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By Uzair Adam Imam

The Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Saturday, visited the Emir of Zazzau, Mallam Ahmed Nuhu Bamali, in Kaduna.

Abubakar also planned to visit Kaduna city and Kafanchan as well as attend an interactive session with presidential candidates which has been organized by Arewa joint committee in the state.

He described the purpose of his visit as seeking the royal blessings and intimate him on his outing.

“My visit here is a homecoming, but it has been a tradition of our campaign programmes to seek the blessings, advice and guidance of our royal fathers.

“I’m also here to congratulate and rejoice with you on the conferment of national honour given to you by the president.

“With this visit, we hope to boost and strengthen our campaign activities geared towards national unity and development,” he said.

“By this, we hope to receive guidance and prayers to enable us succeed in our campaign activities.” He stated.

The Emir, while responding, called on politicians to play by the rule of the game and avoid comments and utterances that may jeopardize the national unity.

By Salisu Yusuf

Writing is the act of inscribing some signs, symbols and codes which a reader absorbs, encodes and interprets to act on, connect to, or change an attitude towards something. Writing is the fourth of the four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. This, however, does not make writing the least important; in fact, writing is the most critical language skill in the current global context due to its perceived wider, heterogeneous and scattered audience and its permanence.

Speaking is also instant and irretrievable (at least before the invention of modern communication and broadcasting systems). You can only apologise after saying something. Writing can be edited and is retrievable. In other words, writing has some measure of revisability or verifiability. Every other form of communication is ephemeral. Only writing survives time because of its encryption. Moreover, the purpose of reading is defeated if there’s no writing. Writing has preserved divine scriptures.

Writing can make you happy because when you write, you instantly release a pent-up feeling. When you unburden, you feel you’ve got rid of something. Writing makes your day. It makes you great, famous and successful. Writers are known to have defied time and become immortals. Writers are immortals because their names defy times: Chinua Achebe, Khaled Hossein, Nuruddeen Farah, Newal Elsadawy, etc., are timeless names. The power of the pen has bound people and made the world better.

Good writing skills, the ability to convince, and the ability to communicate with a good command of language will likely attract a mass audience. These make public relations and propaganda tools for controlling narratives and persuasion.

One secret to writing is that writing widens your horizon and increases your critical thinking and sense of reasoning. It broadens your analytical skills. Writing makes you more sensible. It opens new vistas and can lead you to explore lands and thoughts that men have never explored. So, write, write, rewrite until you write the right.

Writing is, however, a slippery slope. Lest you forget, writing reveals you- it lets your audience know your personality, character traits, likes and dislikes, troubles, etc. This is because, when you write, you leave out gaps, aporias which the reader fills.

Though writing is a joyful venture, it can be a self-destructive escapade. So, know your subject matter well and write on what’s verifiable. Avoid defamatory, slanderous materials. You should know that laws of defamation cover writing, so don’t bring an issue that will likely injure the reputation of an innocent one. Men are dignified creatures. Don’t dare denigrate them.

Moreover, while writing, do not infringe on others’ copyright. Make your copy the right one. Copyright laws strictly bind writing; when you quote, acknowledge your source correctly.

As a writer, you should know that writing is fluid; it has no fixed shape. Therefore, it yields explications, expositions and interpretations. So, when you write, as Roland Barthes said, you’re a dead author. People rightly interpret your write-ups and derive multiple meanings. Therefore, when you write, you’re no longer in control of your text. You’re a dead author. Only the readers are alive and in control of the meaning.

As a writer, the sensibility of your audience is respected. Writing always goes with its moral appeal. I have not seen a fool as one who writes to level old scores, which hurts feelings. That’s the definition of a fool. 

For some, writing is a profession. For others, writing is a skill, while some look at writing as an escapement. Whatever it’s to you, write and rewrite until you write the right.

Salisu Yusuf wrote from Katsina via salisuyusuf111@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The All Progressive Congress (APC) gubernatorial and deputy gubernatorial candidates for Kano state lack the integrity to run for any public office, says the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP).

The party argued that the duo should be prosecuted by now for disrupting the 2019 general election.

This was disclosed in a statement signed and issued Friday by the Spokesperson to the party, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa.

Dawakin Tofa lambasted the ruling party for giving tickets to Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna and Murtala Sule Garo for their “uncivilized behaviour.”

The Daily Reality recalled that, in a viral video, Gawuna and Garo were seen under police custody after allegedly tearing election results that led the electoral body to declare the 2019 governorship election inconclusive in the state.

The statement said, “It is morally reprehensible for the party to give tickets to those whose videos depict them disrupting elections that have globally smeared the image of Kano.

“It is on record and cannot be disputed that on February 14, 2019, the state police command nabbed two individuals after discovering 14 sacks containing ballots that had been thumb-printed in favour of the APC.

“For the APC to accuse us or any other party of rigging is silly and a public show of lack of shame,” the statement added.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Civil Society organizations, under the Auspices Alliance for Good Governance, demanded the immediate prosecution of the APC Chairman, Aminu Ali Shana.

The APC chairman of Yautan Arewa, Gabasawa LGA, was arrested on Friday by the police in possession of over three hundred permanent voter’s cards (PVC) in Kano.

A statement issued and signed by Hon. Abdullahi Ibrahim Rogo, the Kano Publicity Secretary of the party, demanded legal action against the chairman.

It was gathered that the police has already transferred the suspect to the department of criminal investigation (CID) of Kano state command in Bompai for further investigation.

The NNPP said it will pursue this case to a logical conclusion in the interest of protecting democratic principles.

The statement says, “The offence is contrary to sections 21 and 22 1 (a), (b) and (c) of the electoral act 2022 as amended.”

It also stated that the NNPP chairman of Kano State, Hon. Umar Haruna Doguwa had directed the party’s legal team to file a petition against the suspect and his core sponsors.

“I directed our legal advisor to also write to the electoral umpire (INEC) to as a matter of responsibility pursue necessary action on the matter” Doguwa confirmed in the statement.

He said the issue of PVC hoarding subsections source of major concern in Kano ahead of the 2023 general elections.

“We are naturally vindicated by this arrest, we keep our fingers crossed as we await the next steps to be taken by both the Independent National Electoral Commission and Nigeria Police,” he added.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, a Muslim rights organization, has asked Polaris Bank to apologize to Muslims or face a boycott.

MURIC, in a statement released on Friday signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, issued an ultimatum demanding an unreserved apology to Muslims from the management of Polaris Bank.

The rights group said the refusal of the bank to tender an apology within seven days would make Muslim customers of the bank boycott the bank’s financial services.

Recall that The Daily Reality reported that in a leaked email to the bank’s members of staff, a supervisor at the bank, Damilola Adebara, had ordered the workers not to leave their duty post to attend Jumu’ah prayers on Friday.

Although the management had issued a statement stating that the supervisor acted in ignorance, MURIC is convinced and argued that it was a deliberate attempt to make the policies of the bank unfavourable to the Muslim staffers in the bank.

Part of MURIC statement reads: “Damilola Adebara’s mail is a flagrant contravention of Section 38 (i)&ii) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which says, ‘Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance. The leaked mail was greeted with outrage, bewilderment and nausea among Nigerian Muslims. Unfortunately, the bank’s response to the concern of Muslims was not good enough. It was mild, vague, escapist and deceitful. Polaris Bank had said, ‘The said staff had acted in ignorance, and we have since addressed the issue internally.”

MURIC also said an unpretentious apology to Muslims and the suspension of the erring supervisor is the only thing that can remedy the situation and assuage the pains and trauma the leaked email caused Muslims.

“That apology should be tendered within seven days from today, Friday, 14th October 2022, failing which Muslim customers may start boycotting the bank. Nigerian Muslims deserve dignified treatment as homo sapiens compos mentis.

Secondly, the first offender, Damilola Adebara, must go on a few days’ suspension. There must be consequences for unprofessional behaviour. On her return from suspension, she must withdraw the memo sent to all Muslim staff,” the statement adds.

By Nusaiba Ibrahim Na’abba

Regretfully, the calamities unfolding these days are unceasingly proving that our climate is indeed shifting in ways we’ve at no time conceived. Whether climate change will remain a hoax or not is something that can only be proven over time. But, the world isn’t at peace knowing that we are living in desperate times, courtesy of weather conditions our environments haven’t experienced before, even worsening our disorderly states. The experiences of these calamities have massively multiplied and are painting a dusky time ahead.

Poverty levels are increasing as people are forced to flee their homes and farms in search of safety, not because of only insecurity but as a result of deadly climate-related catastrophes. Many of these climate problems are associated with human and natural causes. However, they are also primarily associated with how public development initiatives have, over time, been neglected, grossly squandered and unaccounted for. Now, we are all paying the price. Unlike health, economy and education issues, the environment barely segregates the poor and rich, illiterates and literate, among other unfounded claims used, to create divisions within developing societies like ours.

Climate change is mainly explained within the purview of science. However, not all scientific evidence sits well with religion and culture, core pillars held in high esteem in developing societies worldwide. This is quite understandable as scientific outcomes often contradict cultural and religious perceptions, hence the disagreement. However, communities are now mindful that everyday living is enveloped by gigantic piles of plastic wastes, massive refuse-clotted drainages, insufficient foods, low agricultural turnout, excessive heat and flooding.

On the premise of religion and culture, disagreeing with and disproving new concepts happens to everything alien. It had occurred to diseases like HIV/AIDs, Sickle Cell Anemia, Tuberculosis and, recently, Covid-19 before they were finally accepted as problems in places like Nigeria. Similar to older rejections, climate change has also faced backlash. There are underlying elements of political and economic contestations fueling quests for advanced economies in the world alongside cultural and religious underpinnings. However, that does not erase the authenticity of such events as the current realities are proving them.

The detrimental consequences of climate change have transcended boundaries and excessively destroyed societies. Calamities like flooding, which we spot from afar, are now occupying top spots on our disaster checklists, which is quite frightening. The recent downpour witnessed in Nigeria degenerated into floods that consumed lives and displaced many communities in some parts of Jigawa, Kano and Yobe among the 24 states listed by NEMA through its director of Relief and Humanitarian assistance, Alhassan Nuhu. And with existing IDP camps around the northern part of the country, more devastation has hit the nation.

Until it became a global discourse, the spontaneous activities happening in developing countries like Nigeria were never seen as causatives of climate change. However, the corrupt nature of our systems enables substandard building structures. It fuels illegal dumping of refuse, deforestation, desert encroachment, and various climate problems. Now, these challenges have united to unleash colossal damage to our environment.

Recurrent flooding forcing people out of their homes signals a huge alarm as Nigeria remains in economic chaos and a messy political scene. Unfortunately, no particular problem was attributed as the sole reason for the unusual persistent floods we face in Kano and other neighbouring states. And the reason is mainly that multiple mismanaged natural and human causes have piled up over the years.

With dynamics intrinsic to climate change, the communities in the Northern part of Nigeria, like Kano, Yobe, and Bauchi, among others, have been selected to be part of the Great Green Wall Initiative to combat these environmental changes. Essentially, the project focused on battling climate crises, including desertification, erosion, and other problems related to shifting climate conditions in the Sahel region of the World, including Nigeria.

Whatever the more robust economies are set to achieve, these times are not the best for the independence of thoughts and decisions. We have a collective responsibility to save our environment to save humanity at large. And it is only through collaborative and calculative efforts of communities and the government that the consequences of climate change can be averted to halt its rapid advance. Our duty as humans is to consistently avoid harming the environment and adopt sustainable ways of creating energy, practising agriculture, waste management and other viable solutions offered by experts.

Utilizing these available sustainable methods is highly strategic to align Nigeria with global best practices in the fight against climate change. But on the other hand, our governments at all levels must provide robust and all-inclusive policies that align with citizens’ goals to propel development and support sustainable-driven initiatives to achieve massive, unprecedented mutual successes for humanity and the environment.

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.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has suspended its eight-months-old strike.

The union disclosed this in a press statement signed by its president, Emmanuel Osodeke, on Friday.

Speaking on the reasons for the strike suspension, ASUU said the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila were imperative for the suspension of the strike action. The union argues that their demands were not satisfactorily addressed .

The statement partly reads: “While appreciating the commendable efforts of the leadership of the House of Representatives and other patriotic Nigerians who waded into the matter, NEC noted with regrets that the issues in dispute are yet to be satisfactorily addressed.

However, as a law-abiding Union and in deference to appeals by the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, and in recognition of the efforts of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, and other well-meaning Nigerians, ASUU NEC resolved to suspend the strike action embarked upon on 14th February 2022.

Consequently, all members of ASUU are hereby directed to resume all services hitherto withdrawn with effect from 12:01 on Friday, 14th October 2022.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Government of Kaduna State has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, to build a film village in the State.

The MOU was signed at the ongoing Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit. The parties involved in the signing of the MOU are the government of Kaduna State, the administrator of Kaduna Capital Territory, Mohammed Hafiz Bayero and other partners.

Addressing the audience at the summit after appending signature to the MOU, Mr Bayero said the Kaduna Film Village will modernize the local film production structure and frame work in Kaduna State.

Nigeria Media and entertainment industry is seen amongst the fastest-growing entertainment industry in the world. The state government desires to leverage on its economic potentials.

The Kaduna Film Village upon completion aims to provide job opportunities for artistes , actors , cinematographers and myriad of other professionals in the entertainment industry.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Many people were outraged by the Polaris Bank Ltd directive, Tuesday that laid a strong warning against its Muslim staff to desist going to Friday prayer.

The Daily Reality reported that there had been growing anxiety among the Muslim employees as the order did not sit well with them.

The management of the bank, in an email to its Muslim employees, said going to the mosque for Friday prayer contradicts the policy of the bank.

However, a statement issued and signed by the Group Head, Strategic Brand Management, Nduneche Ezurike, said the incident involved one staff and her supervisor and has already been addressed.

Customers’ rage

The management of the bank was under fire as the concerned citizens, who couldn’t make sense of the directive, threatened to stop using the bank.

Abdallah Aliyu Uba said, “We’re doing all the needful to successfully withdraw all our money from the bank.”

Idrees Omar stated, “Polaris bank beats the drum and definitely, our Muslim brothers, will teach them lessons. This carries strong messages to the bank that Islam in Nigeria is beyond intimidation.”

Shehu Bello said, “Polaris bank will receive our strong messages that, Islam in Nigeria is beyond intimidation by any means.”

Ayuba Musa Garba stated, “By God’s grace as of now I decided to stop using this bank”

Mas’udu Musa said, ‘By God’s grace as of now I decided to stop using this bank.”

I resigned from my work over the ban on prayer

One of the employees of the Dimond Bank, Yusuf Shehu, has recounted how he resigned from his job over a ban on prayers by the bank.

Shehu said, “This applies to all banks in Nigeria except Zenith and Union Bank.

“This happened to me during my days in Diamond Bank. I had to beg, kneeling for my supervisor before She could allow me to go and pray.

“One of my colleagues was issued a Memo like this too. In the Banking industry, you have to worship your Supervisor like a god. God forbid. It’s my reason I left too,” he said.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A 51-year-old man, Oluranti Badejo, has been arrested by Police in Ogun for allegedly beating his 40-year-old wife, Folasade Badeje, which resulted in her death immediately.

On Thursday, the Police Spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the development to journalists in the state, adding that the suspect has been apprehended.

It was gathered that his arrest followed a complaint lodged at Mowe Police Divisional Headquzrter by the younger sister of the deceased.

Several reports indicated that the incident occurred at Orimerunmu, Mowe, in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government area of the state.

Oyeyemi said the husband beat his wife to death after they had a minor misunderstanding.

The DPO Mowe division, SP Folake Afeniforo, quickly dispatched the divisional detectives to the scene where the suspect was arrested.

“The lifeless body of the victim was there and then evacuated to the mortuary in Sagamu for post-mortem examination. Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect strangled the deceased during a scuffle as a result of a minor disagreement.

“Having realized that he has killed his wife, the suspect used a hot iron to burn parts of the body of the deceased so as to look as if she was electrocuted. But unfortunately for him, their 8-year-old daughter was there and witnessed the whole thing.

“It was the daughter who testified seen her father strangulating her deceased mother,” Oyeyemi said.

The Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, to have directed that the suspect be taken to the Homicide section of the state Criminal Investigation Departments for further investigation.