election.

In a press statement released to the public on Tuesday and titled, “An Interloping Former President is a Danger to Democracy”, General Akinrinade condemned the former president’s stance on the ongoing presidential election.

The retired soldier said, “The recent statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the recently concluded elections must be condemned in the strongest terms by democracy loving Nigerians and those who care about the unity of this country.”

President Obasanjo in a press statement had earlier requested for the stoppage of collation of result on ground of electoral malpractices.

General Akinrinade further stated that, as Obasanjo’s contemporary, who fought for the unity of this country, he finds it disturbing that Obasanjo made such suggestion.

He therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore Obasanjo’s vituperation and focus on the lawful process.

He noted that he is confident President Muhammadu Buhari will let the process run its full course and will not intervene in an undemocratic manner.

El-Rufai’s son declared winner of House of Reps seat in Kaduna

By Uzair Adam Imam

Muhammed Bello El-Rufai, the son of the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufa’i, has won a House of Representative seat under All Progressives Congress (APC) party.

Bello, who is the eldest son of El-Rufa’i, disclosed this on his verified Twitter handle on Monday.

He said, “Alhamdulillah. I have just been declared as the Kaduna North House of Representatives-Elect.

“I had 51,052 votes, while my closest opponent, Hon. Samaila Suleiman scored 32,802 votes.

“I would like to thank Allah SWT, all the people of Kaduna North and my committed team. Thank you,” he twitted.

The Daily Reality gathered that other candidates defeated were Shehu Mohammed Faisal of the Labour Party who scored 7531 and Aliyu Muhammad Ahmad of NNPP who scored 10,148.

CAN declares support for Christian guber candidate in Taraba

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Taraba Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had cautioned their members not to lose the incoming gubernatorial election in the state to another faith. 

Bishop Manasseh Silas Rifore, the State CAN Secretary, issued the directive on behalf of the Christian leadership in the State on Friday. 

“Dire caution must be exercised so that we Christians don’t lose our ancestral land to another faith”, He warned 

According to Mr Rifore, the Christians in the state must therefore accept, mobilize and vote massively for Colonel Kefas Agbu of the PDP to ensure Christian votes in Taraba remain undivided among the five contenders.

The CAN noted that the association’s decision is not in any way associated with any political sentiment.

Lagos: Tinubu appeals for peace as hoodlums attack traders over APC’s loss

By Uzair Adam Imam

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has urged the Lagos State people to avoid violence against his loss to Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in Lagos State.

In Saturday’s presidential elections, Obi defeated Tinubu in Lagos with a total vote of 582,454, whereas Tinubu got 572,606 votes.

Different reports from the state indicated violence in some parts of the state as hoodlums attacked some traders.

However, reacting to the incident in a statement by his Director, Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu said the defeat should not be a source of violence in Lagos State.

He added, “The fact that the APC narrowly lost Lagos State to another party should not be the reason for violence.

“As a democrat, you win some; you lose some. We must allow the process to continue unhindered across the country while we maintain peace and decorum,” the former governor of Lagos State said.

NigeriaDecides: We won’t accept election results—PDP

By Muhammad Sabiu

Nigeria’s main opposition party, the PDP, has declared to contest the presidential election results.

Dino Melaye, a PDP representative at the national collation centre in Abuja, stated this on Monday while raising the alarm over presidential election results coming from Kwara.

Mr Melaye contended that the results are in doubt since INEC failed to promptly post the results from the polling units online.

Oshiomhole wins senate seat in Edo

By Muhammad Abdurrahman

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Adams Oshiomhole of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of Saturday’s election for Edo North Senatorial District in Edo.

Benjamin Adesina, the INEC Returning Officer, on Sunday in Auchi, declared Mr Oshiomhole as the winner of the polls with 107,110 votes.

He defeated the incumbent Senator Francis Alimekhena of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 55,344 votes.

“Adams Oshiomhole of APC, having scored the highest number of votes, is hereby declared as the winner of the election conducted on the 25th of February for Edo North Senatorial District,” Mr Adesina said.

(NAN)

Journalist’s role in tackling Nigeria’s security and humanitarian challenges

By Ibrahim Nura Aliyu

Nigeria is one of the most populous countries in Africa, with over 200 million people. It is also one of the most diverse countries. Its rich and varied cultural landscape comprises various languages, religions, and ethnic groups. Nigeria is also an essential global player in commerce and industry. In addition, the country’s abundant natural resources and strategic location make it an important economic hub in West Africa.

However, its recent history has been challenging. The country has faced several security challenges, including the Boko Haram insurgency, cross-border terrorist attacks, and regional rebellions. In 2017, the country faced a major humanitarian crisis due to extreme weather conditions.

Nigeria has many problems with security and helping people, and journalism has played a big part in solving these problems. The media plays a significant role in informing the public and raising awareness of these issues. They also play a crucial role in reporting the government’s response to these challenges. This has assisted in ensuring that the public has a better understanding of the challenges faced by the country and the measures taken to address them.

Journalists have done more than just report on what the government is doing. They have also worked to bring attention to the humanitarian crisis. This has helped get more people behind the efforts to deal with the problem. It has also ensured that the humanitarian situation is given adequate attention.

Journalism has been critical in tackling Nigeria’s security and humanitarian challenges. It has helped ensure that the public has a better understanding of the challenges faced by the country and the measures being taken to address them. Nigeria’s security and humanitarian challenges are among the many issues that urgently need attention from the Nigerian government and the international community.

Also, because the old naira notes can no longer be used, there is a need for cash and food in the country. This has led to widespread hunger and illness and placed the lives of many Nigerians at risk.

Another urgent humanitarian problem is that there aren’t enough naira notes to go around, hurting the economy.

Most of Nigeria’s population is poor, relying on cash transactions for necessary household goods and services. This has caused great hardship for the family budget and has pushed millions into poverty. The recent ban on using naira notes has made it harder for millions of Nigerians to buy food and has led to widespread malnutrition.

Nigeria’s struggling economy has only the naira note as a form of currency inefficiency, which worsens the situation.

The challenges faced by Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis are several. This includes the lack of quality education, healthcare, food, water supply, and access to basic sanitation. Journalism has been one of the key players in helping to require accountability and prevent the spread of terror.

Journalists have been able to get the latest information and give essential perspectives on the conflict by doing their jobs. They have also been able to shed light on many issues that are causing the humanitarian crisis.

Ibrahim Nura Aliyu can be contacted via khalilnuradeen@gmail.com.

INEC officials escaped lynching in Gamarya, Gaya LGA

By Ibrahim Mukhtar

According to an eyewitness who was on the scene of the election, hundreds of thugs entered the Gaya town polling unit and attacked everyone who was around.

A victim of the attack narrated that “the thugs attacked us in the process of collating results in Gamarya Ward, Gaya. I had to escape through the window into the wild bush to save my life.

Thanks to Allah, I am now safely in Gaya town. It was really a terrible experience.”

Reports indicate that the Gamarya ward’s counsellor led the thugs together with some prominent politicians of the ward to disrupt the peaceful process of the collation.

The Daily Reality learnt that some people were reported to be severely injured and maimed while many others scampered and lost their valuables.